Lesson XI

MAKING THE MOST OF COMMUNITY RESOURCES AND FIELD TRIPS

                                

   The teachers’ comments given above indicate failure of the field trips conducted. This is definitely  the consequence  of no planning or if ever there was, planning was done poorly.

     What procedures must we follow to avoid the failed study trips described above? Let’s plan. Planning a field trip includes these steps: 1. Preliminary planning by the teacher, 2. Pre planning with others going on the trip, and 3. Taking the field trip itself and 4.  Post – field trip follow up activities.

     For preliminary by the teacher, Brown (1969) proposes the following:

·         Make preliminary contacts, a tour on final agreements with the place to be visited.

·         Make final arrangements with the school principal about the details of the trip: time, schedule, transportation, arrangements, finances and permission slips from parents.

·         Make a tentative route plan, subject to later alteration based on class planning and objectives.

·         Try to work out mutually satisfactory arrangements with other teachers if the trip will conflict  with their classes.

·         Prepare preliminary lists of questions or other materials which will be helpful in planning with the students.

Preplanning with students joining the trip

·         Discuss the objective of the trip and write them down. The main objective should be included in the permit slip given to parents and should be consulted later when the trip is evaluated.

Sample Permit Slip

·       Prepare list of questions to send ahead to the guide of the study trip.

·         Define safety and behavior standards for the journey there and  for the field trip site itself.

·         Discuss and decide on ways to document the trip. Everyone is expected to take notes.

·         List specific object to be seen on their way to the site, on the site of the field trip and on their way home from the site.

·         Discuss appropriate dress. Comfortable shoes for walking are important.

·         Before the trip, use a variety of learning materials in order to give each student a background for the trip.

Preplanning with Others Joining the Trip

     Other people accompanying the group need to be oriented on the objectives, route, behavior, standards required of everyone so they can help enforce these standards. These may be parents who will assist the teachers and/ or school administrator staff.

Taking the Field Trip

·         Distribute route map of places to be observed.

·         Upon arriving at the destination, teacher should check the group and introduce the guide.

·         Special effort should be made to ensure that:

-          The trip keeps to the time schedule

-          The students have the opportunity to obtain answers to questions

-          The group participates courteously in the entire trip

-          The guide sticks closely to the list of questions

Evaluating Field Trip

     These are questions we ask ourselves after the field trip to evaluate the field trip we just had.

·         Could the same benefits be achieved by other materials? Was it worth the time, effort and perhaps extra money? Where there any unexpected  problems which could be foreseen another time? Where these due to guides, students, poor planning, or unexpected trip conditions?

Where new interest  developed?

Should the trip be recommended to other classes?

Studying similar topics?

Educational Benefits Derived from a Field Trip

     Field trips can be fun and educational when they are well executed. They offer us a number of educational  benefits:

1. The acquisition of lasting concepts  and change in attitudes are rooted on concrete and rich experiences. Field trips are opportunities  for rich and memorable experiences which are fundamental to learning that lasts.

2. Field trip bring us the world beyond the classroom. The real – world connection is more work but the benefits of broadening teaching beyond textbooks far outweigh the little bit of time it takes from a teacher’s schedule.

3. Field trips have a wide range of application. It is not meant only for children. It is for adults also. It is not meant for the social sciences subjects. It is for  all other subjects as well.

4. It can bring out a lot of realizations which may lead to changes in attitudes and insights. The field trip “can nurture curiosity; build a zest for new experience, and a sense of wonder”  Dale (1969). Here are some realizations students had after joining a field trip to the following places.

§  A school for the blind: “I’m glad, I’m not blind. What can we do to prevent blindness?

§  An automobile factory: “ more and more factory work is automated. How soon will we have three working days and four days of the job? What will people do with their time?”

§  A museum: “ there is so much to be known and I know so little”

Disadvantages of field Trips

     These educational benefits are compensate for the drawbacks of field trips, some of which are: 

1. It is costly,

2. It involves logistics,

3. It is extravagant with time,

4. Contains an element of uncertainty.

Community Resources

     A field trip may be a visit to a scenic spot or to a historical place. What community resources can we use for learning?

     These can be persons and places in the community. For persons, let us not go too far. Let us begin with the parents of our students. Many of them can be resource speaker in their fields of expertise. A dentist may be invited to the children on how they care for their teeth. A journalist may serve as a resource paper on the part of the newspaper and how to write an editorial. A dynamic teacher will find a way to have a record of parents’ names, contact number, occupation, and other pertinent data she needs.

