Principles and Practice of Teaching (EDC 232) Practice Flashcards

Course Overview and Facilitators

• Course Title: Principles and Practice of Teaching (EDC 232).
• Institution: University of Education, Winneba (UEW).
• Facilitators: Dr. Buku, Dr. Appianing, Mr. Ziggah, Mr. Ofosu-Dwamena, Ms. Ogah, Mr. Esia-Donkoh.
• Primary Objective: To equip student-teachers with knowledge, skills, and competencies to become efficient professional teachers, examining the nature of teaching philosophy and addressing misconceptions.

Course Learning Outcomes

• Demonstrate clear understanding and application of the concept of teaching and teaching philosophy.
• Develop a personal teaching philosophy and investigate the characteristics of a good 21st-century teacher.
• Apply techniques and strategies under learner-centered methods.
• Understand and apply integrated pedagogies and play-based learning approaches.
• Know the elements of a learning plan and the processes involved in preparation.
• Demonstrate technical and teaching skills to achieve learning outcomes.
• Understand and apply the National Teachers’ Standards (NTS) in the profession.

Assessment Structure

• Quiz (Week 7): $40$ marks.
• End of Semester Exam: $60$ marks.
• Total: $100$ marks.

The Nature and Misconceptions of Teaching

• Misconceptions and Biases:
  • Teaching is a curse from the gods.
  • Teaching is merely an extension of motherhood and is a "female job."
  • Teaching is for those who are not academically good.
  • Teaching holds a low social status.
  • Teaching is not financially rewarding.
  • Teaching is solely for the elderly.
  • Teaching is a stepping stone to other professions.
• Philosophical Slogans on Teaching:
  • "All professions can boast but the teacher taught them all."
  • "Teaching is the one profession that creates all other professions."
  • "To teach is to touch a life forever."
  • "A teacher affects eternity. He/she can never tell where his/her influence stops" — Henry Adams.
  • "In a completely rational society, the best of us would be teachers and the rest of us would have to settle for something else" — Lee Iacocca.

Definitions and Core Concepts of Teaching

• General Definitions:
  • A process that facilitates learning.
  • An activity of imparting knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values (Tamakloe, Amedahe & Atta, 2005).
  • The art of inducing students to behave in a way assumed to lead to learning (Schlecty, 1993).
  • A system of action intended to induce learning; a form of interpersonal influence aimed at changing behavior potential.
• Essential Elements of Teaching: Learner, Teacher, and Subject.
• Evolution of Teaching Philosophy:
  • Jug and Mug Approach (Early 20th Century): The teacher is the repository of knowledge (Jug) pouring information into the learner (Mug).
  • 21st Century Constructivist Approach: Learners discover and construct knowledge through active participation and collaboration. The teacher serves as a facilitator.

Teaching versus Instruction

• Teaching:
  • Actions designed to produce change in student behavior.
  • A complex process involving varied methods, techniques, and strategies.
  • Aims for overall development across cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains.
  • Influenced by social, philosophical, scientific, and psychological principles.
• Instruction:
  • Mainly concerned with developing knowledge and understanding of a specific thing or system.
  • Less complex; gives directions on what to do and how to do it.
  • Considered a part of teaching, not teaching itself.
  • Focused primarily on the cognitive domain and the "understanding" level of learning.

Pedagogy versus Andragogy

• Pedagogy:
  • Origin: Mid-to-late 1500s (Middle French, Latin, Greek roots).
  • Literal Meanings: "To guide a child" or "teach a child."
  • Nature: Content-centered, teacher-dependent, and curriculum-oriented.
  • Motivation: Driven by external rewards and punishments.
• Andragogy:
  • Origin: Coined in the 1800s by Alexander Knapp; popularized in 1960s by Malcolm Knowles.
  • Definition: Methods and practices for teaching adults.
  • Nature: Life-centered, self-directed, and learner-independent.
  • Motivation: Driven by internal incentives and curiosity.
• Commonalities: Both are goal-oriented, require hands-on activities, necessitate feedback, involve communication, and utilize transformative learning through engagement.

Teaching as Art and Science

• Teaching as an Art: Relies on personality, creativity, and disposition. It uses creative presentation (role-play, games) to make learning fun and uses intuition gained through experience to solve instructional challenges.
• Teaching as a Science: Uses logical approaches, scientific research, and systematized knowledge. It incorporates psychology of learning, behavior modification, curriculum development, and objective evaluation based on sound scientific principles.
• Conclusion: Effective teaching requires both; practice is the art, while the organized knowledge underlying that practice is the science.

