principles of teaching

1. Principles of Teaching According
to Various Authors
(Fleming 1996)

2. James L. Mursell’s Six Principles of Teaching
1. Principle of Context.
2. Principle of Focus.
3. Principle of Socialization.
4. Principle of Individualization.
5. Principle of Sequence.
6. Principle of Evaluation.

3. 1. Principle of Context
 Educational management has been considered as one interesting subject particularly by the educators who are
aware of the need for knowledge management.
 Fleming (1996) pointed to a number of observations related to context development. He stressed the following:
 A collection of data is not information.
 A collection of information is not knowledge.
 A collection of knowledge is not wisdom.
 A collection of wisdom is not truth.
 Context refers to words just before or after a certain word sentence that help make clear what it means.

4.  The idea that a reader gets from a sentence simply provides information, knowledge, and wisdom which are
simply collections.
 Similarly, a collection of data ceases to be information in the absence of established relations among them.
 Wisdom is achieved when there is understanding of the principle underlying the patterns which represents
knowledge. Fleming (1996) further summarized such observation by stressing that:
 Information relates to description, definition, or perspective (what, who, when, where);
 Knowledge comprises strategy, practice, method, or approach (how); and
 Wisdom embodies principles, insight moral, or archetype (why).

5. The principle of context is categorized into six
levels as follows:
 Level 1 – Context consists of the textbook only
• Predominantly verbal
• No problem-solving experience
• Lacks dynamic appeal
• Limited verbal responses to verbal stimuli
 Level 2 – Context consists of textbook, together with collateral/supplemental materials
• Wider in context
• More readings of expository
• Advocates more extensive reading
 Level 3 – Context consists of non-academic and current materials (magazine articles, newspaper clippings)
• Concrete, specific, actual, and immediate
• Reality vs. theory
• Leads to extensive discussion

6.  Level 4 – Context consists of multi-sensory aids
• Effective when used as aid in learning
• Related to contemplated learning
• Ineffective if learner is passive
 Level 5 – Context consists of demonstration and presentation by the experts
• Concrete setting
• Learning beyond the classroom setting
 Level 6 – Field experiences: personal, social, and community understanding
• Concrete, abundant, dynamic, readily apprehended setting for learning
• Goes beyond verbalization
• Concrete and firsthand experiences

7. 2. Principle of Focus
 Instruction can be effective if there is a definite area of concentration. The following are the four levels of focus:
 Level 1 – Focus established by page assignment in textbook
• Uniform structure
• Learning without unity
• Memorization
 Level 2 – focus established by announced topic, together with page or chapter references
• Insight and understanding
• Varied learning pattern

8.  Level 3 – Focus established by broad concepts to be comprehended or problem to be solved
• Directed at the mental process of the learner
• More varied learning patterns
 Level 4 – Focus established as a concept or a problem to be solved, a skill to be acquired to carry an
undertaking
• Flexibility
• Acquisition of more facts and information

9. 3. Principle of Socialization
 Classroom learning offers a socio-cultural phenomenon, a social process that encompasses the ways of thinking,
interacting, and problem solving.
 Effectiveness of instruction depends upon the social setting in which it is done. Socialization has three levels
namely:
 Level 1 – social pattern characterized by submission
• Rudimentary level of socialization
• No-group function
• Teacher-controlled

10.  Level 2- Social pattern characterized by contribution
• Sympathetic and positive discipline
• Freedom
• Lacks authority
 Level 3 – Social pattern characterized by cooperation
• Goes beyond friendliness and sympathy
• Teacher as an organizer
• Positive team spirit

11. 4. Principle of Individualization
 The effectiveness of instruction must progress in terms of the learner’s own purposes, aptitudes, abilities, and
experimental procedures. The following are the scales of the application of the principle of individualization:
 Individualization through different performance in uniform tasks. The teacher sets the lesson format as part of
his classroom structuring and sees to it that while the task is the same to all, he offers varied ways of doing the
task according to the learners’ aptitude, interest, and capabilities.
 Individualization through homogeneous grouping. Learners vary in age, ability, and sex, and classrooms tend to
lean toward homogeneity. Except for some learners, variables like race or social class, which educators find not
acceptable in the homogeneous grouping, are acknowledge by educators and are considered an advantage for
effective instruction.

12.  Individualization through contract plan. One of the guiding principles of individualization asserts that the
individual must be the focus in the planning and delivery of services and support.
A contract plan may be a plan of study where the learner is provided a set of activities to do and a time limit to accomplish the
specific tasks. The plan may involve encounters between the learner and the teacher to evaluate the progress of the assigned
task which normally is structured according to the learner’s interests and abilities.
 Individualization through individual instruction. This kind of instruction calls for a person-centered planning for
learning tasks normally adapted to the level of capability of the learner.
The essence of an individual instruction is to make sure that it becomes effective because instruction meets the objectives set
for a particular lesson based on individual abilities and aptitudes.
 Individualization through large units with optimal-related activity. This is the kind of instruction where large
topics or big blocks are divided into smaller units which could be completed within a specified time frame.
 Individualization through individual undertakings stemming from and contributing to the joint undertaking of
the group of learners. Instruction is done to ensure cooperative learning while the group works on a specific
learning activity.

