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 Home > By Career > Professional Courses > Education, Teaching
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Education in the general sense is any act or experience that has a formative
effect on the mind, character, or physical ability of an individual. In its technical
sense, education is the process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated
knowledge, skills, and values from one generation to another. Education can also
be defined as the process of becoming an educated person. An educated person refers
to a person that has access to optimal states of mind regardless of the situation
they are in. That person is able to perceive accurately, think clearly and act effectively
to achieve self-selected goals and aspirations.
A right to education has been created and recognized by some jurisdictions: Since
1952, Article 2 of the first Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights
obliges all signatory parties to guarantee the right to education. At the global
level, the United Nations' International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights of 1966 guarantees this right under its Article 13.
Etymology
Etymologically, the word education is derived from the Latin ēducātiō (“a breeding,
a bringing up, a rearing) from ēdūcō (“I educate, I train”) which is related to
the homonym ēdūcō (“I lead forth, I take out; I raise up, I erect”) from ē- (“from,
out of”) and dūcō (“I lead, I conduct”).
Systems of schooling
Systems of schooling involve institutionalized teaching and learning in relation
to a curriculum, which itself is established according to a predetermined purpose
of the schools in the system.
Purpose of schools
Examples of the purpose of schools include: develop reasoning about perennial questions,
master the methods of scientific inquiry, cultivate the intellect, create change
agents, develop spirituality, and model a democratic society.
Curriculum
In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered
at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for
race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children
grow to become mature adults. A curriculum is prescriptive, and is based on a more
general syllabus which merely specifies what topics must be understood and to what
level to achieve a particular grade or standard.
An academic discipline is a branch of knowledge which is formally taught, either
at the university, or via some other such method. Each discipline usually has several
sub-disciplines or branches, and distinguishing lines are often both arbitrary and
ambiguous. Examples of broad areas of academic disciplines include the natural sciences,
mathematics, computer science, social sciences, humanities and applied sciences.
Preschools
Primary schools
Primary (or elementary) education consists of the first 5–7 years of formal, structured
education.
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Children in a kindergarten classroom in France
Girls at a secondary school in Iraq
Children at an elementary school in Xinjiang, China
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In general, primary education consists of six or eight years of schooling starting
at the age of five or six, although this varies between, and sometimes within, countries.
Globally, around 89% of primary-age children are enrolled in primary education,
and this proportion is rising. Under the Education For All programs driven by UNESCO,
most countries have committed to achieving universal enrollment in primary education
by 2015, and in many countries, it is compulsory for children to receive primary
education. The division between primary and secondary education is somewhat arbitrary,
but it generally occurs at about eleven or twelve years of age. Some education systems
have separate middle schools, with the transition to the final stage of secondary
education taking place at around the age of fourteen. Schools that provide primary
education, are mostly referred to as primary schools. Primary schools in these countries
are often subdivided into infant schools and junior school.
Secondary schools
In most contemporary educational systems of the world, secondary education comprises
the formal education that occurs during adolescence. It is characterized by transition
from the typically compulsory, comprehensive primary education for minors, to the
optional, selective tertiary, "post-secondary", or "higher" education (e.g., university,
vocational school for adults. Depending on the system, schools for this period,
or a part of it, may be called secondary or high schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, middle
schools, colleges, or vocational schools. The exact meaning of any of these terms
varies from one system to another. The exact boundary between primary and secondary
education also varies from country to country and even within them, but is generally
around the seventh to the tenth year of schooling. Secondary education occurs mainly
during the teenage years. In the United States, Canada and Australia primary and
secondary education together are sometimes referred to as K-12 education, and in
New Zealand Year 1–13 is used. The purpose of secondary education can be to give
common knowledge, to prepare for higher education or to train directly in a profession.
The emergence of secondary education in the United States did not happen until 1910,
caused by the rise in big businesses and technological advances in factories (for
instance, the emergence of electrification), that required skilled workers. In order
to meet this new job demand, high schools were created and the curriculum focused
on practical job skills that would better prepare students for white collar or skilled
blue collar work. This proved to be beneficial for both the employer and the employee,
because this improvement in human capital caused employees to become more efficient,
which lowered costs for the employer, and skilled employees received a higher wage
than employees with just primary educational attainment.
In Europe, the grammar school or academy existed from as early as the 16th century;
public schools or fee-paying schools, or charitable educational foundations have
an even longer history.
