Methods of Teaching Science - Dr Pratik Mungekar
- Team Stay Featured
- Apr 26, 2022
- 25 min read
About Dr Pratik Mungekar:
Dr Pratik started teaching at 16 & have been working in the field of education & research as a Professor, Scientist, Counsellor for 12 years .
Taught to more than 8000+ students and guided 4000+ ( Career Counseling) till date and the count is still on
Honoured with 650+ National State and International Awards for his contribution in the field of Teaching and Research.
Received 250+ Honorary Doctorates from all over the world & also sets 15 world records..
written many papers and articles in various international Magazines, journals and in books.
Co-authored many books and written one book on Sustainable Development Goals which has got many International Awards.
on 25th April 2022 , Dr Pratik Mungekar delivered his talk on Methods of Teaching Science (Basics of Science-Conceptual Study Techniques)
if you want to view the complete lecture , please use this link
“Science does not simply sit down & pray for things to happen but seeks to find out why things happen. It experiments and tries again and again and sometimes fails and sometimes succeeds & so bit by bit it adds to human knowledge. This modern world of ours is very different from the ancient world or the middle ages. This great difference is largely due to Science.” - Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru
As very rightly quoted above our every day is different from the earlier days & this is largely due to the contribution of science in our life. We can’t live a happy life without Science. Science has become an integral part of our life. Science has also influenced educational enterprise & hence it is also an integral part of our educational system. Learning science has become an unavoidable part of general education. In this chapter, we shall discuss the meaning importance & place of science in the school curriculum and general and specific instructional objectives we shall also learn about the organization of science curriculum using a disciplinary approach & integrated approach.
Meaning of General Science
The term science & general science are used synonymously.
Einstein defines science as “An attempt to make the chaotic diversity of our sense-experience observation an respond has goals to logically uniform systems of thought.”
According to the Columbia dictionary “Science is an accumulated & systematized learning, in general usage restricted to natural phenomenon.”
According to ‘Science Manpower Project’, “Science is a cumulative and endless series of empirical observation which result in the formation of concepts & theories, with both concepts & theories being subject to modification in the light of the further empirical observation. Science is both a body of knowledge & the process of acquiring & refining knowledge.”
According to Griggs, “In the literal sense science means the pursuit of knowledge but it has a wider connotation for our purpose, and can be said to mean a knowledge of nature in the widest possible form.”
Based on these definitions of science, we can say that
1. science is the experience of observations and study of natural phenomena.
2. It is organized & systematized learning.
3. It is a body of cumulative & ordered observations.
4. It is knowledge based on observations and experiments.
5. Science is a process as well as a product.
Importance of General Science
The modern civilization is a scientific civilization. In this age, modern society is
completely drawn into the scientific environment. Today science has become an integral part of our life & living. Now we cannot think of a world without science. The importance of general science in day to day life may be summarized as under.
1. Agricultural Advancement
2. Health
3. Trade & Industry
4. Education
5. Other beneficiary areas:- These include
a. Transportation
b. Banking
c. Communication
d. Entertainment
e. Digitalization & Media
Place in School Curriculum
Science has now become a compulsory subject in the school curriculum because of its multifarious value to the individual as well as the society.
1. Intellectual Value
2. Vocational Value
3. Aesthetic Value
4. Utilitarian Value
5. Cultural Value
6. Moral Value
7. Psychological Value
8. Adjustment Value
9. Leisure Time Value
General & Specific Instrumental Objectives
The subject taught in the schools hasgoals/aims their own identity, importance & educational values. The educational value of a subject is established by goals / aims & objectives. Which are achieved through the study of the subject. The aims or long term goals can be regarded as expression of strategy while objectives are specific, immediate and attainable goals, specific to one subject, precise & clearly defined, objectives are more directly concerned with what specifically is being attempted over a relatively short period.
An objective is a point or an end view of the possible achievement in terms of what a pupil is to be able to do when the whole educational system is directed towards educational aims.
The objectives are
1. General Objectives
2.Specific Instrumental Objectives
The major issue in the field of education today is organizing science curriculathe in an effective manner.
Therefore are two major approaches regarding organization of science curriculum viz. Disciplinary Approach & Integrated Approach. These two approaches are explained below.
