Teaching Pedagogy Mathods Of Teaching Notes - Methods of Teaching EVS

 

Methods of Teaching Environment Studies

 

It is possible for teachers to emphasise interdisciplinary teaching and learning in their own classes, e.g. through the topics and examples they choose. Teachers need to have professional skills for using teaching and learning strategies that can help students achieve the wide range of skills, knowledge and values objectives of education for sustainable development. It is also important that teachers work in a co-ordinate and co-operative way so that students are given the opportunity to integrate knowledge across subjects and across the years of schooling.

 

Children have an innate curiosity, but they require assistance in understanding their observations and how to relate the hew information to their existing knowledge. When teacher encourages children to question, predict, explain and explore in a safe environment, they offer children the support that is essential for becoming successful environmental science/studies students and thinkers.

 

5.1 Teaching Strategies

According to E. Stones and S Morris, "Teaching strategy is generalised plan for a lesson, which includes structure, desired learner behaviour in terms of goals of instruction and an outline of planned tactics necessary to implement the strategy. The lesson strategy is a part of a larger development scheme of the curriculum."

To accomplish the objective of teaching, it for expected that teacher should use different kind of resources available to them in order to transfer the knowledge and present the matter in a very powerful and effective way.

 

5.1.1 Types of Teaching Strategy

Various types of teaching strategy are given as under

 

Autocratic Style

Autocratic style of teaching strategies is traditional. The autocratic style strategies are content centered, teacher remains more active and students are passive listeners. The main emphasis is on presentation. These strategies do not consider the student abilities, interests and personality of the learner. There is no freedom for the learner in this teaching process.

These are highly subjective and conventional styles of teaching process, e.g. lectures, tutorials etc.

 

Permissive Style

It is mainly child-centered; the pupils largely determine content. The effective objectives are mainly achieved by permissive style strategies.

These strategies create situations for student and teacher interaction and both remain active in teaching. Teaching is organised with the consideration of student interest, abilities and values. These strategies encourage the creativity of the pupils, e.g. project, group discussion, role playing, brain storming etc. Broadly, all teaching methods can be divided into 3 categories

      1.      Telling Method It includes lecture, tutorials, presentation etc.

      2.      Showing Method It includes demonstration, project, survey etc.

      3.      Doing Method It includes practicals, experimentation, role play etc.

 

5.2.1 Types of Approach

Various approaches are used in teaching-learning process. These are given below

 

     1.      Conceptual Approach In this approach, things are learnt in very detailed form regarding its principle, mechanism, application etc. After-the learning, one will be able to reduce the detail form into abstract form. Such approach of learning is called conceptual approach.

     2.      Process Approach In this approach, different skill is used in order to learn new things. The skill to be used will depend on the things which is to be learnt. All the skills are helpful as well as useful for better understanding of matter.

 

     3.      Integrated Approach It includes both conceptual approach and process approach.

Integrated approach will lead to better learning in child.

 

     4.      Activity Approach In this approach, new things can be learnt by the way of activity. It is the best method for learning as this involves all cognitive, effective and psychomotor domains.

 

5.2 Teaching Methods

A teaching method comprises the principles and methods used for instruction to be implemented by teachers to achieve the desired learning by students.

These methods are determined partly on subject matter to be taught and partly by the nature of the learner.

Presentation of the concept of environmental studies is very complex, as it incorporates various subjects in it. Special skills are required for presentation of concept of environment in classroom. To acquire these skills, knowledge of the appropriate methods is required.

 

5.2.1 Objectives of Teaching Methods

Some objectives of teaching methods are as follow

·               Teaching procedures in Environmental Science should be governed by the objectives of its teaching.

·               The specific goals, purpose and the nature of the content of a unit determine the methods to be used in teaching.

·               Suitable methods are needed for the achieving comprehensive objectives of teaching

Environmental Science. Method gives training in constructive thinking, reasoning and critical judgement.

·               Goal of teaching of EVS should be have deeper and extensive participation of students. Besides the lecture or question-answer method, students' should be exposed to a variety of learning experiences involving book learning, observation, interviewing, surveying, interpreting, reviewing, recording, reporting and evaluating.

·               Learning experiences should be geared to the type of growth and behaviour changes desired to be brought in the student in order to make him an enlightened, dynamic, productive and democratic citizen.

 

5.2.2 Characteristics of Good Teaching Method

There are various characteristics of good tea china.

