Spiral Approach

THE SPIRAL APPROACH

The spiral approach is a technique often used in teaching where first the basic facts of a subject are learned, without worrying about details. Then as learning progresses, more and more details are introduced, while at the same time they are related to the basics which are reemphasized many times to help enter them into long-term memory. Spiral approach is a teaching strategy to expose the learners to a wide variety of concepts/topic, skills and attitudes that are deemed of “continual concern of everyone “until they are mastered.

A spiral approach or teaching strategy is one in which “key concepts are presented repeatedly throughout the curriculum, but  with deepening layers of complexity.” After a mastery of the initial topic, the student “spiral supwards  as the new knowledge is introduced in next lessons, enabling him/her to reinforce what is already learned. In the end, a rich breadth and depth of knowledge is achieved.  With this procedure, two purposes are served

(a)    The previously learned concept is reviewed hence improving its retention

(b)   . The topic may be progressively elaborated when it is reintroduced leading to broadened understanding and transfer of learning.

In structuring a course, certain perquisite knowledge and skills must be first mastered which in turn provides linkages between each lesson as the students “spiral supwards” in a course of study. The spiral learning  helps teachers construct lessons, activities or projects that target the development of thinking skills and dispositions which do not stop at identification , instead facilitate implementation of the desired performance.

Spiral approach  helps to  develop concrete and practical thinking-centered lessons that make students performances of understanding explicit .it may be used to structure an entire project which can readily fit into the regular curriculum and can help design thinking centered lessons..

Learn with focus on the learners, and learning in a real situation as the teachers facilitate their students to learn from experience, activities and work, leading to the development of learners in all aspects , physical, mental, emotional, social and intellectual. The learner-centered approach is characterized by:

(a)    In adopting the spiral approach, the teachers will be enriched with varied experiences in preparing every science lesson and curriculum a proper blending of concepts, skills and values from the natural and physicals sciences and appropriately sequenced from a start upward according to the level of difficulty.

(b)   One should always remember that one keeps moving upward, butv keeps returning to the fundamentals through reviews but adding more. Spiral approach based on the  transfer of thinking processes from one context to another required students to learned the fundamental principles of subjects and to explore ideas on a deeper level rather than just mastering facts and rote learning procedures. Spiral approach emphasized the gains that can be acquired by developing students powers of analysis ,judgment and memory in order to increase capacity to transfer learning into new students.

In the spiral progression approach, the first basic facts of a subject are  learned without  worrying about details. In spiral teaching ,teacher moves upward but keeps returning to the fundamentals.

Key Concepts of spiral  approach are :  Instructional  objectives are presented to learners in the beginning with simple concepts and then periodically revisiting the concepts and expanding on the concepts as is appropriate for the learner's cognitive level.. Compare to: Chronological, General-to-Specific, Known-to-Unknown, Part-to-Part-to-Part, Part-to-Whole, Part-to-Whole-to Part, Spiral, Step-by-Step, Topical, Unknown-to-Known, Whole-to-Part

Integrated teaching with ICT support

http://www.slideshare.net/bevalle/the-integrated-approach-30726516?from_m_app=android

School Education -Challenges in India

India is the largest democracy with remarkable diversity among its population of 1.2 billion which makes up about 17% of the world’s population. Almost 70% of Indian population is rural. The adult literacy rate stands at about 60% and this is significantly lower in women and minorities. Education in India comprises of government, government aided and private institutions of which nearly 40% are government. With the population growth rate of 1.5%, there is tremendous pressure on the education system to provide quality education at affordable price and improve the literacy rate.

Education in India faces following primary challenges:

Innovations required

The challenge of educating millions of young people implies that we need to scale up our educational efforts multi-fold despite having the largest number of higher education institutes in the world. Scaling up is not possible unless the students become successful, create value in the society and contribute back to their better still new institutes of global standards themselves.

The curriculum of some of the colleges/universities is more or less obsolete and do not equip students with the necessary skills or impart latest knowledge. If a student passes out of a chosen course, he or she should be employable as a work force. Unfortunately, given the phenomenal share of lack of technical knowledge in the courses of education, students are found wanting in the desired skills and technical soundness. To address this issue, we may think of strengthening the vocational streams in schools/colleges. It is urged to the universities/schools/colleges to regularly revisit their curriculum by involving experts from different fields so that the curriculum can lead to knowledge development. Further, why can we not use the available infrastructure more intensely? For instance, why cannot a second stream of courses, say vocational, be run in the evening/night so that the available /created infrastructure is better utilized.

