Course: General Methods of Teaching (8601)

Level: B.Ed (1 ½ & 2½ Years)

Semester: Autumn, 2017
ASSIGNMENT No. 2

Q.1 What is an activity? Discuss the importance of activity method. Name different types of activities you
would use in English.
Answer:
Activity method is a technique adopted by a teacher to emphasize his or her method of teaching through activity in
which the students participate rigorously and bring about efficient learning experiences. It is a child-
centered approach. It is a method in which the child is actively involved in participating mentally and physically.
Learning by doing is the main focus in this method. Learning by doing is imperative in successful learning since it is
well proved that more the senses are stimulated, more a person learns and longer he/she retains. Pine G (1989)
mentions that in an activity based teaching, learners willingly with enthusiasm internalize and implement concepts
relevant to their needs.
So our understanding on the activity method by now should mean any learning that is carried out with a purpose in
a social environment, involving physical and mental action, stimulating for creative action or expression.
Why do we need to use activity based learning method?
The information processing theory in psychology views learners as active investigators of their environment. This
theory is grounded in the premise that people innately strive to make sense of the world around them. In the
process of learning, they experience, memorize and understand. Students need to be provided with data and
materials necessary to focus their thinking and interaction in the lesson for the process of analyzing the information.
Teachers need to be actively involved in directing and guiding the students’ analysis of the information. It requires
active problem solving by students in finding patterns in the information through their own investigation and
analysis. With continued practice in these processes, students learn not the content of the lesson but also develop
many other skills.
· It enhances creative aspect of experience.
· It gives reality for learning.
· Uses all available resources.
· Provides varied experiences to the students to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge, experience, skills and
values.
· Builds the student’s self-confidence and develops understanding through work in his/her group.
· Gets experiences, develop interest, enriches vocabulary and provides stimulus for reading.
· Develops happy relationship between students and students, teachers and students.
· An activity is said to be the language of the child. A child who lacks in verbal expression can make up through
use of ideas in the activity.
· Subjects of all kind can be taught through activity.
· Social relation provides opportunity to mix with others.
Kinds of activities:
The activities used in this strategy can be generalized under three main categories:

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· Exploratory - gathering knowledge, concept and skill.
· Constructive - getting experience through creative works.
· Expressional – presentations.
The Activities you could focus on:-
Experiencing:
 watching, observing, comparing, describing, questioning, discussing, investigating, reporting, collecting,
selecting, testing, trying, listening, reading, drawing, calculating, imitating, modeling, playing, acting, taking
on roles, talking, writing about what one can see, hear, feel, taste, experimenting and imagining.
Memorizing:
 Sequencing ordering, finding regularities and patterns, connect with given knowledge, use different modes of
perception, depict.
Understanding:
 Structuring, ordering, classifying, constructing, solving, planning, predicting, transferring, applying knowledge,
formulating ones individual understanding, interpreting, summarizing, evaluating, judging, explaining and
teaching.
Organizing activities:
 The process of organizing activities must be based on curricular aims bringing together the needs, ideas,
interests and characteristics of the children with the knowledge, skill, experience, and personality of the
teacher within a given environment. The extent to which the teacher works with students individually or in
groups affect the relation the teacher has with each child.
Steps required for Effective Organization of Activities.
a. Planning.
b. Involving children in the learning process.
c. Each child is made an active learner.
d. For each activity ensure you follow the principles of:-
 What?
 How? Work directions step by step, including:
 With whom? Where? How long?
 What after?
e. Ensure you give clear instructions before each activity. It must focus on the above a, b, c, d.
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Q.2 Analyze the effectiveness of guided discussion method. Explain the structure of guided discussion
method.
Answer:
The guided discussion pedagogy is an active learning technique which offers many benefits to your students. Guided
discussion exposes students to a variety of diverse perspectives, helps them recognize and investigate their
assumptions, improves listening and conversation skills, fosters connection to a topic, and affirms students as co-
creators of knowledge. As they participate in discussion, students situate new knowledge within the context of their

