Before succeeding in creating the light bulb, Thomas Alva Edison had failed more than two thousand times. When his assistants were in vain, he told them that "don't worry, we have learned two thousand ways to fail." Learning and education are not just about the grades on the mark sheet or the numbers on the attendance table. It is much more than that. It goes beyond the curriculum and the syllabus.
When the teacher and the student share a good bond and the teacher understands the essence of education, the teaching learning process becomes more efficient and effective. We will be looking at the major aspects of the teaching learning process and how, if handled properly, it can improve the effectiveness of the students.
Let us delve deeper into the topic:
Five Aspects of the Teaching-Learning Process
1.Design
The course must be designed in such a way that it caters to all types of learners in the classroom. There are different types of learners like auditory learners, visual learners, and likewise. The design must include activities, teaching aids, and likewise so that the efficiency can be maximized. The learning environment and learning experience should be positive and this plays an important role in the teaching learning process.
2.Identifying Topics
In the maxims of teaching, it is said that teaching should be from known to unknown. That is, the students would have certain previous knowledge and when a new concept is introduced to them in relation to the previous knowledge that they have, it would be easier for them to understand the concept(read more here). The topics play a pivotal role in the teaching learning process. To put it in a simple manner, if you were to talk the language of caterpillars to a group of butterflies, it wouldn’t make sense to them. The course design should be such that the students relate to it, it resonates with their previous knowledge and experiences, and is appropriate. Teaching 10th-grade mathematics to a fifth-grade student is a plain atrocity. Of course, there might be exceptions but generally, it is foolish. The course must be designed with the students in mind. The teaching learning process will be efficient if it is so.
3.Presentation
The delivery of the topics must be clear and precise. It is said that teaching is one-fourth of preparation and three-fourths theatre. The way the teacher presents the topic plays an important role in making the students understand the concept. Merely reading the textbook or asking the students to read it won’t do much good. Ample enough teaching aids have to be used, the course design must be followed, interactive activities must be incorporated, and likewise. Student engagement and student interest are largely dependent on the way the teacher presents the topic. This is why presentation skill is one of the most important skills that teachers must possess.
4.Assessment
Another important aspect of the teaching learning process is assessment. To understand how much students have learned and whether the design and presentation of concepts are working, assessments are necessary. Evaluation adn assessment are not just for students. It pronounces whether the efforts that teachers have put in have gone to waste or not. If the whole class fails to understand a concept, it is time to introspect. While it might not be the teacher’s fault, it is important to run through the methods used and the strategies adopted.
5.Reflection
After assessing the methods and the level of understanding of students, it is important to reflect and alter the course design or topics or the style of delivery accordingly. The only constant in life is change, and if you refuse to change, you are just refusing to grow. Teachers must adapt and employ new methodologies to cater to the students. The teaching learning process is essentially two-way. Teachers must listen to the students and learn from them.
The teaching learning process is complex. While it may look hard to tackle, it can be made super-efficient by paying attention to details and just listening to your students. Teaching is fundamentally a give-and-take process. The students and teachers are equally important parts of the equation. The non-verbal cues, the evaluation results, the engagement in the classroom, all having to be weighed to understand what the students are going through. Of course, communication lies at the heart of everything, and teachers must gather ample enough feedback to be able to alter their approach.
Hope this blog on the teaching learning process helped you understand the intricacies of the same. We will be back with yet another interesting blog. Until then,
Happy learning, happy teaching!
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