Diversity in instructional methods toward meaningful learning Essay Example for Free

miscellanea in instructional methods toward significant tuition EssayAbstract There is diversity in instructional methods that t from each oneers can use to bring somewhat meaningful schooling. This paper discusses five of them namely integrated enquiry approach, 5- standard of interrogative, the jig-sawing approach, bureau playing and WebQuest. These instructional methods argon learner centered methods that consider prior association, attitude and skills and c each(prenominal) down development of late knowledge and relate them to a variety of contexts.All of them besides deal with real-life situations that fundamentally develop interpersonal relationships, problem-solving skills and capability-knowledge among others. The teachers tasks atomic number 18 to plan and carry out efficiently the instructional designs to have meaningful acquisition among diverse learners, instructional methods and acquire environments. renewal in Instructional Methods Toward significa nt erudition Diversity is an essential ingredient of success of all ventures in life including education.There be different kinds of learners as at that place ar teachers, instructional methods and breeding environments but there is provided one goal in education and this is for an effective and meaningful learning. Teachers should set environments for disciples so they could think deprecatively and independently and relate new knowledge learned with a variety of contexts for meaningful learning. It is the task of the teachers to match the learners, the learning environments, the knowledge to be learned and the instructional methods.Learning meaningfully means that learners relate new knowledge to what they already know. Meaningful learning is non-arbitrary, non-verbatim, substantive deliberate effort to link new knowledge with higher order concepts in cognitive structures. It is a learning related to experiences with events or objects and affective commitment to relate new knowledge with prior learning. The diverse instructional designs towards meaningful learning should identify outcomes, guide the development of instruction content and establish its effectiveness.Efforts to consider meaningful learning in the different stages of instructional design are essential. Gagne et al. (1992) identify the different stages of instructional designs as defining instructional goals conducting instructional analysis identifying entry behaviours and learner characteristics exploitation performance objectives selecting an instructional method assembling instructional materials and planning setive and summative evaluations.He and his colleagues hike up cited that current educational theory and researches support the use of instructional methods that make students active learners. Among the diverse instructional methods available to teachers to explore and use, the commonly employ approach towards construction of new knowledge meaningfully are the problem based l earning and inquiry approach, cooperative learning, and technology strategies. Each of these methods has its own advantages and disadvantages, but when apply effectively can maximize learning.Problem-Based and Inquiry Approach Students in the problem-based and learning inquiry approach engulf in meaningful learning by being actively involved in their own learning and reconstructing these based on their experiences. They further participate in active investigation, to a greater extent of integrating knowledge rather than separating them so that deep reasonableness develop from acquisition of new facts. In this method, students are given germane(predicate) problems by teachers which inquiry must be done.The general steps in this inquiry approach are identifying the problems, gathering of data, organizing the data in attempt to analyse the problems and analyses of the strategies to use to solve the problems. Integrated Inquiry In the Integrated Inquiry planning process, a model o f inquiry approach developed by K. Murdoch, sequences of activities and experiences are developed to build on and challenge student perceptions. These sequences begin with students prior knowledge and experiences and move through deliberate processes wherein that knowledge is extended, challenged and refined.Students have their own prior experiences that they bring to their classes and teachers should be aware of how to address this situation. Activities and learning experiences in this model are gatheringed as tuning on, finding out, sorting out, going further, devising conclusions and taking actions (Murdoch, 1999). Furthermore, planning for assessment is a very important element of planning for Integrated Inquiry. Murdoch (1999) highlights the indigence for the collection and analysis of information about what and the how students have learned.The assessment in the Integrated Inquiry model is to determine how to improve student learning as these new information help teachers mo dify their plans of add to suit the needs of the learners. Students involvement in planning for assessment as in selecting responses to particular learning experiences and designing demonstrations of understanding are highly encouraged. Therefore, teachers are also tasked to identify and design learning experiences that will provide information for assessment purposes.The strengths of this model are focussed on assessment of learning in context and encouraging a variety of demonstrations of understanding based on the learning experiences that students undertake. Learners that may usefulness most from this Integrated Inquiry Approach are those capable of setting goals in their own learning and significantly contribute in determining how assessment could be effectively done. 5-E Model In the bear Activities for Teaching Science as Inquiry by Carin, Bass Contant (2005) many laboratory investigations were cited as inquiry approach to learning.They focused on the 5-E Instructional Mo del with the five main components identified as Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, exponentiation and Evaluation. Each of these components is learner-centred. This investigatory method maybe time and resource consuming but it allows the learners