Indigenous education
Indigenous education refers to the inclusion of indigenous knowledge, models, methods
and content within formal and non-formal educational systems. Often in a post-colonial
context, the growing recognition and use of indigenous education methods can be
a response to the erosion and loss of indigenous knowledge and language through
the processes of colonialism. Furthermore, it can enable indigenous communities
to “reclaim and revalue their languages and cultures, and in so doing, improve the
educational success of indigenous students.
Alternative education
Alternative education, also known as non-traditional education or educational alternative,
is a broad term that may be used to refer to all forms of education outside of traditional
education (for all age groups and levels of education). This may include not only
forms of education designed for students with special needs (ranging from teenage
pregnancy to intellectual disability), but also forms of education designed for
a general audience and employing alternative educational philosophies and methods.
Alternatives of the latter type are often the result of education reform and are
rooted in various philosophies that are commonly fundamentally different from those
of traditional compulsory education. While some have strong political, scholarly,
or philosophical orientations, others are more informal associations of teachers
and students dissatisfied with certain aspects of traditional education. These alternatives,
which include charter schools, alternative schools, independent schools, homeschooling
and autodidacticism vary widely, but often emphasize the value of small class size,
close relationships between students and teachers, and a sense of community.
Systems of higher education
Higher education, also called tertiary, third stage, or post secondary education,
is the non-compulsory educational level that follows the completion of a school
providing a secondary education, such as a high school or secondary school. Tertiary
education is normally taken to include undergraduate and postgraduate education,
as well as vocational education and training. Colleges and universities are the
main institutions that provide tertiary education. Collectively, these are sometimes
known as tertiary institutions. Tertiary education generally results in the receipt
of certificates, diplomas, or academic degrees.
Higher education generally involves work towards a degree-level or foundation degree
qualification. In most developed countries a high proportion of the population (up
to 50%) now enter higher education at some time in their lives. Higher education
is therefore very important to national economies, both as a significant industry
in its own right, and as a source of trained and educated personnel for the rest
of the economy.
University systems
University education includes teaching, research and social services activities,
and it includes both the undergraduate level (sometimes referred to as tertiary
education) and the graduate (or postgraduate) level (sometimes referred to as graduate
school). Universities are generally composed of several colleges. In the United
States, universities can be private and independent, like Yale University, they
can be public and State governed, like the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education,
or they can be independent but State funded, like the University of Virginia.
Liberal arts colleges
A "liberal arts" institution can be defined as a "college or university curriculum
aimed at imparting broad general knowledge and developing general intellectual capacities,
in contrast to a professional, vocational, or technical curriculum."Although what
is known today as the liberal arts college began in Europe, the term is commonly
associated with the United States[citation needed]. Examples include Reed College,
Carleton College, and Smith College.
Community colleges
Adult education
Adult education has become common in many countries. It takes on many forms, ranging
from formal class-based learning to self-directed learning and e-learning. A number
of career specific courses such as veterinary assisting, medical billing and coding,
real estate license, bookkeeping and many more are now available to students through
the Internet.
Learning modalities
There has been work on learning styles over the last two decades. Dunn and Dunn
focused on identifying relevant stimuli that may influence learning and manipulating
the school environment, at about the same time as Joseph Renzulli recommended varying
teaching strategies. Howard Gardner identified individual talents or aptitudes in
his Multiple Intelligences theories. Based on the works of Jung, the Myers-Briggs
Type Indicator and Keirsey Temperament Sorter focused on understanding how people's
personality affects the way they interact personally, and how this affects the way
individuals respond to each other within the learning environment. The work of David
Kolb and Anthony Gregorc's Type Delineator follows a similar but more simplified
approach.
It is currently fashionable to divide education into different learning "modes".
The learning modalities are probably the most common:
• Visual: learning based on observation and seeing what is being learned.
• Auditory: learning based on listening to instructions/information.
• Kinesthetic: learning based on hands-on work and engaging in activities.
Although it is claimed that, depending on their preferred learning modality, different
teaching techniques have different levels of effectiveness, recent research has
argued "there is no adequate evidence base to justify incorporating learning styles
assessments into general educational practice."
A consequence of this theory is that effective teaching should present a variety
of teaching methods which cover all three learning modalities so that different
students have equal opportunities to learn in a way that is effective for them.
Guy Claxton has questioned the extent that learning styles such as VAK are helpful,
particularly as they can have a tendency to label children and therefore restrict
learning.
Instruction
Instruction is the facilitation of another's learning. Instructors in primary and
secondary institutions are often called teachers, and they direct the education
of students and might draw on many subjects like reading, writing, mathematics,
science and history. Instructors in post-secondary institutions might be called
teachers, instructors, or professors, depending on the type of institution; and
they primarily teach only their specific discipline. Studies from the United States
suggest that the quality of teachers is the single most important factor affecting
student performance, and that countries which score highly on international tests
have multiple policies in place to ensure that the teachers they employ are as effective
as possible.With the passing of NCLB in the United States (No Child Left Behind),
teachers must be highly qualified.