Ethics in Education

As education has to be made affordable to all deserving and poor students, there is a strong need for educational institutions not to over-commercialize education but to uphold ethics in the business of education as well. It is not anyone’s case that the business has to be run unprofitably but the business must be carried out with ethical values for sustenance of educational institutions. Over exploitation should be avoided. Profit cannot be the sole motive for undertaking this business. It must be driven by an unflinching commitment to society which in turn will benefit the business in the long run.

Teachers are the most important factors for any innovative society because teachers’ knowledge and skills not only enhance quality and efficacy of education, but also improve the potential for research and innovation. Given the higher level of GER to be achieved by 2020, a large number of teachers would be required to educate the growing young population. Maybe, students could be used as teachers, especially good students coming from lower income groups so that they can be partly be compensated. Further, barring some leading schools/universities/autonomous educational institutions, many of the teachers of colleges/universities need to hone their skills/talent. There is a need to encourage teachers to participate by presenting research papers in seminars/workshops/conferences and receive periodic trainings for updation of knowledge/skills. It is equally important that a feedback mechanism from students is introduced in universities/colleges to assess and evaluate teachers’ role in the institutional developmental process.

Quality of education

Given that we need to compete globally in the 21st century, our education system should adopt certain benchmarking techniques for improving instruction models and administrative procedures in universities/colleges to move forward. It is suggested that we need a thorough study and evaluation of models implemented elsewhere and work out strategies to adopt such models in our system. Benchmarking in my opinion would provide benefits to our education system in terms of reengineering, setting right objectives, etc.

The country is showing consistency in economic growth pattern, leading the world in terms of information and technology, modernization various economic activities and pushing for higher share of industries and services sectors of the economy but there is one area which needs reform is “education system”. While it is true that some investments are taking place in the country’s higher education system, we are yet to establish world class research facilities, recruiting profound academicians in universities/colleges/research institutions, etc.

Therefore, it is imperative that our educational institutions are equipped with the desired quality and standards which are essentials for transforming the younger workforce into productive ones. Needless to reiterate that in the higher education system focus on use of technology for effective learning by students also need to be encouraged to have cutting edge over our competitors .

Making education affordable

In India, if education has to reach all deserving students, it should be made affordable. The fee structure in Government owned/sponsored institutions is inexpensive in India. However, in some private sector institutions, which have the freedom to prescribe fee structure and despite broad guidelines from certain state governments, fees are beyond the capacity of poor and deserving students. Ideally, the fee structure should vary for such economically weaker students. It is urged to the educators to keep in mind that education should not become prohibitively expensive and ensure that no deserving candidate is denied admission just for the fact that he or she does not possess the necessary financial resources.

Quality

Maintaining standard of education in more than a million schools nationwide, offering training programs to teachers, and keeping good balance with education system worldwide is a big challenge. Schools vary in size and resources and are forced compromise in the all round development opportunities they must provide to students.

Access

Having infrastructural constraints and social issues, it becomes harder to make education accessible to all segments of the society (women, minorities, poor).

Cost

The cost of education is very high even for the people and places where it is accessible. E.g. the competitive pressure on students & parents forces them to opt for private tuitions & trainings to supplement the school education.

Social & Cultural

The ethnic diversity in India poses challenges to implement consistent education nationwide. There are more than 300 languages spoken in the country and makes it difficult to offer education tailored to specific social segment. Educating women in some societies is a big issue. Children of poor families are forced to work and miss out the learning opportunities. Illiterate adults have very limited opportunities to get educated at later age in their live

The main issues and challenges of contemporary Indian education are as follow. The fore most issue is the unsatisfaction of youth. Teachers are unable to satisfy the youth by their knowledge and methods of teaching their knowledge level and education system is not providing the satisfaction and due to this the youth stands against the teachers and system.

Another reason is discipline in schools and colleges. This reason is given of our so called leaders and social contractors. Who instigates the youth time to time for their own benefits.

