lesson 13

Teaching with Visual Symbols

Abstraction:

Your experience of the words and the graphs convinces you that a graph is easier to understand than the words of a paragraph. A graph is “worth a thousand words.” A graph and any visual symbol for that matter such as drawings, cartoons, strip drawings diagrams, and maps are worth a thousand words.

A.   DRAWING 

A drawing may not be the real thing but better to have a concrete visual aid than nothing. O avoid confusion, it is good that our drawing correctly represents the real thing.

B.   CARTOONS

Another useful visual symbol that can bring novelty to our teaching is the cartoon. A first-rate cartoon tells its story metaphorically. The perfect cartoon needs no caption.

Sources of Cartoons

You can easily collect cartoons for instruction. They appear often in newspapers and magazines. In class, you can give it to individual students or individual study or project it by an opaque projector.

Sketching cartoons

Want to develop your skill at sketching for cartoons?

·        Start with simple shapes and add details. Note changes in expression.

·        Side view start with same basic shapes.

·        Most cartoon figures are about four heads tall. Keep them simple.

When to use cartoons in instruction-

 You can also use this as a springboard for a lesson or a concluding activity. It depends on your purpose.

C.   STRIP DRAWINGS

These are commonly called comics or comic strip. Dale (1969) asserts that a more accurate term is strip drawings, make use of strips that are educational and entertaining at the same time.

Where to use strip drawing in instruction-

These can serve as motivation and a starter of your lesson. It can also be given as an activity for students to express insights gained at the conclusion of a lesson.

Sources of strip drawing-

You can obtain drawings from newspaper, magazines and books.

K to 12 curriculum standards and competencies –

Identify a competency where a strip drawing Is appropriate.

D.   DIAGRAMS

It is “any line drawing that shows arrangements and relations as of parts to the whole, relative values, origins and development , chronological fluctuations, distribution. Etc.” (Dale, 1969) 

If you can draw stick figures, you can easily draw the diagrams that you need as you go along. To emphasize the key points in your diagram, make use of color whether you use the chalkboard or the OHP and transparencies.

Types of diagram

Find out what these other diagrams are. You msy need them as you and as you go about your other teaching-related tasks.

·        Affinity diagram- used to cluster complex apparently unrelated data into natural and meaningful groups.

·        Tree diagram- used to chart out, in increasing detail, the various tasks that must be accomplished to complete a project or achieve a specific objective.

·        Fish-bone diagram- it is also called cause-and-effect diagram

E.    CHARTS

A chart is a diagrammatic representations of relationships among individuals within an organizations.

We can have a.

1) time chart.

2) tree or stream chart.

3) flow chart.

4) organizational chart.

5) comparison and contrast chart.

6) Pareto chart and 

7) run chart or trend chart.

Examples of chart

·        Time chart- is a tabular time chart that presents data in ordinal sequence.

·        Tree or stream chart- depicts development, growth and change by beginning with a single course (the trunk) which spreads out into many branches; or by beginning with the many tributaries which then converge into a single channel.

·        Flow chart- is a visual way of charting or showing a process from beginning to end.

·        Organizational chart- hows how one part of the organization relates to other parts of the organization.

·        Comparison and contrast chart- used to show similarities and differences between two things.

·        Pareto chart- is a type of bar chart, prioritized in descending order of magnitude or importance from left to right.

F.    GRAPHS

There are several types of graphs. They are: 10 circle or pie graph, 2) bar graph, 3) pictorial graph and 4) line graph

·        Pie or circle graph- recommended for showing parts of whole.

·        Bar graph- used in comparing the magnitude of similar items at different ties or seeing relative sizes of the parts of a whole.

·        Pictorial graph- makes use of picture symbols.

·        Graphic organizers- you met several graphic organizers in your subject, principles of teaching.

G.   MAPS

A map is a “representation of the surface of the earth or some part of it…” (Dale 1969)

Kinds of map

·        Physical map- combines in a single projection data like altitude, temperature, rainfall, precipitation, vegetation, and soil.

·        Relief map- has three dimensional representations and show contours of the physical data of the earth or part of the earth.

·        Commercial or economic map- also called product or industrial map since they show land areas in relation to the economy.

·        Political map- gives detailed information about country, provinces, cities and towns, roads and highways.

Map language

·        Scale- shows how much of the actual earth’s surface is represented by a given measurement on a map.

·        Symbols- usually a map has a legend that explains what each symbol represent highways, railroads , mountains lakes and plains.

·        Color- the different colors of the map are part of the map language.

