Teaching Techniques
We recognize that the
majority of people who volunteer to teach at the Madressah have
not been formally trained in teaching techniques. At the same
time, with some training, Madressah teachers would much better
understand their role. Therefore we consider teacher training as
an important activity. In this section of the handbook, we have
very briefly outlined some basic practical strategies that would
help teachers do a better job at the Madressah.
The topics which we will
cover are:
1. How Children Learn
2. Getting Things Learned
3. Asking Questions in
Class
4. Planning for Teaching
How
Children Learn
It is necessary to
understand how children learn at different ages so as to tailor
the style of teaching to achieve the desired result. We can
divide the children in Madressah into four broad age groups:
i.
The
Nursery Child (Age 4 5 years)
ii.
The
Primary Child (Age 6 8 years)
iii.
The
Junior Child (Age 9 12 years)
iv.
The Young
Teenager (Age 13 16 years)
1. The Nursery Child (4
5 years)
The general
characteristics at this age are:
Restlessness:
They are active without much purpose. The hate to be still and
we should not expect them to be still. They learn best through
play and activity and love frequent change. They cannot
concentrate for more than 10 minutes on any one activity.
Imitation:
They will learn by copying actions first and later attitudes.
Teachers of this age group should be careful to form good
examples in their words and deeds.
Curiosity:
There is a divinely implanted hunger for knowledge in every
child. They want to experience everything and given a chance,
will ask dozens of questions, sometimes seemingly irrelevant to
what you are trying to teach. Answer the questions patiently,
and do not be put off your task.
Credulity:
At this age the child believes everything an adult tells him. He
has a wonderful gift of believing. Avoid misleading the child
just to keep him quiet.
2. The Primary Child (6
8 years)
The characteristics of
children are similar to the nursery age, but these children are
more independent.
Restlessness:
They are active, but with a greater purpose. They are easier to
teach, and find pleasure in their accomplishments. Their
concentration span is still low, perhaps 15 to 20 minutes. They
are eager to learn and desire approval from the teacher. They
are more aware of people.
Imitation:
They imitate everybody and everything. They try to make the
sound of a bee, or walk like father. Towards the end of this age
group, they begin to imitate the doer, rather than the deeds.
They may idolize the teacher.
Curiosity:
The questions from this age group flow endlessly. How? Why?
Where? It is important to realize that they are not challenging
the truth of what you are saying; it is just their way of trying
to understand the world better.
Credulity:
They cannot yet analyze or reason abstractly. They accept
largely what they are told, but may ask, Is it true? Teachers
must be consistent, truthful and open to this age group at all
times.
3. The Junior Child (9
12 years)
This is the most
interesting age to teach. Care with children at this age may be
the solution to many problems of adolescence.
Physically:
They are always on the move and full of energy. They are always
doing something, but their work is more focused. It is better to
channel their restlessness into creative activity rather than
stopping them from doing things.
Mentally an
investigator:
They love details and facts. The teacher has to know his subject
well. The child puts things to the test classifying everything
into true or false, fact or fiction. He collects things; cards,
stickers, facts etc. They require little effort to learn
memorize things, so now is the time to fix in their minds what
we want them to remember. They are developing reasoning ability.
They can think things through to arrive at conclusions.
Encourage them to read.
Socially:
Although at the beginning of this age group the childs
relationship with other children takes the form of competition,
later they learn the meaning of team play. This is the age where
habits are easily formed and we should take advantage of this
time to teach good habits.
Spiritually:
This is the beginning of the age of hero-worship. Boys will
idolize men from real life and physical achievement, e.g. famous
sportsmen. Girls may idolize men and women from films or books.
Sometimes there may be a great change in the behavior of a child
and the explanation may simply be that they have found a new
hero/heroine to emulate.
4. The Young Teenager
(13 15 years)
The young teenagers are
going through tremendous physical changes. Their emotions vary.
They are harder to control. The opinions of their peers are
important to them. They will frequently follow what friends say
over the opinions of parents and teachers. They like adults who
listen to them without judging them. They may not automatically
respect adults. Generally, they are not as interested in formal
religion as they used to be. Their attendance at Madressah may
be patchy. They are less likely to participate in religious
activity and dislike being preached at. This briefly outlines
the development of the mental processes and personalities as
children grow. It is important for the Madressah teacher to be
aware of these changes and modify their teaching style to be
effective in accomplishing their role.
