UNIT 3 : PEDAGOGICAL APPROACHES
-Key unit competence: Practice active pedagogical approaches in simulated classroom situations
Read the following scenario and answer to the questions Divine, Carine, Shyaka and Teddy are learners at Kibingo Primary School. They study together with 40 classmates. The teacher has observed special interest to these three learners. Kevin wants always to work on tasks which require him to go outside the classroom “self- directed”. He is very motivated when the task leads to a kind of discussion. If the question is open Divine shows interest to work collaboratively with others. Carine is quite different from Divine. Carine is active, adventurous and communicative. Her behaviours can actually be best observed when the teacher uses play while teaching. One day the teacher asked her “what do you like during class activity?” “Playing” loudly Carine replied quickly. Shyaka is the youngest in the class. He is failing to deal with primary concepts separately. Teacher shared Shyaka weakness with his colleagues and the nursery teacher testified that Shyaka was extremely good learner in pre-primary especially when he was given materials and allowed to learns on his own (free corner play).
Questions
1. As student teachers explain this case: They realized that Shyaka learns better when the main activities are put together and incorporated.
2. Suggest main ways which the teacher will use as he/she teaches:
a. Divine
b. Carine
c. Teddy
3.1.1. Teacher- centered pedagogy
Characteristics of teacher-centered approach
– Teacher is more active than learners and he/she determines what is to be learned, the methods to be adopted and the pace at which learning should take place.
– Learners are relegated to receiving knowledge from the teacher and only listen to, observe, make notes and occasionally answer a few questions (teachers act as a vital link between the learners and content).
– Incorporation of little instructional resources to the lesson(s).
– The teacher views learners as a homogenous group and not as individuals with diverse differences.
- Desks/tables and chairs are arranged in straight rows, with learners facing the writing board to get the teacher’s presentation.
– Minimal or totally no encouragement of group work during the instructional process.
Advantages of teacher-centred approach
– Saves time, thus enabling the teacher to cover a substantial part of the syllabus.
– Requires few personnel thus cheaper economically as few teachers are used.
– Enables the teacher’s work of maintaining class control, be easy as one is able to monitor what all the learners are doing.
– Creates uniformity in the information delivered as it is done by one person.
– Provides more accurate information as it is a product of careful research and wide reading by the teacher.
Situations which call for the use of this approach are;
– When the teacher has a lot of information to relay to the learners.
– When the information to be passed to the learners is of theoretical nature.
– Where there are inadequate instructional resources.
– When there is limited time to pass the information to the learners.
– Where there are large classes.
3.1.2. Learner-Centred Pedagogy
Learner centered Pedagogy has multiple names, appearances, and approaches that are affiliated with it, like inquiry-based education, constructivism or competence-based education (Vavrus, Thomas, & Bartlett, 2011). Once a certain education approach becomes an all-purpose word, it easily leads to a situation where one no longer sees the wood for the trees.
In order to prevent this and to clarify the meaning of LCP, it is helpful to view LCP as opposed to the more traditional, teacher-centered way of teaching. Some scholars, like Tabulawa (2013) and Barrett (2007) argue that the dichotomy learner-centered versus teacher-centered does not do justice to the reality. Instead of viewing learner and teacher centered education as two opposites, they prefer to see the transfer from one to the other as a more fundamental paradigm shift.
The table below shows the difference between teacher-led and learnercentred education. In a learner-centred classroom the learners co-influence the teaching and learning process, in contrast to a teacher-led classroom whereby the teacher is fully in charge of the content and the teaching and learning process. In a teacher-led classroom, it is only the teacher who has the authority to deliver knowledge, skills and attitudes as if the learners are empty vessels to be filled.
Teacher-led versus Learner-centered pedagogy
In their book Primary Teacher Education, Agumba M.Ndolah, Bernard Misigo, Margaret Ongek, Emmy Kipsoi and Catherine Simiyu (2009) highlighted the advantages and disadvantages that distinguish learner -centred approach from teacher-centred approach.
Characteristics of learner-centered approach
The following are the characteristics of this approach
– Basing teaching on learner characteristics.
– Exposure of learners to real things (real life situations).
– Teachers’ role is to provide an enabling atmosphere for active learner participation in the instructional process through offering guidance, being friendly and flexible to the learners.
– Dominance of the instructional process by the learner(s).
– Provision of group work to cater for individual differences and needs in the learner population. Learners are thus usually fewer in numbers than in the other strategy
– Incorporation of a wide range of instructional resources and other materials in the instructional process.
