Memory level of teaching

 

M.Ed.-II SEM

Unit-02 (Part-02)

 

LEVELS OF TEACHING

v  Teaching is a purposeful process which has a close relationship with learning. Therefore, in the modern age, teaching and learning, both, are accepted as one concept. We should remember that each content has its own nature and various teaching objectives.

v  It is to be observed that a teacher can present the content at three levels, from thoughtless to thoughtful situations.

            These levels are:

      Memory level

      Understanding level and

      Reflective level.

ü  Memory level teaching is ‘thoughtless’; it is the initial stage of teaching.

ü  Understanding level of teaching is the next higher level of memory level teaching. This level includes both memory and insight of the learner. In other words, for understanding the level of teaching, memory level teaching is the pre-requisite.

ü  The third and the last level of teaching is reflective level. This level includes both memory and understanding levels of teaching. In other words, for reflective level of teaching, the occurrence of teaching both at memory and understanding levels is essential.

v  In this way, the process of teaching starts from memory level which advances to reflective level after passing through understanding level of teaching. Remember that if the reality of the subject along with its knowledge is to be provided, the content must be taught at all the three levels.

v  It depends on the teacher’s competency that to what extent he succeeds in reaching the reflective level starting from the memory level on the basis of his efficiency and experiences.

v  It is a common observation that the normal teaching corresponds to the memory level teaching. Such learned and efficient teachers who succeed in upgrading their teaching from memory level to reflective level teaching are needed.

         Let us learn more about the following three levels of teaching:

•      Memory level of teaching

•      Understanding level of teaching

•      Reflective level of teaching

 

 

 

1-Memory level of teaching:-

 

 Introduction:-

                         Memory is a mental process which occurs essentially in some quantity in every living being. When a person sees an object, a thing or a place, then the engrams of the object, the thing or the place are formed in his mind. To memorize these engrams or pre-learnt things is called memory.

                                      In other words, when we see any object, then the experiences of the object go on accumulating in our unconscious mind. When we recall these accumulated past experiences and we recognize them by bringing them into our conscious mind, then that is called memory.

     

Definitions of Memory

v  Mcdougall: ‘Memory implies imagining of events as experienced in the past and recognizing then to one’s own past experience.’

v  J.S. Ross: ‘A memory is a new experience determined by the dispositions laid down by a previous experience, the relation between the two being clearly apprehended.’

v  Stout: ‘Memory is the ideal revival in which the objects or past experience reinstate as far as possible in the order and manner of the original occurrence.’

v  Woodworth: ‘Memory is the direct use of what is learned.’

Phases of Memory

                                   The following are the phases of memory:

      Learning

      Retention

      Recall

      Recognition

      (i) Learning:-

                       Memory depends upon the engrams of experiences. Hence, the first phase of memory is the learning of some facts. The task of learning is done by the conscious mind. In this phase, the life-experiences get engrammed in the brain in the form of mental impressions and these can be made conscious as and when needed. Hence, the pupils should not try to force the contents while learning something, some subject or a place. They should acquire direct knowledge. Repeat it again and again. They should search for the meaning of that idea. Memorize that knowledge by linking it with other objects or subjects.

  

    (ii) Retention:-

                       The process of making the contents permanent in the mind is called retention. Remember that the retention power occurs differently in different individuals. A person’s memory is said to be good if he can retain a matter or an experience in his mind for a longer duration.

                                            The pupils and adolescents have more retention power as compared to the adults. It is for this reason that they memorize rapidly.

                              According to psychologists, the retention power reaches its peak at the age of 25 years and after this it starts reducing. Remember that the retention power depends mainly upon four conditions, which are: (i) brain (ii) health (iii) interest and (iv) thinking.

      Every experience leaves an impression in the brain. Our brain not only protects these impressions, but also arranges them in a sequence. These sequencedimpressions influence the person at every step of his life.

      Retention power is also closely related to the structure of the brain. Due to the differences in the structure of the brain of every person, variations in the retention power occur. As a result, some people can make impressions stabilized in their brains for a longer duration, while some can for a comparatively shorter duration.

