Katalog

Barbara Rokosz
Język angielski, Wypracowania

Humanistic approaches to education

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Humanistic approaches to education

Teachers who would like to put humanistic approaches to education into practise can use some techniques, which are essentially group therapy sessions and are intended to encourage participants to explore their emotions and feelings in highly personal ways. Other techniques are intended to encourage students to identify with others, empathize with them and engage in vicarious experiences. Techniques of this type include role-playing, psychodrama, sociodrama and simulation games. Students may be asked to assume the roles of historical figures or act out situations (such as a teacher catching a student cheating) and then reverse the roles. Or memebers of a group may be assigned roles and asked to follow detailed instructions for simulating a situation.

Humanistic education is made up of loosely related assumptions and techniques. Some theorists stress basic assumptions about children, teachers and the learning situation. Others describe attitudes of students and teachers or stress the significance of interpersonal relationships. Still others advocate the use of specific instructional techniques. Despite the positive findings, there are good reasons for keeping some cautions in mind when implementing certain humanistic techniques and assumptions, such as:
- teachers should trust pupils and permit them to make many of their own decisions and that instruction should centre on the learner,
- teachers should show they are sincere, demonstrate sensitivity to the needs and feelings of pupils and exhibit confidence and versatility,
- affective factors should be explored as much as the cognitive side of the subject matter,
- relationships between pupils and their teachers have an important impact on learning,
- how students feel about themselves inluences the way they learn,
- teachers should encourage pupils to explore their feelings and emotions,
- teachers should use techniques to encourage students to identify with others, empathize with them and relate their feelings to the feelings of others,
- teachers should make frequent use of values clarification strategies,
- traditional grading practises should be replaced by pass/fail or credit/no credit evaluation procedures.

Using humanistic techniques in the classroom the teachers should:
1.Try to remain aware of the extent to which they direct and control learning. Whenever possible, permit and encourage students to make choices and to manage their own learning.
2.Establish a warm, positive, acceptant atmosphere. Do their best to communicate the feeling that they believe all the students in the class can learn and that they want them to learn.
3.When it seems appropriate, teacher should function as a facilitator, encourager, helper and asssister. Before attempting to function as a colleague or friend, he should think about possible complications.
4.If the teacher feels comfortable doing it, occasionally he should show that he is a 'real person' by telling students how he feels. When he expresses anger, however, he should comment on the situation, not on the personality traits of his students.
5.Do their best to help their students develope positive feelings about themselves. Empathize with them and show they are sensitive to students' needs and feelings.
6.If appropriate (and acceptable), make judicious use of values clarification strategies.
8.Do their best to provide learning experiences that will lead to the development of the habbits and attitudes they want to foster.
9.Make use of object lessons. When illustrative incidents occur, they should take advantages of them.
10.Set a good example.
Research findings suggest that humanistic techniques lead to improvement in achievement, classroom behaviour, self-esteem, attitudes toward school and interpersonal relationships.

Bibliography

Hamachek, D., 1995, The Self in Growth, Teaching and Learning. New York: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
 

Opracowanie: Barbara Rokosz

Wyświetleń: 903


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