– Exhibition of leadership qualities in learners through taking initiative in various responsibilities e.g. distribution of materials, keeping class tidy, helping each other, etc.
– Establishment of several interesting learning areas e.g. class displays, projects, science or nature corner, shop (for lower primary) creativity corner, etc.
– Allowing for the free movement of learners in the classroom during the course of the lesson.
Advantages of learner-centred approach/pedagogy
The following are the advantages of LCA/P:
– Facilitates retention of the learned material – Provides training on democratic principles and leadership responsibilities.
– Stimulates the learner’s mental activity as it requires that one actively participate in the instructional process.
– Develops learners’ communication skills thus, making them enjoy fluency in expression.
– Encourages creativity, originality, organization of material and discovery in the learners.
– Caters for the diverse interests and abilities of learners in a classroom situation.
– Makes the instructional process interesting, hence motivate learners in the lesson.
– Fosters a sense of responsibility in the learners.
– Encourages a learner to cooperate with others and appreciate working in groups i.e. develops learner’s social skills Facilitates transfer and application of knowledge to new learning tasks.
– Enhances teacher-learner interaction as it allows for free exchange (sharing) of information.
– Develops critical thinking among learners.
Disadvantages of the learner-centred pedagogy/approach
– Demands a lot of time.
– Expensive in terms of resource requirements
– It requires a teacher to be patient and flexible in how he/she handles the learners, etc
Role of teachers in learner-centered classroom
– The teacher focuses on observation of evidence on what learners can do and then identifies any difficulties encountered by them so that appropriate strategies can be developed for those with special needs (slow learners, learners with disabilities, talented and gifted learners).
– The teacher should take into account different cross-cutting issues and integrate them in the learning activities where applicable.
– The teacher should encourage individual, peer and group evaluation of the work done in the classroom. They must also use appropriate competence-based assessment approaches and methods.
– The teacher is a facilitator and a guide in the learning process. She/ she must provide supervised opportunities for learners to develop different competences by giving tasks which enhance critical thinking, problem solving, research, creativity and innovation, communication and cooperation.
– The teacher is an advisor and provides guidance and counselling for learners. She/he supports and comforts learners by valuing their contributions in the class activities
– The teacher acts as a parent and has to ensure discipline, follow up learners’ behavior, and communicate with parents about the learners’ performance at school.
Role of students in learner-centred classroom:
– Learners communicate and share relevant information with other learners through presentations, discussions, group work and other learner-centred activities (role play, case studies, project work, research and investigation)
– Learners are active participants and take some responsibility for their own learning
– Learners develop knowledge and skills in active ways – Learners carry out research and investigation, consulting print and online documents and resourceful people and present their findings
– During the assigned tasks, learners ensure the effective contribution of each group member, through clear explanations and arguments, critical thinking, responsibility and confidence in public speaking.
In a learner-centred classroom, learners have ample opportunity to communicate and actively engage in learning activities, while in a teacherled classroom learners mostly passively listen to the teacher. In learnercentred education the teacher gives room for learners to create and come with their own ideas and knowledge, hereby taking into account that learners learn differently and sometimes need specific individual support. The choice for a learner-centred approach is ideally reflected on several levels; for instance, in the official national curriculum, the classroom activities and the individual interaction of teacher with the learners. Learner-centered pedagogy is an approach that gives room for individual interests, learning preferences, styles and needs. It is a pedagogy that incorporates collaborative and (inter) active teaching and learning activities that are clearly instructed and facilitated by the teacher, leading to a situation whereby learners co-influence the learning content and process. (Learner Centered Pedagogy in Practice UR-CE and VVOB,2017)
Around each approach (learner centred and teacher centred approach), write different words (word cloud) which have close relationship with term “learner centred and teacher centred approach”
3.2.1. Definition of Problem-Based approach
The problem-based approach is among the approaches of the “socio-constructivist” movement by which knowledge is built by mutual input (peer and teacher). This approach enables students to learn while engaging actively with meaningful problems. Students are given the opportunities to problem-solve in a collaborative setting, create mental models for learning, and form self-directed learning habits through practice and reflection.
Problem Based Learning (PBL) is a student-centered pedagogy in which students learn about a subject through experience of solving an open-ended problem. According to Barrows and Tamblyn (1980), PBL is defined as the learning that results from the process of working towards the understanding or resolution of a problem.
