CHAPTER 10: DEMONSTRATION IN TEACHING

In teaching, demonstration is defined as showing how a thing is done and emphasizing the salient merits, utility and efficiency of a concept, method or processes or an attitude.

Demonstration is done to clearly show (Wikipedia). It becomes more effective when accompanied with verbalization. For example, in a half demonstration half lecture, an explanation accompanies the actions performed.

Three guiding principles must be observed in using demonstration as a teaching-learning experience:

  

•   Establish Rapport- greet your audience. Make them feel at ease by your warmth and sincerity. Stimulate interest by making your demonstration and your self-interest. Sustain their attention.

• Avoid COIK Fallacy- it is the assumption that what is also clearly known to the expert demonstrator is also clearly known to the person for whom the message is intended.

• Watch For Key Points- the good demonstrator recognizes possible stumbling blocks to learners and highlights them in some way. What are usually highlighted are the “don’t’s” of a process or a strategy.

In using demonstration in teaching, it is important for the demonstrator to observe the guiding principles since it is the key to a successful performance. The demonstrator should radiate a positive aura to the listeners in order for them to feel at ease. The demonstrator should also consider the level of understanding of the learners in order for him/her to prevent assuming the listeners understood what they are saying and doing. Lastly, a demonstrator knows how to highlight important details in the demonstration process.

CHAPTER 9: TEACHING WITH DRAMATIZED EXPERIENCES

These are experiences where the learner can participate in a reconstructed experience, even though the original event is far from us in time. The students immerse themselves in “as if” situations.

A dramatic entrance is one that catches the attention of the audience and has an emotional impact. A dramatic teaching touches the students’ hearts and stirs their brains, making them interested. Thus, they will listen and the event will become unforgettable for them.

Dramatized experience can range from the formal plays, pageants to les formal tableau, pantomime, puppets and role-playing.

Formal plays- Depict life, character, or culture or a combination of all three. They offer excellent opportunities to poverty vividly important ideas about life.

Pageants- Usually community dramas that are based on local history, presented by local actors. An example is a historical pageant that traces the growth of a school.

Tableau- A picture like scene composed of people against a background. Often used to celebrate Independence Day, Christmas, and United Nations Day.

Pantomime- Art of conveying a story through bodily movements only. Its effects on the audience depends on the movements of the actors.

Puppets

• Types of puppets

Shadow puppets- flat black silhouette made from lightweight cardboard and shown behind a screen.

Rod puppets- flat cut out figures tacked to a stick, with one or more movable parts, and operated from below the stage level by wire rods or slender sticks.

Hand puppets- the puppet’s head is operated by the forefinger of the puppeteer, the little finger and thumb being used to animate the puppet.

Glove and Finger puppets- make use of old gloves to which small costumed figures are attached

Marionettes- flexible, jointed puppets operated by strings or wires attached to a cross bar and maneuvered from directly above the stage.

Role playing- Is an unrehearsed, unprepared and spontaneous dramatization of a “let’s pretend” situation where assigned participants are absorbed by their own roles in the situation described by the teachers. It can be done by describing a situation which would create different viewpoints on an issue and then asking the students to play the roles of the individuals involved. 

                We learn things easily with dramatized experiences because it awakens our feelings. Dramatized experiences can also cater the multiple intelligence if the students, but we cannot use this experience all the time since it will bore out the students and there are certain subjects which makes dramas inappropriate (ex. Math). Therefore, we should know when or where to use dramatized experiences.

CHAPTER 8: TEACHING WITH CONTRIVED EXPERIENCES

These are edited copies of reality and are used as substitute for real things when it is not practical or not possible to bring or do the real thing in the classroom.

 

Models

Is a reproduction of a real thing in a small scale, or large scale, or exact size—but made of synthetic materials. Substitute for a real thing which may or may not be operational.

Mock-ups

Is an arrangement of a real device or associated devices. Special model where the parts of a model can be manipulated.

Example: planetarium

Specimen

Is any individual or item considered typical of a group, class or a whole.

Objects

Include artifacts displayed in a museum or objects displayed in exhibits or preserved insect specimen in science.