Technology
One of the most substantial uses in education is the use of technology. Also technology
is an increasingly influential factor in education. Computers and mobile phones
are used in developed countries both to complement established education practices
and develop new ways of learning such as online education (a type of distance education).
This gives students the opportunity to choose what they are interested in learning.
The proliferation of computers also means the increase of programming and blogging.
Technology offers powerful learning tools that demand new skills and understandings
of students, including Multimedia, and provides new ways to engage students, such
as Virtual learning environments. One such tool are virtual manipulatives, which
are an "interactive, Web-based visual representation of a dynamic object that presents
opportunities for constructing mathematical knowledge" (Moyer, Bolyard, & Spikell,
2002). In short, virtual manipulatives are dynamic visual/pictorial replicas of
physical mathematical manipulatives, which have long been used to demonstrate and
teach various mathematical concepts. Virtual manipulatives can be easily accessed
on the Internet as stand-alone applets, allowing for easy access and use in a variety
of educational settings. Emerging research into the effectiveness of virtual manipulatives
as a teaching tool have yielded promising results, suggesting comparable, and in
many cases superior overall concept-teaching effectiveness compared to standard
teaching methods.[citation needed] Technology is being used more not only in administrative
duties in education but also in the instruction of students. The use of technologies
such as PowerPoint and interactive whiteboard is capturing the attention of students
in the classroom. Technology is also being used in the assessment of students. One
example is the Audience Response System (ARS), which allows immediate feedback tests
and classroom discussions.
Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are a “diverse set of tools and
resources used to communicate, create, disseminate, store, and manage information.”[21]
These technologies include computers, the Internet, broadcasting technologies (radio
and television), and telephony. There is increasing interest in how computers and
the Internet can improve education at all levels, in both formal and non-formal
settings. Older ICT technologies, such as radio and television, have for over forty
years been used for open and distance learning, although print remains the cheapest,
most accessible and therefore most dominant delivery mechanism in both developed
and developing countries.[23] In addition to classroom application and growth of
e-learning opportunities for knowledge attainment, educators involved in student
affairs programming have recognized the increasing importance of computer usage
with data generation for and about students. Motivation and retention counselors,
along with faculty and administrators, can impact the potential academic success
of students by provision of technology based experiences in the University setting.
The use of computers and the Internet is in its infancy in developing countries,
if these are used at all, due to limited infrastructure and the attendant high costs
of access. Usually, various technologies are used in combination rather than as
the sole delivery mechanism. For example, the Kothmale Community Radio Internet
uses both radio broadcasts and computer and Internet technologies to facilitate
the sharing of information and provide educational opportunities in a rural community
in Sri Lanka. The Open University of the United Kingdom (UKOU), established in 1969
as the first educational institution in the world wholly dedicated to open and distance
learning, still relies heavily on print-based materials supplemented by radio, television
and, in recent years, online programming. Similarly, the Indira Gandhi National
Open University in India combines the use of print, recorded audio and video, broadcast
radio and television, and audio conferencing technologies.
The term "computer-assisted learning" (CAL) has been increasingly used to describe
the use of technology in teaching. Classrooms of the 21st century contain interactive
white boards, tablets, mp3 players, laptops, etc. Teachers are encouraged to embed
these technological devices in the curriculum in order to enhance students learning
and meet the needs of various types of learners.
Education theory
Education theory can refer to either a normative or a descriptive theory of education.
In the first case, a theory means a postulation about what ought to be. It provides
the "goals, norms, and standards for conducting the process of education."[28] In
the second case, it means "an hypothesis or set of hypotheses that have been verified
by observation and experiment."[29] A descriptive theory of education can be thought
of as a conceptual scheme that ties together various "otherwise discrete particulars.
. .For example, a cultural theory of education shows how the concept of culture
can be used to organize and unify the variety of facts about how and what people
learn."[30] Likewise, for example, there is the behaviorist theory of education
that comes from educational psychology and the functionalist theory of education
that comes from sociology of education.