Based on the idea that “learning is change of perceptions”, the purpose of problem-based approach is to engage the learner in a provocative context, forcing him/her to mobilize existing resources (knowledge, skills) to overcome the obstacle and reach a solution through various learning activities.
3.2.2. Characteristics of problem-based learning
The Problem Based Learning has the following main characteristics according to Barrows (1997):
• Student-centered: the students are motivated to be responsible on self-learning. The teacher will act as a facilitator and will help students to make a right decision.
• Problem-based: learners are provided with a problem situation that destabilizes the learner’s perceptions, knowledge and skills
• Problem solving: a problem will be used to stimulate effective and efficient development and reasoning skills. At the early stage, there will be a modelling of problem-solving process and teachers will reduce their role when students start to communicate and make argument with themselves and peers about what they think.
• Self-directed: students can justify what they must learn and this is based on their task to solve the problem. Information needed to solve the problem they will go back to the problems and will apply a new knowledge that they gain through problem solving. The experience that they gain will be used to construct new knowledge.
• Collaborative: students will collaborate in the problem-solving process and will identify learning issues. The student collaboration will occur during self-directed learning when students form a group to solve the learning issue which has been identified.
• Self-reflecting: when the problem is solved, students will make a self-reflection to new information, compared with new problem, make a reflection to face the same problem (for the future), to abstract a concept or a principle.
What are the essential characteristics of a problem situation?
A problem situation should:
– Have sense: it concerns the learner, makes him/her feel attracted;
– Correspond to a learning objective;
– Be adapted to the learners (age, socio-cultural medium);
– Be related to a barrier that is sufficiently strong (effect of provocation) to call the learner for mobilization of his/her knowledge and perceptions. The obstacle appears to the learner as surmountable even if initially he/she has no resolution tools. It is the need to resolve the problem that leads to the development of instruments of resolution;
– Create ruptures with the original explanatory models if they are inappropriate or incorrect (creating a cognitive conflict or socio-cognitive). The real-situation problems allow learners to deconstruct the initial perceptions to reconstruct new knowledge;
– Raising questioning of learners;
– Correspond to a complex situation opening to different solutions;
– Lead to a general knowledge: notion, concept, law, rule, behaviour.
3.2.3. Importance of problem-based learning
– PBL helps students develop flexible knowledge, effective problemsolving skills, self-directed learning (SDL)
– PBL methodology promotes students’ motivation and their research becomes more focused and meaningful.
– The students also become more involved in learning, creative and critical thinkers.
– PBL also helps to increase the consideration of interdisciplinary knowledge and skills.
– In addition, PBL has potential to increase the cognitive competitiveness of individuals by eliminating barriers that may inhibit work processes and encourages students to apply relevant and meaningful information to real-life situation.
– PBL has also been usseful in developing management, collaboration and communication skills
3.2.4. Steps of problem-based lesson
a. Experimental-based lessons
In sciences the problem based learning follow the experimental learning steps summarised as follow: (Refer to the above scenario about the phenomenon of evaporation):
i. Presentation of the problem situation
ii. Reflections, comparison with perceptions of students (prior knowledge, beliefs ...)
– The teacher collects the initial perceptions of students through group discussions.
– The prior learning of students allows teachers to compare their answers with those he/she expects by leading learners to their discovery. The teacher should avoid giving the answers, but guide learners through their discussions until they discover the expected answers.
iii. Formulating assumptions by learners
– An assumption is often defined as a possible answer to a problem, a potential explanatory model incorporated in an approach, a provisional solution to a problem, an idea to verify etc.
– That is why we should encourage learners to make more than one assumption, and avoid absolute way (eg maybe, perhaps, possibly ...).
– The teacher accepts all the proposals as assumptions written in the books of “experiments” that will reflect all the discussions made in groups.
iv. Validation / invalidation of assumptions by experiments or other activities
– The teacher or students propose the kind of experiment and the experimental protocol to be done to validate or invalidate the assumptions.
v. Generalization and Synthesis
– The main role of the teacher is played at this level. He/she explains the new concepts and help learners to question their initial perceptions.
b. non-experimental-based lessons
When the problem
- based learning is used in non-sciences lessons such as in social studies, steps can be as follows:
– Definition or presentation of the problem (case study, scenario)
– Group discussions
– Presentation of findings
– Summary/conclusion
3.2.5. Limitations with Problem-Based Learning
The use of PBL in our classes is very beneficial, especially when you want to promote learner-centeredness, critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
However, it has some limitations while implementing:
– It is demanding in terms of time and means
– takes time in planning and collecting adequate materials and obliges too many debates on the side of students to identify what they need to learn in order to develop a solution and where to look for appropriate learning resources to address the problem.
