TEACHING STRATEGIES - 2

H. CHITSONGA AND V. MPAKA

 LESSON OBJECTIVES

• By the end of this lesson presentation, learners should be able to:

 Outline various teaching and learning strategies under learner centred approach.
 Describe the principles underling each teaching strategy
 Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each teaching and learning strategy.
 Explain how each of the teaching and learning strategy can be used effectively in a lesson.
 QUESTION AND ANSWER METHOD

 It is the method both of teaching and oral testing based on the use of questions to be answered by
the learners.
 If properly used, it provides learners with a full and deep understanding of the lesson taught.
 Question and answer can only be useful and meaningful if teachers know the functions of
questions in a lesson, the characteristics of good questions, the strengths, the weakness of the
approach and its correct use.
 QUESTION AND ANSWER METHOD

FUNCTIONS OF QUESTIONS
 When a class is in session, learners tend to dwell on tasks assigned by the teacher in form of
questions.
 If these questions are answered successfully, the teacher can be assured that learning has taken
place.
 Questions are usually asked when introducing, developing and closing a lesson.
 QUESTION AND ANSWER METHOD
DURING INTRODUCTION, QUESTIONS ARE ASKED TO:
 Find out what learners already know about subject to be taught
 Stimulate interest and arouse in the learner the desire to learn more
DURING DEVELOPMENT QUESTIONS ARE ASKED TO:
 Check if learners are following the lesson
 Clarify any misconceptions that might arise as the lesson progresses
DURING CLOSURE, QUESTIONS ARE ASKED TO:
 Bring up the main point covered during the lesson
 Find out if any misconceptions still exist after coverage of the lesson
 Provide the learners with an opportunity to identify the main issues of the lesson
 QUESTION AND ANSWER METHOD

CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD QUESTIONS

 Questions should stimulate thinking. Thought provoking questions require that learners supply
answers from their own thinking not their memory.
 Questions should be clear, the learners should immediately understand what the teacher is trying
to find out.
 Questions should not be vague but rather they should be definite.
 ADVANTAGES OF QUESTION AND ANSWER
METHOD
 Provides feedback to the teacher, so the teacher can proceed with his/her lesson or revisit a point
which has been misunderstood and so on.
 Helps in disciplining learners, if learners are aware that they can be called upon any time to
answer a question, they can be attentive to what is going on in the classroom
 It assists in emphasizing the main points of the lesson.
 It helps the teacher to clarify and expand some points in the lesson.
 It assists the teacher to identify some learning challenges and difficulties that learners may have.
 DISADVANTAGES OF QUESTION AND
ANSWER METHOD
 Questions asked sometimes force the teacher to repeat the same point as such it can be a slow
method of imparting knowledge.
 Sometimes a teacher may find it difficult to formulate certain types of questions. Many teachers
find it hard to formulate higher level questions which require learners to analyse, synthesise,
evaluate situations.
 Teachers find it easy to formulate factual or recall questions so they tend not to plan questions in
advance. This encourages learners to memorise materials which they do not even understand.
 GUIDELINES FOR CORRECT USE OF
QUESTION AND ANSWER METHOD
 The teacher should have a well digested plan of operation that s/he knows beforehand and can be
successfully executed.
 The teacher should know the purpose of the questions to be asked during the lesson. Are they
for revision purposes, where teacher wants to know what was previously covered? Or the teacher
wants to check if learners have understood what has been covered in this particular lesson.
 Questions should be structured in advance on a piece of paper so that they are asked with little
difficulty.
 GUIDELINES FOR CORRECT USE OF
QUESTION AND ANSWER METHOD
 The teacher should state the question, pause for some seconds and then call on a learner to answer. The
pause time gives learners an opportunity to think before responding.
 When learners show no sign of understanding, the teacher should rephrase the question and throw it back
to the learners.
 In order to achieve real learning which comes from interaction and involvement, questions should be
thrown at random to both volunteers and non-volunteers in order to give learners equal chance to answer.
 The teacher should probe learners’ responses through why, what and how questions. These type of
questions encourage learners to think as well as coming up with longer explanations about points raised.
 DISCUSSION METHOD
 Discussion is an approach where two or more people interact with each other verbally.