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current understandings, thus facilitating a more thorough understanding of the course material. Despite the many
benefits, instructors are sometimes hesitant to start discussions because of its unpredictable aspect and its potential
challenges. This worksheet offers basic tips and strategies on how to effectively plan and conduct classroom
discussions, as well as prevent problem situations. Guided discussion, when used strategically and intentionally, can
excite and engage students, fostering a deeper understanding of the content and its application to their lives.
Guided Discussion Method – Opposite of the Lecture method, guided discussion method enables the instructor to
query the student on a certain topic, there by evaluating what the student knows, and what he does not know.
Use of Question in a guided Discussion –
Types
 Overhead/How/Why – Directed to the entire group
 Rhetorical – Spurs group thought
 Direct – Asked of a specific student
 Reverse – In response to a question, ask another question.
 Relay – Relay the question to the group if asked by a student
Effective Questions
 Select a suitable subject
 Establish objective
 Research the subject
 Organize main and subordinate points logically
 Plan a lead-off question for each desired outcome
 Guide students in their preparation
Structure of guided Discussion – The instructor must have a set of goals and or ideas that he wants to convey to
the student.
 Introduction – This should something that poses a question or a telling of a story to help get the discussion
off the ground.
 Discussion – The instructor should keep the discussion on topic. The instructor should listen attentively and
try to continually evaluate the knowledge of the student
 Summary – The instructor should summarize each section before moving on.
Conclusion – The instructor should take a couple of minutes to review and recap what was covered in the discussion.
This will help the student grasp the “larger picture.” The instructor should clarify any questions.
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Q.3 Define the terms “Evaluation” and “Students Evaluation”. Highlight the importance of students’
evaluation.
Answer:
Evaluation is a systematic determination of a subject's merit, worth and significance, using criteria governed by a set
of standards. It can assist an organization, program, project or any other intervention or initiative to assess any aim,
realisable concept/proposal, or any alternative, to help in decision-making; or to ascertain the degree of
achievement or value in regard to the aim and objectives and results of any such action that has been completed.

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The primary purpose of evaluation, in addition to gaining insight into prior or existing initiatives, is to enable
reflection and assist in the identification of future change.
Evaluation is often used to characterize and appraise subjects of interest in a wide range of human enterprises,
including the arts, criminal justice, foundations, non-profit organizations, government, health care, and other human
services. It is long term and done at the end of a period of time.
Evaluation is the structured interpretation and giving of meaning to predicted or actual impacts of proposals or
results. It looks at original objectives, and at what is either predicted or what was accomplished and how it was
accomplished. So evaluation can be formative, that is taking place during the development of a concept or proposal,
project or organization, with the intention of improving the value or effectiveness of the proposal, project, or
organisation. It can also be summative, drawing lessons from a completed action or project or an organisation at a
later point in time or circumstance.
Evaluation is inherently a theoretically informed approach (whether explicitly or not), and consequently any particular
definition of evaluation would have been tailored to its context – the theory, needs, purpose, and methodology of
the evaluation process itself. Having said this, evaluation has been defined as:
 A systematic, rigorous, and meticulous application of scientific methods to assess the design, implementation,
improvement, or outcomes of a program. It is a resource-intensive process, frequently requiring resources,
such as, evaluate expertise, labor, time, and a sizable budget
 "The critical assessment, in as objective a manner as possible, of the degree to which a service or its
component parts fulfills stated goals" (St Leger and Wordsworth-Bell). The focus of this definition is on
attaining objective knowledge, and scientifically or quantitatively measuring predetermined and external
concepts.
 "A study designed to assist some audience to assess an object's merit and worth" (Stufflebeam). In this
definition the focus is on facts as well as value laden judgments of the programs outcomes and worth.
Purpose
The main purpose of a program evaluation can be to "determine the quality of a program by formulating a
judgment" Marthe Hurteau, Sylvain Houle, Stéphanie Mongiat (2009).
An alternative view is that "projects, evaluators, and other stakeholders (including funders) will all have potentially
different ideas about how best to evaluate a project since each may have a different definition of 'merit'. The core of
the problem is thus about defining what is of value." From this perspective, evaluation "is a contested term", as
"evaluators" use the term evaluation to describe an assessment, or investigation of a program whilst others simply
understand evaluation as being synonymous with applied research.
There are two function considering to the evaluation purpose Formative Evaluations provide the information on the
improving a product or a process Summative Evaluations provide information of short-term effectiveness or long-
term impact to deciding the adoption of a product or process.
Not all evaluations serve the same purpose some evaluations serve a monitoring function rather than focusing solely
on measurable program outcomes or evaluation findings and a full list of types of evaluations would be difficult to
compile. This is because evaluation is not part of a unified theoretical framework, drawing on a number of disciplines,
which include management and organisational theory, policy analysis, education, sociology, social anthropology,
and social change.
Student evaluation?
To most people evaluation means testing, but to educators evaluation is much more. Evaluation refers to a broad
range of activities and tasks including observation, worksheets, essays, presentation, group work, performances and