·        Geographic grids- the entire system of these grid lines are called grid lines.

H. POSTER
    - this poster symbolizes all the technology in this world and how this technology help you, and facilitating learning and improving performances by creating, using and managing appropriate technological processes and resources.

lesson 12

The power of film, video and TV in the classroom

The film, the video and the TV are indeed very powerful. Dale (1969) says, they can.

·        Transmit a wide range of audio- visual materials, including still pictures, film, objects, specimens and drama.

·        Bring models of excellence to the viewer- we can see and hear the excellent scientist like John Glenn, the excellent speakers and master teachers who lecture and demonstrate a teaching method for professional development of teachers.

·        Bring the world of reality to the home and to the classroom through a “live” broadcast or as mediated through film or videotape.

·        Make us see and hear for ourselves world events as they happen, with a sense of helplessness, we witnessed the fire that engulfed homes in San Diego, California in October 2007 as it happened trough TV. When the strong earthquake shook Baguio,  Agoo , Dagupan and Nueva Ecija.

·        Be the most believable news source.

·        Make some programs understandable and appealing to a wide variety of age and educational levels.

·        Become a great equalizer of educational opportunity because programs can be presented over national and regional networks.

·        Provide us with sounds and sights not easily available even to the viewer of a real event through long shots.

·        Can give opportunity to teacher to view themselves while they teach for purposes of self-improvement.

·        Can be both instructive and enjoyable.

While the film. Video an TV can do so much, they have their own limitations, too.

·        Television and film are one-way communication device.

·        The small screen size puts television at a disadvantages when compared with the possible size of projected motion pictures, for example. With new technology, how is this remedied?

·        Excessive TV viewing works against the development of the child’s ability to visualize and to be creative and imaginative.

·        There is much violence in TV.

Basic Procedures in the use of TV as a supplementary Enrichment

For enrichment of the lesson with the use of TV, we have to do the following:

·        Prepare the classroom.

-         Darken the room. Remember that complete darkness is not advisable for TV viewing.

-         The students should not be seated too near nor too far from the TV.

·        Pre-viewing activities

-         Set goals and expectation. Why are you viewing the TV? What is expected of your students? state clearly.

-         Link the TV lesson with past lesson and / or with your student’s experiences for integration and relevance.

-         Set the rules while viewing.

-         Put the film in on text.

-         Point out the key points they need to focus on.

·        Viewing

-         Don’t interrupt viewing by inserting cautions and announcements you forget to give during the previewing stage.

-         Just make sure sight and sounds are clear.

·        Post-viewing

-         To make them feel at ease begin by asking the following questions:

1.)              What do you like best in the film?

2.)              What part of the film makes you wonder? doubt?

3.)              Does the film remind you of something or someone?

4.)              What questions are you asking about the film?

·        Go to the questions you raised at the pre-viewing stage.

·        Tackle questions you raised by students at the initial stage of the post-viewing discussion.

·        Ask what the students learned.

·        Summarize what was learned.

lesson 11

Making the most of community resources and field trips

What procedures must we follow to avoid the failed study trips described above? Let’s plan. Planning a field trip includes these steps. 

1) Preliminary planning by the teacher, 

2) Preplanning with others going on the trip, and

3) Taking the field trip itself and, 

4) post-field trip follow up activities. 

For preliminary planning by the teacher, Brown (1969) proposes the following:

·        Make preliminary contacts, a tour on final arrangements with the place to be visited.

·        Make final arrangements with the school principal about the details of the trip: time, schedule, transportation arrangements, finances, and permission slips from parents.

·        Make a tentative route plan, subject to later alteration based on class planning and objectives.

·        Try to work out mutually satisfactory arrangements with other teachers if the trip will conflict with their classes.

·        Prepare preliminary lists of questions or other materials which will be helpful in planning with the students.

Preplanning with students joining the trip

·        Discuss he objectives of the trip and write them down. The main objectives should be included in the permit slip given to parents and should be consulted later when the trip is evaluated.

·        Prepare a list of questions to send ahead to the guide of the study trip.

·        Define safety and behavior standards for the journey there and for the field trip site itself.

·        Discuss and decide on ways to document the trip. Everyone is expected to take notes.

·        List specific objects to be seen on their way to the site, on the site of the field trip and on their way home from the site.

·        Discuss appropriate dress. Comfortable shoes for walking are important.

·        Before the trip, use a variety of learning materials in order to give each student a background for the trip.

