Teaching methods and strategies Chapter 4: Teaching methods and strategies © VAN SCHAIK PUBLISHERS Chapter 4: Teaching methods and strategies

Department of Educational Studies Faculty of Humanities Compiled by T de Jager Learning outcomes You should be able to: Distinguish between direct and indirect instruction Apply direct teaching methods such as the direct telling -, demonstrating- , question and scaffold methods. Create and apply scaffolding methods to improve learners’ academic performance

Department of Educational Studies Faculty of Humanities Compiled by T de Jager Direct and indirect instruction Direct (deductive) Instruction Start with the known and move to the unknown example: facts, rules, sequences Indirect ( inductive) instruction Start with the unknown and move on to the known example: seek patterns, analyse, predictions

Direct teacher-centered (deductive) methods Direct (whole class instruction) telling method The advantages of the direct telling method to guide learners on how to apply, analyse and evaluate or create what they have learned; to teach learners basic skills and information;  

Department of Educational Studies Faculty of Humanities Compiled by T de Jager The disadvantages of the direct telling method Do not always provide for the needs of all learners in the lesson; Learners can become bored with one way communication; Learners are passive receivers of knowledge; Learners can become demotivated;

Department of Educational Studies Faculty of Humanities Compiled by T de Jager The Demonstration Method A demonstration is executed step by step so that learners will be able to develop the skills they need to conduct a similar task on their own. For example a experiment

Department of Educational Studies Faculty of Humanities Compiled by T de Jager Advantages of the demonstration method Allows learners to personally relate to the instructed information. Improves learners’ interest and Reinforce memory retention by connecting and applying facts to the real-world

Department of Educational Studies Faculty of Humanities Compiled by T de Jager Disadvantages of the demonstration method If a teacher is not familiar with the activity that he/she wants to demonstrate the outcome will be unsuccessful; can be time consuming; resources to demonstrate and practice with might not always be available and in large classes not all learners are always able to observe the demonstration.

Department of Educational Studies Faculty of Humanities Compiled by T de Jager Questioning method You should be able to: Define and explain curriculum Distinguish and compare five broad theory models of learning

Department of Educational Studies Faculty of Humanities Compiled by T de Jager Questioning method Teachers who use questions in a lesson are more successful in achieving the lesson outcomes than those not questioning

Questions based on Bloom’s taxonomy Direct teacher-centered (deductive) methods Questions based on Bloom’s taxonomy Examples of lower-order questions Remembering Understanding Examples of higher-order questions Applying Analysing Evaluating Creating

Department of Educational Studies Faculty of Humanities Compiled by T de Jager Lower order questions include Remembering What’s the symbol for lead? What happened when we heated the chlorophyll mixture? What’s the formula for working out volume?   Understanding Which words indicate that the actor was afraid? What happened to the copper when we heated it? Why can a plant not grow without water?

Department of Educational Studies Faculty of Humanities Compiled by T de Jager Higher order questions include: Applying: Calculate how many litres of water can be filled in a two meter wide and one meter deep water pool.  Analysing: Why is this advertisement more successful than the other one?  Evaluating: Which calculations work the best to determine area?  Creating: Create a one minute video/audio to explain how recycling can sustain our environment.

Department of Educational Studies Faculty of Humanities Compiled by T de Jager Scaffolding methods Scaffolding can be described as the process by which a competent person or a peer assists learners to perform an activity beyond their current ability

Department of Educational Studies Faculty of Humanities Compiled by T de Jager Advantages of scaffolding methods Can support learners to successfully perform activities and assignments that will enable them to progress to more complex activities. Scaffold learners, can develop into more independent, motivated and successful learners

Department of Educational Studies Faculty of Humanities Compiled by T de Jager Disadvantages of scaffolding methods Require good lesson planning The preparation of scaffolding methods can be time consuming as teachers need to prepare different scaffolding methods that will be based on the learners’ language proficiency, culture, learning environment.