These are given below

     1.      Group Related Experiences and Activities A good method particularly designed to produce changes' in terms of knowledge, understanding, habits, attitudes, skills and behaviour of the students.

      2.      Scope for Creative Expression A good method should provide scope for the creative expression of the child's individuality.

      3.      Interests in Content A good method should rouse a large range of interests in the minds of the students.

      4.      Shift in Emphasis A good method should shift emphasis from verbalism and memorisation to learning.

     5.      Training in Self-Study A good method should train the students in the techniques of self-study and the methods of acquiring knowledge through personal effort.

      6.      Stimulation and Awakening Interest in Study

A good method should stimulate the desire for further study and exploration. A good method should awaken interest in the materials and techniques of Environmental Science.

 

5.2.3 Need of Modern Methods in Environmental Science

·               To make the subject interesting, and living, the teacher should use permutations and combinations of methods, devices and techniques. e.g. to lend colour to class teaching, he may use lecture or discussion method or a combination of these two.

·               Different lessons or units should be taught by different methods of teaching. It can be very monotonous to use the same methods for every circumstance.

·               To create and maintain the interest and avoid monotony, children should be exposed to varied experiences.

·               No single method can be the best for all situations and for all teachers and pupils. The suitable method should emerge out of the abundance of information and skill of the teacher.

 

5.2.4 Different Methods of Teaching Environmental Science/Studies

Different methods of teaching environmental science are as follow

 

Assignment Method

It is the most common method of teaching especially in teaching of Science. It is a technique which can be usually used in teaching and learning process. It is an instructional technique comprises the guided information, self-learning, writing skills and report preparation among the learners.

According to Douglas "The Assignment method is an important step in teaching and learning process."

 

Objectives

Some objectives of Assignment method are given as under

·               It provides good training for information seeking and retrieval behaviour.

·               It inculcates the self-learning attitude among the students.

·               It provides information analysis and research, attitude to the learners.

·               It develops the learning experiences from various sources.

 

Qualities of a Good Assignment

Qualities of a good assignment are as follow

·               Assignment must be relevant to the subject taught to the student.

·               The teacher should clear the obstacle of the assignment proposed.

·               This should reflect the affinities with the subject contents in the text book concerned.

·               Assignment must be simple and enable the students to complete it within the stipulated time.

·               Assignment must avoid ambiguous, complex information and instructional structure.

·               Objectives of the assignments must be clear and definite.

·               Assignment must be given with other methods of teaching enable the good learning experiences.

·               Assignment should be given ensuring the level of the students' age, attitude, skills and availability of resources for the topic/unit.

·               Assignment must develop the creativity and capable of individual learning by doing.

·               Assignments given to the students may challenge their thinking and analysis power.

·               The group assignments may encourage the coordinated learning among the students.

 

Advantages

There are various advantages of good assignment.

These are given below

·               It provides opportunity in self-learning for the students.

·               Better learning experiences will be gained when combined with other environmental science teaching methods.

·               Assignment provides sufficient flexibility in learning pace of the students. The slow learners too adapt this method.

·               Teacher acts as a guide and students' active participation is encouraged.

·               The students received a better training in the learning by doing method in this method.

·               The information seeking and retrieval behaviour is developed among the students.

·               It gives better understanding in scientific method and projects.

·               It can provide space for the individuals learning attitude and their speed in learning process.

·               This provides better feedback and gives exact solution for the problems faced by the student in the learning process.

·               The progress sheet shows each and every student achievement and records his strength and weakness of the students learning activities.

·               The learning by doing aspect in assignment method promotes the self-confidence and self-respect of each and every student engaged in assignment work.

·               Teacher himself improves his awareness about the students' achievements.

·               The difficult experiments are demonstrated by the teacher so that there is no risk.

·               Individualised instruction and attention is possible in this method.

 

Limitations

For the teachers, uarious limitations are given as under

·               It is time consuming and burden process.

·               Teacher has to collect the information from various sources before assigning the work to the students.

·               There are no source books and guide books are available in the market. Teacher has to prepare the same at his own risk of time and money.

·               There are divergent group of students in a class, it poses problems for teacher assigning a unique or uniform topic for assignment.

·               The success of the assignment method largely depends on library and laboratory facilities provided for the teacher as well as students.

·               The slow learners need much more attention from the teacher.

·               For the students various limitations are given as under

·               Time consuming, need to spend more time in seeking information and its retrieval.