This approach is also known as the subject approach or the traditional approach. as each subject is separately taught by the teacher in the area of the particular subject in question. For example science was traditionally taught as a subject with different compartments such as physics, biology, and chemistry as separate components of the science subject.
Similarly language was taught as a separate subject from other subjects. English was taught as being different from Hindi, Oriya, History, Geography etc. Thus each subject has a well defined boundary from which there is no connection to the other.
Thus the approach in which every subject is taught as a separate discipline is called as disciplinary approach. This approach is based on the premise that, the subject is a store house of facts, methods, theories, concepts & generalizations. In disciplinary approach the focus is more on the subject & its content rather than the process. In India the disciplinary approach is very popular in the higher secondary level. It shall be the responsibility of teacher to show the connection between different disciplines (subjects).
Characteristics of disciplinary approach
1.In-depth Conceptual Knowledge Every subject has detailed and in-depth conceptual knowledge
2.Disciplinary based teaching Each subject is taught as a separate discipline.
3.Content based teaching The teaching of disciplinary based curriculum largely based on content.
4.Source of knowledge/information In disciplinary approach the teacher is the main source of knowledge / information.
5.Main purpose The main purpose of disciplinary approach is to prepare specialist, scientists etc.
6.Mastery of the subject The learner is expected to master the subject matter.
7.Chalk & talk based teaching This approach mostly leads to chalk & talk based teaching.
8.Text book is main authority This approach restrains student observations, values or conclusions different from the text book which is the main authority in disciplinary approach.
9.Importance /Merits of the disciplinary approach
10.Expert in the subject
11.This approach develops expertise in particular subject
12.Subject Growth
13.The disciplinary approach foster the growth of the subject.
14.Time Saving
15.Disciplinary approach is very time saving in terms of course completion.
16.Detailed Conceptual Understanding
17.The disciplinary approach of organizing science curriculum provides detailed conceptual
understanding of the subject.
5.Theory building
6.The disciplinary approach is very useful in building theory in particular subject/discipline.
7.Higher level thinking
As in disciplinary approach the subject is store house of theories, concepts, generalizations etc. This lead to higher level thinking.
Limitations
1.Less opportunity for creativity
2.The disciplinary approach does not provide much opportunities for students creativity.
3.Dropout
4.Disinterest in particular subject / discipline may lead to dropout.
5.Require expert teachers
6.The disciplinary approach requires highly knowledgeable & expert teachers.
7.Less Scope of socialization & social skills
Isolated teaching reduces the scope of socialization and social skills
1.Integrated Approach
“An integrated approach allows learners to explore, gather, process, refine and present
information about the topics they want to investigate without the constraints imposed by traditional subject barriers. “(Pigdon & Woolley, 1992)
Integrated approach encourages student to see the interconnectedness and interrelationships between the different curriculum areas. Instead of focusing on learning in isolated curriculum areas, an integrated approach is based on skill development around a particular theme that is relevant to students of a particular class.
Characteristics of Integrated approach
Wide conceptual knowledge Integrated approach provides an opportunity for broader & wider conceptual knowledge.
Child-centered teaching
Integrated approach promotes child centered teaching
Integration of skills with contents
Integrated approach of curriculum organization promote integration of skills with contents.
Teacher as a mediator
The role of a teacher is mediator between knowledge and child.
Use of modern method
The integrated approach requires use of modern methods of teaching such as inquiry based teaching.
Flexibility
No rigid disciplines exist. Integrated approach is flexible.
Preparation of future citizens:-
The main purpose of integrated approach is to prepare the future citizens of a society.
Openness
The approach is open to new ideas and procedures.
Multi learning Environment:-
The approach requires multi learning environment such as classroom, lab, outdoor, computer, internet etc.
Importance / Merits of integrated approach
Detailed conceptual understanding
This approach help the learner to get detailed conceptual understanding of the content.
Choice based selection of discipline / subject
Integrated approach help the students to select discipline / subject according to their own interest.
Creativity
This approach foster creativity among learner.
Promotion of modern methods
This approach promotes modern methods of teaching such as collaborative learning, cooperative learning etc.
Development of self concept & socialization
Integrated approach helps in developing self concept & socialization
Realistic Application
This approach has realistic applications.
Limitations of integrated approach
Time Consuming
Integrated approach is time consuming as a single theme analysis is done with different
discipline point of view.
