History method unit 4- Understanding Discipline and Pedagogy of School Subject

Unit (IV) Method and Techniques of Teaching History:
1) Story Telling
2) SOURCE METHOD
3) Project Method
4) Dramatization and Role Play Method
5) Lecture Method
6) Discussion Method

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EDUCC – V
Method B
Understanding Discipline and Pedagogy of School Subject
History
Unit (IV) Method and Techniques of Teaching History:
1) Story Telling
By nature children are fond of stories. Children have genuine interest in
listening to stories. History was originally presented in stories and it is felt that
students, particularly at the early school stage, should be taught history through a
series of stories. Stories can give them immense pleasure, extend their imagination
and develop their creative powers. There are mainly three types of stories: (1) True
stories, (2) Myths and (3) Legends.
(1) True Stories
Stories based on real facts and figures are included in this category. Such stories
are interesting presentation of the actual events and activities of the great
personalities. These stories are the sources of history and contribute greatly to the
teaching of history.
(2) Myths
These are purely imaginary stories and have no historical basis. These are usually
fairy tales and deal with supernatural elements. Since these stories have no truth,
these cannot be used for teaching history.
(3) Legends
These are in between true stories and myths. These stories have certain elements of
truth. The incidents narrated in the myths are not true nor are the details accurate.
Since these stories are generally interesting, these can be used for teaching history
in a lively manner.

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Thus the stories are the rich sources of history and are interesting. History is taught
to the children through the stories with much satisfactory result. However, truth
cannot be sacrificed for the sake of teaching history interestingly. Hence the true
stories or the stories having elements of truth can be utilized for teaching history. It
is, therefore, imperative to select suitable stories for the purpose.
Story-telling is an art and this method is a skillful teaching process. Success in this
method mostly depends on the competence of the teacher. Both selection of
suitable stories and their presentation in the classrooms are important. The former
depends on the teacher's knowledge as well as understanding and the latter depends
on his skill in story-telling as well as dramatization.
Advantages
(1) Story-telling method creates immense interest in the class room.
(2) It develops the power of imagination.
(3) It promotes the growth of pupils' creative talents through story-writing,
designing, drawing pictures, making models etc.
(4) It inculcates virtues in the young students.
(5) It helps in understanding and remembering historical facts easily.
Limitations
(1) It usually encourages exaggerations of facts which create misconception and
wrong ideas in the pupils.
(2) It sometimes minimizes the importance of personalities and shows even the
historical characters as mythical and frivolous.
(3) The story-telling method is not found suitable for teaching history to the
students of higher classes.

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Teachers
As already been discussed, success of this method largely depends upon the
teacher. He must be a good story teller and imaginative, as well as resourceful
actor. He must be a knowledgeable person with deep historical background, as well
as a keen sense of honor and sympathy. Ghate has aptly remarked, "Story telling is
an art and probably a real story-teller like a poet, is born, though unlike a poet, he
can also be made by effort. The history teacher in charge of little children should
try, by all possible efforts, to become a good story-teller.
Describing the requirements of a good story-teller, Ghate has rightly suggested that
first, he should enjoy telling stories and the children must feel that he enjoys telling
them stories. You can not enjoy doing a thing unless you get rid of self-
consciousness. If you love children, you must try to be on with them, learn to laugh
with them and enjoy a joke with them. Secondly, the history teacher must possess
wide and deep sympathies for the persons about whom he is talking. Now in order
to be able to sympathies with persons, who lived in the past, you must be able to
understand their way of life, their feelings etc.
The history-teacher should have knowledge of the past accurate and wide. He
cannot love or enter into the feelings of a person unless he knows and understands
him. He must also be a good actor and able to modulate his voice, create humor at
times and introduce lively description through actions and gestures. It is thus hard
to get a real story teller and a scholarly teacher in the same persons.

2) SOURCE METHOD
Source Method implies the use of original sources and materials while teaching. A
source provides first hand experiences and leads to better understanding of the
subject.
A source method is basically using presentation and demonstration by faculties it
would be easy to show the practical application of commerce in real life.

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Group discussion and problem solving method enhance the value of education and
develops student in to a qualified person
Teachers can use any extend examples and real life incidents to explain the facts. It
motivates and give a positive ambience in the class. Laws and organizational
Behavior can explain much easily in source method.
Source methods are best adapted in MBA classes nowadays
Source method provides a sense of reality and first hand experience to students.
Source method would be a best teaching method for accountancy and economics.
As commerce has lots of theories, facts and accounting aspects, source method
provides a skill of data collection, thinking and observation skills.

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3) Project Method

Introduction
The Project Method of teaching was first propounded by John Dewey. The
basic idea of this method is that pupil can learn a lot of things with the help if
association and mutual co-operation. This method promotes purposeful activities
through a group of pupils and the pupil will work co-operatively. The pupils will
work together by forming small groups according to their interest and abilities. The
main objective of this method are learning by doing and learning by living
together.

