4 Learning & Motivation · 4.1 Learning and motivation
4.1.6 Methods of teaching: maxims, stages, inductive, heuristic, project and Dalton plan
Teaching is a tripolar process (teacher, child, curriculum) whose aim is an inquiring mind; it follows maxims (known to unknown, concrete to abstract), passes through pre-active, interactive and post-active stages, and uses methods that make the pupil active: inductive, heuristic (Armstrong), project (Kilpatrick), the Dalton plan (Parkhurst) and programmed learning (Skinner).
- APPSC Paper I
- Standard level
- 14 min read
- Free
Core facts
- Teaching as a process: John Adams called education bipolar (teacher and pupil); John Dewey made it tripolar: child, teacher and curriculum (the social setting) (APPSC 2019).
- Aims (APPSC 2019): the main aim of classroom teaching is to develop an inquiring mind; the teacher's target is to develop talents in students; good teaching is best shown by meaningful questions asked by students.
- Maxims of teaching (rules drawn from the laws of learning): known to unknown, simple to complex, concrete to abstract, particular to general, easy to difficult, whole to part, analysis to synthesis, empirical to rational, psychological to logical, seen to unseen (near to far). What is "simple" is judged from the child's point of view, not the adult's.
- Stages of teaching (Philip W. Jackson, Life in Classrooms, 1968): pre-active (planning before class), interactive (teaching in class), post-active (evaluation and reflection after class).
- Herbartian five steps (Herbart's followers): preparation → presentation → association (comparison) → generalisation → application.
- Inductive method: particular → general, examples first, the rule found by the pupils; also called the formula-construction method. Deductive method: general → specific: the rule or formula is given first and then applied (APPSC 2019). Inducto-deductive: find the rule by induction, practise it by deduction.
- Heuristic method: advocated by H.E. Armstrong (chemist) (APPSC 2019); from Greek *heurisko, "I find out"; the pupil is put in the position of a discoverer*.
- Project method: W.H. Kilpatrick (1918), Dewey's student, based on pragmatism (learning by doing); refined by J.A. Stevenson. Kilpatrick: a project is "a whole-hearted purposeful activity proceeding in a social environment".
- Kilpatrick's four types of project: producer (constructive), consumer (appreciation), problem, drill (specific learning).
- Dalton plan: Helen Parkhurst, 1920, at Dalton, Massachusetts (APPSC 2019): pupils take monthly assignments (contracts) and work at their own pace in subject laboratories.
- Winnetka plan: Carleton Washburne, 1919, Winnetka (Illinois): self-paced work on common essentials plus group and creative activities.
- Programmed instruction: linear (Skinner), branching (Crowder), mathetics (Gilbert); see EDU-LR-03.
- Models of teaching (Bruce Joyce and Marsha Weil): the concept attainment model is built on Bruner's discovery learning (Bruner, Goodnow and Austin) (APPSC 2019); the advance organiser model comes from Ausubel.
- Edgar Dale's Cone of Experience (1946): direct, purposeful experiences at the base (most concrete) up to verbal symbols at the top (most abstract).
- Theories of discipline: repressionistic (control by fear and punishment), impressionistic (influence of the teacher's personality and example), emancipationistic (freedom; the child learns from natural consequences; naturalism, Rousseau).
Explained
1. The maxims with examples
| Maxim | What it means | Classroom example |
|---|---|---|
| Known to unknown | start from what pupils already know | from the village market to the national economy |
| Simple to complex | easy parts first, as the child sees them | letters, then words, then sentences |
| Concrete to abstract | real things before symbols | cut a roti into halves before writing ½ |
| Particular to general | examples before the rule | measure several triangles, then state the angle-sum rule |
| Whole to part | the whole first, then its parts | read the whole poem, then each stanza |
| Analysis to synthesis | break a problem down, then put it together | steps of a geometry proof |
| Empirical to rational | observed facts before reasons | see iron rust, then learn why |
| Psychological to logical | the child's interest first, the subject's order later | begin a lesson from a hostel event |
The maxims go back to Comenius and Pestalozzi; Herbert Spencer (Education, 1861) set several of them out.