     There are other people in the community who can be excellent resource speaker. A senior citizen and a war veteran in the community maybe invited to the class for an interview  on a topic of which he is expert. Say for example, his memories of World War II. A barangay captain may be asked on what the barangay intends to do a curb the rampant alcoholism among the youth in the community.

     As to places to visit, popular destinations are museum, zoos, botanical gardens, historical places, places of exhibit, scenic spots. Performance like a play, a concert, and a dance presentations also form part of community resources.

     Public libraries and private libraries (some private schools, colleges and universities allow outsiders to research  in their libraries on special arrangements) can also be community learning resources. Maybe classes are not bought to these libraries for a field trip but students can go there for research and learning.

Lesson X

                                     DEMONSTRATION IN TEACHING

     In the demonstration of a new product, the speaker shows the product, tells all the  good thing about the product to promote it in order  to convince the audience that the product is worth buying.

     In the activists’ demonstration, the activists air their grievances and publicly denounce the acts of a person or of an institution, like the government, against whom they are demonstrated.

     When a master teacher asked to demonstration in teaching on a teaching strategy, she shows to the audience how to use a teaching strategy effectively.

     In all three instances of demonstration, there is an audience,  a process of speaking, and a process of showing a product or a method or proofs to convince the audience to buy the product, use the strategy or rally behind their cause.

     What the n is a demonstration? Webster’s International Dictionary defines it as “a public showing emphasizing the salient , merits, utility, efficiency, etc, of an article or product..” in teaching it is showing how a thing is done and emphasizing  of the salient merits, utility and efficiency  of a concept, a method or a process or an attitude.

     What guiding principles must we observe in using a demonstration as a teaching – learning experience? Edgar Dale (1969) gives at least three:

1. Establish rapport. Greet your audience. Make them feel at ease by your warmth and sincerity. Stimulate their interest by making your demonstration and yourself interesting. Sustain their attention.

2.  Avoid COLK fallacy (Clear Only If Known). What is this fallacy? It is the assumption that what is clear to the expert  demonstrator is also clearly known to the person for whom the message is intended. To avoid the fallacy, it is best for the expert demonstrator to assume that his audience knows  nothing or a little about  what he is intending to demonstrate for him to be very    thorough, clear and detailed  in his demonstration  even to a point of facing the risk of being repetitive.

3. Watch for key options. What are key options? Dale (1996) says “ they are the ones at which  an error is likely to be made, the places at which many people stumble and where the knacks and tricks of the trade are especially important”. The good demonstrator recognizes [possible stumbling blocks to learners and highlights them in some way. What are usually highlighted are the “don’t’s” of a process or a strategy.

To ensure that the demonstration works, we ought to plan and prepare very well before we conduct the demonstration. In planning and preparing for demonstration, Brown (1969) suggests methodical procedures by the following questions:

1. What are our objectives? How does your class stand with respect to these objectives?  This is to determine entry knowledge and skills of your students.

2. Is there a better way to achieve your ends?

3. If there is a more effective way to attain your purpose, then replace the demonstration method the more effective one.

4. Do you have access to all necessary  materials and equipments to make the demonstration? Have a checklist of necessary equipment and material. This may include written materials.

5. Are you familiar with the sequence and content of the proposed demonstration? Outline the steps and rehearse your demonstration.

6. Are the limits realistic?

You have planned and rehearsed your demonstration, your materials and equipment  are ready, you have prepared your students, then you can proceed to the demonstration itself. Dale (1969) gives several points to observe:

1. Set the tone for good communication. Get and keep your audience’s interest.

2. Keep your demonstration simple.

3. Do not wonder from the main ideas.

4. Check to see that your demonstration is being understood.  Watch your audience for signs of bewilderment, boredom or disagreement.

5. Do not hurry your demonstration. Asking questions to check understanding can serve as a “brake”.

6. Do not drag out the demonstration. Interesting things have never dragged out.  They create their own tempo.

7. Summarize as you go along and provide a concluding summary. Use the chalkboard, the over head projector, charts, diagram, power point and whatever other materials are appropriate to synthesize your demonstration.

8. Hand out written materials at the conclusion.

What questions can you ask to evaluate your classroom demonstration? Dale (1969) enumerates:

Was your demonstration adequately and skillfully prepared? Did you select demonstrable skills or ideas? Were the desired behavioral outcomes clear?

 Did you follow the step by step plan? Did you make use of additional materials appropriate to your purpose – chalkboard, felt board, pictures, charts, diagrams, models, overhead transparencies, or slides?

Was the demonstration itself correct? Was your explanation simple enough so that most of the students understood it easily?