– May be difficult to implement in large classes.
– Requires huge science prerequisites.
– The fact that its process is wholly active makes it complicated to monitor and evaluate.
3.3.1. The meaning of play-based approach
It has been noted that most adults working in Early Years settings share the professional opinion that play is a key pedagogical medium for learning. As a result they are careful to provide their children with plenty of opportunities to explore the curriculum through collaborative and exploratory play.
Other research also highlighted that play is a powerful inner force through which a child reaches out to interact with his environment involving movement and different sensory modes. At early age, children who are prevented from having a wide range of sensory-motor experiences due to illness, overprotection, or other reasons are not likely to develop certain kinds of percepto-cognitive information.
Play is unstructured activity while games are activities with a minimal set of rules, equipment and coaching. Play can be regarded as medium of instruction for young children who have not yet developed fully the language skills. Children engage instinctively in play.
Play-based learning is an experiential, participatory and guided approach, which enhances the teaching and learning process through play. Children organize and make sense of their world as they actively engage with their peers and leaders in educational games and activities. Play-based learning motivates and stimulates children and supports them in the development and consolidation of skills and concepts, while helping to shape their positive attitude towards learning and life.
3.3.2. Fundamental principles of play-based learning
• Play is recognized as a child’s right, and it is essential to the child’s optimal development:
– The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child recognizes “the right of the child … to engage in play … appropriate to the age of the child” and “to participate freely in cultural life and the arts”.
– Play is essential to the development of children’s cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being. The Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) recognizes play as necessary for all children and critical to children’s optimal growth, learning, and development from infancy to adolescence.
– Educators recognize the benefits of play for learning and engage in children’s play with respect for the children’s ideas and thoughtful attention to their choices.
• All children are viewed as competent, curious, capable of complex thinking, and rich in potential and experience:
– In play-based learning, educators respect every child’s views, ideas, and theories; imagination and creativity; and interests and experiences.
– The child is seen as an active collaborator and contributor in the process of learning. Together, educators and learners plan, negotiate, reflect on, and construct the learning experience.
– Educators respect the diversity of social, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds represented among the children in the classroom, and take each child’s background and experiences into account when interpreting and responding to the child’s ideas and choices in play.
A natural curiosity and a desire to explore, play, and inquire are the primary drivers of learning among young children:
– Play and inquiry engage, challenge, and energize learners, promoting an active, alert, and focused state of mind that is conducive to learning.
– Children’s choices in play are the best starting points for the co-construction of learning with the child.
– Educators respond to, challenge, and extend children’s learning in play and inquiry by: observing; listening; questioning; provoking; providing descriptive feedback; engaging in reciprocal communication and sustained conversations; providing explicit instruction at the moments and in the contexts when it is most likely to move a child or group of children forward in their learning
• The learning environment plays a key role in what and how a child learns
– A learning environment that is safe and welcoming supports children’s well-being and ability to learn.
– Both in the classroom and out of doors, the learning environment allows for the flexible and creative use of time, space, and materials in order to respond to children’s interests and needs.
– The learning environment is constructed collaboratively and through negotiation by children and educators, with contributions from family and community members. – A learning environment that inspires joy promotes learning.
• In play-based learning programs, assessment supports the child’s learning and autonomy as a learner
– In play-based learning, educators, children, and family members collaborate in on-going assessment to support children’s learning and their cognitive, physical, social, and emotional development.
– Assessment in play-based learning involves documenting and reflecting on what the child says, does, and represents in play and inquiry.
3.3.3 The benefits of play-based learning
Since the early 2000s, there has been a shift towards recommending the use of play-based learning in early education curricula. Play-based learning is, essentially, to learn while at play. Within studies that have examined the benefits of play based learning, two different types of play have been the primary focus: free play, which is directed by the children themselves and guided play, which is play that has some level of teacher guidance or involvement.
In and out of the school, play gives children opportunities to manipulate materials, count, measure, add, understand the world around them, express themselves freely, make a connection to personal experiences enhance their literacy skills, develop social skills.’’ Piaget, J. (1962), play, dreams and imagination in children.
