Reflection ON Demonstration

DEMONSTRATION

 An act of showing something by giving proof or evidence.

An instance of somebody showing and explaining how something works.

                         -Hornsby, A.S (Oxford Advanced Learners dictionary, 8^th edition)

Demonstration often occurs when students have hard time connecting theories to actual practice or when students are unable to understand application of theories.

Demonstration involves showing by reason or proof (evidences), explaining or making clear by use of examples or experiments.

Therefore, demonstration is simply showing something by someone with the goal of verifying or establishing the validity of a theory with connection to practical application of how that thing works.

DEMONSTRATION STRATEGY

Demonstration strategy is a teaching method that allows students to see the teacher actively engaged as a learner and a model rather than merely telling them what they need to know. Teacher has to create a decorum whereby students can see how the experiment is being done or processed. And accordingly students follow what the teacher intend to manifest with description and explanation through experiment.

 ROLE OF TEACHER

·         Before hand preparation

·         Giving Instruction in order

·         Handling equipment with care

·         Making sure that learners are actively participating

ROLE OF STUDENT

·         Being active in class

·         Asking question

·         Doing by seeing

PURPOSES OF DEMONSTRATION STRATEGY

·         To stimulate interest in a particular topic

·         To illustrate points efficiently

·         To provide a change of pace

·         Lack of equipment

·         Time constraint

·         Risky experiments

PRINCIPLES OF DEMONSTRATION STRATEGY

“When you show someone how to do something or how something works”

                                                                                                        - CALD

 Behaviors being demonstrated must be modeled   accurately.

(As the prime responsibility of a teacher, it’s important for them to show as a part of their experiment to be appropriate and accurate for the students so that they get the lesson and understand).

 Learners must be able to clearly perceive what is going on.

(A teacher should create such decorum for the students whereby they can get everything clearly; they are spaced in the form of rounded table which holds up all students to view from all sides so they can understand and perceive what the teacher intends to study).

 Appropriate demonstration, explanations and discussions are the key things that enhance the student’s performance.

(A perfect demonstration needs key factors like clear explanation and good discussion therefore helping student’s performance get engrossed).

‘Learning is more in seeing than in hearing; Learning is even more in doing than in seeing and hearing’.

TYPES OF DEMONSTRATION

1) Pure Demonstration

§  This is purely visual method of instruction in which teacher shows students a particular process in operation.

2) Demonstration with Commentary

§  It is harmonious combination of visual and verbal modes of Communication.

3) Participative demonstration

§  Learner and the teacher together perform the demonstration simultaneously.

PROCEDURE/HOW DEMONSTRATION STRATEGY IS DONE:

1. Carefully plan the demonstration

Like all other methods of teaching, the teacher must know exactly what s/he is doing. This is particularly true of the demonstration, where precision and clarity are crucial to the students’ ability to understand what they see.

2. Practice the demonstration

Once a well thought out plan has been developed, ample time should be set aside to practice the demonstration. It is very risky to give a demonstration without having practiced it beforehand, especially when the procedure or topic is relatively complex or unfamiliar.

3. Develop an outline to guide the demonstration

To ensure that the demonstration goes smoothly it is a good idea to have an outline that lists the steps to follow, the materials to use, the questions to ask and the important points to make. Developing such an outline provides the teacher not only a guide for carrying out the demonstration but also with a well designed framework into which spontaneous ideas can be incorporated as the situation demands.

4. Make sure everyone can see the demonstration

It seems obvious that the teacher would make sure that all students can see the demonstration. Unfortunately, teachers sometimes fail to do this causing a situation which results in student’s loss of interest and misbehavior.

5. Introduce the demonstration to focus attention

Students are likely to be interested in the demonstration and to understand it if they have at least a general idea of what to look for as it proceeds. A few introductory comments emphasizing the essential features and key terms of the demonstration can serve this purpose as an outline or diagram on the chalkboard.

6. Ask and encourage questioning

Students should be encouraged to ask questions so that their verbal experiences are integrated with their visual ones. Also students should be asked questions at key points as a way of assessing how well they understand the demonstration.

7. Plan a follow up to the demonstration

A demonstration should be followed by activities that help students interpret and further understand the important points that were presented. Such activities could include a discussion or a writing exercise in which students can describe what they have observed.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF DEMONSTRATION STRATEGY:

Advantages

·         Seeing before doing

·         Task guidance

·         Economy of supplies

·         Safety

·         Helps people who can learn well by other’s modeling (visual learners)

·         Promotes self-confidence.

·         It makes the pupils familiar with the nature and use of apparatus.

·         In this method no time is wasted.

Disadvantages

·         May not be appropriate for the different learning style of the students.

·         Teachers’ laziness and preparedness

·         Not hands-on

·         limited view

Project Strategy:

“A project is any activity, individual or group, involving the investigation and solution of problems, planned and carried out to conclusion under the guidance of the teacher.”

-Callahan & Clark.

Ø  Project strategy is a form of scheme that allows us to collect information, investigate different levels of assignments with the manipulative drawbacks and with the ongoing process learners’ capability is highly recognized and implemented.

Ø  Project can happen in any form. It can either be individual or a group work. It involves creative and reflective thinking to see upon, explore and clarify problems and draws conclusion with proper guidance of the teacher.

Ø  The strategy activates active participation from the students with effectiveness in social interaction carried out in a natural setting or real life situation. This method creates always a room for opportunity to acquire or practice social skills. It enables the students to study functional aspects of the subjects learnt. The teacher acts as a facilitator or a guide and thus promotes independent learning.

Types of project strategy:

1)      The Producer type

2)      The Consumer type

3)      The Problem type

4)      The Drill type

Principles of Project Strategy/method

To help children learn effectively through project method, there are some fundamental principles that govern the success of a project method of teaching and learning. They are

1)      Principle of utility:

2)      Principle of readiness:

3)      Principle of Learning by doing

4)      Principle of Freedom at Work:

5)      Principle of Socialization:

Stage I: Classroom Planning

Step 1: Providing a set of tasks/problems for study

Step 2: Selecting a task/problem for study

Step 3: Formulation of hypothesis (for problems undertaken)

Step4: Planning/designing methods to investigate

Stage II: Execution

Step 1: Collection of data

Step 2: Organizing and interpreting data

Step 3: Review

Step III: Conclusion

Step 1: reporting and incorporating additions/deletions

Step 2: Evaluation

Implemented properly, this method will ensure that learning becomes an enjoyable and an enriching experience.