Preplanning with others joining the trip

Other people accompanying the group need to be oriented on the objectives, route, behavior standards required of everyone so they can help enforce these standards. These may be parents who will assist the teachers, other teachers and/or school administrator staff.

Taking the field trip

·        Distribute route map of places to be observed.

·        Upon arriving at the destination, teacher should check the group and introduce the guide.

·        Special effort should be made to ensure that:

-         The trip keeps to the time schedule

-         The students have the opportunity to obtain answers to questions

-         The group participates courteously in the entire trip

-         The guide sticks closely to the list of questions.

Evaluating field trip

These are questions we can ask ourselves after the field trip to evaluate the filed trip we just had.

·        Could the same benefits be achieved y other materials? Was it worth the time, effort, and perhaps, extra money?

·        Were there any unexpected problems which could be foreseen another time?

·        Were new interests developed?

·        Should the trip be recommended to other classes studying similar topics

 Disadvantages of field trips

        These educational benefits can compensate for the drawbacks of field trips, some of which are.

1) it is costly.

2) it involves logistics.

3) it is extravagant with time, and 

4) contains an element of uncertainty.

       Community Resources

A field trip may be a visit to a scenic spot or to a historical place. What community resources can we use for learning?

These can be persons and places in the community. For persons, let us not go too far. Let us begin with the parents of our students. Many of  them can be resource speakers in their fields of expertise. 

lesson 10

Demonstration in teaching

Abstraction:

In the demonstration of a new product, the speaker shows the product, tells all the  good thing about the product to promote it in order  to convince the audience that the product is worth buying.

In the activists’ demonstration, the activists air their grievances and publicly denounce the acts of a person or of an institution, like the government, against whom they are demonstrated.  When a master teacher asked to demonstration in teaching on a teaching strategy, she shows to the audience how to use a teaching strategy effectively.

What is a demonstration?

defines it as “a public showing emphasizing the salient , merits, utility, efficiency, etc, of an article or product..” in teaching it is showing how a thing is done and emphasizing  of the salient merits, utility and efficiency  of a concept, a method or a process or an attitude.

What guiding principles must we observe in using a demonstration as a teaching – learning experience? Edgar Dale (1969) gives at least three:

1. Establish rapport. Greet your audience. Make them feel at ease by your warmth and sincerity. Stimulate their interest by making your demonstration and yourself interesting. Sustain their attention.

2.  Avoid COLK fallacy (Clear Only If Known). What is this fallacy? It is the assumption that what is clear to the expert  demonstrator is also clearly known to the person for whom the message is intended. To avoid the fallacy, it is best for the expert demonstrator to assume that his audience knows  nothing or a little about  what he is intending to demonstrate for him to be very    thorough, clear and detailed  in his demonstration  even to a point of facing the risk of being repetitive.

3. Watch for key options. What are key options? Dale (1996) says “ they are the ones at which  an error is likely to be made, the places at which many people stumble and where the knacks and tricks of the trade are especially important”. The good demonstrator recognizes [possible stumbling blocks to learners and highlights them in some way. What are usually highlighted are the “don’t’s” of a process or a strategy.

To ensure that the demonstration works, we ought to plan and prepare very well before we conduct the demonstration. In planning and preparing for demonstration, Brown (1969) suggests methodical procedures by the following questions:

1. What are our objectives? How does your class stand with respect to these objectives?  This is to determine entry knowledge and skills of your students.

2. Is there a better way to achieve your ends?

3. If there is a more effective way to attain your purpose, then replace the demonstration method the more effective one.

4. Do you have access to all necessary  materials and equipments to make the demonstration? Have a checklist of necessary equipment and material. This may include written materials.

5. Are you familiar with the sequence and content of the proposed demonstration? Outline the steps and rehearse your demonstration.

6. Are the limits realistic?

You have planned and rehearsed your demonstration, your materials and equipment  are ready, you have prepared your students, then you can proceed to the demonstration itself. Dale (1969) gives several points to observe:

1. Set the tone for good communication. Get and keep your audience’s interest.

2. Keep your demonstration simple.

3. Do not wonder from the main ideas.

4. Check to see that your demonstration is being understood.  Watch your audience for signs of bewilderment, boredom or disagreement.

5. Do not hurry your demonstration. Asking questions to check understanding can serve as a “brake”.

6. Do not drag out the demonstration. Interesting things have never dragged out.  They create their own tempo.

7. Summarize as you go along and provide a concluding summary. Use the chalkboard, the over head projector, charts, diagram, power point and whatever other materials are appropriate to synthesize your demonstration.

8. Hand out written materials at the conclusion.