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more traditional forms of testing. It's important to look at the issue of evaluation by thinking about why teachers
evaluate.
The main reason teachers evaluate is to find out what students have learned—the outcome of the instruction. This
information is used in two ways: first to inform the teachers about their teaching and what needs to be taught next
and second, to make a judgement about how well students have learned the knowledge or skill being taught.
Evaluation is a systematic process that involves a variety of activities.
Teachers gather information about student achievement informally and formally. Informal evaluation is used by the
teacher to provide feedback to students and to check for understanding in the teaching and learning process.
Informal evaluation activities include observation of students as they work in groups, pretests, short classroom
assignments, practice tasks, oral questioning and discussion. Formal evaluation is used to judge student achievement;
that is, how well the student has learned the knowledge and/or skills. Students are marked on formal evaluation
tasks and this mark is usually part of their report card grade. These evaluation tasks can include projects, writing
assignments, performances, tests, reports and research.
Student report card marks are based on a number of different evaluation activities over an extended time. Teachers
are careful to use many opportunities to evaluate students before they make a judgement about a student's
achievements. Marking a single test or project does not give the teacher enough information to offer a complete
picture of the student's abilities. As well, not everything students are expected to learn can be marked on a pencil
and paper test. That's why a teacher's judgement about student achievement is a more complete evaluation than a
single test like the achievement or diploma exams.
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Q.4 Describe the purpose of teaching tools and how many types of teaching tools are used in the
classrooms?
Answer:
"Teaching materials" is a generic term used to describe the resources teachers use to deliver instruction. Teaching
materials can support student learning and increase student success. Ideally, the teaching materials will be tailored
to the content in which they're being used, to the students in whose class they are being used, and the teacher.
Teaching materials come in many shapes and sizes, but they all have in common the ability to support student
learning.
Examples
Teaching materials can refer to a number of teacher resources; however, the term usually refers to concrete examples,
such as worksheets or manipulatives (learning tools or games that students can handle to help them gain and
practice facility with new knowledge -- e.g. counting blocks). Teaching materials are different from teaching
"resources," the latter including more theoretical and intangible elements, such as essays or support from other
educators, or places to find teaching materials.
Student Learning Support
Learning materials are important because they can significantly increase student achievement by supporting student
learning. For example, a worksheet may provide a student with important opportunities to practice a new skill gained
in class. This process aids in the learning process by allowing the student to explore the knowledge independently as
well as providing repetition. Learning materials, regardless of what kind, all have some function in student learning.
Lesson Structure
Learning materials can also add important structure to lesson planning and the delivery of instruction. Particularly in
lower grades, learning materials act as a guide for both the teacher and student. They can provide a valuable routine.
For instance, if you are a language arts teacher and you teach new vocabulary words every Tuesday, knowing that