·               The time limit given threatens the students which makes the substandard work.

·               The slow learners stay behind. They tend to copy others works.

·               It is found hard for the students having little scientific attitude.

 

EDUSAT Method

·               EDUSAT is the satellite exclusively devoted to meet the demands of educational sector.

·               It was hunched to meet ever increasing demand for an interactive satellite-based distance education system for the country.

·               It has revolutionised classroom teaching through IP based technology.

·               EDUSAT network has installed at various educational institutions where live classroom lectures are done. Through this method, teaching-learning process of environmental science can become more effective. Haryana has recently installed this technique in its schools.

 

Role Play

In this method, one or more participants adopt a specified role and try to behave in ways characteristics of a person in that role.

 

Advantages

Advantages of EDUSAT method are given as under

·               It actively involves participants.

·               It adds variety, reality and specificity to the learning experience.

·               It develops problem-solving and verbal expression skills.

·               It provides practice to build skills before real-world application and when 'real' experiences are not readily available.

·               It enables learners to experiment in a safe environment with behaviours which strike them as potentially useful and to identify behaviours which are not worthy to use.

·               It can provide an entirely new perspective on a situation and develop insights about feelings and relationships.

·               It provides teacher immediate feedback about the learner's understanding and ability to apply concepts.

·               It improves the likelihood of transfer of learning from the classroom to the real world.

 

Disadvantages

Some disadvantages are given as under

·               It puts pressure on learner to perform, which can create embarrassment and even resistance.

·               It depends heavily on learner's imagination and willingness to participate.

·               It can engender strong emotions related to past experiences, empathy etc.

·               It can lack focus unless well planned, orchestrated, and monitored.

·               It can reinforce ineffective behaviours/strategies, if performance is not observed by knowledgeable person who provides appropriate feedback.

·               It can be unpredictable in terms of outcomes.

·               It can be time-consuming.

 

Suggestions

Suggestions of EDUSAT method are given as under

·               Establish a safe environment for learner to experiment and make mistakes without sanction.

·               Use realistic situations that relate to learning objectives.

·               Use only when learners have adequate knowledge and skills to perform what is requested.

·               Provide clear directions and specific time limits.

·               Observe performance (for multiple groups, rotate through them).

·               Conduct a feedback/debriefing session after the role plays.

 

Analysis and Synthesis Methods

Analysis and synthesis, as scientific methods, always go hand in hand; they complement one another.

Every synthesis is built upon the results of a preceding analysis and every analysis requires a subsequent synthesis in order to verify and correct its results. It is important for a teacher to use these methods in classroom teaching wherever is needed.

 

Analysis Method

·               Analysis is like the process of deduction wherein you cut down a bigger concept into smaller ones.

As such, analysis breaks down complex ideas into smaller fragmented concepts so as to come up with an improved understanding.

·               When learners are asked to analyse a certain concept or subject matter, they are encouraged to connect different ideas or examine how each idea was composed. In this method, students come from the unknown to the known.

·               For example when a mixture of sand and sugar and iron powder is given and students have to identify these substances. The students first identify what substances are in the mixture.

·               After knowing the substances, they will discuss what the properties of these substances, like iron powder attracts by magnet, sugar dissolves in water and sand does not affect by any of these substances. After knowing their properties, the students can easily separate the mixture.

 

Advantages

Some advantages are as follow

·               It is most effective technique for research.

·               Students get chances to think in logical and psychological manner.

·               This method is considered as an activity method.

·               The knowledge achieved by this method is permanent.

 

Disadvantages

Some disadvantages are given as under

·               It is time consuming method.

·               It is not suitable at primary level classes.

·               It is a monotonous method.

·               It slows down the learning process.

 

Synthesis Method

·               In this method, students come from the known to the unknown. When learners are asked to synthesise a certain concept or subject matter, they try to put together the separate parts that have already been analysed with other ideas or concepts to form something new or original.

·               It's like they look into varied resource materials to get insights and bright ideas and from there, they form their own concepts.

 

Advantages

Some advantages are as follow

·               It is considered a simple method of learning.

·               It is most important for slow learners.

·               It is the psychological method of learning.

 

Disadvantages

Some disadvantages are given as under

·               It does not support the development of logical thinking and decision-making in children.

·               In this method, students are not able to acquire knowledge by their own efforts.

·               In this method, steps are simulated mechanically.

