Assignment on The Problems of Teaching and Learning
Name :-
Rajdip.P.Gohel
Roll. No:- 27
Paper No:- 12-
English Language Teaching
Class:- M.A Sem-3
Topic:- The
Problems of Teaching and Learning
Enrolment No:-
2069108420190017
College:-
Smt.S.B.Gardi Department Of English
Submitted:-
Department Of English M.K.University, Bhavnagar
The Problems of Teaching and Learning
The room
contains a class of, say, thirty or forty pupils. As we enter, we are aware of
the class rather than the children, for our first glance reveals not
differences but similarities. We see children, all more or less alike: they
are, for example, similar in general physical make-up; they speak the same
language; they make similar movements; they are probably all wondering who
these strange visitors may be. We discern a large common denominator of
characteristics, physical and mental.
Our view of the
class is made still more definite by our knowledge of school organization and
practice. These children have been brought together in a classroom because they
have certain characteristics in common. They are similar in age and in
attainments; they have read the same text-books; they have all had similar
training in school. They have been welded into a class.
In
schools formerly known as elementary schools, the uniformity among members of a
class was at one time still further emphasized by calling them a
"standard" a term that was originally applied because all the members
were expected to reach a certain fairly well defined standard of attainment.
This view of children as a class was forced
upon teachers in elementary schools in the nineteenth century because classes
or standards with upwards of 100 on roll were quite common. It is a view that
all class teachers must sometimes take even today, and on many occasions it is
a perfectly sensible view to take.
Moreover, as we shall see later the group in which children live, work
or play, whether it be a family, a class, a school, a gang, a team a group of
two or more friends, a scout troop or a guide patrol, has an important
influence on the development of its individua members. The study of groups and
of individuals in groups, as well as the study of individuals by themselves, is
necessary for a full understanding of the arts of learning and teaching.
Having looked at the large common measure of
characteristics among the pupils in a classroom, let us now take a closer view
We are impressed at once, not so much by the uniformity of general outline as
by the infinite variety of detail. The room no longer contains a
"class", still less a "standard", it contains a number of
individuals.
In physical appearance no two are exactly
alike, and a short time in the classroom is enough to enable us to form a
distinctive picture of each. These pictures are built up by noticing
differences in general physique, in shape of head, in colour of hair and eyes
and so on. The observation of physical differences gives us a Picture that will
enable us to recognize any member of the class if we meet him in another place.
But while we are forming these first
superficial pictures, we become aware of many more subtle differences. The
children are not automata; they are living persons, and each has distinctive
qualities that are revealed by characteristic behaviour such as movement and
facial expression. For example, some children are quiet and placid, but others
are talkative and lively; the children differ not only physically but also
temperamentally. If we stayed longer, we should be able, merely by observation,
to get a still more complete picture of each individual. We should feel that we
were able not only to recognize them, but also to know them as persons.
Observation of physical and
temperamental differences cannot, however, give a complete picture of any
individual. We cannot, for example, determine by looking at a class the pupil
who top, or the pupil one who can memorize poetry most quickly or the or the
one who is weakest at arithmetic. We know from common experience that children
differ greatly in such abilities as these. We have here a third main type of
individual difference children differ from one another not only physically and temperimentally
but also intellectually.
If we
now follow the children into the playing field, we shall be able to add still
more detail to our pictures Under ordinary classroom conditions there is a
constraint that tends to emphasize the points of similarity and to inhibit the
differences, especially in temperament. Under the freer conditions out-of-doors
the children are as we say more natural that are more likely to reveal their
real selves If we could follow them into the streets and into their homes, we
should get still further insight into their personalities.
It
is, of course, possible to create a friendly, happy atmosphere in a classroom
so that children behave very naturally. But even so, a child in school, a member
of a class, is often on the surface a very different person from the same child
in another place or in a different group. This is one reason why teachers find
it helpful to observe children outside the classroom-in the playing field and
swimming bath, on expeditions, educational visits and school journeys. In
studying children we must never lose sight of the importance of environment-not
only the physical environment but above all, the social environment created by
the persons round about them. The quick, subtle changes in response to changes
in the social environment emphasize the need, when we wish to make an estimate
of a pupil's ability or character, of considering his achievements and
behaviour in a variety of circumstances-with different teachers for example.