Need of well equipped & expert teacher
Integrated approach needs well equipped & expert teachers who are capable of using modern
methods of teaching.
Create confusion
If this approach is not handled carefully then child may get confuse in various disciplines.
Proper selection & organization of various disciplines
Integrated approach needs expertise to select theme and organization of various disciplines.
There is no definition of general science or science which is universally accepted. In general we can define science as an accumulated and systematized learning in general usage restricted to natural phenomenon. Science is the activity where truthfulness is obviously an essential condition for success. Its success is measured by its truthfulness. Today each and every occasion of life is influenced by science has become an integral part of our school education system.
METHOD OF TEACHING GENERAL SCIENCE
METHODS OF TEACHING GENERAL SCIENCE:- All the methods of teaching science can be classified into two types:-
(i)Teacher-Centred and
(ii)(ii) Pupil-Centred
(i) Teacher-Centred Methods:-
This type of teaching methods focus on telling, memorizing, recalling information. The students participation is very limited where in they only ask questions or answers questions. Most of the time the students are passive listeners and receive the knowledge. The teacher is centre of process that goes on in the classroom.
(ii) Pupil-Centred Methods:-
This process emphasizes on need, requirement, interest and capability of students. The students are active participants where in their skills and abilities are developed. The climate in the classroom is conducive where in flexibility in there. Teacher and students jointly explore the different aspects of problem. The role of the teacher in to create a problematic situation, have materials and resources available to the students, and help them identify issues, state hypotheses, clarify and test hypotheses and draw conclusions.
LECTURE-CUM-DISCUSSION METHOD
This method is a combination of the lecture method and the discussion method. This is very helpful in building an active verbal interaction between the teachers and students. The teacher delivers the lecture and provides some time (10 minutes) after the lecture for discussion among the students and teacher in the classroom. The student’s views, comments experiences, problems, difficulties in understanding any point or portion of the lecture come to teacher’s knowledge and teacher replies, and clarifies the doubts. It is an important strategy in stimulating the students interests and assess their understanding of the concept.
It is a process in which interaction goes on in between teacher and students, where in question and answer are asked and given by both the teacher and students making the process interactive, and effective. The basic purpose of this method is to disseminate information and attain educational objectives by learning. The discussion in the class is intended to be a give and take between teacher and students. This method helps students to apply critical thinking power in various situations. Higher learning skills like analysing, synthesizing, generalizing are given front seat.
PRINCIPLES OF LECTURE-CUM-DISCUSSION METHOD:-
The Principles are as follows:-
1.The teacher should be aware of needs of learners.
2.The teacher must arouse interest in the subject and sustain in the mind of students.
3.Teacher must use visual aids and use ICT.
4.The teacher must take enough time to build mental pictures, with new concepts, previous
5.knowledge, moving from simple to difficult ideas, for better conceptual development.
ROLE OF TEACHER The teacher has to perform following roles:-
1.Encourage students to participate in discussion.
2.Ensure, student’s attention span is maintained.
3.Pre plan and prepare properly for discussion and support ideas with factual evidence and
4.examples.
5.Encourage student taking than teacher talking.
6.If possible give time before hand so that, the discussion becomes productive.
7.Do not dominate rather get the discussion started set goals, summarize, mediate and clarify.
MERIT OF LECTURE-CUM-DISCUSSION METHOD:-
1.It creates democratic environment in the class.
2.Develops and improves communication skills of students.
3.It brings about attitudinal change among students.
4.It helps in assessing the factual knowledge of the students.
LIMITATIONS OF LECTURE-CUM-DISCUSSION METHOD:-
1.It is helpful for mature students.
2.If it is not properly used, then the principle of “learning by participating” is not achieved.
3.If teacher does not handle students effectively then the students may be in disciplined rather
4.than participation.
5.If not managed properly, it will not help all types of students in the class.
6.Teacher must control his emotions else this may result in wrong output.
●SUGGESTION FOR IMPROVEMENT:-
1.The teacher must maintain good eye contact with students in order to make the process meaningful.
2.The teacher must actively involve students.
3.The teacher must instruct clearly.
4.Must keep the group focused on the task.
5.Teacher should use good time management techniques and evaluate students as they learn
6.in the class.