 

Inductive Method

·               An inductive method starts with examples and asks learners to find rules. It is called 'Bottom-Up' method. Teacher during teaching does not tell principles, definitions, or rules.

·               This method uses three formulas such as-specific to general, known to unknown and concrete to abstract. The intent is for students to 'notice', by way of the examples, how the concept works. Students follow these steps while working on this method such as

·               Example Teacher gives many examples related to the topic.

·               Observation Students observe these examples and try to come on conclusion.

·               Generalisation students after observation the examples come on the general rules or principles.

·               Verification after generalisation student finds out rules with the help of other examples.

 

Advantages

Some advantages are as follow

·               It gives knowledge.

·               It helps to reduce cramming nature of students.

·               It is appropriate for primary classes.

·               Children acquire first hand knowledge and information by actual observation.

·               It trains the mind and gives self-confidence and initiative. It is full of activily,

·               It is an upward process of thought and leads to principles.

 

Disadvantages

Some disadvantages are given as under

·               It is a slow process and time consuming.

·               It is not useful for upper primary level classes.

·               It is not self-contained method as after finding out of rules and principles its use is finished.

 

Deductive Method

·               It is a 'Top-Down' method. In this method, a teacher starts a concept by giving students rules, then examples, then practice. It moves from the more general to the more specific. In other words, we start with a general notion or theory, which we then narrow down to specific hypotheses, which are then tested.

·               In this method students follow these steps

·               Definition/Rule Teacher tells the rule or definition in the starting of a topic.

·               Example For verification of that rule or definition students use examples or research.

·               Conclusion With the help of examples or research students come to conclusion.

·               Verification With the help of example or research students can verify the authenticity.

 

Advantages

Some advantages are as follow

·               It is appropriate for higher level classes.

·               It can be used for all subjects.

·               It is not time consuming and hard work is not needed. Teacher can teach all the students at a time.

·               It is a downward process of thought and leads to useful results.

 

Disadvantages

Some disadvantages are given as under

·               It is not suitable for primary level classes.

·               It compels students for cramming.

·               It encourages depende ice on other sources.

·               It does not give any new knowledge.

·               There is less scope of activity in this method.

·               It does not develop scientific viewpoint in students.

·               It does not encourage research and experiment aptitude among students.

 

Heuristic Method of Research

·               The word Heuristic means to discover. This method was given by Armstrong. He developed this method on the bases of Herbert Spencer's statement that encourage students as much possible to discover rather just explain. The main aim of this method is to develop research aptitude in students.

·               In Heuristic method, the students are put in the place of independent discoverers. Thus, no help or guidance is provided by the teacher in this method.

·               In this method, the teacher sets a problem for the students and then stands aside while students discover the answer.

 

Steps in Heuristic Method

The following steps are followed in the Heuristic method

·               Planning creating objectives, identification of problem

Arriving at appropriate solutions for the problem

Execution results receiving and observing for accurate, recording the results observed

Conclusion Formulation of hypothesis

Identification/Arriving at the accurate solution

 

Advantages

·               This method of teaching science has the following merits

·               It develops the habit of enquiry and investigation among students.

·               It develops habit of self-learning and self-direction.

·               It develops scientific attitudes among students by making them truthful and honest for what they learn, how to arrive at decisions by actual experimentations.

·               It is psychologically sound system of learning as

·               It is based on the maximum, learning by doing'

·               It develops a habit of diligence in the student.

·               In this method, most of the work is done in school and so the teacher has no worry to assign on check home task.

·               It provides scope for individual attention to be paid by the establishing cordial relations between the teacher and the student.

 

Disadvantages

Some disadvantages are given as under

·               This method cannot be successfully applied in primary classes.

·               It is a long and time consuming method and so

·               It becomes difficult to cover the prescribed syllabus in time.

·               The method expects the teacher of a great efficiency, hardworking experience and training.

·               In this method, too much stress is placed on practical work which may lead a Student to form a wrong idea of the nature of science as a whole.

·               The succession of exercises is rarely planned to fit into a general scheme for building up the subject completely.

·               Evaluation of learning through Heuristic method can be quite tedious.

·               Presently, enough teachers are not available for implementing learning by Heuristic method.

 

Excursion Method

·               Excursions provide not only alternative learning strategies for students, but also provide teachers with alternative teaching methods.

·               Learning outside the classroom is an important part of Environmental Studies, Providing students with high quality learning activities in relevant situations beyond the walls of the classroom is vital for helping students appreciate their first hand experiences from a variety of different perspectives.