 Mtunda and Safuli (1994) define discussion as a learning activity where a teacher and his/her learners talk
together in order to share views, ideas and information about a topic or problem.
 It is a method that engages teachers and learners in a talk for purposes of learning new ideas, adjusting
attitudes, solving problems developing skills and increasing sensitivity to other points of view.
 Discussion may be guided by a teacher where s/he can use a number of questions related to the topic in
order to control the discussion.
 It allows the teacher to give some room to his/her learners to take part in a lesson by sharing ideas and
points of view on a particular topic.
 Discussion may be in form of whole class, small group, debate, panel and forum
 DISCUSSION METHOD
WHOLE CLASS DISCUSSION
 Sometimes known as class or group discussion.
 The teacher becomes the leader of the discussion group. S/he asks questions, clarifies learners’
comments and makes tentative summaries to assist learners understand the topic.
 As discussion progresses, the teacher ensures that the flow of ideas or arguments proceeds
towards the desired goal.
 Success of this form of discussion depends on the skill of the teacher in handling the interaction
as well as the degree of students’ readiness in terms of familiarity with the topic.
 DISCUSSION METHOD
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION
 Different from whole group or class discussion in that the class is divided into smaller discussion
groups.
 In each group a leader and a recorder are appointed.
 During discussions, the teacher goes around from one group to the other to assess their progress. S/he
may direct the group by asking leading questions.
 If the teacher observes that the learners are digressing from the topic, the teacher may lead the group
back to the main issue.
 After the discussion, the recorder for each group reports to the class the summary points for further
discussions.
 DISCUSSION METHOD
PANEL
 In panel technique, the teacher divides the class into groups of three to eight who become members of the panel.
 Each members of the panel is asked for example to give a five minute talk about different aspects of a chosen
topic.
 Before presentation, the members of the panel organise themselves and put their facts together. During the
presentation, members of the panel sit in front of the audience. The rest of the class forms the audience.
 While each speaker is delivering his or her piece, the rest of the class listens critically and writes down questions
or points they would like to support or refute.
 As soon as the panel concludes its presentation, the discussion is opened to the floor.
 At the very end of the discussion the class with guidance of the teacher summarises the main points an draws
conclusions.
 DISCUSSION METHOD
 DEBATE
 The debate is the most formal of all discussion techniques. It is generally used as a small group
technique with a small number of learners teamed on either side of an issue.
 In debate two groups of speakers talk for or against the motion. They are usually known as
proposers and opposers respectively.
 Debate provides depth of study on a controversial matter, gives two sides of an issue and clarifies
the controversy at issue.
 When concluding the debate the teacher may enter into a whole class discussion on the issue.
This is done to summarise the points raised during the debate.
 DISCUSSION METHOD

FORUM
 It is a discussion in which a small number of leaners present information to a large group. Each
member of the forum is allocated a part to present to the audience.
 After concluding the presentation, the presenters welcome questions from the audience.
 The presenters are put in the role of authorities on the topic and questions may be directed to
specific members of the group of experts.
 ADVANTAGES OF DISCUSSION
 Learners are provided with an excellent opportunity to practice their oral communication skills.
 The teacher is provided with a unique opportunity of understanding learners’ vocabulary,
command of language and ability to think.
 Learners practice critical and evaluative thinking which is often neglected by teachers.
 Students learn more from each other. They learn the life of give and take, they are expected to
share ideas with other.
 The problems discussed provide good practice for problem solving. When learners discuss ideas,
they look at them critically and even reject them. Critical thinking makes the learners good
problem solvers.
 DISADVANTAGES OF DISCUSSION