Economics and education
It has been argued that high rates of education are essential for countries to be
able to achieve high levels of economic growth.[32] Empirical analyses tend to support
the theoretical prediction that poor countries should grow faster than rich countries
because they can adopt cutting edge technologies already tried and tested by rich
countries. However, technology transfer requires knowledgeable managers and engineers
who are able to operate new machines or production practices borrowed from the leader
in order to close the gap through imitation. Therefore, a country's ability to learn
from the leader is a function of its stock of "human capital". Recent study of the
determinants of aggregate economic growth have stressed the importance of fundamental
economic institutions[33] and the role of cognitive skills.
At the individual level, there is a large literature, generally related back to
the work of Jacob Mincer,[35] on how earnings are related to the schooling and other
human capital of the individual. This work has motivated a large number of studies,
but is also controversial. The chief controversies revolve around how to interpret
the impact of schooling.
Economists Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis famously argued in 1976 that there was
a fundamental conflict in American schooling between the egalitarian goal of democratic
participation and the inequalities implied by the continued profitability of capitalist
production on the other.
Teaching method
A teaching method comprises the principles and methods used for instruction.
Commonly used teaching methods may include class participation, demonstration, recitation,
memorization, or combinations of these. The choice of an appropriate teaching method
depends largely on the information or skill that is being taught, and it may also
be influenced by the aptitude and enthusiasm of the students.
Methods of instruction
Explaining
This form is similar to lecturing. Lecturing is teaching by giving a discourse on
a specific subject that is open to the public, usually given in the classroom. This
can also be associated with modeling. Modeling is used as a visual aid to learning.
Students can visualize an object or problem, then use reasoning and hypothesizing
to determine an answer.
In your lecture you have the opportunity to tackle two types of learning. Not only
can explaining (lecture) help the auditory learner through the speech of the teacher,
but if the teacher is to include visuals in the form of overheads or slide shows,
his/her lecture can have duality. Although a student might only profit substantially
from one form of teaching, all students profit some from the different types of
learning.
Demonstrating
Demonstrations are done to provide an opportunity to learn new exploration and visual
learning tasks from a different perspective. A teacher may use experimentation to
demonstrate ideas in a science class. A demonstration may be used in the circumstance
of proving conclusively a fact, as by reasoning or showing evidence.
The uses of storytelling and examples have long since become standard practice in
the realm of textual explanation. But while a more narrative style of information
presentation is clearly a preferred practice in writing, judging by its prolificacy,
this practice sometimes becomes one of the more ignored aspects of lecture. Lectures,
especially in a collegiate environment, often become a setting more geared towards
factorial presentation than a setting for narrative and/or connective learning.
The use of examples and storytelling likely allows for better understanding but
also greater individual ability to relate to the information presented. Learning
a list of facts provides a detached and impersonal experience while the same list,
containing examples and stories, becomes, potentially, personally relatable. Furthermore,
storytelling in information presentation may also reinforce memory retention because
it provides connections between factorial presentation and real-world examples/personable
experience, thus, putting things into a clearer perspective and allowing for increased
neural representation in the brain. Therefore, it is important to provide personable,
supplementary, examples in all forms of information presentation because this practice
likely allows for greater interest in the subject matter and better information-retention
rates. Often in lecture numbers or stats are used to explain a subject but often
when many numbers are being used it is difficult to see the whole picture. Visuals
that are bright in color, etc. offer a way for the students to put into perspective
the numbers or stats that are being used. If the student can not only hear but see
what is being taught, it is more likely they will believe and fully grasp what is
being taught. It allows another way for the student to relate to the material.
Collaborating
Having students work in groups is another way a teacher can direct a lesson. Collaborating
allows students to talk with each other and listen to all points of view in the
discussion. It helps students think in a less personally biased way. When this lesson
plan is carried out, the teacher may be trying to assess the lesson by looking at
the student's: ability to work as a team, leadership skills, or presentation abilities.
It is one of the direct instructional methods.
A different kind of group work is the discussion. After some preparation and with
clearly defined roles as well as interesting topics, discussions may well take up
most of the lesson, with the teacher only giving short feedback at the end or even
in the following lesson. Discussions can take a variety of forms, e.g. fishbowl
discussions.
Collaborating (kinaesthetic) is great in that it allows to actively participate
in the learning process. These students who learn best this way by being able to
relate to the lesson in that they are physically taking part of it in some way.
Group projects and discussions are a great way to welcome this type of learning.
Learning by teaching
Learning by teaching (German:LdL) is a widespread method in Germany, developed by
Jean-Pol Martin. The students take the teacher's role and teach their peers.
This method is very effective when done correctly. Having students teach sections
of the class as a group or as individuals is a great way to get the students to
really study out the topic and understand it so as to teach it to their peers. By
having them participate in the teaching process it also builds self-confidence,
self-efficacy, and strengthens students speaking and communication skills. Students
will not only learn their given topic, but they will gain experience that could
be very valuable for life.