·               An experience outside the classroom also enhances learning by providing students with opportunities to practice skills of enquiry, values analysis and clarification and problem solving in everyday situations.

·               Local area investigations are useful, not only because they can be linked to meet student outcomes of Environmental Studies subject areas, but also because they can be most enjoyable.

 

Advantages

Some advantages are as follow

·               They provide direct source of knowledge and acquaint the student with first hand information.

·               They provide an opportunity to the student for development of his aesthetic sense.

·               By such excursion students become interested in the exploration of their environment.

·               They help to develop a love for nature in students and to acquaint them with the real happiness in the outside world.

·               It helps in development of power of observations, exploration, judgement drawing inferences and problem solving ability of students.

·               It helps in developing qualities of resourcefulness, self-confidence, initiative and leadership amongst students.

·               It helps in developing cooperative attitude and various others.

·               It motivates the students for self-study and self-activity.

·               It helps in the development of creative faculties of the students.

 

Story Telling Method

·               Children love stories; they make interesting images in the minds when listening to a story.

·               Teaching by storytelling is one of the best method of teaching, the teacher can employ in any lesson presentation.

·               The stories contributed to the molding of children's characters as stories carried many social values. According to Plato, story telling method is the best method for teaching younger children.

 

Qualities of a Good Story

Various qualities of good story are given as under

·               A story should have good morals, where good behaviour is rewarded and an evil deed is punished.

·               Story should be based on the subject theme.

·               It should be short precise to the point and not complicated to the children's cognitive conscience.

·               Avoid stories with too many characters and too much dialogues, but should be dramatic and create much excitement.

·               Sad stories and weird stories which may frighten children should be avoided at all costs to promote a learning environment.

·               Stories should be connected with the present scenario of children.

·               A good story teller should have qualities that are abilities to use gestures, facial expressions and clear voice tone, make use of the language that suits the cognitive level of the learners and to use appropriate aids, like pictures, audio-visual to motivate pupils.

·               Moreover, the story teller's appearance should not attract more attention than the story being told.

·               When using the story in a lesson, the teacher can use story telling in an introduction and should be very short.

·               It is necessary for the teacher to be observant of learners' reactions so as to take necessary measures.

·               After finishing the story some related questions must be asked to the students.

 

Advantages

Some advantages of good story are as follow

·               Story telling has more benefits as an effective method of instruction, because it involves many mediums of communication e.g. use of gestures, song and dance.

·               It also moulds characters and provides enjoyment.

·               Stories broaden the knowledge of the children and the cultural beliefs and activities.

·               It also establishes good relationships among pupils and their teacher.

·               It is child-centered method.

·               It develops character building.

 

Playful Method

·               Sport and play activities can be a powerful tool to support the holistic development of children.

·               They offer the children learning experiences on all four levels i.e. physical, mental, social and emotional.

·               Through play, children can explore and practice important competences and life skills. Henry

Caldwell Cook was a British educator known for his book The Play Way, is the father of play way method. According to him, "Play is a natural instinct. The mind of a child does not seem to work anywhere than games".

 

Characteristics

·               Some characteristics of playway method are as follow

·               It gives pleasure.

·               Voluntary acceptance with involvement.

·               Physical work turns into an enjoyable experience.

·               More concentration but no tiredness.

·               There is more freedom.

·               A stimulant which consists of pleasure and satisfaction is the basic play.

 

Textbook Method

·               One of the most common resources in the classroom is the textbook. It is one of the oldest methods of teaching.

·               Teachers mostly use this method, but this method alone cannot be useful as it encourages cramming and limits the functions of students.

 

Advantages

Some advantages of textbook method are as follow

·               Textbooks are especially helpful for beginning teachers. The material to be covered and the design of each lesson are carefully spelled out in detail.

·               Textbooks provide organised units of work. A textbook gives you all the plans and lessons you need to cover a topic in some details.

·               Textbooks are detailed sequence of teaching procedures that tell what to do and when to do it.

·               These are helpful for completion of assignment at home which engage students also at home.

·               Students can revise their lesson with the help of textbooks.

·               Good textbooks always have good examples at appropriate places for making boring and difficult topics easy to understand.

 

Disadvantages

Some disadvantages of texbook method are as follow

·               Those students who are good at cramming are not able to develop logical thinking by using textbook method only. So, while using this method the teacher should conduct a debate session to evaluate who understands the topic better and who's not.