Did you keep checking to see that all your students were concentration on what you were doing?

Could every person see and hear?  If a skill was demonstrated for imitation, was it presented from the physical point of view of the learner?

Did you help students do their own generalizing?

Did you take enough time to demonstrate the key points?

Did you review and summarize the key points?

Did your students participate in what you were doing by asking thoughtful questions at the appropriate time?

Did you evaluation of a student learning indicate that your demonstration achieved its purpose?

Lesson IX

         TEACHING WITH DRAMATIZED EXPERIENCES

     Something dramatic is something that is stirring or affecting or moving.  A dramatic entrance is something that catches or holds  our attention and has an emotional impact. If our teaching is dramatic, our students get attracted, interested and affected. If they are affected and move by what we taught, we will most likely have an impact on them. So, why can’t we be dramatic all the time?

 Dramatized experiences can range from the formal plays, pageant lo less formal tableau, pantomime, puppets and role playing.

       Plays depict life, character or culture or a combination of all three. They offer excellent opportunities to portray vividly important ideas about life. Pageants are usually community dramas that are based on local history, presented by local actors. An example is a historical pageant that traces the growth of a school.  Play and pantomime require  much time for preparation and so cannot be part of everyday classroom program.

     Pantomime and tableaux, when compared to a play and a pageant are less demanding in terms of labor, time and preparation. These are purely visual experiences. A pantomime is the “art of conveying a story through bodily movements only “(Webster’s  New Collegiate Dictionary). Its effect on the audience depends on the movements of the actor. A tableau )a French word which means picture) is a picture – like scene composed of a people against a background. A tableau is often used to celebrate Independence Day, Christmas, and United Day.

     Dale (1996) claims the puppets, unlike the regular stage play, can present ideas with extreme simplicity – without elaborate scenery or costume  - yet effectively.                      

    As an instructional device, the puppet show can involve the entire group of students – as speakers of parts, manipulators  of the figures, and makers of the puppet.

Types of Puppet

         SHADOW PUPPETS-flat black silhouette made from lightweight cardboard and shown behind a screen.

         ROD PUPPETS -flat cut out figures tacked to a stick, with one or more movable parts, and operated from below the stage level by wire rods or slender sticks.

         HAND PUPPETS -the puppet’s head is operated by the forefinger of the puppeteer, the little finger and thumb being used to animate the puppet.

         LOVE-and-FINGER PUPPET-make use of old gloves to which small costumed figures are attached

         MARIONETTES-flexible, jointed puppets operated by strings or wires attached to a cross bar and maneuvered from directly above the stage.

    

                     Hand Puppet                                 Rod Puppet                           

                                                                                                                                                                                         

                 Finger Puppet                            Shadow Puppet

  

     What principles must be observed in choosing a puppet play for teaching? Dale, (1996) quoting from the puppeteers of America offers many suggestions, among which are the following:

  Do not  use puppets  for plays that can be done just as well or better by other dramatic means.

  Puppet plays must be based on action rather than on words.

  Keep the plays short.

  Do not omit the possibilities of music and dancing as part of the upper show.

  Adapt the puppet show to the age, background, and tastes of the students.

Another from of dramatized experienced is a role – playing. Role – playing Is an unrehearsed, unprepared and spontaneous dramatization of a “let’s pretend” situation where assigned participants are absorbed by their own roles in the situation described by the teachers.

 How is Role – playing done? It can be done by describing a situation which would create different viewpoints on an issue and then asking the students to play the roles of the individuals involved.

        How did you, as actors, feel? Would you act/think that way in real life?

        As observers, would you agree with agree with what the actors said or did?

        Any lessons learned?

Lesson VIII

              TEACHING WITH CONTRIVED EXPERIENCES

     The model of the atom, the globe, the planetarium, the simulated election process and the preserved specimen fall under contrived experiences, the second band of experiences in Dale’s Cone of Experiences.

  What are contrived experiences? These are “edited” copies of reality and are used as substitute for real things when it is not practical or not possible to bring or do the real thing in the classroom. These contrived experiences are designed to stimulate to real – life situation.

     The atom, the planetarium are classified as models. A model is a “reproduction of a real – thing in a small scale, or large scale, or exact size, - but made of synthetic materials. It is a substitute for a real thing which may or may not be operational” (Brown, et al, 1969).