Principles underlying Project Method

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1. Purposiveness
There must be some objective of the project because the pupils do that
work with more enthusiasm which has definite and clear objectives.
2. Freedom
The pupils are free to select the project. They select the project according to
their will and they execute it with the advice of the teacher.
3. Activity
The project should be activity centered because the knowledge gained if
activity is stable and useful.
4. Reality
The project should be real. Only then the pupils would be able to complete
it naturally and in real conditions.
5. Utility
The project must process the quality of utility because the pupils do the
work more interest which is useful for them.
Essential Steps of Project Method
The following steps are involved in this method
i. Providing a situation
ii. Choosing the project
iii. Planning
iv. Executing the project
v. Evaluation of the project
vi. Recording of the project

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1. Providing a situation:
In this step, a situation is provided to the students to think over in choosing
some project to work on. They may be confronted with a problem while studying
in the classroom, participating in co-curricular activities and going on excursion
etc. It may force them to think about for choosing some project.
2. Choosing the project:
In this second step students try to choose a definite and appropriate project
keeping in view of the resources in hand and the nature of the problem faced in the
first step. They are properly guided by their teachers in this selection task. Then the
aims and objectives of choosing a project are properly discussed through group
participation.
3. Planning:
The project chosen is again discussed in terms of laying down a plan and
procedure for the execution of the project.
4. Executing the project:
In this step students are engaged in the execution of the project in a natural
way without involving any artificiality. They plan their roles according to their
abilities and capacities with a true, social and co-operative spirit.
5. Evaluation of the project:
In this step the work done on the project is evaluated from time to time.
The line of action and mode of execution may be modified on the results of such
evaluation.
6. Recording:
A complete record of the work, their planning, discussion on significant
aspects, their achievement etc. has to be developed by the pupils at the end. Also

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they should record the criticism of their own work and the suggestions for the
further work.

4) Dramatization and Role Play Method:
Dramatization has two meanings. It may mean an adaptation of a literary source
(e.g. a novel, short story, or poem) to drama or theater. It may also mean the
melodramatic reenactment of an actual event in a play or film.
A play or film adapted from a novel or depicting a particular incident.
‘the film is a dramatization of a true story’
Roleplay simulation is an experiential learning method in which either amateur or
professional roleplayers (also called interactors) improvise with learners as part of
a simulated scenario. Roleplay is designed primarily to build first-person
experience in a safe and supportive environment.
Role-play is a technique that allows students to explore realistic situations by
interacting with other people in a managed way in order to develop experience and
trial different strategies in a supported environment.
When children do role plays, they naturally become someone or something else.
Role play stimulates their imagination and “enhanc(es) their social development,
encourag(es) friendship through cooperation, listening and turn taking”. Therefore,
role play is a really vital activity for our children.

5) Lecture Method
The lecture method is just one of several teaching methods, though in schools it’s
usually considered the primary one. It isn’t surprising, either. The lecture method is
convenient and usually makes the most sense, especially with larger classroom
sizes. This is why lecturing is the standard for most college courses, when there
can be several hundred students in the classroom at once; lecturing lets professors

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address the most people at once, in the most general manner, while still conveying
the information that he or she feels is most important, according to the lesson plan.
Advantages
* Effective lecturers can communicate the intrinsic interest of a subject through
their enthusiasm.

* Lectures can be specifically organized to meet the needs of particular audiences.

*Lectures can present large amounts of information.

*Lectures can be presented to large audiences.

* Lecturers can model how professionals work through disciplinary questions or
problems.

*Lectures allow the instructor maximum control of the learning experience.

*Lectures present little risk for students.

* Lectures appeal to those who learn by listening.
Disadvantages
* Lectures fail to provide instructors with feedback about the extent of student
learning.

* In lectures, students are often passive because there is no mechanism to ensure
that they are intellectually engaged with the material.

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*Students' attention wanes quickly after fifteen to twenty-five minutes.

*Information tends to be forgotten quickly when students are passive.

*Lectures presume that all students learn at the same pace and are at the same level
of understanding.

* Lectures are not suited for teaching higher orders of thinking such as application,
analysis, synthesis, or evaluation; for teaching motor skills, or for influencing
attitudes or values.

*Lectures are not well suited for teaching complex, abstract material.

*Lectures require effective speakers.

*Lectures emphasize learning by listening, which is a disadvantage for students
who have other learning styles.

6) Discussion method
Discussion methods are a variety of forums for open-ended, collaborative
exchange of ideas among a teacher and students or among students for the purpose
of furthering students thinking, learning, problem solving, understanding, or
literary appreciation.
The Importance of Class Discussions. Class discussions offer students
opportunities to test their ideas and opinions against the ideas and opinions of their
peers. It is important to set the right tone for discussion in the classroom early on
in the semester, and to establish a rapport with your students.
1. Emphasis on Learning instead of Teaching,

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Discussion Method emphasises pupil-activity in the form of discussion, rather than
simply telling and lecturing by the teacher. Thus, this method is more effective.
2. Participation by Everybody.
In this method, everybody participates in the discussion, and therefore thinks and
expresses himself. This is a sure way of learning.
3. Development of Democratic way of Thinking.
Everybody cooperates in the discussion, and the ideas and opinions of everybody
are respected. Thus, there is a development of democratic way of thinking and
arriving at decision.
4. Training in Reflective Thinking.
Students, during the course of discussion, get training in reflective thinking, which
leads to deeper understanding of the historical problem under discussion.
5. Training in Self-expression.
During discussion, everybody is required to express his ideas and opinions in a
clear and concise manner. This provides ample opportunities to the students for
training in self-expression.
6. Spirit of Tolerance is inculcated.
The students learn to discuss and differ with other members of the group. They
learn to tolerate the views of others even if they are unpleasant and contradictory to
each others’ views. Thus, respect for the view points of others is developed.
7. Learning is made Interesting.
History is considered to be a dry subject. The learning of history is made
interesting through Discussion Method. More effective learning is possible when
the students discuss, criticise and share ideas on a particular problem. Active
participation by the students in the discussion makes learning full of interest for the
students. This also ensures better and effective learning.