 Discussion activities are time consuming. They require more time to plan and usually lead to
lengthy discussions.
 When the leader of the discussion is weak, the discussion can result in an activity which is
unorganized as well as unproductive.
 The discussion method does not easily lend itself to all types of subjects and topics.
 When planning a discussion, teachers are not always sure whether or not the learners would
participate fully in discussing the topic.
 GUIDELINES FOR CORRECT USE OF
DISCUSSION METHOD

 The topic of discussion must be one that grabs the interest and imagination of learners. In
addition, topics should be within the student’s level of interest and difficulty to ensure maximum
participation.
 The teacher should decide the topic or problem to be discussed. A topic like ‘why should we
conserve water?’ can encourage most students to participate.
 PROJECT METHOD
 A project method is a unit of activity carried out by the learner in a natural and life-like manner
and in a spirit of purpose to accomplish a definite, attractive and seemingly attainable goal.
 It is any unit of activity, individual or group, involving the investigation and solutions of
problems, that is planned and carried to a conclusion by learners under the guidance of the
teacher.
 A project is a teaching method in which learners individually or in groups accept an assignment
and interpret data in relation to some problems to be discussed.
 In a project, learners investigate and gather information on their own. The teacher may give help
where necessary. Students conducting project have more autonomy in deciding what to learn and
when to learn.
 PROJECT METHOD
STEPS IN CONDUCTING A PROJECT
1. PLANNING THE PROJECT
 The project method can be successful if the teacher can guide students in assuming intelligent
responsibility for their own learning activities. To help students in their decisions, the teacher
should try to answer the following questions:
 What desirable skills, understandings, ideals and attitudes will students acquire through the project which
will contribute to their development?
 Will the chosen project activities be suitable to the level of development of the students?
 Will the outcomes or objectives of the project be in keeping with those of the course?
 Will the learning experience in the project be of sufficient scope and variety to hold the student’s interest?
 Is the project the most effective method to use in order to achieve the identified objectives? How would it
compare with other projects?
 PROJECT METHOD
2. CONDUCTING THE PROJECT
 Younger leaners and those who have never taken part in project work before are likely to be a
little confused at the beginning and may need special attention from the teacher.
 If things are not working out as planned, a teacher must not discourage the learners because they
are engaging themselves in problem solving which is an aspect of learning.
 When very difficult problems are encountered, students may form groups and try to solve those
problems. Teachers may participate in the discussions.
 As the project progresses towards the end, students may be encouraged to prepare their work for
final presentation.
 PROJECT METHOD
3. EVALUATING THE PROJECT
 As students are engaged in project activities, they have to evaluate the effectiveness and value of
the project. This is because evaluation is an ongoing process which should be informally
conducted by individuals or groups carrying the project.
 If students note that some plans are not working out they should revise them or draw up better
plans to achieve their goals.
 At the end of the project, the students and the teacher should work together to assess the success
of the project and consider what modifications may have been made to improve the results.
 The teacher can assess whether resources and materials were adequate, there was sufficient time
and whether the project was worth the effort and time spent on it.
 ADVANTAGES OF PROJECT METHOD

 Projects encourage the spirit of creativity, freedom of expression, cooperation and initiative.
 Projects make learning real by presenting a real task for the students to tackle.
 Learners are given experience in planning and organizing. Since learners carry out activities
alone, they learn to plan their work with minimal help from the teacher and therefore are
motivated to learn.
 Learners are trained to be responsible and to develop initiative.
 Projects make learning social because they allow several learners to work together.
 DISADVANTAGES OF PROJECT METHOD

 Projects are expensive as well as time consuming.

 Projects can require materials and resources which may be hard to obtain.
 If students lack background knowledge and assistance, that can end up making a lot of errors and
sometimes the teachers’ help comes too late after students have made a lot of mistakes which
may not be corrected.
 It can be difficult for teachers to select topics of interest to all students.
 During project activities, order and discipline are sometimes difficult to maintain.