      Physical health is also deeply related to the retention power. Our nervous tissues function very conveniently when a person is in good health. Therefore, we learn very easily and quickly. This is one of the reasons that in the morning, when we feel fresh and energized, we learn things very fast. Contrary to this, when we are fatigued or stressed or in an unhealthy condition, we cannot remember or memorize something easily even if we try hard. The reason is that our nervous tissues do not work properly when we are in unhealthy conditions. Thus, our retention power lowers down.

      Retention power is also related to ‘interest’ and ‘thinking’. We remember rapidly when we have interest in something. As we are interested in that particular matter, we think about it again and again. Then, we develop a relationship with it. Thus, we learn or memorize rapidly.

 

(iii)  Recall

ü  The learnt matter when brought to conscious mind is called recall.

ü  Recalling of past experiences is responsible for a person’s good or bad memory. If he fails to recall an experience or a matter when needed then all his learning goes in vain. Remember that those things which are not retained by proper methods, one faces difficulties while recalling them. When a person fails to recall the retained material, that enhances the chances of forgetting.

                             Psychologists have emphasized on certain laws in order to bring learnt material at the conscious level. These laws are Law of Contiguity, Law of Similarity, Law of Contrast, Law of Continuity of Interest, Law of Primacy, Law of Recency, Law of Frequency and Law of Vividness.

 

 

(iv)  Recognition

ü  If we see an object or a person and can remember that we have seen the person or the object, it is termed as recognition.

ü  Remember that recall and recognition have similar relationship as that of brain and the body.

ü  Recalling becomes difficult when the association among objects does not occur and consequently we are unable to remember them. Contrary to this, we recognize them quickly when our association among those objects and persons becomes strong.

ü  It is our experience that we recognize people very conveniently which we meet daily and the objects which we see in our daily life. Such recognition is called definite recognition.

ü  When we recognize an object or a person partially and we are unable to tell definitely about the person, then such type of recognition is termed as partial or indefinite recognition.

 

Classification of Memory :-

                                                      People differ in the ability to memorize. Some people do not forget what they read after a single reading. Contrary to this, some people forget frequently even after reading something repeatedly. On the basis of their different abilities, memory can be classified as follows. In other words, memory is of the following types:

 •     Immediate memory: Immediate memory is that memory when a person recalls immediately after learning something. This type of memory has the following two characteristics: (a) It is temporary. It is possible that the learnt material may not retain for a longer period. (b) Its development occurs along with age. During the period of infancy, the development of the pupil is slow and somewhat faster during childhood. During adolescence, this rate of development acquires its maximum limits.

•      Permanent memory: When a person is able to remember a learnt material for a long time, it is known as permanent memory. People, objects or places with which our association is strong are remembered for a longer duration.

•      Personal memory: While recalling past experiences, we remember our personal past experiences. This memory is called personal memory. During the period of acquiring education, every pupil gains different experiences regarding his school, teachers and class-mates. In future, when we recall everything out of those experiences, we also recall some related personal experiences.

•      Impersonal memory: The recalling of the material learnt from the books and companions is called impersonal memory. There is no place of personal experiences in such type of memories.

•      Active memory: The recalling of past experiences needs some efforts, for example the candidates sitting in examination hall have to make efforts to recall the answers to the questions again and again.

•      Passive memory: In passive memory, we recall the past experiences without any effort.

•      Mechanical memory: Mechanical memory is also known as physical memory. When our body becomes habitual of doing any task repeatedly, then our body need not recall that task again and again. For example, a swimmer swims without any major recalling.

•      Rote memory: Rote memory is the kind of memory in which the facts are crammed without any understanding. Such type of memory is very sharp during childhood. However, this kind of memory is not considered as a very good memory.

•      Logical memory: To learn something by using intellect and its recalling when needed is called logical memory. This memory has been termed as true memory.