2. Jackson's three stages of teaching
| Stage | When | Teacher's tasks |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-active | before entering the class | set objectives, choose content, methods and aids, plan the lesson |
| Interactive | in the class | present, question, explain, give feedback, manage the class |
| Post-active | after the class | evaluate pupils, reflect on the lesson, plan remedial work |
3. Herbartian steps. J.F. Herbart gave the formal steps of instruction; his followers made the five-step lesson plan used for knowledge lessons: preparation (link to old knowledge, state the aim), presentation (new matter), association (compare with what is known), generalisation (draw the rule), application (use it in new cases). The theory behind it is Herbart's apperception: new ideas are learnt through ideas already in the mind.
4. Inductive vs deductive
| Point | Inductive | Deductive |
|---|---|---|
| Direction | particular → general; examples → rule | general → particular; rule → examples |
| Pupil | active; discovers the rule | receives the rule and applies it |
| Speed | slow, but understanding is deep | quick; covers the syllabus faster |
| Best for | finding a new rule or formula | practice, drill, application |
Good teaching usually moves from induction to deduction (the inducto-deductive approach).
5. The heuristic method
- Stages: planning, execution, conclusion. The teacher sets a problem; pupils find out by experiment, observation and reading; the teacher guides, does not tell.
- Merits: builds a scientific attitude, self-reliance, training in method and lasting learning.
- Limits: slow; needs able teachers, well-equipped rooms and small classes; unsuited to young children; suits the middle and high school stage.
6. The project method
- Other definitions: Ballard: a project is "a bit of real life imported into the school"; Stevenson: "a problematic act carried to completion in its natural setting".
- Steps: providing a situation → choosing (purposing) → planning → executing → evaluating (judging) → recording. Short form: purposing, planning, executing, judging.
- Principles: purpose, activity (learning by doing), reality (learning by living), utility, freedom, socialisation (co-operation). It rejects rote memorisation.
| Type | Aim | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Producer (constructive) | make a concrete product | a working model of a village water tank |
| Consumer (appreciation) | enjoy an experience | listening to a story, watching a play |
| Problem | solve an intellectual problem | why is the hostel well water salty? |
| Drill (specific learning) | gain a skill | improve handwriting speed |
- Merits: real-life, purposeful, co-operative learning; links subjects. Limits: time-consuming, costly, hard to cover the full syllabus, needs a resourceful teacher.
7. Individualised plans
| Plan | Founder, year | Key features |
|---|---|---|
| Dalton plan | Helen Parkhurst, 1920 | monthly assignments (contracts); subject laboratories; self-pacing; teacher as adviser |
| Winnetka plan | Carleton Washburne, 1919 | common essentials at the pupil's own pace + group creative activities |
| Programmed learning | B.F. Skinner, 1954 | small frames, active response, immediate feedback (EDU-LR-03) |
8. Other methods in brief
- Lecture: teacher talks, pupils listen; quick and economical, but pupils are passive; suits higher classes and new topics.
- Demonstration: the teacher shows an experiment or process while explaining; common in science; a lecture-cum-demonstration combines the two.
- Discussion and Socratic questioning: pupils think through questions and answers.
- Problem-solving method (Dewey): felt difficulty → defining the problem → hypotheses → reasoning → testing and conclusion.
- Discovery learning (Bruner, EDU-LR-04) and play-way (Froebel's kindergarten) put the child at the centre.
9. Teaching aids and resources
- Dale's cone (from concrete to abstract): direct purposeful experiences; contrived experiences (models, mock-ups); dramatised experiences; demonstrations; field trips; exhibits; motion pictures and television; recordings, radio, still pictures; visual symbols (charts, maps); verbal symbols (words).
- Three-dimensional aids: models, globes, dioramas, specimens. A museum, zoo or field trip is a community resource (a place for educational visits), not itself a 3-D aid (APPSC 2019).
