Factors Influencing Selection Of Approaches in Teaching

1. Determining Method
1.1 Factors in Choosing a Method
1.2 Principles in Determining a Method

What is teaching method?

-refer to the regular ways or orderly procedures
-employed by the teacher in guiding the pupils in order to accomplish the aims of the learning situation
-is a series of related and progressive acts performed by the teacher and the pupils to accomplish the
general and specific aims of the lesson

Important Factors in Educative Process

1. Learner
2. Method
3. Subject Matter

Factors in Choosing a Method

1. Learner
-the first to consider when choosing a method
-the characteristics and nature of the students ---age, maturity, grade level, abilities, interests, growth,
health, problems should be considered for learning to take place.

2. Subject Matter
-this factor deals with the nature of the content to be learned which may be difficult or uninteresting
-the teacher must be able to use/choose the methods that will make learning effective & meaningful.

3. Objectives
-the effective outcome of the lesson also dictates the strategy to be used
-it must be one that will ensure full achievement of the set objectives

4. Time Allotment
-how much time does the teacher have to teach the lesson?
-the strategy must be able to help target the desired outcomes within the time frame

5. Teacher
-the teacher's style, academic preparation, skills, interest and abilities are also points of consideration
-it is important that he or she could effectively execute the method or strategy of his or her choice to
ensure success of learning.

6. School equipment and facilities

-the availability of materials/devices and technologies needed should be considered for the lack of
them may hamper the achievement of the target.

Principles in Determining Methods

1. Learning is an active process.

-We have to actively engage our students in learning activities if we want them to learn what we tend
to teach
-We have to give varied activities to them for hands-on-minds-on learning.
"Tell me, I'll forget; Show me, I'll remember; Involve me I'll understand." -----Chinese Proverb

2. The more senses that are involved in learning, the more and the better the learning.
-utilizing method that makes use of multisensory aid (combination of three or more senses aid) is more
effective.

3. A non-threatening atmosphere enhances learning.

-It is not only a function of the physical condition of the classroom but more a function of the
psychological climate that prevails in the classroom.

4. Emotion has the power to increase retention and learning.

 -The more emotionally involved our students become in our lesson, the greater the impact. The more
intense the arousal, the stronger the imprint.

5. Learning is meaningful when it is connected to student's everyday life.

-Abstract concepts are made understandable when we give sufficient examples relating to students'
experience.

6. Good teaching goes beyond recall information.

-Our teaching should reach the levels of application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation to hone our
students thinking skills.

7. An integrated teaching approach is far more effective than teaching isolated bits of
information.
-An instructional approach is integrated when it considers the multiple intelligences and varied learning
styles of students.

8. There is no such thing as best teaching method. The best method is the one that works, the
one that yields results.

Approaches in Teaching
Deductive vs. Inductive Method
1. Definition/Nature of the Approach
2. Steps
3. Advantages
4. Disadvantages

Inductive Deductive
Student Centered Teacher Centered
Discovery Method Verification Method
Slow Process Fast Process
Students study the examples of the content Overall concept or rule is presented
Students make generalizations, leading to an Students work with examples to apply the concept or
understanding of the rule rule

Deductive Method (GENERAL – SPECIFIC)

The teacher tells or shows directly what he/she wants to teach. This is also referred to as direct
instruction.A deductive approach to instruction is a more teacher-centered approach. This means that the
teacher gives the students a new concept, explains it, and then has the students practice using the concept; it
is also called a deductive instruction.

Note: (Steps of Deductive Instruction)

The deductive approach is teacher dominated. It begins with abstract rule, generalization, principle and
ends with specific examples, and concrete details.

Advantages of the Deductive Method

 Coverage of a subject matter- because our instruction is direct by starting the rule or the principle
at the beginning of the class, we cover more subject matter over a period of time

 No bother on the part of the teacher to lead learners to the formulation of generalization or rule- we
ourselves give the generalization at the beginning of the lesson .

Disadvantages of the Deductive Method

 It is not supportive of the principle that learning is an active process. There is less involvement on the
part of the learners.

 Lesson appears uninteresting at first. We begin our lesson with the abstract, with what the learners do
not know so at the outset our lesson will look irrelevant and uninteresting.
Inductive Method (SPECIFIC - GENERAL)

In contrast with the deductive, inductive instruction makes use of student “nothing”. Instead of
explaining a given concept and following this explanation with examples, the teacher presents students with
many examples showing how the concept is used. The intent is for students to “notice”, by way of the
examples, how the concept works; it is also called an inductive instruction.

Note: (Steps of Inductive Instruction)

The inductive method is less teacher-directed than the Deductive method. It begins with specific
details, concrete data and examples and ends with generalization rule, or principle.

Advantages of the Inductive method

 The learners are more engaged in the teaching- learning process. With our facilitating skills, the
learners formulate the generalization or rule.

 Learning becomes more interesting at the outset because we begin with the experience of our
students. We begin with what they know.

 It helps the development of our learners’ higher-order thinking skills (HOTS). To see patterns and
analyze the same in order to arrive at generalization requires analytical thinking.

Disadvantages of the Inductive method

 It requires more time and so less subject matter will be covered. We need much to lead our students
to the formulation of generalization.

 It demands expert facilitating skills on the part of the teacher. We’ve got to ask the right questions,
organize answers and comments to pave the way to the derivation of generalization.

How can teachers help their students practice ‘noticing’?

In the 1990s researchers explored the role that ‘noticing’ a grammatical construct played in the
learning that structure. They hypothesized that learners needed to notice a structure in order to hold it in their
short or long –term memory.

Noticing is the process of students becoming aware of something in particular; as mentioned above in
the inductive approach.

When teachers speak at a more advanced level, they are giving the students constant opportunities to
notice the differences between the teacher’s speech and theirs. This way each student can become aware of
the differences at his own pace.
Teachers can provide student with opportunities for noticing simply by putting posters up in the
classroom in the target language. As before, when the students are ready to notice the difference, they will.
Language ladders are also to promote students’ noticing skills. Once they understand what each rung
on the ladder means, they can understand how they all fit together and how they differ.

How can a teacher decide which method is the best choice for a given topic?

Both deductive and inductive sequences are valuable for teaching concepts, generalizations, processes,
and skills.

How personalized should the learning be?

Students will usually be more involved in the learning experience and tend to participate more actively
when an inductive approach is used. If a deductive approach is chosen, it is important to structure the learning
experiences in order to draw on students’ prior experiences and learning, and to provide for their active
involvement.

Should learning experiences be predictable?

The deductive approach is more predictable because the teacher selects the information and the
sequence of presentation.