There is the issue of  problem of unemployment. Some of our educators think that now this problem is an issue for education system but when a youth looks his or her brother or sister unemployed even after getting bachelor or post graduate degree , they are unemployed, this give the birth to a revolt.

Our education is  not for knowledge our education guides students to get good marks not to get knowledge our teachers emphasis on the marks or how they will complete their syllabus not on providing new knowledge to students. Next should come the policy of state and central government about the education. Education is a subject on which state band central government both can make rules and regulation, in some matters state government says that it is the work of central government and central government says it is the work of state government and between these two authorities our education suffers.

Poverty can be next issue or a challenge to which our education system is facing. Nowadays the cost of getting education is very high so poor of our society find themselves lost in getting education.

Political unwillingness is also a great challenge for our education system. Politicians think that they got five years to fulfill their wishes. Matters of education are just kept in pending.

Casteism creates a wall between lower class and upper class. Once I was in another college there I saw a teacher taking fee from the students (you will say what is surprising in this in most of the schools teacher takes fee from the students). But when a student came to give fee, the teacher asked to put the amount on the table. That boy put the amount on the table and went. When I asked about the matter, the teacher replied I was busy in some other work so I could not take the amount in hand. But reality was different, that boy belonged to SC category and that was untouchable for the teacher… This happens in our schools and in colleges.

Dearness is another challenge for the education system. Fee of colleges and schools is rising day by day with public schools raising their fee structure in every session but the wages of laborer is not increasing at the same speed. So poor people find themselves unable in admitting their children in those schools. And government schools do not compete with the public schools or CBSE schools.

The next challenge is our corruption which has become the right of all government officers and whole system. In many schools it is found that the fund which was sending to the school disappeared on the way.

Privatization of education is great issue. Some learned people say that government officials take higher salaries but not work according to that. But in private institutes teachers remains in very critical conditions which is not good for the education system.

Next issue can be the issue of unawareness of teachers about the methods and techniques of teaching. Even they are not interested in these. Teaching is the profession in which a teacher needs to polish his /her knowledge day by day. And because it is the profession daily updating of methods and techniques is compulsory. I think this is the demand of the profession but our teachers are so rigid that they don’t want to change themselves.

Next can be according to me, the issue of character of teachers. Our teacher’s character is going downwards. A teacher is the only person who can change the direction of the society. He is the person who is the center point of any education system. This influences much our society than any other part of the society. This effects much our education than all the above points. But nowadays news in different form can be read in newspapers that a teacher kidnapped his /her students or a teacher raped his student. And due to this many students left their schooling on the mid way.

All these issues and challenges did not rise in a day they took a long period. If we look back in time, ancient time India was on the top in education and knowledge. This was the country in which students used to come from all over the world to acquire the knowledge and education. No country of the world was even near to it. Then what happened to our great country?

Private college owners sell the degrees and marks on high rates or bids. This happened due to the mentality of college owners because most of the college owners came in this field belong to the business families or people who had some useless land and little money to invest, they came in this sector due to high profit and not to serve the society, which is natural. Then how we can think that those people will serve the country and society, because such people think treats with school as a factory, principals/HOD as a managers and teachers as workers.

Meaning of Learning Resources

LEARNING RESOURCE is the term used to describe teaching and learning material. LEARNING RESOURCES which teachers use to support and organise the teaching and learning process For example  tools such as the blackboard, white board, projector, i-pad,  Over head Projector, Computer, posters, paintings, photographs, games, maps, charts, apparatus, Activity cards, activity equipment, Reference books, dictionaries, curriculum document, other documents, music scores,  software, internet, radio/TV , Workbooks  and The Teacher  Guide  book etc.

Learning resource” means a resource used for educational purposes in any format, real or virtual, that: illustrates or supports one or more elements of a course or course of study; and  may enrich the learning experience of the student or teacher”.  Learning resources meet the varying needs of student and teachers . Teachers use a wide range of stimulating and exciting materials to teach the concepts outlined in the curriculum to ensure that students are actively involved in their learning.

•          The resources are required are by  students to undertake the activities.

•            The resources may be for the teacher to provide effective instruction.

