Question Discussion & Solution

The teaching method is a way to put theory in practice with the help of principles, pedagogy, and management strategies. It helps the teachers to plan and present the lesson coherently.

• There are various kinds of teaching methods in fashion to facilitate learning and 'Project Method' is one of them. 

Key Points

• Project teaching method is associated with W.H. Killpatrick.  
• The Project method emphasizes active learning by association and mutual co-operation of a group of peers to complete a specific project effectively.

Characteristics of Project Method:

• Relates learning with real-life.

• Promotes learners' active participation.
• Develops abstract and concrete scientific skills.

• Encourages the application of practical knowledge.
• Ensures learners' individual and collective development.

Hence, it could be concluded that the Project method is associated with Kilpatrick.

Additional Information 

Development refers to an increase in structure for better and enhanced functioning of organs. It is a complex and continuous process, thus there are some principles that need to be followed for a better understanding of the concept.

Key PointsPrinciples of development include:

Development is Life-Long​/Principle of continuity:

• This principle defines that development is a life-long process as it does not stop at maturation and continues gradually until reaching its maximum growth. 

Development is modifiable​: 

• Development may be explained as the series of overall changes in an individual due to the emergence of modified structures and functions that are the outcome of the interactions and exchanges between the organism and its environment. 

Development follows a pattern:

•  Prenatal (before birth) and postnatal (after birth) development of human beings follow a pattern or a predictable sequence. Physical development, motor or language development and intellectual development take place in definite sequences.

Product of hereditary and environment:

• Hereditary and environment play a vital role in determining the development of an individual as:
  • all the mental and social traits depend on the environment.
  • all the inborn traits, instincts, potentials, and I. Q. depends on heredity.
• Development = Heredity * Environment 

Hence, it could be concluded that development is governed and determined by culture alone is not a principle of development.

Jean Piaget, a swiss psychologist, is famous for his work on child development. He made a systematic study of cognitive development in his theory that is categorized in four stages.

Key Points

Piaget used 'Schemas' for 'Organised packets of information stored in long term memory' as according to Piaget:

• Schemas are mental representations of how information is organized and interpreted.
• schemas refer to a small packet of information that is used to organize and store information.
• Schemas are specific psychological structures, constructed in organized ways to make sense of experience.

Hence, it could be concluded that Piaget used 'Schemas' for 'Organised packets of information stored in long term memory'.

Additional Information 

Other key Concepts of Piaget Theory:

• Accommodation: It is the modification of an existing schema to suit the new experience.

• Assimilation: It is the addition of a new concept or experience into an already existing schema.
• Equilibration: It refers to the process to find a balance between existing schemas and new information.

Mistakes and Errors:

• When a learner can’t master a topic, he/she is vulnerable to make errors. Errors are nothing but incorrectness made by a child during learning. 
• It also takes place due to the mismatch in previously assimilated and newly accommodated knowledge. 

Key Points

Children’s Errors and Mistakes:

• are a window into how they think and learn. 
• are a significant step in the teaching-learning process. 
• are necessary in the learning process to give insight into children's thinking.
• help the teacher to be aware of learners' learning styles, to cater to them according to their needs.
• are considered as a part of the teaching-learning process as it helps to understand the child.

Hence, we conclude that errors of learners often indicate how they learn.

Additional Information 

Teacher’s Approach on Learner’s Error:

• The teacher should assess the types of errors made by the learners.
• Teachers should emphasize more on correcting errors affecting a large percentage of their students.
• The teacher should look upon the errors as a feedback.
• Remedial teaching should be done to overcome the errors made by learners.

The objectives of teaching environmental studies are to create awareness about environmental problems among children and impart basic knowledge about the environment and its allied problems.

Key Points

• Environmental education focuses on studying the interactions between humans and the environment.
• The main objective is solving real-world problems like pollution, deforestation, waste production, or global warming.
• A teacher, therefore, plays an important role in providing environmental awareness and developing a positive attitude and perception towards the environment among students.
• It aims to develop cognitive, affective, and psychomotor, or cognitive domains simultaneously.
• So, the teacher should focus more on the perception of children i.e., he should focus on how they learn and build their concepts by actively interacting with their environment.
• It will help teachers understand how their decisions and actions affect the environment, builds the knowledge and skills necessary. 

Thus, it is clear above that the main focus of environmental studies is to change the attitude and perceptions of children.