7.Teacher should not read extensively from lecture notes or text books.
8.Teacher must not ignore participant’s comments and feedback.
LABORATORY METHOD
LABORATORY METHOD:-
This method in commonly thought of as a hands on and minds on approach to teach science where in students have the opportunity to gain some experience with phenomena associated with their course of study. In this method either student participate alone or in small groups. They produce or manipulate various variables that are under exploration. The degree to which student has control over exploration can vary over a wide range. Here the students learn by actual doing rather than my observing the experiments. As young children do it by themselves, the experience is impressed more firmly in their minds. Thus this method in psychologically sound as it satisfies the natural urge for activity. This method broadens interest of the students. They learn many virtues through laboratory activity. The experience in a laboratory is very rich in personal satisfaction as they gain it first hand. The sense of excitement and challenge help them to achieve some tangible him.
PRINCIPLES OF LABORATORY METHOD:-
1.It follows the principle of learning by doing.
2.It follows psychological principle, where students age, lord and interest is taken into
3.consideration.
4.The work should be Pre-organized and Pre-selected.
5.Teacher must see that, students are allowed to work independently without much
6.interference.
7.The teacher must ensure that apparatus and equipment should be checked pair hand.
8.Teacher must see that students are able to follow instruction and record their observation
9.properly.
ROLE OF TEACHER:-
1.Teacher must be a facilitator of the process of doing experiments by students.
2.Teacher must check the apparatus previously so that it goes on smoothly.
3.The practical work must be Pre-organized and Pre-selected.
4.The skills of handling apparatus, drawing, diagrams, careful observations taking necessary
5.precautions, must be developed among students.
6.The teacher must be that, the student is doing experiment properly by following proper
7.procedure.
MERITS OF LABORATORY METHOD:-
The Merits are listed below:-
1.This method follows child-centred approach.
2.It makes students active and alert.
3.It gives scope for learning by doing and students do a lot of thinking themselves.
4.Different skills are developed.
5.It paves way for exploration experimentation and verification of scientific facts and principles.
6.It inculcates good virtues like, honesty, truthfulness, dignity of labour etc.
7.It helps in developing sprit of enquiring.
8.It helps in developing higher order this king capacities like reasoning, analyzing, synthesizing
9.etc.
SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE:-
1.This method should not be considered independently but should form a part of the total science programme.
2.The practical work must be pre-planned.
3.It is imperative that same individual laboratory work must be done by every student.
4.Instead of performing the experiments started in the book should be little modified for better
5.result.
6.Before experiment in performed the purpose must be clarified to the students.
OBSERVATION METHOD:-
In this method, the student observes and acquires knowledge. Through we cannot call this as a specific method of science teaching but as a matter of fact almost all science begins with observation the students observe nature, in groups, in lab at school at home or in gardens. The result of this process information of a concept of nature which in permanent in mind. The training of pupils in observation is really strong his mind with suitable experiences all thoroughly classified and digested. Science provides remarkable. A raining in observation and reasoning. The learners reasons from the once established facts and form concepts about further observed phenomena.
PRINCIPLES OF OBSERVATION:-
It is based on the following principles.
Principle of freedom.
Principle of experience.
Principle of play-way.
Principle of individual effort.
Principle of activity.
Principle of logical thinking.
Principle of purpose fullness.
ROLE OF TEACHER:-
A lot is expected / demanded of the teacher in this method:-
1. He must be man of knowledge and give adequate references for further observation. 2. He should possess curiosity, scientific attitude, interest, sprit of investigation so as to inculcate such qualities among students who in term observe and discover many things. He must provide an atmosphere for freedom in the classroom in order to encourage students to make observations. 3. He must be a guide, a working partner and friend of the students. 4. He should devise and plan different activities according to the age, ability and interests of the students.
MERIT OF OBSERVATION METHOD:-
1.The work of the teacher becomes interesting.
2.The students see think give logic and thoughtful answers.
3.The students learn the similarities and dissimilarities of objects clearly and easily.
4.The knowledge acquired in permanent.
5.Students develop interest in subject.
6.Students become self-dependent, self-reliant and self-confident.
7.The problem of home-work in solved.
