Teaching-Learninng Process

The rapid changes and increased complexity of today’s world, present new challenges and put new demands on our education system. There has been generally a growing awareness of the necessity to change and improve the preparation of students for productive functioning in the continually changing and highly demanding environment. In confronting this challenge it is necessary to consider the complexity of the education system itself and the multitude of problems that must be addressed.

Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand.”- Chinese Proverb
1.     Introduction: We are passing through a great transition. The old is becoming obsolete and new is still in the process of emergence. The old ways of learning & teaching is found to be too rigid & too out – dated.
Teaching – Learning process is the heart of Education. It is the most powerful instrument of education to bring about desired changes in the students.
Teaching and learning are related terms. In teaching- learning process, the teacher, the learner, the curriculum & other variables are organized in a systematic way to attain some pre-determined goal.
Let us first understand in short about learning and teaching.
Learning can be defined as the relatively permanent change in an individual’s behaviour or behaviour potential as a result of experience or practice. This can be compared with the other primary process producing relatively permanent change—maturation—that results from biological growth and development. Teaching then, can be thought of as the purposeful direction and management of the learning process. Note that teaching is not giving knowledge or skills to students; teaching is the process of providing opportunities for students to produce relatively permanent change through the engagement in experiences provided by the teacher.
Definition of Learning given by various psychologists:
•    Daniel Bell – Learning is modification due to energies of organism & environment impinging on the organism itself.
•    Gates – Learning is modification of behaviour through experience.
•    Ruch – learning is a process, which bring about changes in the individual way of responding as a result of contact with aspects of environment.
•    Encyclopedia of Education Research – Learning refers to growth of Interest, Knowledge and skills.

Student, Pioneer Institute of Professional Studies, Indore

Definition of Teaching given by various psychologists:
•    H.C. Morrison – Teaching is an intimate contact between a more mature personality and a less mature one which is designed to further the education of the latter.
•    J. Brubacher – Teaching is an arrangement and manipulation of a situation in which there are gaps and obstructions, which an individual will seek to overcome and from in which he will learn in the course of doing so.
•    T.F.Greens – Teaching is a task of a teacher, which is performed for the development of a child.
2.     Essential Aspects of the Teaching – Learning Process: It is informative to examine the ideal teaching-learning process, as proposed by Diana Laurillard. She argues that there are 4 aspects of the teaching-learning process:
1.    Discussion – Between the teacher and learner
2.    Interaction – Between the learner and some aspect of the world defined by the teacher.
3.    Adaptation – Of the world by the teacher and action by the learner.
4.    Reflection – On the learner’s performance by both teacher and learner.
She then considers how different educational media and styles can be described in these terms. For example, A text book represents a one way flow of knowledge from the teachers conceptual knowledge to the students conceptual knowledge. A lecture or tutorial may be seen the same way, but there is a possibility of meaningful discussion between teacher and learner.
 
2.1     The Teaching and Learning Process: Individual students may be better suited to learning in a particular way, using distinctive modes for thinking, relating and creating. The notion of student’s having particular learning styles has implications for teaching strategies. Because preferred
modes of input and output vary from one individual to another, it is critical that teachers use a range of teaching strategies to effectively meet the needs of individual learners. This should lead to young learners who are motivated to inquire, infer, and interpret; to think reflectively, critically and creatively; and in the final analysis to make use of the knowledge and skills they have gained by becoming effective decision makers.

A number of students will require support to meet the objectives of the prescribed curriculum. This support may be in the form of changes in teaching strategies, approaches or materials and may require the support of resource and/or special education teachers. A student-centred approach which actively engages the young person in the learning process is critical if skills which result in healthy behaviours are to be fostered and developed. Some of the learning strategies that could be incorporated in a comprehensive approach include self-directed learning, co-operative learning, role playing, behavioural rehearsal, peer education and parent involvement. Consideration should be given to allowing students to plan some learning experiences. They could be provided with opportunities to identify topics or areas for further study, contribute information relevant to an issue for study and/or make suggestions for follow-up activities.
Learning must be meaningful and appropriate for the students’ cultural environment.
Learning experiences must be varied and an atmosphere of support must be provided.

3.     Teachers' Beliefs: Beliefs cannot be defined or evaluated, but there are a number of things that we should know about them. Beliefs are culturally bound and, since they are formed early in life, they tend to be resistant to change. By virtue of the fact that they are difficult to measure, we almost always have to infer people's beliefs from the ways in which they act rather than from what they say they believe.
3.1 Beliefs about learners: Teachers hold any or a combination of beliefs about their students. Roland Meighan (1990) suggests that there are at least seven different ways in which teachers construct learners and that such evaluative constructions have a profound influence on their classroom practice. So, according to him, learners may be construed as:
•    resisters
•    receptacles
•    raw material
•    clients
•    partners
•    individual explorers
•    democratic explorers
These constructs are seen in terms of a continuum which mirrors the nature of the teacher-learner power relationship. Thus, the first three constructs are teacher dominated, whereas the latter involve learner participation. More specifically, the notion of learners as resisters sees learners as recalcitrant individuals who do not wish to learn. This assumption, however, gives rise to the assertion that punishment is the most appropriate way of overcoming such "recalcitrance."
An even more common conception of learners is one in which they are viewed as receptacles to be filled with knowledge. The teacher is seen as having a "jug" of knowledge which he pours into the learners' "mugs." This is what Freire (1970) describes as the "banking" concept of education, where learners are like bank accounts where deposits are made and drawn upon.
3.2 Beliefs about learning: Teaching is not indivisible from learning. A person can be a good teacher, only if he knows what he meant by learning because only then can he know what he expects his learners to achieve. If the goal is to prepare the students to pass an exam, then this will affect the way in which the teachers teach. Gow and Kember (1993) suggest that most approaches to learning can be subsumed under any of the following points:
•    a quantitative increase in knowledge
•    memorisation
•    the acquisition of facts and procedures which can be retained and / or used in practice
•    the abstraction of meaning
•    an interpretative process aimed at the understanding of reality
•    some form of personal change

