Principles of Teaching According To Various Authors: (Fleming 1996)
Principles of Teaching According To Various Authors: (Fleming 1996)
Principles of Teaching According To Various Authors: (Fleming 1996)
1. Principle of Context.
2. Principle of Focus.
3. Principle of Socialization.
4. Principle of Individualization.
5. Principle of Sequence.
6. Principle of Evaluation.
1. Principle of Context
Educational management has been considered as one interesting subject particularly by the
educators who are aware of the need for knowledge management.
Fleming (1996) pointed to a number of observations related to context development. He stressed the
following:
A collection of data is not information.
A collection of information is not knowledge.
A collection of knowledge is not wisdom.
A collection of wisdom is not truth.
Context refers to words just before or after a certain word sentence that help make clear what it
means.
The idea that a reader gets from a sentence simply provides information, knowledge, and wisdom
which are simply collections.
Similarly, a collection of data ceases to be information in the absence of established relations among
them.
Wisdom is achieved when there is understanding of the principle underlying the patterns which
represents knowledge. Fleming (1996) further summarized such observation by stressing that:
Information relates to description, definition, or perspective (what, who, when, where);
Knowledge comprises strategy, practice, method, or approach (how); and
Wisdom embodies principles, insight moral, or archetype (why).
The principle of context is categorized
into six levels as follows:
Level 1 – Context consists of the textbook only
• Predominantly verbal
• No problem-solving experience
• Lacks dynamic appeal
• Limited verbal responses to verbal stimuli
Level 2 – Context consists of textbook, together with collateral/supplemental materials
• Wider in context
• More readings of expository
• Advocates more extensive reading
Level 3 – Context consists of non-academic and current materials (magazine articles, newspaper clippings)
• Concrete, specific, actual, and immediate
• Reality vs. theory
• Leads to extensive discussion
Level 4 – Context consists of multi-sensory aids
• Effective when used as aid in learning
• Related to contemplated learning
• Ineffective if learner is passive
Level 5 – Context consists of demonstration and presentation by the experts
• Concrete setting
• Learning beyond the classroom setting
Level 6 – Field experiences: personal, social, and community understanding
• Concrete, abundant, dynamic, readily apprehended setting for learning
• Goes beyond verbalization
• Concrete and firsthand experiences
2. Principle of Focus
Instruction can be effective if there is a definite area of concentration. The following are the four
levels of focus:
Level 1 – Focus established by page assignment in textbook
• Uniform structure
• Learning without unity
• Memorization
Level 2 – focus established by announced topic, together with page or chapter references
• Insight and understanding
• Varied learning pattern
Level 3 – Focus established by broad concepts to be comprehended or problem to be solved
• Directed at the mental process of the learner
• More varied learning patterns
Level 4 – Focus established as a concept or a problem to be solved, a skill to be acquired to carry an
undertaking
• Flexibility
• Acquisition of more facts and information
3. Principle of Socialization
Classroom learning offers a socio-cultural phenomenon, a social process that encompasses the ways
of thinking, interacting, and problem solving.
Effectiveness of instruction depends upon the social setting in which it is done. Socialization has three
levels namely:
Level 1 – social pattern characterized by submission
• Rudimentary level of socialization
• No-group function
• Teacher-controlled
Level 2- Social pattern characterized by contribution
• Sympathetic and positive discipline
• Freedom
• Lacks authority
Level 3 – Social pattern characterized by cooperation
• Goes beyond friendliness and sympathy
• Teacher as an organizer
• Positive team spirit
4. Principle of Individualization
The effectiveness of instruction must progress in terms of the learner’s own purposes, aptitudes, abilities,
and experimental procedures. The following are the scales of the application of the principle of
individualization:
Individualization through different performance in uniform tasks. The teacher sets the lesson format as
part of his classroom structuring and sees to it that while the task is the same to all, he offers varied
ways of doing the task according to the learners’ aptitude, interest, and capabilities.
Individualization through homogeneous grouping. Learners vary in age, ability, and sex, and
classrooms tend to lean toward homogeneity. Except for some learners, variables like race or social
class, which educators find not acceptable in the homogeneous grouping, are acknowledge by
educators and are considered an advantage for effective instruction.
Individualization through contract plan. One of the guiding principles of individualization asserts that
the individual must be the focus in the planning and delivery of services and support.
A contract plan may be a plan of study where the learner is provided a set of activities to do and a time limit to
accomplish the specific tasks. The plan may involve encounters between the learner and the teacher to evaluate
the progress of the assigned task which normally is structured according to the learner’s interests and abilities.
Individualization through individual instruction. This kind of instruction calls for a person-centered
planning for learning tasks normally adapted to the level of capability of the learner.
The essence of an individual instruction is to make sure that it becomes effective because instruction meets the
objectives set for a particular lesson based on individual abilities and aptitudes.
Individualization through large units with optimal-related activity. This is the kind of instruction where
large topics or big blocks are divided into smaller units which could be completed within a specified
time frame.
Individualization through individual undertakings stemming from and contributing to the joint
undertaking of the group of learners. Instruction is done to ensure cooperative learning while the
group works on a specific learning activity.
5. Principle of Sequence
Diagnostic Evaluation – this is the evaluation done at the beginning of the unit or course to determine
the different levels to where the students can be grouped whether slow, average, or fast.
Planning becomes more purposeful in that the teacher is provided a ready reference for the planned
remediation.
Formative Evaluation – this evaluation is intended to improve the delivery of instruction in the
classroom. This is the phase of evaluation where what the teacher does in the course of his teaching
and what he is to do next are given focus.
A formative evaluation is usually done in the pilot stage or at any point in the various stages of the instruction
process. This will help not only to determine how much learning has been achieved through instruction, but
also how to get rid of unintended outcomes, if any.
Summative Evaluation – this phase of evaluation calls for summing up all pertinent data related to the
performance of the individual learners.
The focus of summative evaluation is the effectiveness of instruction which is reflected by quantitative
expressions in terms of grades. This is actually the endpoint of the evaluation phase where a total picture of the
teaching-learning process can be projected.
John Dewey’s Educational Philosophy on
Principles of Teaching
Teaching is good when it is based on the psychology of learning.
• The child is the center of the educative process.
Teaching is good when it is well planned such that the activities and experiences of the learner are
continuously related and interrelated into larger, more meaningful, more inclusive, relation patterns.
Teaching is good when the learner is made conscious of the goals or aims to be accomplished. This
concept calls for proper motivation.
Learning is good when it provides learning experience or situations that will insure understanding.
Good teaching requires a rich environment of instructional materials and devices.
Teaching is good when there is provision to meet individual differences. This is based on the
psychological principle that individuals differ from each other in their learning potential.
Teaching is good when it utilizes the past experience of the learner.
Teaching is good when the learner is stimulated to think and to reason. The best teaching method is
that which liberates and encourages thinking.
John Dewey’s Educational Philosophy on
Principles of Teaching