13. 5. Principle of Sequence
 Sequence is a movement from meaningless to emergence of meaning, from immediate toward remote, from
concrete toward symbolic, from the crude to the discriminating.
 Scale of application of the principle of sequence:
 Sequence through logical succession of blocks of content (lesson and courses) – one way to increase the chance
of making learners absorb the lesson, whether principles, theories or mechanics, is to provide a learning
sequence where comprehension or understanding of whatever is introduced is reinforced.
Learning sequence can pass through the following stages:
- Define the principle. (e.g., What is it? What does it do? How does it apply?)
- Define the principle within models. (e.g., Where is it? How does it differ?)
- Generate the principle. (e.g., How do I do it? How do I apply it?)
- Receive feedback. (e.g., How do I do it? What did I accomplish?)
- Define principle or practice. (e.g., When does the principle change? Why does the principle change? What variations, if ever,
can I make use of?)

14. Principles of Sequence
 Sequence through knotting, learning lesson/course, together by introductions, previews, pre-tests, reviews. - This
is done by supplementing discussion/studies/analysis of lesson by introductions/reviews related to the lesson.
This will affect an easier understanding of the lessons through the establishment of possible connections
between the current and the past lessons.
 Sequence organized in terms of readiness. – effective instruction is achieved if the teacher is able to order or set
the particular learning task according to the readiness of the learners to understand or assimilate whatever
materials is to be given to them.
 Sequence organized in terms of lines emerging meanings. – it’s a planning activity specific in learning tasks that
will depend on the ability of the learners to give meaning to specific situations, deduce impressions from
whatever is read to think of possibilities as an end result of doing the activity.

15. 6. Principle of Evaluation
o Evaluation is a component of effective instruction. It is necessary to determine whether the objectives
of instruction have been carried out, and learning or understanding of lesson has taken place.
o It is only by knowing the effectiveness of instruction that teachers can determine the value or worth
of the lesson, as well as the specific procedures that go with the teaching-learning process.

16. Types of Evaluation
 Diagnostic Evaluation – this is the evaluation done at the beginning of the unit or course to determine the
different levels to where the students can be grouped whether slow, average, or fast.
 Planning becomes more purposeful in that the teacher is provided a ready reference for the planned remediation.
 Formative Evaluation – this evaluation is intended to improve the delivery of instruction in the classroom. This is
the phase of evaluation where what the teacher does in the course of his teaching and what he is t do next are
given focus.
 A formative evaluation is usually done in the pilot stage or at any point in the various stages of the instruction process.
This will help not only to determine how much learning has been achieved through instruction, but also how to get rid of
unintended outcomes, if any.
 Summative Evaluation – this phase of evaluation calls for summing up all pertinent data related to the
performance of the individual learners.
 The focus of summative evaluation is the effectiveness of instruction which is reflected by quantitative expressions in
terms of grades. This is actually the endpoint of the evaluation phase where a total picture of the teaching-learning
process can be projected.

17. John Dewey’s Educational Philosophy on
Principles of Teaching
 Teaching is good when it is based on the psychology of learning.
• The child is the center of the educative process.
 Teaching is good when it is well planned such that the activities and experiences of the learner are continuously
related and interrelated into larger, more meaningful, more inclusive, relation patterns.
 Teaching is good when the learner is made conscious of the goals or aims to be accomplished. This concept calls
for proper motivation.
 Learning is good when it provides learning experience or situations that will insure understanding. Good
teaching requires a rich environment of instructional materials and devices.
 Teaching is good when there is provision to meet individual differences. This is based on the psychological
principle that individuals differ from each other in their learning potential.
 Teaching is good when it utilizes the past experience of the learner.
 Teaching is good when the learner is stimulated to think and to reason. The best teaching method is that which
liberates and encourages thinking.

18. John Dewey’s Educational Philosophy on
Principles of Teaching
 Teaching is good when it is governed by democratic principles.
 Teaching to be effective must be governed by love and understanding.
 Teaching is good when the method used is supplemented by another method and instructional
devices.
 Teaching is good when evaluation is made an integral part of the teaching process,. Evaluation is
part and parcel of teaching.
 Teaching is good when drill or review is made an integral part of teaching and learning.
 The teacher must bear in mind that drill and review have different meanings and functions.

19. Carnegie Mellon’s Teaching Principles (Mellon
2013)
 Teaching is a multifaceted activity, involving multiple tasks and goals simultaneously and flexibly.
• Effective teaching involves acquiring relevant knowledge about the learners and using that knowledge to inform the course
design and classroom teaching. Gathering the most relevant information as early as possible in course planning, and
continuing to do so during the semester can:
a. Inform course design
b. Help explain student difficulties
c. Guide instructional adaptations
• Effective teaching involves aligning the 3 major components of instruction: learning objectives, assessments, and
instructional activities. Teaching becomes effective and student learning is enhanced when:
a. Instructors articulate a clear set of learning objectives
b. The instructional activities which support these learning objectives by providing goal-oriented practice
c. The assessments which provide opportunities for learners to demonstrate and practice the knowledge and skills
articulated in the objectives, and for instructors to offer targeted feedback that can guide further learning
• Effective teaching involves articulating explicit expectations regarding learning objectives and policies.

20. • Effective teaching involves prioritizing the knowledge and skills we choose to focus on. Coverage of the course must have
focus. Making decisions:
a. Recognizing and setting the parameters of the course
b. Setting priorities for student learning, and
c. Determining a set of objectives that can be accomplished at a given time
• Effective teaching involves recognizing and overcoming blind spots. As experts, teachers tend to access and apply
knowledge automatically and unconsciously, and so teachers often skip or combine critical steps when teaching.
• Effective teaching involves adopting appropriate teaching roles to support our learning goals.
• Effective teaching involves progressively refining our courses based on reflection and feedback. Teaching requires adapting.
Teaching involves making changes when appropriate. Knowing what and how to change requires the examination of
relevant information on teaching effectiveness.