Instructional strategies and Methods

 

Instructional strategies and Methods.

 

Introduction

Every teacher goes to the classroom to deliver a message to the learners. In instructional situation message refers to as content, information, goals.  In classroom situation, the teacher as a communicator must change ideals into messages that can be seen or heard or sensed by each student in line with his own characteristics. The teacher must therefore make orderly arrangement to communicate the message to the learners. This orderly arrangements or planned series of activities that the teacher initiates the focus of this lesson.

 

Instructional Methods.

Instructional strategies and instructional methods are often used interchangeably since they all contribute towards the achievement of instructional goals.  However, they are dissimilar.                  As explained earlier, the teacher makes orderly arrangement to communicate the message(content) to the learners. This orderly arrangements or planned series of activities that the teacher initiates is called method. Learning conditions influence which teaching/instructional method could be used.  Teaching/instructional methods can therefore be defined as procedures or set of techniques selected by the teacher/instructor to help learners experience the message the teacher/instructor wants to put across.  In other words, instructional methods can be defined as procedures or set of techniques selected by the teacher/instructor to help learners achieve the objectives of the lesson.  No method is more effective than the other, the effectiveness of a given method depends very much of the nature of learners and importantly the type of learning (content) to be internalized.  To be able to select the most effective method, there is the need to know more methods and what they can do.  The following are examples of methods.

·      Presentation/Lecture

·      Demonstration

·      Discussion

·      Drill and Practice

·      Cooperative learning group

·      Gaming

·      Simulation

·      Discovery

·      Problem solving

 

Depending on the role of the teacher in the teaching/learning process, there are two main teaching methods. These are:

a)  Teacher -Centered Teaching Methods

b) Learner - Centered Teaching Methods.

In your own words explain each of the terms and group the methods listed as Teacher -Centered Teaching MethodsorLearner - Centered Teaching Methods

 

 

Instructional Strategy

A strategy is a teacher/instructor’s approach to using information (message), selecting resources, and defining the roles of students.  It is a way in which instruction should be carried out in specific circumstances.  A strategy is very broad.  A variety of instructional methods can be used in a given strategy.  Examples of strategy are expository strategy, inquisitor strategy, deductive inquisitor strategy.

 

Expository Strategy (Reception Learning)

This is a learning approach in which the instructor/teacher just present to the strongest open support of this position is Ausubel (1968).  But the behaviourists’ camp also supports this preposition.  This, to some extent, is teacher-centered approach and treats learners as passive recipients.

 

Discovery Strategy

This is a learning approach in which the instructor/teacher creates the enabling environments and helps the learners to explore to achieve the learning objective.  The strongest supporters of this approach are Pieget (1969) and Brunner (1966).  Most of the cognitive theorists support this idea.  This, in other words, can be regarded as learner-centered approach.

 

NOTE:

Further Reading

Sarfo, F.K and Adentwi, I. K. (2011). Educational technology. Kumasi: Wilas Press Limited