4.     Myths and Realities:
•    Myth: Curiosity killed the cat! Reality: As long as you stay within the boundaries of politeness, live by a better proverb: Curiosity is your pass to the kingdom of knowledge.
•    Myth: Geniuses sleep little! Reality: Lack of sleep hampers remembering. It also prevents creative associations built during sleep. It is not true that geniuses sleep less.
•    Myth: You must be born with a creative mind! Reality: Some kids indeed show an incredible curiosity and rage to master. However, there are many techniques that can help you multiply your creativity. Creativity is trainable.
•    Myth: You need a degree! Reality: Edison got only 3 months of formal schooling. Lincoln spent less than a year at school. Benjamin Franklin's formal education ended when he was 10. Graham Bell was mostly family trained and self-taught. Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs, Dean Kamen, and Bill Gates were all college drop-outs. Isaac Newton found school boring and was considered by many a mediocre student. However, there is one thing they all had in common: they loved books and could spend whole days reading and studying.
•    Myth: The more you repeat the better. Reality: Not only frequent repetition is a waste of your precious time, it may also prevent you from effectively forming strong memories. The fastest way to building long-lasting memories is to review your material in a precisely determined moments of time.
5.     Recommendations for Effective Teaching and Learning:
For Teachers: By keeping the Focus on the Learning Process, teachers get to know their students personally in some small way. Remind the students that working to learn is necessary for everyone. Some have to work harder than others to learn certain things but everyone has to work. Give the students an opportunity to teach what they have learned and praise even the smallest progress.
For Students: The students should be open to interact and discuss their problems and other subject related issues with their teachers. They should not take their feedback in a negative sense. Students should implement the theoretical studies into their practical lives. Students should not take their studies as a burden but as keys to success. They should take initiative and should not resist any change in the way of teaching.
Good practices that should be practiced in the educational institutes:
1.    Encourage contact between students and faculty- Frequent student-faculty contact in and out of classes is the most important factor in student motivation and involvement.
2.    Develop reciprocity and cooperation among students- Learning is enhanced when it is more like a team effort that a solo race. Good learning, like good work, is collaborative and social, not competitive and isolated.
3.    Encourage active learning- Learning is not a spectator sport. They must talk about what they are learning, write about it, relate it to past experiences and apply it to their daily lives. They must make what they learn part of themselves.
4.    Give prompt feedback- Knowing what you know and don't know focuses learning. Students need appropriate feedback on performance to benefit from courses.
5.    Emphasize time on task- Time plus energy equals learning. There is no substitute for time on task. Learning to use one's time well is critical for students and professionals alike.
6.    Communicate high expectations- Expect more and you will get more. High expectations are important for everyone -- for the poorly prepared, for those unwilling to exert themselves, and for the bright and well motivated.
7.    Respect diverse talents and ways of learning- Students need the opportunity to show their talents and learn in ways that work for them. Then they can be pushed to learn in new ways that do not come so easily.
8.    High tech education- high tech education technology should be one of many tools for making learning better and more fun. If a class is unpredictable and high energy, the students minds will stay in high gear.
6.     Conclusion: It is not what is poured into a student that counts, but what is planted. - Linda Conway  Ernst von Glasersfeld, the "father" of constructivism, believes that education has two main purposes: to empower learners to think for themselves, and to promote in the next generation ways of thinking and acting that are deemed important by the present generation. Empowering the learner means that teachers should relinquish some of their power and hand it over to the learner.Teaching is not merely information or knowledge, but mainly an expression of values and attitudes. What teachers usually get back from their students is what they themselves have brought to the teaching-learning process. Making a strong positive personal connection with particularly difficult, highly unmotivated, students is absolutely essential to success (more on how to make good connections with difficult students in the March newsletter). You will save a great deal of personal energy by learning strategies for putting more emphasis on the teaching process itself, and a little less on what we are teaching or the fact that many parents are not helping their children learn.
There are several shared elements the Humanist orientation and the Behaviourist Paradigm:
1.    Learning should focus on practical problem solving.
2.    Learners enter a teaching – learning setting with a wide range of Skills, Abilities and Attitudes and these needs to be considered in the instructional planning process.
3.    The learning environment should allow each learner to proceed at a pace best suited to the individual.
4.    It is important to help learners continuously assess their progress and make feedback a part of the learning process.
5.    The learners’ previous experience is an invaluable resource for future learning and thus enhancing the value of advanced organizers or making clear the role for mastery of necessary prerequisites.
“No great improvements in the lot of mankind are possible until a great change takes place in their mode of thought.” John Stuart Mills.

7.    References:
1.    Newspaper- EE Times India
2.    www.articlebase.com
3.    Bridging the Gap between Academics and Industry
4.    Colm M. O'Kane, Dublin Institute of Technology, colm.okane@dit.ie
5.    www.teresadybvig.com