Simulation

Representation of a manageable real event in which the learner is an active participant engaged in learning behavior or in applying previously acquired skills or knowledge.

Examples:Election of class, Earthquake drills

Games

 forms of physical exercise taught to children at school.

Purpose of games:

1. To practice knowledge/skills already acquired.
2. To identify gaps in knowledge or skills.
3. To serve as a summation or review.
4. To develop new relationships among concepts and principles.

Difference between game and simulation

•          Games are played to win: there is a competition

•          Simulation needs not winner, seems to be more easily applied to the issues rather than to processes

General purposes of simulation and games in education

•          Develop changes in attitude

•          Change specific behavior

•          Prepare for participants for assuming new roles in d’ future

•          Help individuals understand their current roles

•          Increase the students’ ability to apply principles

•          Reduce complex problems or situations to manageable elements

•          Illustrate roles that may affect one’s life but that one may never assume

•           to motivate learners

•          Develop analytical processes

•           sensitize individuals to another person’s life

Why do we make use of contrived experiences?

• To overcome limitations of space and time

• To “edit” reality for us to be able to focus on parts or a process of a system that we intend to study

• To overcome difficulties

• To understand inaccessible

• Help the learner understand abstractions

CHAPTER 7: DIRECT, PURPOSEFUL EXPERIENCES AND BEYOND

Direct purposeful experiences are concrete and firsthand experiences that make up the foundation of learning. The students immerse on hands-on activities to gain learning and experience. It also uses more senses, thus, we can conclude that it is an effective method of learning. Our sense helps us to construct ideas, concepts and generalizations that give meaning and order to our lives. This experience is also called firsthand sensory experiences.

On the other hand, indirect purposeful experiences are experiences of other people that we observe, read or hear about. They are not firsthand experiences but still a experience since we learn from it. Indirect purposeful experience is a substitute of the experiences we have from reality.

Although firsthand experiences are proven effective, there is still a downside of it. If not guided correctly by the teacher, the students may interpret the concept or idea differently. This misconception can possibly lead to confusion. Making the learning and experience vague.

Therefore, the teacher should provide proper guidance to the students, along with proper instruction, precaution, and any necessary things the teacher should do to ensure that the students will get the proper idea ad build a clear and correct conception of what they are doing.

CHAPTER 6: USING AND EVALUATING INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

There are two guidelines for the effective use of instructional materials— selection and usage.

Selection of instructional materials:

It is where you consider the clarity, meaningfulness, learnability, economy, and utility of the instructional materials.

The guide questions are:

•          Do the materials give a true picture of the ideas they present? To avoid misconceptions, it is always good to ask when the materials were produced.

•          Do the materials contribute meaningful content to the topic under study? Does the material help you achieve the instructional objective?

•          Is the material appropriate for the intelligence and experience of the learners?

•          Is the physical condition of the material satisfactory? An example, is a photograph properly mounted?

•          Is there a teacher’s guide to provide a briefing for effective use? The chance that the instructional material will be used to the maximum and to the optimum is increased with a teacher’s guide.

• Can the materials in question help to make students better thinkers and develop their critical faculties? With exposure to mass media, it is highly important that we maintain and strengthen our national powers.

•          Is the material worth the time, expense and effort involved? A field trip, for instance, requires much time, effort and money. Is it more effective than any other less expensive and less demanding instructional material that can take its place? Or is there a better substitute?

Usage of the instructional materials:

After selecting an instructional material, you should think how to utilize it effectively. Hayden Smith and Thomas Nagel advise us to abide by the acronym PPPF in order to ensure the effective use of instructional materials.

Prepare yourself- you should plan your lessons ahead of time to prepare and to think what instructional materials should be used to suit the lesson.

Prepare your students- setting class expectation and learning goals. To keep them engaged and interested, the teacher should give the students guide questions. Therefore, the students are being motivated to participate in class discussions.

Present the materials- you should rehearse how to use the materials in order to have an organize and a clean performance. This prevents having the R.O.G. Syndrome (running out of gas) which usually results from poor planning.

Follow up- your lesson should not stop in presenting the materials. You should explain it further for them to understand the lesson. Remember, instructional materials should be used to achieve the objectives, not to merely entertain the class.