Subject-area teaching methods

Selecting teaching methods requires different considerations. Basic considerations include the students’ grade levels, their previous knowledge of the subject, the nature of the subject, and/or the nature of the content. Usually, in lower-grade levels, hands-on or active teaching methods are used, due to the limited attention-span of the students (Morra, Gobbo, Marini, & Sheese, 2008:22; Pierce & Kalkman, 2003:127). In addition, in the early stages of their development the children understand their surroundings mainly through their senses and motor abilities. Their cognitive functioning is at a stage of processing information from direct sensori- motor experiences (Harris, 2006:276).

There are several ways of classifying instructional objectives, including Bloom’s taxonomy. The way the students perform in respect of the given content, is called the behavioural construct while the content that requires the students to acquire knowledge is called the cognitive domain. Content may relate to the affective domain, e.g., attitudes and values. Other content may require of students to perform with muscular involvement, and is called the psychomotor domain.

Any given lesson need not be taught with a single method of teaching. According to Nilson (2010:106-7), interactive lectures and recitation focus on the knowledge level

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only. In contrast, directed discussion, writing/speaking exercises, classroom assessment techniques, group-work or learning, student-peer feedback, cookbook science labs, just-in-time teaching, inquiry-based or inquiry-guided, project-based learning, and role-play and simulations are more effective for comprehension. Finally, writing/speaking exercises, case methods, inquiry-based or inquiry-guided, problem-based learning, and project-based learning are effective for the application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation level of cognitive processing. Thus, almost all of the student-centred methods mentioned above (which are similar to the types of teaching methods used in ‘active’ learning as explained in section 3.2), are effective for the development of higher-level learning outcomes.

Objectives can be classified into three domains across all subject areas and education levels, namely the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains. The nature of the subject and the topic may be largely based on the cognitive and less on the affective and psychomotor/kinaesthetic domains, or vice versa. For instance, physical education courses are kinaesthetically dominated, while the practical parts of medicine and law require the application of knowledge to new and complex situations (Nilson, 2010:26).

Teaching methods that are most effective for science and mathematics, as well as for the social sciences and humanities, are outlined in the next sections.

3.2.1.1 Teaching methods in science and mathematics

Usually science and mathematics are perceived as difficult subjects for different reasons, and many students therefore do not enrol for these subjects. For example, Osborne, Simon, and Collins (2003:1061) state that it is difficult for students to memorise the periodic table, and they also do not see its relevance in their everyday lives. Moreover, the concepts of science are too abstract.

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An important influencing factor in a student’s decision to pursue science or not is the teaching methods that are used. Osborne et al. (2003:1073) say that the absence of good teaching is one of the decisive factors for students’ aversion to science. Tobias (in Osborne et al., 2003:1068) identified different reasons why students abstain from enrolling in science when starting higher education. Among others, there are too many ‘how much’ questions, and a lack of sufficient discussion of ‘how’ or ‘why’. This indicates the absence of participatory teaching methods.

Several researchers propose active learning methods for the teaching of science (DiCarlo, 2006:291; Ebert-May, Brewer, & Allred, 1997:601 & 606). DiCarlo (2006:291) considers learning as not a matter of committing a collection of information to memory, but of acquiring the capacity to use resources to find, assess and use information. To this end, Ebert-May et al. (1997:601) state that the learning of science demands the active involvement of both the student and the teacher to aid the constructive process.

3.2.1.2 Teaching methods in social studies and the humanities

According to Ediger (2009:324), social study courses should be designed to meet the cognitive, affective and psychomotor needs of the student.

The following psychological learning principles should be incorporated, namely • all the students should be engaged in progressive learning activities;

• the students should understand the reasons for the experiences that are provided;

• provisions should be made for the different learning styles of different students;

• meaning and understanding should be emphasised; and

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The above principles imply the use of hands-on teaching methods, based on authentic tasks, using a variety of instructional strategies that could satisfy the interests of different students. The teaching should also encourage the students to apply their knowledge in practice in actual life situations.

Yilmaz (2008:36) indicated that the basic goal of teaching social studies in secondary schools is to help the students become accountable, analytical, insightful, and active citizens, who can make knowledgeable and rational decisions about public matters locally or globally. He stated that students needed to develop positive attitudes toward participatory democracy and to participate in public issues to everybody’s benefit. In order for the students to be active and participatory citizens, they need to be actively involved in issues that required questioning, thinking and reasoning. Since student-centred instruction facilitates the construction of meaning and understanding during each phase of the learning process, it can be used as an instrument to fulfil the aims of social studies education.

However, Yilmaz (2008:48) pointed out that student-centred instruction still remained on the margins of social studies teachers’ range of instructional techniques. This confirms the much older finding of Cuban (1991), who observed that social studies instructional sessions were characterised by teacher-centred instructional practices. The result was that most students found the subject unexciting, tedious and trivial. Therefore, researchers suggested student-centred instruction to change the situation. More recently, Yilmaz (2008:47) suggested that the teachers of social studies should implement progressive learning theories to accomplish the goals of social studies in secondary schools. The progressive learning theories that he refers to are the constructivist and cognitive learning theories. According to him, student- centred instruction is based on the constructivist theory, and it shows great promise to help teachers design engaging and interesting learning opportunities.

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