Test: Activity-Based Pedagogy - Software Development MCQ

Activity-based learning as the name suggests actively involves learners in the construction and re-construction of knowledge based on his or her individual experiences. It is known as the learning by doing method. The activity approach takes you a little more time to prepare than a lecture or a demonstration. But the activity approach will not add to your burden. Rather, it will promote and support you by providing a range of appropriate educational material and ideas, and orientation on the creative use of the same. And the rewards for both you and your students will be significant and satisfying.

Key Points

The four steps to practicing activity-based learning are:  

Planning:  It is important to identify the learning objectives that would be achieved through the planned activity.

• Now you need to make a list of and arrange for the various resources that may be required—material, learning resources, volunteers, etc.
• Plan for debriefing/discussion after the activity should also be developed by you. You will also require to have an idea about how will you assess, not only the learners but also the effectiveness of the activity.

Conducting the Activity While conducting the activity, as a facilitator, you may need to work in the following phases:

• Initiate the Activity: Introduce the activity and inform the children about the purpose or objective of the activity, their role in it, the time duration, and evaluation details if any.
• Proceed with the Activity: Once you have initiated, your main role is to ensure that children can meaningfully do what they are expected to do. Remember, encouraging all children are required to keep them motivated and involved.
• End the Activity: This phase is important to consolidate the learnings. This may require that the students reflect on the experiences and derive learnings relevant to the identified objective. If it is not done, sometimes the children are unable to relate the activity to essential learning. The teacher can also conclude by suggesting the linkages of the activity to real-life situations, and further direction. This phase is crucial for establishing links between what children experienced and what they read in their text-book.

Reflecting on the Process: This phase is for the teacher to take her own notes and learnings from the experience of conducting the activity. Thus you must spend some time reflecting on what worked well and what did not, and why? These notes/reflections will help you improve the design, planning, and conducting activity in the future.

Revising: As a result of reflection, the teacher often realizes the benefits and strengths of conducting the activity. An objective analysis of the experience also reveals the scope for improving the same activity for the next time.

Hence, we can conclude that Activity-based learning means learning by doing.

The National Policy on Education 1986 has also emphasized that “each individual’s growth presents a different range of problems and requirements, at every stage from the womb to tomb” implying that the child’s individuality and dignity should be respected and his/her needs, interests, aptitude and abilities are taken into consideration by the educational system. The policy has advocated a “child-centered and activity-based process of teaching-learning” especially at the primary stage.

Key Points

Activity-based process of teaching-learning:

• For teaching to be child-centered and activity-based, it must involve children, their interests, ideas, and motivation in the learning process. A child must discover for herself. Therefore, the emphasis is on the inquiry/discovery approach which lays stress on the processes of scientific inquiry, problem-solving skills, and creative thinking abilities based on locally available natural and human resources. 
• Some of the examples of the activity-based method are-
  • Laboratory method
  • Play-way method
  • Project method
  • Field-trip
  • Role-play

Important Points

The Basic Education or The Craft-based Education scheme is the dynamic side of Gandhi's educational philosophy.

• It emphasized making productive crafts as the medium of education to develop children's minds, bodies, and souls to make them able to meet their needs in the future.
• The chief aim of basic education is to make the student self-dependent.

Thus from the above-mentioned points, it is clear that the question-answer method is not activity-based.

Hint

Questionnaire method:

• it is a technique of data collection where the source of data is the subject himself/herself.
• it comprises a series of questions prepared by the researcher that is answered and filled in by all the respondents.
• in the questionnaire method, the researcher uses different forms of questions, such as closed-ended, open-ended, or partially close-ended questions. 
• it is a self-reporting instrument that can be used to measure knowledge levels, opinions, attitudes, beliefs, ideas, feelings, and perceptions of respondents.

Learning by doing means activities-based learning.​It is the process of doing my own hands practically. It encourages the students to participate in their own learning experiences.

Key Points 
 Benefits of Activity-based Learning-

• The students in primary classes should be taught through various activities and hands-on experiences.
• Learning the concept by doing meaningful, hands-on activities related to the concept.
• The teacher teaches their students according to their needs and interest. Teaching should be child-centered.
• Activity-based teaching makes the classroom joyful and interesting. It can be completely self-led by each child or, the teacher could set some goals, and give hints and basic composition skills, Teacher keeps all the children actively involved in this activity by building a constant challenge into the exploration. 
• The teaching should be connected with real life. The teachers should take examples from the daily life of students so that they feel connected and interested.
• The teacher should use teaching aids from their real environment, nothing is better than this. For example, teachers should use pebbles to teach their students how to add and subtract.