     The planetarium may also be considered a mock – up. A mock – up is “an arrangement of a real device or associated devises, displayed in such a way that representation of reality is created. The mock – up may be simplified in order to emphasize certain features. It may be an economical reproduction of a complicated or costly device, to be observed for learning process. Usually, it is prepared substitute for a real thing; sometimes it is a giant arrangement” (Brown 1969). The planetarium is an example of a mock – up, in the sense that the order or the arrangement of the planet is shown and the real processes of  the planet’s rotation on their axis and the revolution of the planets around the sun are displayed. A mock – up is a special model where the parts  of the model are singled  out , heightened and magnified in order to focus on that part of the process  under study. The planetarium involves of model of each of the planet and the sun but it focuses on the processes of the planet’s rotation and revolution and so is also considered a mock – up.

     The preserved specimen fall under  specimens and objects. A specimen is any individual or item considered typical of a group, class or whole. Objects may also include artifacts displayed in a museum  or objects displayed in exhibits or preserved insects specimen in science.

     The school election process describe above is a form of simulation. Simulation is a “representation of  manageable real event in which the learner is an active participant engaged  in a learning behavior or in applying  previously acquired  skills or knowledge” (Orlich, etv al, 1994). In addition to the election of class and  school officers given above,  other examples of these are fire and earthquake drills  which schools usually conduct. Organizers of earthquake and fire drills create a situation highly similar to the real situation when an earthquake happens.

     Another instructional material included in contrived experiences is game. Is there a difference between a game and a simulation? Games are played to win while simulation need not have a winner. Simulation seems to be more easily applied to the study of issues rather than to processes.

     Why do we make use of contrived experiences? We use models, mock – ups, specimen,  and objects to: 

 1. Overcome limitations of space and time.

 2. To “edit” reality for us to be able to focus on parts or a process of a system that we intend to study,  3. To overcome difficulty of size. 

 4. To understand the inaccessible , and 

 5. Help the learners understand abstractions.

     We use simulations and games to make our class interactive and to develop the decision – making skills and knowledge construction skills of our students. Orlich, et al (1994) enumerates ten (10) general purposes of simulations and games in education:

1. To develop changes in attitudes

2. To change specific behavior

3. To prepare participants for assuming new roles in the future

4. To help individuals understand their current roles

5. To increase the students’ ability to apply principles

6. To reduce complex problems or situations to manageable elements

7. To illustrate roles that may affects one’s life but that one may never assume

8. To motivate learners

9.  To develop analytical processes

10.    To sensitive individuals to another person’s life role.

In addition to the election processes describe above, what are additional examples of simulation? A famous example is a “bomb shelter” simulation.  “you are under attack. The bomb shelter can accommodate only five (5) persons. There are eight (8) of you in the group. Decide who must get in. other famous example of simulation In school are play stores. One Grade II teacher used play store to teach subtraction of numbers involving amount of money . Another  example is an awareness – raising experience about common disabilities  for secondary  students. Mark  J, Hallenbeck and Darlene McMaster (1991) had this experience: students without disabilities simulated the experiences of visual and hearing – impaired people and those with physical disabilities on “simulation day”. They claimed that students gained a new perspectives of the needs and feelings of student with disability.

     In the English subject, David Sudol (1983) found that literary concepts could be successfully taught by involving the students by having them develop characters  and then develop a plot. Sudol also suggested  that similarly, you could select some classic quote, for example, the opening paragraph from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, “it was the worst of times” and ask the students to stimulate a plot, a story line,  character and location. Use the current year. How closely do you think the students might parallel dickens? After the simulation, “A Tale of Two Cities” could be read both for knowledge and for comparison to the students outline.

               Games are use for any of these purposes: 1. To practice and or to refine knowledge/skills already acquired. 2. To identify gaps or weaknesses in knowledge or skills. 3. To serve as a summation or review, and 4. To develop new relationships among concepts and principles.

If you want a class that is fully alive, think of how you can integrate  native games in your lesson. Refer to Science and Mathematics of Toys , a sourcebook for teachers, published and printed by the Institute for Science and Mathematics Education Development of the University of the Philippines.

     Here is the game that you can play at the beginning of the year, the Human Intelligence Hunt. Armstrong (1994) suggests that you use this when you are introducing Multiple Intelligences theory at the beginning of the year. How is it played?

Each student receives a list of tasks like those below.  On your signal, students take the task sheet along with a pen or pencil and find other students in the room who can do the tasks listed. There are three basic rules:

1. Students must actually perform the tasks listed, not simply say they can do them.

2. Once a student performs a task  to the hunter’s satisfaction, he or she should initial the blank space next to the appropriate task on the hunter tasks sheet.

3. “Hunters”  can ask a  person to perform only one task; therefore, to complete a hunt, a student must have nine (9) different sets of initials.