Heuristic method of teaching : student centered
- 1. Heuristic method is a pure discovery method of learning science independent of teacher. The writings and teaching of H.E .Armstrong , professor of chemistry at the City and Guilds Institute ,London have had much influence in promoting science teaching in school .He was a strong advocate of a special type laboratory training – heuristic training .In heuristic method the student be put in the place of an independent discover . Thus no help or guidance is provided by the teacher in this method. In this the teacher set a problem for the students and then stands aside while discover the answer .
- 2. The method requires the students to solve a number of problems experimentally . Each students is required to discover everything for himself and is to be told nothing .The students are led to discover facts with the help of experiments ,apparatus and books. In this method the children behaves like a research scholar . In the stage managed heuristic method ,a problem sheet with minimum instruction is given to the student and he is required to perform the experiments concerning the problem in hand .He must follow the instructions ,and enter in his notebook an account of what he has done and results arrived at .He must also put down his conclusion as to the bearing which the result has on the problem in hand .In this way he is led to research from observation.
- 3. One of the most important aspects of the problem- solving approach to children’s development in scientific thinking is the teachers attitude. His approach should be teaching science with a question mark instead of with an exclamation point. The acceptance of and the quest for unique solutions for the problem that the class is investigating should be a guiding principles in the teacher’s approaches to his programme of science. Teachers must develop sensitiveness to children and to the meaning of their behaviour .Teachers should be ready to accept any suggestion for the solution of problem regardless of how irrelevant it may seem to him , for this is really the true sprit of scientific problem solving .By testing various ideas it can shown to the child that perhaps his suggestion was not in accord with the information available . It can then be shown that this failure gets us much closer to the correct solution by eliminating one possibility from many offered by the problem .
- 4. This method of teaching science has following merits It develops the habit of enquiry and investigation among students . It develops habit of self- learning and self –direction . It develops scientific attitudes among students by making them truthful and honest for they learn how to arrive at decisions by actual experimentations . It is psychologically sound system of learning as it is based on the maximum “ learning by doing”. It develops in the students a habit of diligency . In this method most of the work is done in school and so the teacher has no worry to assign on check home task . It provides scope for individual attention to be paid by the teacher and for closer contacts .These contacts helps in establishing cordial relations between the teacher and the taught .
- 5. I. It is a long and time consuming method and so it becomes difficult to cover the prescribed in time . II. It pre-suppose a very small class and a gifted teacher and the method is too technical and scientific to be handled by an average teacher . The method expects of the teacher a great efficiency and hard work , experience and training . III. There is a tendency on the part of the teacher to emphasize those branches and parts of the subject which lend themselves to heuristic treatment and to ignore important branches of the subject which do not involve measurement and quantitative work and are therefore not so suitable . IV. It is not suitable for beginners . In the early stages ,the students needs enough guidance which if not given , may develop a distaste for students . V. In this method too much stress is placed on practical work which may lead a student to form a wrong idea of nature of science as a whole .they grow up in the belief that science is some thing to be done in the laboratory