to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills experientially. The use of this method is not limited to teaching sciences, which are considered to be not very easy subjects. This experiential learning brings more opportunities for learners to bring forth better understanding and longer retention of knowledge learned.Cooperative Learning Cooperative learning is an instructional method that takes push through in a small free radical of learners of different levels of ability and in environments of responsibility not only for their own understanding of the subject but also for his co-learners. It brings more meaning to learning because it provides shared cognitive sets of information between students, motivating them to learn the materials, ensuring that they construct their own knowledge, providing formative feedback, developing social and throng skills necessary for success outside the classroom.Cooperative leaning promotes learning and academic achievement, increases retention and satisfaction with their learning experiences among students, helps develop skills in oral parley, social skills, promotes student self-esteem and fosters mutual responsibility. Although this method helps students learn to be more patient, less critical and more compassionate, some students may find difficulty with this method. Students who work but find difficulty in sharing answers while aggressive students will tend to take everyplace and brighter students to act superior to the rest.Teachers who will employ cooperative should prepare their students how to work in groups for this method to be successful. Jig Sawing Approach The Jig Sawing Approach is a cooperative learning strategy wherein students becomes an expert in a particular area, then shares his or her learning knowledge with other members of the group that eventually all members of the group learn the concepts. In the Modified Jigsaw, the class is divided into equal expert groups, with each of these groups working on isolated portions of the activity.Once each expert group has completed the tasks, they report their findings as group to the class. Group report allows for greater flexibility in student presentation style and prevents the possibility of circumstantially misrepresentation of information (Beaudrie et al. 1998). This method best suits heterogenous learners crossways disciplines. It provides opportunities for learners to show various competencies. Moreover, students are more comfortable to exchange ideas with their co-learners because of their dynamic open relationship. Role playing Another instructional method of liaison is fictitious character playing.It also deals with solving problems but through actions. In role playing, problems are identified, explored through actions and discussed. The students stimulant drug in their role playing their prior knowledge, values and attitudes. A role-playing strategy seems to work best when there are multiple correct approaches to solving problems. It encourages thinking and creativity to develop and practice new behaviours in non-threatening setting. It provides opportunities for students to explore further their feelings gain more insights about their attitudes and also enhance their problem solving skills.It also promotes effective interpersonal relations. The learning in these role playing activities are meaningful as they are retained longer and hoped to be of use to the real life of the learners. Terms which are used, often interchangeably with role playing are simulation, game, role-play, simulation-game, role-play simulation, and role-playing game. Role playing dynamically promotes effective interpersonal relationships and social proceedings among learne rs. Technology Supported Approach Technology provides a set of tool for addressing the issues on improving student learning.These issues are of providing more of learners time on authentic, challenging tasks with rich contexts with emphasis on multi-disciplinarity changing of role of teachers to facilitators of knowledge that guide students and learn along with them students working in an environment of more cooperative relationships that encourages communication and access to real-world examples towards the development of learning communities and with greater emphasis placed on reflective thinking and productivity with the understanding that students will preform their tasks differently and have different task-relevant skills ( Grabe and Grabe, 2004).WebQuest WebQuest, the model developed by Bernie Dodge, is an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all the information that learners work with comes from the web. WebQuests is most often a group activity in a library or dis tance education setting. It may be intensify by wrapping motivational elements around the basic structure by giving the learners a role to play, simulated personae to interact with via e-mail, and a scenario to work within. They can be designed within a individual discipline or they can be interdisciplinary (Dodge, 1997). The WebQuest challenges he learner to be creative in problem-solving.In the world of education, there are so many instructional designs that can be utilized to end up with meaningful learning. No instructional method is better than the other but each one in the hands of a committed and learned teacher can merit students across academic levels and disciplines to bring about meaningful learning.References Beaudrie, B. , Slater,T. F. , Stevenson, S. Cadit, D. (1998). Teaching astronomy by internet jigsawing. Leading and Learning with Technology Journal, 26. , Retrieved December 13, 2007 from http//www. aem. umn. edu. Carin, A. A, Bass, J. E Contant T.L. (2005).Act ivities for Teaching Science As Inquiry. NJ Pearson Prentice Hall. Dodge, B. (1997). Some thoughts about WebQuests . Retrieved December 13, 2007 from http//webquest. sdsu. edu/about_webquests. html. Gagne, R. M. , Briggs, L. J. , Wager, W. W. (1992). Principles of Instructional Design . TX Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers. Grabe, M. Grabe C. (2004). Integrating Technology for Meaningful Learning. NY Houghton Mifflin Company. Murdoch, K. (1998) Classroom Connections Strategies for Integrated Learning. Melbourne Eleanor chill Publishing.