•            The resources are inputs used in the process of acquiring knowledge, attitudes, or skills from study ,instruction, or classroom  experience.

•           They could be classified as electronic or

non electronic

Multidisciplinary, Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary: basic concept video

Update your knowledge

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Interdisciplinary Teaching ....

Interdisciplinary Teaching
Interdisciplinary instruction entails the use and integration of methods and analytical frameworks from more than one academic discipline to examine a theme, issue, question or topic. Interdisciplinary education makes use of disciplinary approaches to examine topics, but pushes beyond by: taking insights from a variety of relevant disciplines, synthesizing their contribution to understanding, and then integrating these ideas into a more complete, and hopefully coherent, framework of analysis.

In dealing with multi-faceted issues such as teenage pregnancy, new drug development, genetically modified foods, and health care access, interdisciplinary perspectives are needed to adequately address the complexity of the problems and to forge viable policy responses.

Interdisciplinary teaching is different from multi- or cross-disciplinary teaching in that it requires the integration and synthesis of different perspectives rather than a simple consideration of multiple viewpoints

Resource book for students and professionals working in the field of Pedagogy of Economics.

it is recommended do not click on the link on phone. Always use Desktop or Lapton to download a large. it contains 239 pages of pdf doc.

Learning .....





Teaching_Economics_in_India.pdf

The Power Of Effective Questioning

Life is bliss...

UNDERSTANDING THE ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE : CONCEPT OF ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE

Concept of Academic Discipline 

The concept of a discipline is not a straightforward one. The nature of disciplines is so different from each other that it is not easy to come up with a concise definition that would fit all of them to the same degree. The term discipline‘ may be used for many things at the same time and it is necessary to examine the various meanings of the word. Let us start with an exploration of the etymology of the word discipline.

The term discipline‘ originates from the Latin words discipulus, which means pupil, and disciplina, which means teaching.5 The term discipline is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "a branch of learning or knowledge". It defines a discipline both as a noun and as a verb as follows6:

As noun

1. the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behaviour, using punishment to correct disobedience: a lack of proper parental and school discipline.

2. the controlled behaviour resulting from such training: he was able to maintain discipline among his men.

3. activity that provides mental or physical training

4. a system of rules of conduct: he doesn’t have to submit to normal disciplines. 

5. branch of knowledge, typically one studied in higher education: Sociology is a

fairly new discipline.

As verb

1. develop (children's) behavior by instruction and practice; especially to teach self- control; "Parents must discipline their children";

2. punish in order to gain control or enforce obedience; "The teacher disciplined the pupils rather frequently".

Definitions in different dictionaries give a whole range of quite different meanings of the term from training to submission to an authority to the control and self-control of behaviour. As a verb, it means training someone to follow a rigorous set of instructions, but also punishing and enforcing obedience. In this study, the term discipline has been used in academic sense to refer a particular area of knowledge or study, especially a subject studied at a college or university.

Dogan, (2001) "The term ―discipline refers both to organizational units in educational programs (for example, in schools) and to organizational units in knowledge production. The term  ̳discipline‘ is inherited from the vocabulary of nineteenth century and is understood as a branch of instruction for the transmission of knowledge and as a convenient mapping of academic administration.

S. Yadav and T.K.S Lakshmi (1995), discipline refers to a specific area of study- a branch of knowledge recognized by a certain distinctness it reveals in its substance and methodology. A discipline is a deliberate differentiation of the knowledge base with a specific perspective in order to gain better understanding of the phenomenon under focus.

According to them, the knowledge base represents the sum total of the human understanding of environment. Disciplines are derived from the knowledge base but get formulated in recognizable differentiated forms of both substance and methodology due to further specialization, diversification and differentiation.

the term academic discipline‘ certainly incorporates many elements of the meaning of  ̳discipline‘ discussed above. At the same time, it has also become a technical term for the organization of learning and the systematic production of new knowledge. Often disciplines are identified with taught subjects, but clearly not every subject taught at university can be called a discipline. In fact, there is a whole list of criteria and characteristics, which indicate whether a subject is indeed a distinct discipline. A general list of characteristics would include:

1. Disciplines have a particular object of research (e.g. plants, law, society, politics), though the object of research may be shared with another discipline.

