Dr. M.G. Sajjanar KLE Society`s College of Education Hubballi

Edgar Dale says that” any conscientious teacher can, with a moderate amount of practice and a thorough understanding of principles, become skilful in demonstration. Good demonstration is good communication.”

Demonstration means showing clearly by giving proof of example. Very often we demonstrate ideas, concepts, skills, attitudes, methods etc. s

Characterstics of Demonstration

Indispensible; “ While teaching a skill a demonstration through guided performance is virtually indispensable.”

Need of Audio-visual Aid; An effective demonstration requires audio-visual materials like the blackboard, filmstrip, overhead projector, cassette recorders, charts, models, diagrams etc.

PRINCIPLES OF DEMONSTRATION:

Establishing rapport Demonstrating a process, or the use of an apparatus etc., the teacher should stimulate interest and arouse curiosity in the students.Only when the teacher stimulates and maintains student interest the demonstration will be successful.

Easy from the observer’s point of view: The demonstrator knows his subject thoroughly, but the observers (students) may only a very little or none about it. So the teacher must plan and carry out the demonstrations in such a way that the concepts, ideas or processes etc. become easy and simple for the students to understand.

Recognising for key points: There are key points in all learning and the good teacher recognizes them. The experienced demonstrator puts special emphasis on them, repeats them, highlights them in some way

STAGES OF DEMONSTRATION :

THE PREPARATORY WORK Demonstration is like a dramatic performance. The students are to be kept interested and responsive. This requires the following:

PLAN EACH STEP CAREFULLY The teacher must make sure that every piece of necessary equipment is exactly where he wants it to be.

REHEARSAL After organizing the procedure well, the teacher ought to test the demonstration for clarity, interest, duration and other elements with a good critic.

OUTLINED ON THE BLACKBOARD The blackboard outline should be a logical sub-division of the demonstration into steps and key points.

MAKING SURE THAT EVERYONE CAN SEE AND HEAR The demonstration will be successful only when the audience can see what the demonstrator shows and hear what he says. Proper lighting arrangement and seating arrangement should be made.

PREPARING WRITTEN MATERIALS There is good evidence that learning through hearing and seeing is reinforced by written materials.

PERFORMANCE OF DEMONSTRATION Once the preparation for the demonstration is completed, the teacher is ready to start it. During the actual demonstration, he should do as given below:

SET THE TONE FOR GOOD COMMUNICATION As the teacher goes through the various stages of demonstrations he should keep pupils interested and stimulate their curiosity.

KEEP THE DEMONSTRATION SIMPLE: To keep the demonstration simple the teacher may include in the demonstration only important elements, omitting all the unnecessary details.

DO NOT DIGRESS FROM THE MAIN POINTS Digression from the main points of the demonstration spoils it. So during the demonstration, if a brighter student would ask a complex question not related to the main points,the teacher should put off the question for later discussion.

CHECK CONTINUALLY THAT DEMONSTRATION IS BEING UNDERSTOOD : While performing the demonstration, the teacher should watch the students to know if they find any difficulty in understanding. If so, he may stop and clear up the difficulty and then proceed further.

DO NOT HURRY The teacher allows sufficient time for all the key points of the demonstration.

DO NOT DRAG OUT THE DEMONSTRATION : The demonstration should never be so long as to make the students tired. It should not be dragged out with unnecessary talking or aimless walking around the table.

KEEP SUMMARISING Using the charts, diagram or the blackboard the teacher can summarise. The key points should be clearly woven together so that they create a firm entity. As he nears the end of the demonstration. He should restate the key points so that major idea emerge.

PROVIDE WRITTEN MATERIALS : At the conclusion of the demonstration the students are ready to look at the materials the teacher has prepared for their use may have written a step-by step outline of what they have just witnessed, followed by the general conclusions and the key points.

EVALUATION: Written tests or discussion indicate whether the demonstration actually accomplished its purpose or not. Two kinds of evaluation should follow the teacher’s demonstration. He should like to know what his students have learned. He should want to gauge his own success in using the demonstration method.

ADVANTAGES OF DEMONSTRATION

ECONOMICAL

Psychological Method

Students Participation

Save time and effort

Helpful to promote useful discussion

More efficient Method

Activity centered

Useful for all types of students

Helpful for teacher

DISADVANTAGES OF DEMONSTRATION

IGNORES MAXIM OF EDUCATION

VISIBILITY

SPEED OF EXPERIMENT

IGNORE INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

HINDERS PROGRESS

PROBLEM OF INDISCIPLINE