Since both free play and directed play are important, there should be a balance between allocating time for uninterrupted free play and embedding or extending academic content in different ways within playful activities to support children’s learning in various subject areas.
a. Play and numeracy activities
The concept of ‘numeracy play’ is defined as play with number toys, shapes, construction toys, building blocks, or board/card games, in addition to counting things and singing counting rhymes/songs. These numeracy activities can be differentiated into formal activities (those where there is an element of explicit instruction from the caregiver to the child) and informal activities (those that arise in daily life). The formal and informal numeracy activities in early years can have substantial effects on later mathematics achievement.
The formal ways of teaching numeracy include for example playing with numbers, playing with blocks, constructions using objects of different shapes and size, problem solve through imaginative play, order, sort, match in role-play area.
The informal ways of teaching numeracy include using objects/materials found in home environment. Parents have a vital role in the creation of the home numeracy environment through the provision of numeracy-related learning tools, and through parent-child interaction in numeracy related scenarios.
b. Play and Science
Children conduct concrete experimental activities which contribute to children’s interest and slowly emergent understanding of nature, technology, health, mathematics, biology, chemistry and physics. Through such activities children achieve knowledge on plants, animals, the circuit of nature, nature phenomenon plus nature regularity and accordingly understanding of subjects like light, water, magnetism, electricity, air current etc. through experimental, exploration and discovery activities.
Example: Water play Children’s first learning experiences with water are conducted early using tools easily found in the home environment: safe, unbreakable measuring cups and small containers (margarine tubs, yogurt cups, plastic bottles etc.) Free play with water can build the foundation for understanding of a multitude of scientific concepts, including those in
• Physics (flow, motion, sinking and floating, bubbles, magnetism, colour spectrum, evaporation)
• Chemistry (solutions, cohesion, mixture, mixture and solutions)
• Biology (plant and animal life), and
• Mathematics (measurement, equivalence, volume)
. Mastery of these concepts will support children’s understanding of academic subjects in later schooling and life.
Conclusion
Sensory experiences facilitate development in multiple domains. Sensory materials encourage cognitive development. As children manipulate the materials, they learn to understand concepts such as more/less, full/empty, and sink/float. Children learn math skills such as size, conservation, counting, matching, classifying, and sorting (Guha, 2002). Children reinforce and practice their large and small motor skills as well as eye-hand coordination while pouring, molding, stirring, sifting, sorting, measuring, lifting and carrying sensory materials. Using descriptive words such as hard/soft, rough/smooth, liquid/solid, hot/cold to describe sensory materials helps children to expand their vocabulary.
c. Play and language skills development
When it comes to teaching and learning in early years, PLAY becomes a medium of instruction because children have not yet mastered the language so that they can exclusively use it for learning.
The best channel for developing competences is ‘Play’. Even language skills are developed and mastered through play.
Different types of play contribute to the development of language skills
• Manipulative play and development of language skills
This play involves the use of hands, legs and all body parts. It develops hand-eye coordination in children. Manipulative play enhances all language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing where the hand muscles are used and the eyes are coordinated to perform the manipulation of materials. This implied that teachers used varied language activities in listening, speaking, reading and writing to expose children to acquire language skills.
• Creative play and Language skills development
Creative play enhances the development of language skills. This is because creative play involves the use of materials like paint, brushes, paper, water and modelling clay hence children are exposed to various activities that are selected by the teachers. Through these materials, they are able to express their thoughts hence develop their vocabulary in listening, speaking, reading and writing skills.
• Dramatic play and language skills development
Dramatic play promotes the development of language and creative skills. This is because the learners are able to listen to instructions, perform the roles as they speak, read the scripts and write essays related to the roles they perform. In make believe play, learners enhance the ability to imitate and create. They practice words they have heard from others and realize that they must listen and organize meaningful scripts through writing.
The following are dramatic play activities that enhance language skills
– Talk about what different people do in role-play situations
– Talk in the language of different roles e.g. shopkeeper, mummy, Little Red Riding Hood (Pre-schoolers)
– Role-play nursery rhymes, stories, dialogue – Use language to plan and create real-life or imaginary situations
– Develop the language of dialogue e.g. listen to and respond to what other children/adults say
– Extend vocabulary associated with imaginary/role-play e.g. depending on contexts (school, airport, library, artist’s studio, garden centre, …)
– Have access to related books fact/fiction in role-play area.