2. Disciplines have a body of accumulated specialist knowledge referring to their object of research, which is specific to them and not generally shared with another discipline.

3. Disciplines have theories and concepts that can organize the accumulated specialist knowledge effectively.

4. Disciplines use specific terminologies or a specific technical language adjusted to their research object.

5. Disciplines have developed specific research methods according to their specific research requirements.

6. Disciplines must have some institutional manifestation in the form of subjects taught at universities or colleges, respective academic departments and professional associations connected to it.

The evolutionary history of disciplines can be explained by the following path:

A Knowledge

(Sum total of human experience- culture, traditions, skills, concepts and principles etc.)

Specialization and Fragmentation of knowledge

(Due to man’s curiosity and efforts to understand the environment more comprehensively and specifically)

Discipline

(Separate/ Specific area of knowledge/ Independent field of study having more focused approach)

Diversification and further specialization 

of knowledge within the discipline

Breaking of disciplinary boundaries and emergence of more specialized new disciplines by one of the following ways:

# Two or more branches of knowledge merge and develop own distinct characteristics and form a new discipline. For e.g. Bio-chemistry and Bio- physics.

# A social and professional activity becomes an area of application for several disciplines and recognized as an independent field of study. For e.g.Education, Social Work, Management, Medical Sciences, Agriculture,

Technology and Engineering etc.

# When a no. of discipline converge into an important field of activity and resulting in two way flow of ideas for the enrichment of both. It is an interdisciplinary approach in different disciplines.

Understanding Academic Discipline: Evolution and emerging trends in academic discipline

EVOLUTION AND EMERGING TRENDS IN ACADEMIC DISCIPLINES

The education is in a process of continuous changes. Myriads of changes and challenges are facing the by the scenario. In teacher education, the modern trends favour for emerging of academic disciplines and allied school subjects. The necessity of teachers with proficiency in academic disciplines and professionalism in school subjects are accounted as essential quality of prospective and ongoing teachers.

Teacher education sector seriously focusing on the necessity of emerging academic disciplines. Academic disciplines are in the making in the field. Some sort of new disciplines like ‘curriculum development’, ‘technology of education’; educational sociology and etc are emerged as new disciplines. Hence it is relevant to have a clear understanding on the academic discipline and its various factors by teachers and prospective teachers.

Academic Discipline

            The term academic discipline originates from the Latin words ‘discipulus’ which means ‘pupil’ and ‘disciplina’ which means ‘teaching’. Related to it, there is also the word ‘disciple’ as it is in the ‘disciple of Lord Budha’. The lexicon will give a whole range of quite different meaning of the term; from training to submission to an authority or to the control and self- control of behavior. The term discipline as a verb means training someone to follow a rigorous set of instructions and also imposing and enforcing obedience.

The term academic (scientific) discipline can be defined as the academic studies that focus on a self-imposed limited field of knowledge. It is the subject that one teaches and researches as part of higher education is the academic discipline of that person

It can also be defined as form of specific and rigorous scientific training that will turn out practitioners who have been disciplined by their discipline (subject) for their own good.

Academic Discipline: Special Features

            The term academic discipline becomes a technical term for the organization of learning and the systematic production of new knowledge. Disciplines are identified with taught subjects. But every subject taught at school or at university cannot be called a discipline. There are more to a discipline that the facts and concepts of a subject taught in academic setting. There are many criteria and characteristics which indicate whether a subject a distinct discipline (Biglan, 1973). Some of the essential characteristics of an academic discipline are given below:

1.      Disciplines have a particular object of research (eg: politics, society, human behavior)

2.      Disciplines have a structure  of accumulated specialist knowledge referring to their object of research

3.      Disciplines have theories and concepts that can organize the accumulated specialist knowledge effectively

4.      Disciplines use specific terminologies or specific languages adjusted to their research objects

5.      Disciplines have developed specific research methods according to their specific research requirements.

6.      Disciplines must have some institutional manifestation in the form of subjects taught at colleges or universities. It means a discipline will have academic departments and professional associations connected to it.

All these criteria may not be fulfilled by all disciplines. But an academic discipline must be perfect and should be able to accumulate more knowledge through the process of research. It must be dynamic.