·               Generally, students think that only reading the textbook can save their marks in the examination.

So, they start preparation for few days before the exams. This method ends the main aim of education.

·               If textbooks are not written correctly they mislead students. Then students become indifferent and are not able to use the knowledge appropriately.

 

Team Teaching

·               As the name suggests it is a group of teachers, working as a team and teaching. The team can range from 2 to 5 teachers who-will teach the same group of students.

·               Teachers together set goals for a course, design a syllabus, prepare individual lesson plans, teach students, and evaluate the results. They share insights, argue with one another, and perhaps even challenge students to decide which approach is better.

·               Teams can be single-discipline, interdisciplinary, or school-within-a-school teams that meet with a common set of students over an extended period of time. New teachers may be paired with veteran teachers.

·               Innovations are encouraged and modifications in class size, location and time are permitted. Different personalities, voices, values, and approaches spark interest, keep attention and prevent boredom. Teaching periods can be scheduled side by side or consecutively.

 

Objectives

The team teaching has been developed with the following objectives in view

·               To utilise the better talent and interest of teachers. We know that the teaching team constitutes more than one teacher who benefits the students by their special talents in the field of knowledge.

·               To increase grouping and scheduling flexibility.

·               The team teaching organisation provides flexibility in the grouping of children according to their interests and aptitudes in the subject.

·               To improve the quality of instruction. In team teaching two or more experts of the subject cooperate in teaching a particular subject.

·               Thus, they help in improving the quality of instruction.

 

Tips to Make Team Teaching Effective

Some tips to make team teaching effective are as follow

·               Openness of mind, teachers and students must be open to change and must embrace, this new form of learning.

·               An effective strategy is necessary which requires undivided attention and time, willingness to make the learning effective. Strategy should involve coverage of course syllabus, activities and quizzes to be carried out, flow of lecture and documenting and developing database of the same.

·               Regular meetings and follow up.

·               Rotation of roles to enhance learning and reduce boredom.

·               Effective way to assess students' performance.

·               Respecting others idea.

·               Training to new teachers who are new to the concept of team teaching.

 

Advantages

Some advantages of team teaching are as follow

·               Deepen students' analytical abilities.

·               Help to build bridges of understanding and disciplines across faculty and students;

·               Create a greater sense of academic community.

·               Improve student-teacher relationships.

·               Make classes more interesting and challenging because of the novelty.

· Improve student learning outcomes, retention. rates, interpersonal skills, communication skills,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           analysis, judgement and diversity.

·               Planning of this method is flexible.

·               It is a technique to form instructional conditions.

·               The main aim of this method is to make teaching-learning more effective.

·               The responsibility of teaching is not on only one teacher but the whole team.

·               It ends the distance between teachers.

 

Micro-Teaching

·               The art of teaching is a complex process which requires good verbal and non-verbal skills. With the vast growth in all sectors, effective teaching skills are in great demand. Therefore, due to this demand, the concept of micro-teaching came into action. It is a new innovative programme for teachers, which enhances their classroom attitude and behaviour. Many pre-primary education institutes have taken up micro teaching practices in order to equip teachers with effective method of teaching.

 

Process

This technique is of 36 minutes and involves the steps, of plan

Teach - 6 minutes        Observe - 6 minutes

Re-plan - 12 minutes      Re-teach - 6 minutes

Re-observe - 6 minutes   Total time - 36 minutes

 

Advantages

Some advantages of micro teaching are as follow

      1.     Elasticity of Practice Micro-teaching helps in developing various teaching skills like lecturing, questioning, probing and initiating discussions etc, in trainees as well as the current teaching staff. It gives better opportunity due to small-scale teaching.

Moreover, it broadens the knowledge of various techniques of teaching.

 

       2.     Confidence Booster Due to several micro teaching activities and practices, micro teaching effectively increases the confidence level of the teachers.

Moreover, the experience of teaching enables them in better classroom management.

 

      3.     Budget Oriented Unlike other various programmes and seminars that are very costly, micro teaching programme is budget oriented. Teachers can practice within the real class or at any other place.

 

       4.     More Learning and Less Damage Micro teaching programme is conducted with not more than 3-4 students at a time. This makes it possible to acquire a better teaching experience. In addition, it lessens the chances of mistakes.

      4.     Improves Attitude One of the objectives of this programme is to guide the trainees to attain a positive attitude towards any criticism. As a result, negative feedbacks also motivate the trainees to strive for betterment.