The relation between teacher and taught becomes intimate and healthy
LIMITATIONS OF OBSERVATION METHOD:-
1.It is too much to expect children observe and retain knowledge. The students are in nature sometimes and their knowledge and thinking power in limited.
2.It is not suitable for all the topic of science.
3.This method is information. The practical part of it remains underdeveloped.
4.It is not economical from time point of view.
5.This method is also not economical as it requires a lot of preparation and maintenance form school point of view. Where is students can observe many things.
● SUGGESTION TO IMPROVE:-
The students must be given full freedom during observation.
Interest and curiosity must be developed in students prior to making observations.
The teacher must check and observe things beforehand.
The teacher must put questions and pinpoint students observation as and when required.
The school must have science corner where in students observation and activity goes on
continuously.
A science bulletin board, A museum shelf, Aquaria and terraria must be there in school where
in students develop a constant interest in the subject.
A weather station must be setup where in students observe the weather develop interest
PROJECT METHOD
This method was propounded by W.H Kilpatrick. This method was perfected by J.A Sternson. The base of this method lies in the philosophy of pragmatism. This method emphasizes on building a comprehensive unit around an activity which may be carried out in school or outside. The essence of this method lies in the fact that a group of students do a purposeful task. This implies the students undertake the activity in a group or individually over a period of time. It may include a number of activities and the end product is in the form of written report or a display.
“A project is a whole-hearted purposeful activity proceeding in a social environment”- Dr. William Kilpatrick.
“A project is a problematic act carried to completion in its natural setting”. – Stevenson. “A project is a bit of real life that has been imported into school. – Ballard. Thus, project is a purposeful activity and planned activity which is achieved in social,
natural situations created in schools.
PRINCIPLES OF PROJECT METHOD:-
1.The Principle of freedom.
2.The Principle of purpose.
3.The Principle of activity.
4.The Principle of interest.
5.The Principle of utility.
6.The Principle of correlation.
7.The Principle of sociability.
8.The Principle of experience.
9.The Principle of reality.
The Principle of learning by doing
TYPES OF PROJECT:-
All the project can be divided majorly into two types
(i)Individual Project.
(ii) Group Project.
According to W.H. Kilpatrick projects are of four project.
Producer projects
Consumer projects
Problem projects
Drill projects.
PRODUCER PROJECT: -
Here the emphasis is on actual construction of a material object or article.
CONSUMER PROJECT: -
Here the emphasis is gain on obtaining either direct or vicarious experience, such as reading and learning stories, listening to a musical delectation etc.
PROBLEM PROJECTS:-
The main purpose is to solve a problem using intellectual process, such as determining the density of a certain liquid.
DRILL PROJECTS: -
This type of project emphasizes on attaining a certain degree of skill in a reaction as learning a vocabulary.
Steps of Project Method:-
PROVIDING A SITUATION: -
The teacher provides a situation to the students which must create same problems and students must feel interested to work.
CHOOSING AND PURPOSING: -
The students are tempted to choose a project. The teacher should stimulate discussion by suggestion. While choosing the project the teacher should bear in need that it should be of real need to students. The purpose of project must be clearly defined to the students. The project must be common and acceptable to all. In case of wrong choosing, teacher must help students tactfully to see that the students choose a better project. They should be asked to write down the reasons for selection.
PLANNING: -
The success of the project lies in the good planning. The students should plan out ht whole project under the guidance of teacher. Every child must be encouraged to participate in the discussion and make suggestion. All the students are encouraged to write down the plan neatly and properly.
EXECUTING: -
Execution of different activities to different students on the basis of their capacity leads to successful completion of the project work. It is the longest step and requires meticulous assignment of duties to different students or groups the teacher must guide and encourage students. It is the duty of the teacher to keep watch on the process of activities and instruct as and when requirement.
EVALUATION: -
This is very important step as; the students review the project and find out mistakes if any. Self-Criticism is very important at this stage. The students discuss their work and rectify their mistakes and recollect useful knowledge. The teacher sees that the objectives of the project have been achieved.
RECORDING: -
The students keep a complete record of entire activity. How they planned, discussions were held, how duties are assigned, how criticism were made, which will help them in their future work.
EXAMPLES OF PROJECTS: -
i) Arrangement of science fair.
ii) Preparation of soap/chalk/candle/ink etc.
iii) Improvise apparatus.
iv) Beautifying campus.
v) Establishing science museum.
vi) Establishing physical science laboratory.
vii) Painting iron apparatus to present it from rusting.