Department of Educational Studies Faculty of Humanities Compiled by T de Jager Instructional scaffolding methods Visual scaffolding methods Graphical presentations and drawings

Department of Educational Studies Faculty of Humanities Compiled by T de Jager Instructional scaffolding methods ( continue) B. Interaction between English second language speakers and English speakers C. One-minute paper D. Concept map

Department of Educational Studies Faculty of Humanities Compiled by T de Jager Instructional scaffolding methods ( continue) E. Differentiated assignments F. Assessment G. Feedback H. Reflection I. Use hands-on activities J. Mother tongue K. Motivation L. Culturally relevant texts M. Do research and write about the topic N. Class discussions in small groups

Figure 4.4 The advantages of cooperative learning (Textbook page 55) Learner-centered (inductive) methods Cooperative/collaborative teaching methods What is cooperative/collaborative learning? Example: group projects and discussions What are the advantages of using cooperative learning? Figure 4.4 The advantages of cooperative learning (Textbook page 55)

Roles that can be allocated to each group member Learner-centered (inductive) methods Roles that can be allocated to each group member Facilitator/encourager Timekeeper Reflector Leader/Editor Recorder/Secretary Checker Spokesperson Cooperative/collaborative teaching methods continued

Department of Educational Studies Faculty of Humanities Compiled by T de Jager Group activity in class: In groups of four brain storm and decide how you will support learners by using the following scaffold techniques when teaching new content. Describe how you will scaffold the lesson using the techniques below: Demonstrate and show learners exactly what they are expected to do Ask learners to share their own prior experiences and ideas about the content or concept taught and let them connect it to their own lives and new concepts. Allow learners to discuss the new concept verbally with their peer. When introducing new concepts and vocabulary allow learners to create a symbol, model or drawing of the concept or word.

Possible answer Demonstrate and show learners exactly what they are expected to do Ask learners to share their own prior experiences and ideas about the content or concept taught and let them connect it to their own lives and new concepts. Allow learners to discuss the new concept verbally with their peer. When introducing new concepts and vocabulary allow learners to create a symbol, model or drawing of the concept or word.

Department of Educational Studies Faculty of Humanities Compiled by T de Jager Possible answer (a) Demonstrate and show learners exactly what they are expected to do. Graphic organisers can be used as tools to demonstrate complex activities to learners. Concept maps and graphic organisers can provide a framework for summarising, gathering, sorting, discovering patterns and relationships of content. Learners learn by doing, and with the support of the teacher construct and interpret charts, maps, graphs, and other visual presentations (tables, drawings, diagrams, flow charts, timelines, editorial cartoons, photographs, posters, videos, etc.) that can be used to supplement the learning content. The reason for using graphic organisers to demonstrate activities are that images are more likely to be coded, by the learner both visually and verbally, whereas words are less likely.

Department of Educational Studies Faculty of Humanities Compiled by T de Jager Possible answer (b) Ask learners to share their own prior experiences and ideas about the content or concept taught and let them connect it to their own lives and new concepts. The teacher can divide learners in small groups and allow them to brainstorm, discuss, or complete a quick writing activity. The activity is based on prior experiences and ideas about the content or concept taught and learners are requested to connect it to their own lives and new concepts. This will help them to understand new concepts, while communicating with their peers and learn to respect each other’s views.

Department of Educational Studies Faculty of Humanities Compiled by T de Jager Possible answer (c) Allow learners to discuss the new concept verbally with their peer. Allow English second language-speakers and English speakers learners to discuss the topic by grouping them together and involve them in activities where small group discussions or whole group discussions can be applied. Discussion groups can promote learners’ communication skills and the development of their respect for different views of various cultures within the group.  

Department of Educational Studies Faculty of Humanities Compiled by T de Jager Summary Direct and indirect instruction were defined and direct teacher cantered methods discussed: such as the direct telling method, demonstration and questioning method. Scaffold methods were defined and various examples such as visual, graphics , one-minute paper, hands-on activities and others discussed

Department of Educational Studies Faculty of Humanities Compiled by T de Jager Homework Describe three scaffold methods and explain how you will apply it during differentiated instruction.

Department of Educational Studies Faculty of Humanities Compiled by T de Jager Answer Visual scaffold together with text can be used for hearing impaired learners and learners who learn by connecting visual images to abstract concepts to retain information. Make use of colours such as yellow and enlarged images and texts for visually impaired learners.   A drawing activity can be used for learners who find it difficult to express themselves in a language and in writing.

Department of Educational Studies Faculty of Humanities Compiled by T de Jager Answer Drawings can be used by learners to express their understanding of a concept, generate ideas, get feedback from others, to reflect what they have observed and facilitate problem solving. Differentiated assignments: Allow learners to choose between different assignments based on the same lesson content, that will enable them to complete an activity successfully. For example, the second language learner can read an article written in simpler English to grasp the content, while another article written in more advanced English with the same content can be read by the English speaker

Reflection Write down: Which part of the lesson was the most interesting? Which concepts do you not understand?