Academic Disciplines: Classifications

Biglan (1973) has developed a classification for disciplines according to the beliefs held about them by the academic members. It most generally divides disciplines into ‘hard’ or ‘paradigmatic’ disciplines and ‘soft’ or ‘pre-paradigmatic disciplines’. Hard disciplines mean they are difficult to transcend. They are developed with certain peculiar academic area and may not be occurred any change from that peculiar areas. Soft disciplines are able to change. They are in the making and give birth to new academic areas. At the same time they will be able to keep their own academic identity.  

Another classification is that pure or theoretical disciplines (eg: Mathematics) and disciplines that engage with ‘living systems’ (eg: zoology) and disciplines that engage with ‘nonliving systems’ (eg: history).

            Tony (1981) classified academic disciplines as rural disciplines and urban disciplines. These classifications are based up on the scope and applicability of the disciplines. He also considered a classification of pure and applied disciplines to explain the functions of the disciplines.

 Academic Discipline: Some Insights

Academic discipline is vast accumulation of knowledge in a specific area. For eg: History is discipline. It can also consider Medieval Indian History a discipline. Physics is a discipline. Astro- physics is a discipline. Robotics is a discipline.

A discipline incorporates experts, people, projects, communities, students, inquiries, researches and etc that are strongly associated with the given discipline. For Eg: Micro economics or Bio Informatics or Educational Psychology or Human value education. Individuals associated with academic discipline are referred to as experts or specialists.

Educational institutions originally use the term discipline to list and record the new and expanding bodies of knowledge and informative procedure by the society or community. In 1980s there have an explosion of academic disciplines such as media studies, journalism, women studies, gender studies, black studies, pollution, oceanic pollution, hospitality management, hotel management and etc.

The Historical Perspective of Academic Discipline

Kenneth (1974) observes that like any other social phenomena academic disciplines do have a history. Every discipline can be analyzed by looking at its historical development. Historians of science can look at the specific historical conditions that led to the foundation of an academic discipline and at how it changed over time, or in other words, its evolution. The historical perspective helps to understand the great continuity of disciplines, but also the points of discontinuity or departure from obsolete practices and ways of thinking. Sometimes this leads to the disappearance of an older discipline and the creation of a new one that can replace it. In other words, the historical perspective captures the great dynamics of the development of science and the academic disciplines.

Historians will generally look for the wider societal context and the overall conditions that influenced the development of a specific discipline, for example the political climate or any particular needs society had at a particular time, as well as internal factors that shaped its development. For example, Julie (1990) has pointed out that the academic discipline was an invention of the late Middle Ages. The term was first applied to three academic areas for which universities had the responsibility of producing trained professionals: theology, law and medicine.  Julie argues that this early disciplining of knowledge was a response to external demands, while the specialization into disciplines that emerged in the 19th century was due to internal reasons.

The historical perspective shows that the development of academic disciplines cannot be understood without reference to historical context. It also helps understanding the evolutionary path taken by specific disciplines. Often new disciplines have been set up to meet particular political and societal needs. For example, Roger (2002) has shown that the social sciences were set up and prospered because of the political need of getting more information on the population, which could be used for more effective government and which helped to stabilise emerging political and societal structures. The new discipline of area studies was set up in the US after the Second World War in order to train ‘area specialists’ who could assist in shaping the increasingly global US foreign policy of the beginning Cold War era. Similarly, new disciplines like computer science and artificial intelligence were closely linked to military applications and prospered because of military funding. Once these new disciplines had been set up they developed a life of their own, possibly freed from their original purpose if they managed to diversify their funding and main stakeholders.

The formation of a new discipline thus requires talented scientists who can take over the burden of intellectual leadership by defining what the new discipline is about and by giving it a clear agenda for research, which can inspire followers. In other words, founding a new discipline needs adventurous pioneers who are willing to leave their original discipline behind and to cover new ground, which always includes a certain risk that they and their new discipline will possibly fail.

This means that practically every new discipline starts off necessarily as an interdisciplinary project that combines elements from some parent discipline(s) with original new elements and insights. Once the discipline is established a new type of researcher is needed. The new discipline needs people who can consolidate it by filling in the gaps left by the pioneers.