Characteristics of Good Memory

      The following are the characteristics of good memory:

•       Rapidity in learning: The first characteristic of good memory is its rapidity and simplicity in learning. Hence, the memory of a person can be called good if the person learns rapidly. Contrary to this, if a person learns slowly, his memory cannot be called good.
•     Stability of retention: Another characteristic of good memory is retention of learnt material for a longer duration. The pupils are said to have a good memory if they retain what they have learnt for a longer time. Its reverse i.e. the pupils who cannot retain for a longer time are said to have bad memory.
•       Rapidity in recalling: In addition to rapid learning and stability of retention, the third characteristic of good memory is rapidity in recalling. Those pupils are said to have good memory who can bring anything to their conscious level very rapidly. Only those pupils are said to have good memory who can recall anything according to the needs and at proper time.
•       Serviceableness: The fourth characteristic of good memory is its score ability at some occasion. There are some pupils who possess much but when needed, they remember only irrelevant material. Contrary to this, there are pupils who can recall the appropriate material or they can identify experiences and talents according to their needs.
•       Forgetting irrelevant things: A good memory requires forgetting of irrelevant things. Recalling of irrelevant things at the time of examination does not benefit the pupils. Similarly, recalling the painful events of life does not prove to be beneficial in any way.
•  

Memory Level of Teaching

                                           . Now it is time to classify and understand what memory level of teaching is. Remember that the memory level teaching is thoughtless. In this level of teaching, emphasis is laid on the presentation of facts and information. In other words, only rote learning of contents is emphasized by the activities of memory level teaching. It is a matter of observation that rote learning of facts of the contents has no relation with intelligence. The reason is that mentally handicapped children can also force. Yes, it is something else that if the content is purposeful, then it can be rote learned very conveniently and also can be retained for a longer duration. Hence, memory level teaching lacks insight. Almost all the pupils force the contents unwillingly. They succeed in the school examination on the basis of scores secured by rote learning but they seem to fail in the examination of life.

 

ü  In short, memory level is the level of rote learning. In the teaching of this level, the facts and the information of the cognitive level are forcibly supplied to the brains of the pupils externally. Pupils recall and recognize this forcibly-retained knowledge when needed.

ü  In reality, there is a definite pattern of memory level teaching. In this type of teaching, the teacher is like a dictator who suppresses the independence, interests, attitudes and competencies of the pupils and tries to impose the facts and information upon the pupils. Hence, in this level of teaching, the teacher remains active but the pupils go on learning by heart in strict discipline the facts and information as a passive listener. In short, no interaction occurs mechanically.

ü  In the memory level teaching, signal learning, chain learning and stimulus- response learning are emphasized. In the end, both essay type and objective type examinations are used to evaluate the learnt contents. The above description shows that the memory level teaching is teacher centred. Pupils have secondary place in this level of teaching. As a result, the teacher goes on imposing facts and information externally by keeping them in the strict discipline in order to develop the pupils mentally, neglecting their interests, attitudes, abilities and needs. This makes the pupils ‘crammers’ but they can never become intelligent and learned people. The reason is that there is no interaction between the pupils and the teacher in the memory level teaching. In short, the teaching of this level is restricted to the cognitive level which is like a burden upon pupils. The teaching of this level has the maximum level of motivation.

                               The evaluation of the acquired knowledge is done by traditional methods. In spite of many drawbacks, the memory level of teaching has some importance. The reason is that teaching at understanding and reflective levels can be successful only when the teaching at memory level occurs. In other words, understanding and reflective level teaching cannot take place unless and until memory level teaching has not been managed. In this way, we can say, in the understanding and reflective level teachings, memory level teaching is included and it acts as a supplement.

                                                                            If we observe carefully, while teaching subjects, like Sanskrit, Grammar and History, memory level teaching is successful and impressive. The teacher has no other alternative. Still, the present educationists are trying to avoid emphasis on rote learing, but the pupil should be introduced with the basic concepts of the contents. Therefore, new mathematics has been developed in this modern age in which knowing the concepts is more emphasized instead of rote learning. But the desirable results have not been achieved in this regard.