10. Classroom discipline
| Theory | Basis | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Repressionistic | fear, strict control, punishment | old authoritarian schools |
| Impressionistic | the teacher's personality and example | idealism |
| Emancipationistic | freedom; natural consequences | naturalism, Rousseau |
- The modern aim is self-discipline. If two pupils quarrel in class, the teacher calmly stops it, continues the lesson, and talks to both later to find the cause.
- Evaluation tied to teaching: assessment for learning (formative) is the prerequisite that guides teaching; summative evaluation comes at the end of a course; in Bloom's 1956 taxonomy evaluation is the highest cognitive level (details: EDU-ST-02).
Common traps
- ✗ "The heuristic method was given by Kilpatrick." ✓ Heuristic = H.E. Armstrong; project = Kilpatrick; Dalton plan = Helen Parkhurst.
- ✗ "In the deductive method teaching goes from particular to general." ✓ Deductive = general to specific; inductive = particular to general.
- ✗ "From abstract to concrete is a maxim of teaching." ✓ The maxim is concrete to abstract.
- ✗ "The Dalton plan was developed by Washburne." ✓ Dalton = Parkhurst (1920); Winnetka = Washburne (1919).
- ✗ "The project method is based on idealism." ✓ It rests on pragmatism (Dewey, learning by doing).
- ✗ "Survey is one of Kilpatrick's four types of project." ✓ The four are producer, consumer, problem, drill.
- ✗ "A museum is a three-dimensional teaching aid." ✓ Models, globes and dioramas are 3-D aids; a museum is a community resource.
- ✗ "The pre-active stage is the teaching in class." ✓ Pre-active = planning; interactive = in class; post-active = evaluation and reflection (Jackson).
- ✗ "Teaching is a bipolar process (Dewey)." ✓ Adams = bipolar; Dewey = tripolar (child, teacher, curriculum).
- ✗ "The inductive method covers the syllabus faster." ✓ The deductive method is faster; the inductive is slow but thorough.
- ✗ "'To teach is to engage students in learning', so the teacher's challenge is maintaining discipline: the only possible answer." ✓ The stem fits making teaching and learning enjoyable just as well; APPSC's 2022 final key chose maintaining discipline, so treat that key as doubtful.
Quick revision
- Teaching: Adams bipolar; Dewey tripolar (child, teacher, curriculum); aim = inquiring mind.
- Maxims: known→unknown, simple→complex, concrete→abstract, particular→general, whole→part; judged from the child's side.
- Jackson 1968: pre-active (plan), interactive (teach), post-active (evaluate).
- Herbartian steps: preparation, presentation, association, generalisation, application.
- Inductive: examples → rule (slow, deep); deductive: rule → examples (quick).
- Heuristic: H.E. Armstrong; heurisko = I find out; pupil as discoverer.
- Project: Kilpatrick 1918, pragmatism; "whole-hearted purposeful activity"; producer, consumer, problem, drill.
- Dalton plan: Helen Parkhurst 1920, assignments, subject laboratories; Winnetka: Washburne 1919.
- Dale's cone 1946: direct experience at the base, verbal symbols at the top; museum = community resource.
- Discipline: repressionistic (fear), impressionistic (teacher's example), emancipationistic (freedom).
Go deeper: Deeper (beyond what APPSC Paper I usually asks)
Deeper Advanced
1. Where the project method came from. Kilpatrick's essay "The Project Method" appeared in the Teachers College Record in 1918. It turned Dewey's learning by doing and pragmatism into a classroom plan in which the pupil's own purpose drives the work. Kilpatrick's word "whole-hearted" stresses that the pupil, not the teacher, must want the project.
2. No single best method. The method should suit the content (a rule, a skill, an attitude), the pupils' age and ability, class size and time. Discovery methods (heuristic, project, inductive) give depth and motivation; expository methods (lecture, deductive) give speed and coverage. Skilled teachers combine them.
3. Maxims and psychology. Each maxim rests on a finding about learning: readiness and the law of effect (start from the known and the easy), Gestalt (whole to part), Piaget and Bruner (concrete before abstract; enactive → iconic → symbolic), Ausubel (link to existing knowledge).
Practise this topic. Questions on Motivation and its classroom use (incl. teaching methods), with answers explained.
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