As we contemplate the multiplicity of the
individual differences that exist among the pupils in a class, an important
question arises. Are these differences the result of heredity and therefore inevitable,
or are they the result of environment and therefore, in theory at least,
avoidable ? No single answer can be given. Red hair and a snub nose are the
result of heredity. Physique may be the result of bad feeding Cheerfulness may
be a more or less permanent quality, the result of inborn temperament or it may
be a passing phase, the result of anticipating a favourite lesson. Inability to
do arithmetic may be due to lack of inherent mental ability, or it may be due
to lack of confidence, the result of mistakes in teaching in the earliest
stages or of unwise pressure by anxious parents. This question, and the
question that asks whether heredity or environment is the more important, will occur
frequently when we are discussing specific differences in detail. For the
present we note that each of the three main types of individual difference-in
physique, temperament and intellect-may be inborn or acquired, but that most
differences are almost certainly the combined effect of heredity and environment.
Let us now survey classes in different parts
of the school. As we do so, we are reminded of still another set of individual
differences-mental and physical differences that are the result of differences
in age. In order to adapt ourselves quickly successfully to children of various
ages, it will obviously be helpful to study the differences that develop with
increasing age. As a result of ordinary experience we already know in a general
way something about them. We know, for example, that we must not expect
seven-year-olds to be interested in geometrical drawing. or to understand
Shakespeare Such knowledge is not, however, sufficiently precise for modern
teachers and we shall in the following pages pay much attention to the results
obtained research into the development of children year by year. A wise
teachers, even in his dealings with a single class, will always take special
note of any children who are much below the average age of the class, for
otherwise he will almost certainly make unfair judgements of their conduct,
ability and attainments.
There still remains one factor to add
complexity to our picture of individual differences. Let us go into a school
where boys and girls are taught together. Many further questions then arise,
and although the man in the street may be ready with confident answers, we
shall find that popular opinion is not always a safe guide. For the moment we
note that there are individual differences due to sex, and that in the
education of children we must take them into account.
We
have now made a rough survey of our problem. We have to educate children who
have a common basis of general characteristics, but each of whom is
nevertheless a unique person. Each child
differs inherently from every other child- physically, temperamentally and
intellectually-and these differences are further complicated by differences in
age and sex in upbringing and teaching and in physical and social environment.
A clear, vivid realization of the
differences among children is an essential part of the equipment of any successful
educator. We may leave aside for the time being the question whether education
should tend to eradicate or to accentuate these differences; they exist, and if
we ignore them, we are bound in our classroom practice to be guilty of much
futility. We must approach our task with certain knowledge that, whatever our
ultimate aim may be no two children are identical in mental make-up any more
than they are identical in physical appearance.
It is necessary, if we are to get any grasp of
our problem, to gain some knowledge of children in general, to know what is the
greatest common measure of their qualities. Ideally such knowledge should be
obtained by the detailed study of a large number of individuals, but this is
obviously impracticable within the compass of a single book. We shall therefore
devote the next two chapters to a study of children in general"- endowment
this study is to be really fruitful, check the statements made, by reference to
John and Peter, to Mary and Jane, to the individual members of a family or a
class that he knows. Only in this way will he avoid over-emphasizing the
similarities in human nature, to the neglect of essential differences. Teachers
must never lose sight of the fact that their work is the education of individual
persons. This is the strongest argument against large classes they should be
small enough to make it possible for teachers to treat their pupils as
individuals.
Conclusion:-
It should be
noted however, that one important lessons that everyone has to learn is the art
of living working and playing with others in groups or communities of varying
size of experiencing the calm security of membership of small, intimate groups
and the stimulating adventure of membership of larger groups. The ultimate
ideal for grown-up persons is to be conscious of being members of a world
community of united nations while remaining loyal members of smaller groups.
This ideal can be approached as we learn by experience what it means to belong
to groups of gradually increasing size: for example, family, class, small
primary school, larger secondary school, village, town, and nation. Only.
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