– Develop writing skills e.g. writing shopping lists, prescriptions, Get Well cards, record sheets, forms, bills, leaflets, menus, letters
– Develop ICT skills through office role-play – telephones, keyboards, photocopier, computer
d. Play and social skills
Play promotes the development of social and emotional skills:
– Children playing different roles and relating to each other from the perspective of their assigned roles.
– They learn to agree on different things after discussion,
– Negotiate roles, and cooperate to bring it all together.
– They learn how to cope with any fears and worries that may accompany life experiences.
– They are better able to show empathy for others in different life contexts
– They learn to control their impulses, and tend to be less aggressive than children who do not engage in play
3.3.4. Disadvantages of play activities
– Sometimes they are competitive, pitching friendly individuals or groups against each other.
– Sometimes they may reflect negative characteristics such as aggressiveness of the adult society that learner may internalize as they play;
– Play require a lot of time for all the learners to develop their own interests at their own pace;
– Inexperienced teachers may use play activities yet the learner achieve very little.
3.4.1. Introduction
The term “thematic” is delivered from the word” theme”. Learning in thematic refers to learning which is centred on themes. It involves creating a variety of educational activities planned around a central theme. These activities are integrated into all aspects of the curriculum within a given period.
We use thematic teaching to help children to achieve development milestones as well as to develop number, reading and writing skills. Therefore, themes are used to enable children acquire knowledge, skills and attitudes through a series of planned activities. Time taken to cover one theme depends on its content and may range from several days to one month.
3.4.2. Organisation of teaching using thematic approach
The teacher or learner may select the theme to be learned. The teacher starts on what the children know to what is unknown otherwise referred to as button to the top. The teacher may proceed to help the children in theme selection in case they are not familiar with the listed themes. He/she teaches the theme chosen under different activity areas. The teacher is supposed to make learning as natural as possible. He/she can use a song or a poem when changing from one activity area to another. Teaching of one theme can take a period of time ranging from one week or even month.
The knowledge and skills taught, this should progress in different levels starting from the simplest to the most complex. The teacher should cater for different age groups in the class providing them with appropriate activities. Together with children teacher should develop various learning corners as learning progresses, these corners should have varied materials for learning. The teacher should use guiding questions or through-provoking questions to get information from children to what they know.
3.4.3. Characteristics of thematic approach
– Main activity areas are put together or incorporated.
– The teacher needs to be aware of different types of knowledge, skills, concepts and attitudes to be developed in different activity areas.
– Learning is continuous, that is, one theme is learnt through a planned activity for a given period of time.
– The arrangement of learning corners portrays the theme being learnt during a particular time.
– The child’s needs, interests and abilities are taken into consideration when planning activities in each theme.
– There is flexibility in the choice and planning of the activities.
– Learning is at the pace of the child.
– Learning is in a natural set-up which helps the child to learn.
3.4.4. Advantages and disadvantages of thematic approach
Advantages of thematic approach
– It is flexible i.e. it’s easy to change from one activity area to another.
– It is cohesive i.e. it is continuous and this helps to build one’s previous knowledge without a break in learning.
– In thematic approach, the knowledge gained is retained i.e. there is memory retention because the child remains focused on a certain theme at a certain period of time.
– It is comprehensive i.e. all activities in thematic approach and content area can be related and incorporated together.
Disadvantages of thematic integrated learning
– Not all children will have interest in a particular theme; those without interest may not learn since they have a negative attitude towards it.
– It may create boredom to the fast learners as they are forced to move at a slower pace to cater for the slow learners n a certain theme, children may not understand some activities thus making the child to hate the whole theme.
– In a certain theme, children may not understand some activities thus making the child to hate the whole theme.
– It requires a lot of organisation skills and knowledge from the teacher to organize the lesson.
– Some themes may be difficult to apply in teaching; other activity areas as deriving activities may prove impossible.
1. Explain how to help learners understand the phenomenon of condensation following the steps of experimental approach.
2. Think about a weekly theme and using the P4 syllabus, create a thematic planning web diagram to show how different subject topics/lessons will turn around.
3. Choose any lesson from pre-primary or primary syllabus and prepare a playful activity that you can use to teach that lesson. Set clear instructions.
4. Read and role play the following scenario: The teacher teaches days of the week through play. He or she puts flashcards in different corners, each flashcard and corner represents a day. The teacher gives instruction to the learners that they will run to the corner according to the day he/she says. After the play: What is your appreciation of this learning technique?