ROLE OF TEACHER: -
1) Teacher must be a friend, guide and working partner.
2) Teacher must have through knowledge of individual student and allot work accordingly.
3) Provide democratic atmosphere.
4) He should learn with students and should not claim to know everything.
5) He must be inexperienced, initiative and process tact for creating positive ambience.
MERITS OF PROJECT METHOD: -
1) It promotes Co-operative activity.
2) It arouses and maintains interest of students.
3) It keeps the students on freedom of thought and action while doing the work.
4) It develops scientific attitude.
5) It widens the mental horizon of student.
6) It develops dignity of labour.
7) The students learn by self activity.
8) It supports all the laws of learning i.e., law of readiness, law of exercise, law of effect.
9) The correlation of subjects is best followed in this method. The subjects are not treated as water tight compartments.
10) This is a psychological method. watertight
DEMERITS OF PROJECT METHOD: -
1.The knowledge is not acquired in a sequential manner.
2.There may be a chance of overlapping of subject matter.
3.If not planned and executed properly them, it may not be completed in time.
4.It is a time consuming process.
5.It may be a costly affair where in same items/things may not be available at times.
6.There may be overdevelopment of individualism and under development of co-7.operation and group responsibility.
8.If the topic in wrongly selected them the objective may not be achieved.
9.It gives to students a superficial knowledge of great many things. Therefore it is not suitable for all types of students.
10.This method is not suitable for a mature teacher.
11.The whole syllabus, for higher classes cannot be accomplished with this method.
SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE: -
The topic should have same educational value.
Project should be selected according to the student’s interest.
Entire course should not be planned only using this method.
The objectives of the project must be clear and defined.
Students should be assigned various duties according to their capabilities.
The students should be given freedom to interact among themselves.
PROBLEM SOLVING METHOD
Science subject is one of the important subjects in school education. However, really the traditional teaching methods are challenged for their inability to foster critical thinking, holistic learning environment among children. The science subject must develop science process skills where children, observe, measure, classify, process information, interpret think on solving problems, analyze, synthesize, formulate conclusions, etc. but, it should be kept in mind that, creativity in an essential element of P.S.
In a problem solving method, children learn by working on problems. This enables the students to learn new knowledge by facing the problems to be solved. The students are expected to observe, understand, analyze, interpret find solutions, perform applications that lead to a holistic understanding of the concept. This method develops scientific process skills. This method helps in developing brainstorming approach to learning concepts.
The students thinking on problem and their understanding of the science behind it is based on common sense. It does not start from textual knowledge. Rather it proceeds from experiencing to gradually forming concepts through books at later stage. It is a process from practice to theory not vice versa. Knowledge here is not a goal but a natural out came of working on tasks. Students live in the real world and like to deal with concrete things where they can touch, feel manipulate things then the method is useful in igniting the process of science learning.
PRINCIPLES OF PROBLEM SOLVING METHOD: -
1.Principle of learning by doing.
2.Principle of purpose.
3.Principle of freedom of thought.
4.Principle of learning by experiencing.
5.Principle of utility.
6.Principle of scientific attitude.
7.Principle of interest.
8.Principle of reality.
9.Principle of concreteness.
10. Principle of objectivity.
STEPS IN PROBLEM SOLVING METHOD: -
1.Selection of problem.
2.Presentation of problem.
3.Collection of facts.
4.Drawing an outlines.
5.To reach a satisfactory conclusion.
6.Evaluation.
7.Writing report.
1) SELECTION OF THE PROBLEM: -
A remember of problems are confronted by the students in the class or outside. They are made to select a problem as per their capacity and interest.
2) PRESENTATION OF PROBLEM: -
Each student is made to feel responsible for presenting the problem in front of the teacher and class as per his insight. The students are free to give their suggestions on the problem.
3) COLLECTION OF FACTS: -
All the facts related to problem are collected either by a students or group. As a number of facts will be collected, it will help the students to keep the most pertinent facts and discard rest.
4) DRAWING AN OUTLINE: -
This is most important phase as a proper outline at this stage will lead to purposeful activity. The teacher will guide students to draw exact plan and follow it properly so that the solution to problem is reached. It is more or less like planning stage, where in a clear indication of outline leads to better result.