Principles of Effective Teaching

• Fundamental Principles:
  • Principle of sequencing and continuity.
  • Principle of selection and adequate preparation.
  • Principle of individual differences.
  • Principle of review/recapitulation.
  • Principle of interest and self-activity.
  • Principle of relationship/correlation.
• Interactive Principles:
  • Creating an active learning environment.
  • Focusing attention and connecting knowledge.
  • Helping learners manage time productively.
  • Providing timely and constructive feedback.
  • Balancing high expectations with learner support.
  • Enhancing motivation and encouraging collaboration.

Qualities of a Good Teacher

• Student-Perceived Qualities: Gives interesting lessons, explains clearly, uses a sense of humor, knows student names, is fair and consistent, treats students with respect, and is prepared to acknowledge when they do not know something.
• Categorization of Qualities:
  • Academic: Knowledge of subject matter, sound knowledge of child development, current and lifelong learner.
  • Professional: Reinforcing behavior, appropriate use of strategies/resources, good questioning skills, class control, and discipline.
  • Personal: Self-confidence, humility, integrity, enthusiasm, flexibility, and a sense of humor.
  • Leadership: Sense of responsibility, dedication, ability to vary learning situations, and sincerity.

Teaching Philosophy

• Meaning: A teacher's worldview about teaching that guides how learning should occur. It is a reflection of personal beliefs and values.
• Purpose: To examine practices (preparation, techniques, interaction), monitor progress via School Reflective Journals (SRJs) or professional portfolios, and share ideas.
• Components of a Philosophy Statement:
  • Conceptualization of learning (how learning occurs).
  • Conceptualization of teaching (what teaching means).
  • Goals (what learners gain).
  • Implementation (plans for activities and projects).
  • Professional growth plan (future goals).

Teaching as a Profession

• Definition of a Profession: An occupation based on advanced education and specialized intellectual training, providing skilled service for a fee/salary.
• Characteristics of a Profession:
  • Sense of public service and lifetime commitment.
  • Defined body of specialized knowledge and skills.
  • Lengthy period of training and control over licensing.
  • Autonomy in decision-making and self-regulation.
  • Code of ethics safeguarded by law.
  • High level of public trust and prestige.

Methods, Techniques, and Strategies

• Method: The orderly plan or procedure of structuring instructional activities to attain maximum outcomes (e.g., Teacher-centered vs. Learner-centered).
• Technique: The specific, precise ways a teacher performs a method; the "building blocks" of a lesson.
• Strategy: A generalized plan for a lesson; the sequencing of techniques to satisfy desired learning outcomes. Strategies are manipulated at the pre-active phase and implemented at the interactive phase.
• Skill: The ability or competence to perform tasks using right methods (e.g., lesson planning, setting SMART outcomes, questioning, and communication).

Teacher-Centered (Transmission) Method

• Purpose: Cover large amounts of knowledge for exams, provide information when resources (textbooks) are lacking, or introduce theoretical knowledge.
• Assumptions: Teachers know best; students are passive and have no knowledge; knowledge transfers passively; all learners learn the same way.
• Characteristics: Teacher selects pace and content; teacher dominates talk; learners are seen as a uniform group.
• Advantages: Saves time; faster syllabus coverage; maintains class control; ensures uniform exposure to information.
• Disadvantages: Passive learner roles; ignores individual interests/abilities; may frustrate bright students or leave struggling ones behind.
• Techniques: Lecture, drill and practice, teacher-led demonstration, questioning and responding.

Integrated Pedagogies and Competence

• Competence: The natural mobilization and use of resources to address a situation appropriately (Dolz & Ollagnier, 2002). It requires the integration of diverse skills, knowledge, and know-how.
• Integrated Pedagogy: A plan incorporating a rich set of teaching, learning, and technological techniques to achieve outcomes.
• Objectives:
  • Make sense of the learning process by situating it in real-life contexts.
  • Differentiate matters by relevance (what is practical for daily life).
  • Apply learning to practical situations (responsible citizenship, competent work).
  • Associate learned elements to deal with daily and unexpected events.

Active Learning

• Definition: Instructional approach engaging learners in meaningful activities and metacognition.
• Teacher Role: Asking focal questions, recording observations, providing resources.
• Benefits: Integrates home and school experiences; iterative exploration of concepts; aids retention; improves communication skills.
• Enabling Factors: Ongoing reflective dialogue in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs); use of evidence to link practice to outcomes; whole-school support.

Collaborative and Cooperative Learning

• Collaborative Learning: Focuses on learner interactions in small groups to achieve common goals.
• Cooperative Learning: Structured group work where learners have individual accountability while pursuing common goals.
• Five Essential Strategies (Johnson & Johnson, 1991):
  • Positive Interdependence: Success is linked; resources and support are shared.
  • Face-to-Face Promotive Action: Learners help, praise, and encourage each other.
  • Individual Accountability: Each member's contribution is identified and assessed.
  • Interpersonal/Small Group Skills: Social skills are intentionally taught.
  • Group Processing: Groups reflect on how well they achieved tasks.

