Education and demonstration – Religion
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-20
2003-09-09
Nguyen, Kien T. (Department: 3712)
Education and demonstration
Religion
C434S128000, C434S322000, C273S430000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06616455
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Not Applicable.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not Applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an instructional method. More particularly, the invention relates to an instructional method that involves teaching instructional material through integration of a presentation of the material, a small group discussion related to the material, and a game related to the material.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is well established that typically in the life of a person, a child or an adult, an occasion arises for learning new information. Usually the person who needs or desires to learn, the student, has direction and assistance from another person, the teacher, such as a classroom teacher, an individual tutor, a facilitator, or the like. A variety of approaches to teaching have been practiced in the United States, based on differing interpretations of the respective roles of teacher and student.
In a conventional method of instruction, the teacher follows an approach based on a behaviorist interpretation of education, such as an approach based on the theory popularized by B. F. Skinner. A behaviorist approach focuses on a new behavior pattern being repeated until it becomes automatic. As applied to education, Skinner taught a method in which the teacher modifies the behavior of a student by setting up situations to reinforce the student when he or she exhibits desired responses. In this method, learning is viewed as a sequence of steps of stimulus action by the teacher and corresponding response action in the student. The teacher transmits each skill necessary to lead up to the desired behavior step by step and reinforces the student in learning each skill in the prescribed order. Thus the teacher provides a mechanism for the student to link together responses involving lower level skills and build on them to attain higher level skills. While providing a high degree of structure, this method has the disadvantage that it tends to be reliant on the teacher for implementation, it is sequential, and it relies on prior knowledge on the part of the student.
In an alternative method of instruction, the teacher follows an approach based on a cognitive interpretation of education, such as those based on work chosen from that of John Dewey, Lev Vygotsky, and Maria Montessori, among others. Cognitivism includes recognition of the thought process behind a behavior. Thus, a cognitive approach focuses on learning as a process that depends on the student's prior knowledge and experience and the way new information is presented to the student. Learning proceeds in stages and the teaching method emphasizes guiding the student through developmentally appropriate tasks. For example, Vygotsky introduced the notion that all learning takes place in the “zone of proximal development”. Similarly, Montessori introduced a method in which the teacher, called a director, guides individual students in progressing through self-paced structured learning from direct experiences. The Montessori method includes supporting the individual and facilitating early development of the intellect. Further, Dewey introduced a method, commonly called the progressive method, in which teachers assist students in learning through varied activities and which includes fostering the imagination, facilitating the development of social relationships, and supporting collective learning. Although allowing for less structure and more student involvement than typical behaviorist methods, these cognitive methods share the disadvantage of requiring sequential learning.
In still another method of instruction, the teacher follows an approach based on a constructivist interpretation of education, such as an approach based on the theory of Jerome Bruner, or Jean Piaget, among others. Constructivism asserts that a student constructs an individual perspective of the world, so that learned knowledge includes a subjective, personal element. This is in contrast to methods, such as those described above, in which the student is viewed as having an “absorbent mind,” receiving fixed knowledge that is primarily objective, not varying from student to student. For example, Piaget, who founded the constructivist theory, claimed that learning involves active engagement in which meaning is created from experience, such as when a child acts on an object. The teacher transmits knowledge and facilitates the construction of the knowledge by the student. Similarly, Bruner introduced a method called discovery learning, in which the teacher translates the information to be learned into a format appropriate to the student's current state of understanding, structuring knowledge so that it is readily grasped by the student, and presenting the information sequentially. In turn, the student constructs new information based upon the student's state of prior knowledge. Although these methods prepare students to solve problems in ambiguous situations, they have the disadvantage that they are susceptible to a lack of standardization.
Despite the array of educational options available, United States K-12 students are falling behind. Assessing the state of education in the United States,
A Nation at Risk, published in
1983, presented the conclusions of the National Commission on Excellence in Teaching that was appointed by Secretary of Education T. H. Bell in 1981. This open letter to the American people concluded that “declines in educational performance are in large part the result of disturbing inadequacies in the way the educational process itself is often conducted.” It was concluded that schools were not keeping pace with the need to prepare people to respond to the challenges of a rapidly changing world. Improvement was recommended particularly in the four aspects of the educational process of content, expectation, time, and teaching. Further, the commission concluded that “educational reform should focus on the goal of creating a learning society.” At the heart of the learning society, as envisioned by the commission are educational opportunities extending into “every place where the individual can develop and mature in life and work.”
Following the publication of
A Nation at Risk
, with its call for improvement in teaching and opportunities for lifelong learning, there has been increasing emphasis by educators on approaches to teaching emphasizing fostering problem solving skills. These approaches have been applied at various levels, such as in universities as well as preschools. However, these approaches, as well as other typical methods of instruction discussed above have the disadvantage of relying on trained teachers as well as on the student's prior knowledge and preparation. Further, methods developed from observations of child development may not work well for adults. For example, methods which tend to rely on physical interaction with, for example, the manipulatives of the Montessori method, or the objects of Piaget's developmental approach, are susceptible to not providing appropriate motivation for adults. Further, there remains a need for improvement in teaching, as evidenced by the recent publication of “An Educator's Guide to School Reform” by R. Hermann (American Institutes for Research, Wash., D.C., 1999).
Thus, there remains a need for a method of instruction that is adapted to address improvements in teaching as called for in
A Nation at Risk
, while not being dependent on prior student knowledge and teacher training, and that is suitable for both child and adult learning.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method of instruction features a learning stage including presenting instructional material to a plurality of students; facilitating a discussion of the instructional material; and supervising a game relating to the instructional material. The instructional material is preferably self-contained. Further, the instructiona
Conley & Rose, P.C.
Miracle Publications International, Inc.
Nguyen Kien T.
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