5) TO REACH A SATISFACTORY CONCLUSION: -
It is the longest step and requires outmost patience. The tentative solutions which are offered by students are properly noted down. A good number of arrangements, discussion, brainstorming results in reaching a satisfactory conclusion. The teacher has to be very careful at this stage as, if may lead to wrong conclusions. The discussions must be healthy and conducive atmosphere must be provided in the classroom for it.
6) EVALUATION: -
The students review the entire process and find out each and every stage where in they have made any mistakes. Self-criticism and Self-realization will give training of self confidence. The teacher must see that objective have been achieved.
7) WRITING REPORT: -
A complete report must be written by students. This will include, how they planned, what discussions were held, how duties were assigned, how satisfactory conclusion was reached etc. the writing of report will be maintained as a record which will be used in future course of time.
ROLE OF TEACHER: -
1.Teacher must work as a facilitator.
2.Teacher must keep in mind that if in a child-directed learning not teacher-directed.
3.Teacher must provide situation for all students to come formed and contribute towards the
4.success of the activity.
5.He must be alert and active to arouse interest among students.
6.Teacher must provide democratic atmosphere.
7.He must be initialize, tactful and we experienced.
MERITS OF PROBLEM SOLVING METHODS: -
1.Students develop democratic feting.
2.This method follows the principle of learning by doing.
3.They learn to use old facts in new references.
4.They become capable to generalize.
5.Students learn to find solution to their problem.
DEMERITS OF PROBLEM SOLVING METHOD: -
1.It is not economical from time and money point of view.
2.There is always a doubt of drawing wrong conclusions.
3.There is short of talented teachers to practice this method.
4.This is not suitable for all level students.
SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE: -
1.The time period must be fixed.
2.The objective should be fixed for a problem.
3.Proper attention must be gain by teacher towards students activities.
4.All students should be given equal opportunity to put forth their problems and ideas.
5.As far as possible the process of group formation should be psychological.
6.Apart from improvement of teaching the objective of this method should be development of routine problem solving skills
As we have seen all above methods have their pros and cons. But, effectiveness of teaching depends upon the method that teacher adopts. Group teaching does not happen over right. For effective teaching, knowledge of different methods of teaching science in essential. The teacher however must be free to choose any method that he thinks is suited to the students. For many decades now, which is not practiced i.e., creating excitement of science, use of new and innovative methods must be practiced now. Same are discussed here.
In lecture-cum-discussion method is best suited for all lords of students. The basic purpose of this method is to disseminate and encourage them to take part in the discussion.
However, teacher has to see that all students are given equal chance or else this will loose its charm.
In laboratory method, the student controls and observed the changes under investigation. Students learn by actual activity students learn many virtues through laboratory activity.
Observation method encourages students to develop a keen power of observation and acquire knowledge. This aims at training students mind to store suitable experiences for reasoning and establish facts observation of nature develops a sense of satisfaction and develops awareness towards protection of nature.
Project method has certain steps to be followed by students. This method in based on philosophy of pragmatism. The sense practicalism develops an attitude to undertake the activity and complete it scientifically.
Problem solving method develop skill of finding solutions to the problem on their own. The students thinking on problem and their understanding of the science behind anything helps them to solve problems of their life objectivity. Students live in the real world and like to deal with concrete things.
At the end, we can conclude that it is you teachers who have to keep in mind, which method is suitable to which type of students under what circumstance. Every method has its merits and demerits. The choosing of methods depends upon your intelligence, resource fullness.
TEACHING GENERAL SCIENCE
Lesson Planning
Proper planning of the lessons in key to effective teaching. A daily lesson planning consists of teaching points, specification to be achieved, organization of an orderly sequence of learning activities, actual test items to which pupils are to be exposed Lesson Planning is essential because, effective learning takes place only if content in presented in an integrated and correlated manner G.H. Green says “The teacher who has planned his lesson wisely related” to his topic and to his classroom without any anxiety, ready to embark with confidence upon a job he understands and prepared to carry in to a workable conclusion. He has foreseen the difficulties that are likely to arise, and prepare himself to deal with them. He knows the aims that lesson is intended to fulfill, and he has marshaled his own resources for the purpose. And because he is free of anxiety he will be able to estimate the value of his work as lesson proceeds, equally aware of failure and success and prepared to learn from both.
