Source: E-mail dt. 21
September 2011
The Teaching Mantra
Mr.T.Sudhakar Paul
Assistant
Professor-cum-HOD In-Charge,
Department of
Management Studies,
MVJ College of
Engineering, Bangalore
Don't you hate seeing frowns! It's that look on student’s face of confusion, disgust or concern. When you deliver something and you know the point isn't really coming across the way you intended it to, it can be pure torture! Yet, there's no turning back from here.
Good teachers use examples... They're frequently saying "For example..." or "Just suppose..." and that helps people understand... But GREAT teachers, use word pictures.
What's the difference?
Word pictures paint a mental image in someone's head. They put them right in that very time and place. As the speaker's speaking, that person is transported off to another place. The audience begins to feel the sand in their toes; they smell the ocean spray wafting off the water. They begin to taste the foods, they hear the music off in the distance and they can feel the emotions of that location.
If someone doesn't absorb material, you might as well speak to a brick wall or yell in outer space. It's a waste of your own energy and there's really no value to anyone.
There
are three types of learners in a class
· Audio Learners
· Visual Learners
· Kinesthetic Learners
Some students have to simply hear something and they can execute it and understand and retain it completely, they are audio learners. Others have to watch... They're Visual learners who have to see it with their own eyes before it becomes something they'll store in their mind. Yet another group of students have to feel something and do it with their own hands to really grasp something.
The
importance of learning
What a teacher should do?
A class room should integrate the above techniques, it is the responsibility of the teacher to help student to identify his/her learning style, and adopt it.
An integrated teaching pedagogy a teacher can adopt is as under
1.
Chalk-n-Talk: It is the good old method
of teaching which cannot be replaced by any technology. Useful for audio
learners.
2. Power Point Presentations: which should be very attractive and effective, the topics should be covered by explaining with real life examples. Useful for visual learners.
3. Video Presentation: Videos related to subject topic collected from various sources can be used for better understanding & impact (where learning should become entertainment, Education + Entertainment = Edutainment) useful for audio and visual learners.
4. Case Studies: A case study helps students learn by immersing them in a real-world business scenario where they can act as problem-solvers and decision-makers.Text and video case, which will make students to understand the concepts clearly, Text based case studies can be given to students who are made into groups and allowed to analyze and present the SWOT analysis final consolation will should be done by teacher. Regarding video case studies a video should be shown to the students and questions should be given based on the video for discussion, useful for kinesthetic learners.
5. Simulated Role Play: Situation analysis, mock interview etc in this students are allowed to enact the role of a manager, employee etc which will make them to understand and analyze various situations of the business, useful for kinesthetic learners.
6. Presentations by Students: very important for kinesthetic learners, each student should be given a topic for presentation and it should be made compulsory. But the teacher should finish the entire syllabus.
Finally I would like to end with the popular quote
I hear, I forget
I see, I remember
I do, I understand