      5.     Promotes Systematic Lesson Planning Micro teaching programme, within a given content, helps the trainee to prepare systematic lesson plans.

 

Disadvantages

Some disadvantages of micro teaching are as follow

            1.      Hampers the Creativity In process of micro teaching, due to limited period, it becomes difficult to bring out creativity.

 

           2.      Training Staff Micro-teaching course benefits teachers in gaining experience, but it requires well-trained educators to train the teachers. Without a proper educating staff, it is impossible to implement micro-teaching course.

 

            3.      Lesser Student Lesser Interest In this programme there are maximum 3-4 students therefore; lesser students fail to motivate the teacher to improve. Instead there are chances of teachers losing their interest altogether.

 

           4.      Wastes a Lot of Time Micro-teaching is teacher oriented activity as the focus is on improving efficiency in teaching techniques.

Each session lasts around 5-10 minutes minimum where student learning is ignored.

Further, for practicing several times, various students are called at different period. This may also hamper their overall academic performance.

 

          5.      Training Period Timing The training period is not enough to develop all the required skills properly. In addition, one trainee needs approximately 35 minutes to practice once.

Not more than ten trainees can practice once within five hours.

 

         6.      Not Realistic and P ractical During the training, strength of the students is limited; however, when the strength of students is increased it seems like a problem. This programme manages to keep the teachers away from the real classroom problems. As a result, trainees struggle in maintaining classroom behaviour. Moreover, artificial situation do not help in preparing teachers for real time situation.

 

          7.      One Alone is not Sufficient Micro-teaching is a concept innovated at Stanford University by Professor Robert Bush and Dwight Alien.

One of the principles of this is skill enhancement. However, these skills are targeted one at a time and so not all skills are developed within the given period.

 

Descriptive Method

·               It is one of the important methods used in the E.V.S. Teacher prepares a lesson and presents its different parts in sequence in the classroom.

·               In order to complete the chapter, the teacher needs to describe it many times. He also uses various teaching aids like chart, diagrams and c.ds etc, to make the introduction more effective and interesting. Although, it is mainly used in colleges but it is now used in secondary schools also.

·               In the secondary schools, textbooks are used along with this method. Teachers use these textbooks along with descriptive method to make their teaching effective by explaining different concepts, laws and processes.

 

 

Advantages

Some advantages of descriptive method are as follow

·               It is very simple and easy method of teaching. It is important to understand the introduction part of a chapter.

·               With the help of this method, chapters can be taught in sequence which make students understand the concept clearly.

·               With the help of this method, teacher can teach more students in less time.

·               This method can become more effective if combine with textbooks and teaching aids.

 

Disadvantages

Some disadvantages of descriptive method are as follow

·               This method is fully depended on teacher' communication skill. If he is not a good orator the method is ineffective.

·               This is a teacher-centric method which only benefits to the teacher.

·               The teacher remains an active agent and students remain passive agents in this method.

·               As students are not active participants during this method there are chances of mind distraction.

·               As this method is not based on research so it does not help to develop scientific aptitude in students.

 

Drama Method

·               Drama is the most significant model of learning and is a basic activity for learning. It is the way of helping children to think about their individual or social problems. Drama can be useful for learning in the E.V.S. curriculum.

·               For example to show the scenario of environmental pollution caused by human activities, various roles can be offered by the E.V.S. teacher to students according to their abilities.

·               This makes them understand how much we are responsible in the dis balance of our environment.

Full costume or street play may be helpful in this process.

 

Characteristics

Some characteristics of Drama method are as follow

·               Drama provides children an opportunity to work together cooperatively on a shared life. As a result, it gives children the change to express themselves more effectively in everyday situations.

·               Moreover, drama encourages children to learn how to influence others and how to put themselves in other people's shoes. This activity is thought to have educational value.

·               Some people claim that trying to be in someone else's shoes and to imagine in certain situations gives a physical, visual and immediate experience or discussing the same things.

·               It is an effective method in terms of environmental education.

·               It takes less time to assess the main aim of the topic.

·               It helps to understand students about the possibilities of future or problems solving.

·               It develops creativity among students.

 

Disadvantages

Some disadvantages of Drama method are given as under

·               Activities are artificial. The situations are sometimes irrelevant to the learner's need.

·               Activities are difficult to monitor both physically and verbally.