Evolution of teaching methods
Ancient education
About 3000 BC, with the advent of writing, education became more conscious or self-reflecting,
with specialized occupations requiring particular skills and knowledge on how to
be a scribe, an astronomer, etc.
Philosophy in ancient Greece led to questions of educational method entering national
discourse. In his Republic, Plato describes a system of instruction that he felt
would lead to an ideal state. In his Dialogues, Plato describes the Socratic method.
It has been the intent of many educators since then, such as the Roman educator
Quintilian, to find specific, interesting ways to encourage students to use their
intelligence and to help them to learn.
Medieval education
Comenius, in Bohemia, wanted all boys and girls to learn. In his The World in Pictures,
he gave the first vivid, illustrated textbook which contained much that children
would be familiar with in everyday life, and use it to teach the academic subjects
they needed to know. Rabelais described how the student Gargantua learned about
the world, and what is in it.
Much later, Jean-Jacques Rousseau in his Emile, presented methodology to teach children
the elements of science and much more. In it, he famously eschewed books, saying
the world is one's book. And so Emile was brought out into the woods without breakfast
to learn the cardinal directions and the positions of the sun as he found his way
home for something to eat.
There was also Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi of Switzerland, whose methodology during
Napoleonic warfare enabled refugee children, of a class believed to be unteachable,
to learn - and love to learn. He describes this in his account of the educational
experiment at Stanz. He felt the key to have children learn is for them to be loved,
but his method, though transmitted later in the school for educators he founded,
has been thought "too unclear to be taught today". One result was, when he would
ask, "Children, do you want to learn more or go to sleep?" they would reply, "Learn
more!"
19th century - compulsory education
The Prussian education system was a system of mandatory education dating to the
early 19th century. Parts of the Prussian education system have served as models
for the education systems in a number of other countries, including Japan and the
United States. The Prussian model had a side effect of requiring additional classroom
management skills to be incorporated into the teaching process.
20th century
In the 20th century, the philosopher Eli Siegel posited that the purpose of education
is to "like the world through knowing it." Teachers in New York found that student
performance improved when this principle was employed in their teaching methods.
Many current teaching philosophies are aimed at fulfilling the precepts of a curriculum
based on Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE). Arguably the
qualities of a SDAIE curriculum are as effective if not more so for all 'regular'
classrooms.
Some critical ideas in today's education environmentl;
• Standardized testing
According to Dr. Shaikh Imran, the teaching methodology in education is a new concept
in the teaching learning process. New methods involved in the teaching learning
process are television, radio, computer, etc.
Other educators believe that the use of technology, while facilitating learning
to some degree, is not a substitute for educational method that brings out critical
thinking and a desire to learn. Another modern teaching method is inquiry learning
and the related inquiry-based science.
Elvis H. Bostwick recently concluded Dr. Cherry's quantitative study "The Interdisciplinary
Effect of Hands On Science", a three-year study of 3920 middle school students and
their Tennessee State Achievement scores in Math, Science, Reading and Social Studies.
Metropolitan Nashville Public School is considered urban demographically and can
be compared to many of urban schools nationally and internationally. This study
divided students on the basis of whether they had hands-on trained teachers over
the three-year period addressed by the study.
Students who had a hands-on trained science teacher for one or more years had statistically
higher standardized test scores in science, math and social studies. For each additional
year of being taught by a hands-on trained teacher, the student's grades increased.
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Diversity in Teaching in the Classroom
For effective teaching to take place, an appropriate teaching method must be employed.
A teacher may develop lesson plans or use lesson plans that have been developed
by other teachers. When deciding the teaching methods to use, a teacher considers
the students' background knowledge, environment, and learning goals. Students have
different ways of absorbing information and of demonstrating their knowledge. Teachers
often use techniques which cater to multiple learning styles to help students retain
information and strengthen understanding. A variety of strategies and methods are
used to ensure that all students have equal opportunities to learn. A lesson plan
may be carried out in several ways: Questioning, explaining, modeling, collaborating,
and demonstrating.
A teaching method that includes questioning is similar to testing. A teacher may
ask a series of questions to collect information of what students have learned and
what needs to be taught. Testing is another application of questioning. A teacher
tests the student on what was previously taught in order to determine whether a
student has learned the material. Standardized testing is often used (e.g., Ohio
Graduation Test (OGT), Proficiency Test, College entrance Tests (ACT and SAT).
Learning can be done in three ways- Auditory, Visual, and Kinaesthetic.
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