A daily lesson plan is confined to only one period. The contention presented in the form of teaching points. The learning activities discussed in detail. The test items may be in the form of an essay or short answer or objective type questions.
Suggestions to improve lesson plan: -
1.It is important to highlight only the key concepts or relation and save most of the time for them.
2.It must be made in the context of overall unit plan and should be continuous from day to day.
3.To make the lesson plan fit a long-range schedule the teacher must give careful attention to
4.important ideas of the textbook for a particular day.
Steps in lesson planning (Herbartion steps)
1.Introduction: - This stage prepares the students for new knowledge. This step is important but, must be brief. It must test previous knowledge of the child. Curiosity of pupils can be aroused by some experiment, chart, model, story, discussion etc.
2.Presentation: -The actual lesson begins at this stage. The teacher makes use of different teaching aids to make lesson effective. Teacher must involve students to make lesson interesting.
3.Association: -The new ideas must be associated with daily life situation by citing suitable examples and drawing comparison with related concepts. This step is important as principles are established.
4.Generalization: -An effort must be made so that, students draw the conclusion themselves. Teacher should guide the students only if their generalization in either incomplete or irrelevant.
5.Application: -The knowledge gained through the lesson must be applied to certain situations. This step is conformity with the general desire of the students to make use of generalization in order to see for themselves if the generalizations are valid in certain situations or not?
6.Recapitulation: -At this last stage, teacher tries to ascertain whether his students have understood and grasped the subject or not. This cheeks the effectiveness of the lesson.
7.All these six steps are herbartion try gives for lesson planning. Teacher can guide lines and in many lessons it is not possible to follow all the methods
Advantages of lesson plan: -
1.It stimulates the teacher to ask questions.
2.It provides freedom in teaching.
3.In induces confidence among teachers.
4.Lesson planning make the work, regular, organized and systematic.
5.It saves a lot of time.
Improvisation of teaching Aids in general science
“Necessity in the mother of invention, new emerging needs of science teaching, therefore, calls for improvisation.”
Teaching The important objectives of teaching science into arouse the students’ attitude and interest towards science .It is possible only when students do something themselves use some improvised apparatus and make save improvements in them. It is obvious that, unless students perform practical activities, they will not understand the facts, laws and principle of science. Therefore students must prepare or improvise apparatus after studying theory properly according to their ability and interest these apparatus can be prepared out of ordinary, inexpensive items. Such apparatus which students prepare themselves with the help of teachers which are inexpensive and display same process of science are called as improvised apparatus. Many great scientists like, Madam Curie, Dalton, Priestly, Edison, carried out their experiment successfully in the humblest conditions.
Characteristics of improvised apparatus:-
1) The material in simple, accurate and appropriate to the age tends of the users.
2) The process involved in the production of materials in simple and inexpensive.
3) The materials can be easily and effectively used by the teachers and pupils.
4) The raw materials are easily available in the local environments.
5) The materials don’t involve specialization skills and can be made by pupils and teachers easily.
6) The production of materials is not time consuming.
7) The material is free from distractions conflicts or bias.
Need/Importance of improvised Apparatus:-
1.Economic Value-these items are prepared art of materials which are considered to be waste or low cost. Thus they have great economics value “Best art of waste”
2.Social value: - The construction of these materials follows the principle of learning by doing. The habit to work together without any disporting in formed and the child moulds himself according to the needs of society and moves towards the goal of socialism.
3.Recreational Value: - Students do the work on their own they keep themselves occupied and utilize their leisure time. Thus, it has got recreational value
4.Practical Value: - While constructing apparatus, they became; organized. They themselves discovered new apparatus, can produce according to the needs, repairs old apparatus can also take interest of doing more.
5.Educational and psychological value: - The improvised apparatus provide opportunities for the exercise and development of ingenuity and the resourcefulness. The pupil find new way of applying their knowledge. They learn to think critically and scientifically.
Coordination of hands and heads develops as sense of confidence and constructive and creative instincts of pupils are satisfied. They energy of the child in channelized in a proper way.
6.Scientific Value: - The students develop interest in scientific activities and in turn they gain scientific knowledge.
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