Effective Teaching: Objectives, Content, Methods, and Resources

Posted on Jan 12, 2025 in Social sciences

Conditions to Formulate Educational Objectives

Educational objectives must meet several key conditions to be effective:

  • Realism and Appropriateness: Objectives should be realistic and appropriate, considering the sociocultural context and the students’ potential.
  • Holistic Development: They should promote all aspects of development: cognitive, social, affective, and motor, to achieve integral and harmonious student growth.
  • Content Diversity: Objectives should encompass all types of content, including concepts, principles, procedures, values, norms, and attitudes.
  • Inclusivity: They should be formulated to facilitate the inclusion of as many students as possible, without using terms that involve comparisons between individuals.

Educational Content: Definition and Organization

Educational content refers to the valuable information that promotes students’ personal and social development. It is organized into:

  • Learning areas
  • Content blocks
  • Cross-cutting themes

Characteristics of effective educational content:

  • Represents a significant selection of cultural knowledge.
  • Is organized into knowledge areas necessary for developing human capabilities.
  • Forms the basis of student learning.
  • Requires assistance for proper assimilation.

Content can be specified through concepts, attitudes, and professional procedures. Educators must select, organize, and sequence content to plan their teaching and carry out evaluations.

Action Principles of Teaching Methods

Adaptation to Purpose (Completeness)

A teaching method should be:

  • Consistent with educational intentions (objectives and content).
  • Appropriate to the objectives and content.
  • Aligned with the purpose of education, which is comprehensive development, not just intellectual growth.

Suitability for Students (Identification and Significance)

  • Consider the students’ level of cognitive development.
  • Identify prior knowledge and experiences.
  • Assess knowledge patterns to promote significant learning (inclusive, superordinate, subordinate, combinatorial).

Adaptation of Content (Globalization and Interdisciplinarity)

The method should align with the conceptual structure of the discipline. Construct significant materials that:

  • Are relevant.
  • Enable the acquisition of general concepts and the transition to specific ones.
  • Show relationships between concepts.
  • Present specific examples for reinforcement.

Adaptation to Context (Socialization)

The method should:

  • Promote learning and the inclusion of learning.
  • Foster socialized learning.

Requirements:

  • Understand the characteristics of the context.
  • Select content based on environmental stimuli appropriate to the teaching-learning situation.
  • Develop compensatory actions for deficiencies arising in the social and family environment.

Resources: Concept and Classification

Resources are any tools used in the design or development of the curriculum to present content, develop skills, or support methodological strategies. This includes textbooks, materials, and new technologies. Teaching occurs through reality or its representation, giving pedagogical value to the text. Audiovisual resources and other materials serve as intermediaries in representing cultural assets.

Educational Resources and Curricular Models

The concept model is used to explain educational phenomena and allows for a shared interpretation.

  1. Technical Model: Decisions are made as the curriculum is prepared and given to the professional through books. The professional is guided by these, acting as a mere executor. The materials make the student a passive receiver.
  2. Practical Model: This model allows for professional development, preparation, etc. Teaching teams and educational centers are given prominence. The professional outlines the curriculum’s development and decides on appropriate elements for their specific environment.
  3. Critical Model: For those with a global and dialectical vision of reality, where education is seen as political and social, curriculum development is essential. The professional becomes a transformative intellectual, thoughtful, critical, and a social and political agent. Resources are used for analysis, critique, and transformation of teaching practices.

Classification of Teaching Resources

  • Real: Plants, animals, etc.
  • School: Library, laboratory, blackboard, etc.
  • Symbolic: Print materials, new technologies, etc.