 

Model of Memory Level of Teaching

 

       Johann Friedrich Herbart is the exponent of memory level teaching. He has described the following steps while presenting the model of memory level teaching:

              Levels of Teaching

•  Focus

•  Syntax

•  Social system

•  Support system

(a)   Focus:

                  As propounded by Herbart, the emphasis is on rote learning in the memory level teaching of evidences and progress of the following abilities:

•   Remembering the learnt facts

•   Training of mental aspects

•   Recalling and re-presenting the learnt facts

•   Providing knowledge of facts

(b)   Syntax:  

                   The division of the memory level-teaching has been done by Herbart into five steps which is known as Herbart’s Five Formal Steps. It is through these steps that the teacher can generate and produce learning situations for the memory level-teaching. Herbart’s Steps are arranged as under:

 •              (i) a)-Preparation

                      b)-Statement of aim

2-Presentation

                                      3-Comparison of Association

4-Generalization

5-Application

(i)    (a) Preparation:

                                The very first stage of teaching is preparation. The teacher should ask the students questions related to the knowledge gained in the previous class so that the students acquire a sense of curiosity to learn new things in new ways.

                                                        We can also say that the students are well prepared to acquire the new knowledge by being tested on the knowledge attained previously.

(b) Statement of aim:

·         The first step continues and this step happens to be a part of the first step.

ü  In this step, the topic to be taught to the students becomes clear to the students and the teacher performs the duty of writing those topics on the blackboard for a quick recapitulation for the students.

(ii)   Presentation:

                           This step helps the students to develop a capacity for self-learning by encouraging them to use their mental capacities. The topic and the lesson is to be enhanced by the students themselves. The teacher is responsible to give as much as freedom to the students to be able to present the lesson by the students themselves which would help in building a link between the previous learnt lessons and the new lessons to be learnt.

(iii)  Comparison and Association:

ü  This step has been named as association by Herbart.

ü  In this step, a collective link is developed among facts, events and experiments by drawing comparisons which would help the students in understanding the lessons and topic in a better way. Hence, it is the teacher’s responsibility to draw a link between two different subjects, facts and events and also of the same subject.

ü  The teacher should also draw comparisons between them so that the students are able to understand the lessons well.

(iv)  Generalization:

                              This step has been named by Herbart as a system. In this step, the students are given the opportunity to ponder on the lessons learnt so that they are able communicate some laws and principles that can be used in the future.

(v)   Application:

ü  This is the last stage of the process of teaching.

ü  This step tests whether the new ideas acquired by the students can be used in the present situation or not.

ü  This can be carried out by asking queries regarding the lessons learnt to the students or by providing fresh forums where the student can apply the acquired knowledge.

ü  This helps in making the knowledge permanent.

(C)  Social system:

                             Teaching can be said to be two-fold—social as well as professional. The adherents of this social system are: (i) the student and (ii) the teacher.

ü  In this level, the teacher is said to be authoritative and dictating. He dictates the way the students behave in the class by being active. The consequence of this step is a class of passive students who functionas unresponsive listeners.

      Therefore, the role of the teacher is to:

(i) offer the contents to the students,

(ii) guiding and regulating the student’s activities and

 (iii) motivating the students. In short, in the memory-level teaching, the teacher occupies the primary place and the pupils have secondary place.

             All the tasks are accomplished by the teacher and the students follow those directions considering them to be ideal.

(D)  Support system:

                               Rote learning has been emphasized by the evaluation systemof memory-level teaching. Because of this, while assessing the teaching at this level, both—oral and written examinations—are used.

               Essay-type questions in examinations are more helpful at this levelof teaching, but the stages like recalling and recognition have also been used successfullyvia the objective type examination.

Suggestions for Memory Level of Teaching:-

                                         Memory level teaching proves to be beneficial as it provides the basic foundation for understanding level and reflective level teaching. The two levels cannot be successful without the memory level teaching. The memory level-teaching can be made effective by the following suggestions.

Ø  The teacher should be able to accomplish the intellectual objective.

Ø  The teacher should make it a point that the content that is to be presented to the students should be accurate and purposeful and should be in a sequence.

Ø  The teaching point should be presented as a whole.

Ø  Teaching should be stopped when the students are tired.

Ø  Only whole method should be used.

Ø  A definite strengthening system should be used.

Ø  Recapitulation should be done in a rhythm.

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