Experiential Learning and Discovery

• Experiential Learning: Learning in natural settings through play, excursions, and reflection. It connects home and school spheres.
• Guided Discovery (Jerome Bruner): Learners develop ownership by discovering concepts. Content is not provided directly but through hints, scaffolding, and coaching.
  • Pure Discovery: No teacher guidance; learner finds understanding independently.
  • Enhanced Discovery: Superior to unguided methods; activates the mind for self-discovery.
• Enquiry-Based Learning: Organized around authentic, open-ended questions; emphasizes the investigative process and evidence-based explanations.
• Problem-Based Learning: Subset of enquiry; learners work in self-directed groups on real-life problems with multiple dimensions.
• Project-Based Learning (Thomas, 2000): Centered on a realistic product or presentation; learner-driven constructive investigations.

Learning Through Play (LTP)

• Significance: Expands intelligence; testing ground for language/reasoning; brain and muscle development.
• Types of Play:
  • Motor-physical: Running, jumping, tag (develops strength/coordination).
  • Exploratory: Experimenting with sand, water, clay (logical thinking).
  • Constructive/Creative: Building things, organizing collections (classification/seriation).
  • Symbolic/Expressive: Using art or music instruments to express emotions.
  • Socio-dramatic: Role-playing (mother and baby, doctor) to understand social behavior.
  • Cooperative: Games with established rules (Simon Says, team sports).
• The Play Continuum: Ranges from Free Play (learner-directed) to Collaborative Play to Games (teacher-directed).
• Characteristics of Playful Learning: Joyful, meaningful, actively engaging, iterative, and socially interactive.
• Modifying Games (STEP Acronym):
  • S — Size or Shape of the playing surface.
  • T — Tasks or rules.
  • E — Equipment (e.g., using cards instead of beanbags).
  • P — People (altering team sizes).

Taxonomy of Educational Objectives

• Cognitive Domain (Bloom, 1956): Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, Evaluation.
• Revised Cognitive Domain (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001): Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, Create (shifted from nouns to verbs).
• Affective Domain: Receiving/Attending, Responding, Valuing, Organizing, Characterizing.
• Psychomotor Domain: Imitate, Manipulate, Perfect, Articulate, Embody.
• SMART Objectives: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound.

Technical and Teaching Skills

• Lesson Planning Key Elements: Subject, topic, class size, Strand/Sub-strand, Learning outcomes (codes), Indicators (codes), Core competencies, TLRs, 3-Phase Activity (Starter, Main, Plenary).
• Questioning Skills:
  • Factual: Simple, evidence-based answers (right/wrong).
  • Convergent: Specific one-correct-answer questions (Who, What, When).
  • Divergent: Open-ended; stimulates creative thought; multiple acceptable answers.
  • Evaluative: Highest cognitive level; requires judgment and comparison.
• Classroom Management Approaches:
  • Assertive (Canter): Focus on clear rules and consequences.
  • Business Academic (Emmer-Everton): High "time on task"; keeping students busy.
  • Behavior Modification (Skinner-Bandura): Rewards and punishments.
  • Group Managerial (Kounin): Desist techniques and movement management.
  • Acceptance (Dreikurs): Addressing the need for peer/teacher acceptance.
  • Success (Glasser): Changing triggers to help students choose good behavior.

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) and Reflection

• PLC Definition: Collaborative approach where educators share expertise and engage in collective problem-solving to improve learners’ achievement.
• Characteristics of PLCs: Reflective dialogue, collective inquiry, shared values, and trust.
• Reflective Practice: Carefully thinking about actions to refine practice (Schon, 1983). It involves looking back to make sense of experiences.
• Practitioner Roles: Thinks "why" and "how"; refines practice over many years; transforms everyday classroom life.

National Teachers’ Standards (NTS) for Ghana

• Rationale for Reform: Shifting from examinations to building character and critical thinking; benchmarking education internationally.
• Domains of NTS:
  1. Professional Values and Attitudes (7 Standards): Professional development, Community of Practice, ethical conduct.
  2. Professional Knowledge (7 Standards): Knowledge of Educational Frameworks, Curriculum, and Learners.
  3. Professional Practice (15 Standards): Managing the Learning Environment, Teaching and Learning, and Assessment.
• Standards for Licensing: NTS provides the identifier for what a "good teacher" is; all teachers must reach minimum levels of practice for certification.