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you have a vocabulary game to provide the students with practice regarding the new words will both take pressure
off of you and provide important practice (and fun) for your students.
Differentiation of Instruction
In addition to supporting learning more generally, learning materials can assist teachers in an important professional
duty: the differentiation of instruction. Differentiation of instruction is the tailoring of lessons and instruction to the
different learning styles and capacities within your classroom. Learning materials such as worksheets, group activity
instructions, games, or homework assignments all allow you to modify assignments to best activate each individual
student's learning style.
Acquiring Teaching Materials
Getting your hands on valuable teaching materials is not nearly as difficult as it can seem at first. The Internet has
many resources for teachers, most of them free, that can significantly increase the contents of your teaching toolbox.
You can also make your own materials. Every learning material you develop will be an asset to you when you next
teach a similar unit. An investment of time or money in good teaching materials is an investment in good teaching.
Importance of Teaching aids
Teaching aids play a very important role in Teaching- Learning process. Importance of Teaching aids are as follows :-
1) Motivation
Teaching aids motivate the students so that they can learn better.
2) Clarification
Through teaching aids , the teacher clarify the subject matter more easily.
3) Discouragement of Cramming
Teaching aids can facilitate the proper understanding to the students which discourage the act of cramming.
4) Increase the Vocabulary
Teaching aids helps to increase the vocabulary of the students more effectively.
5) Saves Time and Money
6) Classroom Live and active
Teaching aids make the classroom live and active.
7) Avoids Dullness
8) Direct Experience
Teaching aids provide direct experience to the students
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Q.5 Write down the advantages and disadvantages of using multimedia.
Answer:
Multimedia in the classroom has evolved rapidly with a progression from audio cassettes to internet sites in
classroom learning. Examples of multimedia in the classroom include the use of video, the creation of video by
students, the creation of spreadsheets or the development of a website displaying student work.
Practical Advantages to Using Multimedia
A major advantage to using multimedia sources in the classroom is the ability to bring in images, sounds and videos
without leaving the room. Computer programs and internet sites can also give students experiences that might
ordinarily be unsafe, such as views from scaling mountains in a geography lesson or a dissection of a rare animal.
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Additionally, using a projector or individual computers gives students the opportunity to view information or
materials up close.
Educational Advantages to Using Multimedia
Students who learned from materials containing both text and graphics produced 55 percent to 121 percent more
accurate solutions to problems, according to David Taylor at the University of Maryland. The use of images, along
with words, diminishes the overwhelming nature of text and helps the student to manage the cognitive load, which
increases retention. Specifically, graphics are found to support retention because important elements are focused on
via placement, layout and color. Activation of prior knowledge is engaged quickly with visual analogy, and mental
models are created easily as diagrams can enhance understanding of how a concept works. Additionally, learning is
made easier because simulations allow students to visualize real-life situations, and motivation is increased as
students are able to see the relevance of skills.
Practical Disadvantages to Using Multimedia
Multimedia lessons or components of lessons delivered via video or image require computers, projectors and other
electronic devices depending upon the subject and the amount of original material a teacher creates. The expense
associated with quality projectors or computers for every student can be quite high, and the amount of images and
videos in a lesson can slow down the delivery and pace of the class as a result. Student access to computers at home
may also cause problems, and varying quality of student electronic devices can create inequity in projects and
presentations.
Educational Disadvantages to Using Multimedia
When designing a multimedia learning experience, the role of the teacher shifts from instructor to facilitator. If a
lesson allows students to complete learning at their own pace as they move through stages of learning, classroom
management becomes increasingly difficult. This is particularly true if students work in groups to view multimedia
sources or share computers. Additionally, students who are not as proficient with technology may have to spend
more time learning computer skills to access information than focusing on course materials.
There are a couple of advantages and disadvantages to using multimedia in communication. I’m only going to a list
a few important ones below. If you are interested to know more, visit one of the given websites by just following the
links.

Advantages:

 It is very user-friendly. It doesn’t take much energy out of the user, in the sense that you can sit and watch
the presentation, you can read the text and hear the audio.
 It is multi sensorial. It uses a lot of the user’s senses while making use of multimedia, for example hearing,
seeing and talking.
 It is integrated and interactive. All the different mediums are integrated through the digitisation process.
Interactivity is heightened by the possibility of easy feedback.
 It is flexible.Being digital, this media can easily be changed to fit different situations and audiences.
 It can be used for a wide variety of audiences, ranging from one person to a whole group.
Disadvantages:
 Information overload. Because it is so easy to use, it can contain too much information at once.
 It takes time to compile. Even though it is flexible, it takes time to put the original draft together.

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 It can be expensive. As mentioned in one of my previous posts, multimedia makes use of a wide range
of resources, which can cost you a large amount of money.
 Too much makes it unpractical. Large files like video and audio has an effect of the time it takes for your
presentation to load. Adding too much can mean that you have to use a larger computer to store the files.
 In case you want to upload it onto the Internet, there are a few factors to keep in mind, for example
bandwidth and the user’s abilities.
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