MULTIMODALITY

Johann Friedrich Herbert (4 May 1776 – 14 August 1841) is the founding father of the conceptualization of pedagogy, or, the theory of education. Herbert‟s educational philosophy and pedagogy highlighted the correlation between personal development and the resulting benefits to society. In other words, Herbert proposed that humans become fulfilled once they establish themselves as productive citizens. Herbertianism refers to the movements underpinned by Herbert‟s theoretical perspectives. Referring to the teaching process, Herbert suggested five (5) steps as crucial components.

Specifically, these five (5) steps include preparation, presentation, association, generalization, and application. Herbert suggested that pedagogy relates to having assumptions as an educator and a specific set of abilities with a deliberate end goal in mind. These five stages also correspond with the five stages of learning processes as noted by Onwuekwe (2014). In other words, through these stages, the learner‟s knowledge could be stimulated.

The stages can be analyzed as follows:

i. Preparation or sensation: In this stage, the learner can be stimulated through one or more of the senses of sight, taste, touch, smell and hearing. For effective teaching and learning to occur, one or more of these senses must be involved.

Sensation makes the learner to turn his attention to a particular situation. Whether he pays attention or not, depends on several variables namely (a) his interest or attraction (b) his needs and wishes. It therefore implies that the teacher must prepare the minds of his students by making sure their interest is being aroused towards the lesson before an effective teaching and learning can take place.

ii. Preparation or Perception: This is the second step in the teaching and learning process. There can hardly be any perception without sensation. But there can be sensation without perception. This is because one can be stimulated to turn attention to a particular thing but if the situation does not meet his interest, needs, aims and aspirations, he turns back to the situation. On the other hand, if the person‟s attention is diverted to a particular situation which is pleasant to him or satisfies his aims and aspirations, he pays clearer attention, becomes aware of the situation. In other words, he perceives the situation, he concentrates and learning takes place. This implies that the method of the presentation of the lesson should be carefully done in such away that the learner‟s attention must be stimulated in order to achieve the set objectives of the lesson.

iii. Association: When the learner concentrates on the particular situation of his interest, he begins to relate the circumstances or situation with his previous experience.

That is to say that the present situation must be related to past experiences in order to facilitate understanding of the new situation. This implies that every effective teaching should always begin with the previous knowledge.

iv. Generalization: After relating the new situation to the past experience, the learner establishes some similarities between the two. He draws up some conclusions.

This is refereed to as generalization. Generalization is a statement of fact which serves purpose beyond the particular situation.

v. Application: This becomes possible because of a general statement that has been made embraces characteristics which can be applied to new but similar situations.

This means that, what works for a particular situation can be used to work in a new situation. Teachers must study their students very well and explore different methods in their teaching in order to achieve an effective teaching and learning. (Sources:

Onwuekwe: A Microsoft on Psychology of music).

Magazine of Professional Development (2016) emphasizes the following as the five (5) standards of effective pedagogy:

a. Joint Productive Activity b. Language Development c. Contextualization d. Challenging Activities e. Instructional Conversation

Joint Productive Development: This is the process that involves the teacher and the students. Teacher and students producing together facilitates learning through joint productive activity among teacher and students. Learning occurs most effectively when experts and novices work together for a common product or goal, and are therefore motivated to assist one another. Joint productive activity “is cross-cultural, typical human, and probably „hard-wired‟. This kind of “mentoring” and “learning in action”

is the characteristics of parents with very young children of pre-school, graduate

school, adult learning, school-to-work and service learning on-the-job-training of all education, except the common K-12 tradition.

Language Development: Developing language across the curriculum develops competence in the language and literacy of instruction across the curriculum.

Developing competence in the language(s) of instruction should be a metagoal of all educational activity throughout the school day. Whether instruction is bilingual or monolingual, literacy is the most fundamental competency necessary for school success. School knowledge, and thinking itself, are inseparable from language.

Everyday social language, formal academic language and subject matter lexicons are all critical for school success.

Contextualization: Making meaning; connecting school to students‟ lives – connect teaching and curriculum to students‟ experiences and skills of home and community.

The high literacy of schools are best achieved in everyday, culturally meaningful contexts. This contextualization utilizes students‟ funds of knowledge and skills a foundation for new knowledge. This approach fosters pride and confidence as well greater school achievement. Increase in contextualization instruction is a consistent recommendation of education researchers.

Challenging Activities: Teaching complex thinking – challenge students towards cognitive complexity. Students at risk of educational failure, particularly those of limited Standard English proficiency are often forgiven any academic challenges on the assumption that they are of limited ability or they are forgiven any genuine assessment of progress because the assessment tools are „inadequate‟. Thus, both standards and feedback are weakened, with the predictable result that achievement is impeded. There is a clear consensus among education researchers that students at risk of educational failure require instruction that is cognitively challenging, that is,

instruction that require thinking and analysis, not only note, repetitive, detail-level drills.

Instructional Conversation: Teaching through conversation – engage students through dialogue, especially the instructional conversation. Thinking and the abilities to form, express, and exchange ideas are best taught through dialogue, through questioning and sharing ideas and knowledge. In the instructional conversation (IC), the teacher listens carefully, makes guesses about intended meaning, and adjusts responses to assist students‟ efforts – just as in graduate seminars, or between mothers and toddlers. Here, the teacher relates formal, school knowledge to the students‟

individual, family and community knowledge. Instructional conversation provides opportunities for the development of the language of instruction and subject matter.

Instructional conversation is a supportive and collaborative event that builds inter-subjectivity and a sense of community. Instructional conversation achieves individualization of instruction, is an idea setting for language development; and allows sensitive contextualization and precise, stimulating cognitive challenge.

(Source: Magazine Professional Development; www.tolerance.org/supllement/five-standards-efefctive-pedagogy.)