·               There is a fear among teachers that drama use may cause sort of uncontrolled fun among learners. It causes embarrassment and awkwardness, in some situations, especially among adult learners.

·               It encourages incorrect forms of language as long as the teacher is not encouraged to correct mistakes immediately so as not to discourage students.

·               Activities may not be suitable to all the class. The activities that succeeded with a group of students may fail with another.

 

Precautions

Some precautions are as follow

·               Theme of drama should be selected appropriately according to chapter.

·               It should keep in mind that staging of theme should be easy.

·               Drama should be according to curriculum.

·               Participants should be selected according to their abilities.

·               Rehearsal should be done before staging.

·               Required instructions should be given by teacher himself.

 

Problem Solving Method

·               Problem solving is a process. It. is an ongoing activity in which we take what we know to discover what we don't know. It involves overcoming obstacles by generating hypotheses, testing those predictions, and arriving at satisfactory solutions.

·               It is based on the Heuristic method of teaching given by Armstrong. According to this method, teacher gives problems to the students to work on this and find out their possible solutions.

 

Structure of Problem Based Learning

·               Problems should be related to real-world.

·               In this method, students must explore.

·               Problems in PBL are presented to learners deliberately at the beginning of the learning process.

·               Problems solving should allowed teamwork. The project should be large enough for teamwork, so that each team member will benefit from the collaboration.

·               Teacher becomes a facilitator whose role can be a subject matter expert, resource guide and a task group consultant.

·               A good PBL problem should be given long enough time for learners to participate.

·               PBL is most effective if it is defined across multi-disciplines.

·               Every problem should be connected to the past experience of the students.

 

Advantages

Some advantages of problem solving method are as follow

·               This method encourages deep learning by replacing lectures and collaborative research; students become actively engaged in critical thinking meaningful learning.

·               Direct instruction is reduced: students are forced to take responsibilities in their own learning which often increase motivation.

·               It activates prior knowledge.

·               It is related to real-life situations, these skills are highly transferable.

·               Learning is driven by challenging, open-ended problems.

·               Social interaction is a very important skill. It promotes group dynamics, peer evaluation and present opportunities for learners to develop confrontation and persuasive skills.

 

Disadvantages

Some disadvantages of problem solving method are as follow

·               Lack of interest if problems aren't relevant.

·               Not all teachers can become good facilitators, they need to be dedicated and trained. However, good facilitators can be very satisfying and self-motivational for teachers.

·               It requires more contact hours.

·               To design a perfect PBL problem with multi disciplines in a curriculum, it requires excessive amount of organisation and requires the course to be validated.

·               Assessing students in teamwork is a common issue in group assessments. Recognised individual outputs and teamwork are important. Clear assessment criteria are always important.

 

Investigation Method

·               It is considered a relevant method for environmental studies. Its meaning is to investigate cautiously. In this method, students try to focus more on the subject they want to know. Students use their all senses during this method which make his mind more active.

 

Advantages

Some advantages of investigation method are as follow

·               It helps to provide knowledge by direct sources. It provides opportunities to acquire behavioural and experimental knowledge.

·               It helps to make environment teaching more interesting and effective.

·               This method provides opportunities to develop all the senses of students.

 

Disadvantages

Some disadvantages of investigation method are as follow

·               It does not provide organised and planned way of knowledge.

·               Due to lack of individual assessment it does not use universally. It creates difficulty to complete the curriculum on time.

 

Science Club

·               Science clubs generally meant for 'learning by doing'. It makes science and environment related teaching easy and interesting.

·               Science clubs channelise the energies of students and make use of their skills and talents, which satisfy their instincts and urges and helps in their overall personality development.

·               Science clubs work in association with classroom instruction of science subjects.

·               Therefore, we can define science club as "an organisation, which helps in the development of scientific attitude, and develop genuine interest in science and scientific activities, supplements the work of the classroom and the laboratory and parts the syllabus on a practical bias".

·               With the help of science club teacher can highlight the burning problems like environmental pollution i.e. air pollution, water pollution, noise pollution, land pollution, global warming, acid rain etc.

·               Environmental cleanliness, its balance and its importance in human life also can be discussed through science clubs.

·               Excursion to science museums is also a part of this method like Nehru museum, Science Museum of Bengaluru, Birla Planetarium of Kolkata etc.

·               To provide financial assistance to these clubs, the

Education Department gave instructions to establish the Science Club Fund in schools..