Thus, it infers that Activity-based teaching makes the classroom joyful.

The teaching method is a way to put theory into practice. It generally describes the pedagogy of children, general principles, and management strategies that are to be used through the whole teaching-learning process. It helps to ease the learning pace of students.

Key Points

The project method or activity-based method is based on learning by doing.

• These methods make learning realistic and experimental.
• It aims to make students think independently and is a target-driven activity based on the challenge, fostering success and efficient cooperation.
• These methods follows the maxims of teaching like known to unknow, seen to unseen, simple to complex, concrete to abstract.
• Learning by doing and experiencing the consequences of one's own actions. 
• To enhance the skills and understanding of the learners as they gain knowledge by engaging with the contents and experiences.

Important Point

The whole knowledge travels from known to unknown, concrete to abstract, simple to complex, and from seen to unseen. The same principle is applied in classroom teaching and is the very aim of education at the highest level.

From concrete to abstract:

• The abstract is confusing, difficult to understand, and subjective. The acquisition of new knowledge may become a simpler task when it is supported with concrete examples, objects, and events.

Hence we can say that the basis of the project or an activity-based method is going from concrete to abstract.

By physically conducting experiments and recording outcomes, students actively participate in the learning process, making it more meaningful and memorable.

Key Points

• Through this hands-on approach, students develop a concrete understanding of probability concepts like sample space, equally likely outcomes, and relative frequency.
• They observe patterns and begin to grasp the concept of probability intuitively.
• This activity also encourages critical thinking as students analyze the data they collect and draw conclusions about the likelihood of different outcomes.
• Moreover, the activity promotes teamwork and communication skills as students discuss their findings and observations with their peers.
• It creates an interactive and dynamic learning environment, fostering curiosity and a deeper appreciation for mathematics.

Hence, it can be concluded that Asking students to throw a dice or flip a coin and note down the number of times each possibility occurs is the best approach.

Activity-based learning as the name suggests actively involves learners in the construction and re-construction of knowledge based on his or her individual experiences. It is known as the learning by doing method. The activity approach takes you a little more time to prepare than a lecture or a demonstration. But the activity approach will not add to your burden. Rather, it will promote and support you by providing a range of appropriate educational material and ideas, and orientation on the creative use of the same. And the rewards for both you and your students will be significant and satisfying.

Important Points

Activity-Based Learning (ABL) was started sometime during World War II by David Horsburgh, the pioneer of the ABL system. His school curriculum was diverse and the teaching materials were systematically planned with different learning activities.

Key Points

The four steps to practicing activity-based learning are:  

Planning: It is important to identify the learning objectives that would be achieved through the planned activity.

• Now you need to make a list of and arrange for the various resources that may be required—material, learning resources, volunteers, etc.
• A plan for debriefing/discussion after the activity should also be developed by you. You will also require to have an idea about how will you assess, not only the learners but also the effectiveness of the activity.
• Conducting the Activity While conducting the activity, as a facilitator, you may need to work in the following phases:

Initiate the Activity: Introduce the activity and inform the children about the purpose or objective of the activity, their role in it, the time duration, and evaluation details if any.

• Proceed with the Activity: Once you have initiated, your main role is to ensure that children can meaningfully do what they are expected to do. Remember, encouraging all children are required to keep them motivated and involved.
• End the Activity: This phase is important to consolidate the learnings. This may require that the students reflect on the experiences and derive learnings relevant to the identified objective. If it is not done, sometimes the children are unable to relate the activity to essential learning. The teacher can also conclude by suggesting the linkages of the activity to real-life situations, and further direction. This phase is crucial for establishing links between what children experienced and what they read in their text-book.

Reflecting on the Process: This phase is for the teacher to take her own notes and learnings from the experience of conducting the activity. Thus you must spend some time reflecting on what worked well and what did not, and why? These notes/reflections will help you improve the design, planning, and conducting activity in the future.

Revising: As a result of reflection, the teacher often realizes the benefits and strengths of conducting the activity. An objective analysis of the experience also reveals the scope for improving the same activity for the next time.

Hence, we can conclude that the Pioneer of activity-based learning is David Horsburgh.

Activity-based learning is a ‘learner-centred’ approach in the teaching-learning process. In this approach, the ‘learner’ or ‘child’ and not the ‘teacher’ is the main focus of the educational program. It emphasizes ‘learning’ rather than ‘teaching’.

• Activity-based learning integrates multiple methods of teaching like Demonstration, Role-play, Brainstorming, Project method, Debate, etc.
• Activity-based learning brings the real issues and problems from day-to-day life in classroom settings.
• It provide provides opportunities to apply multiple senses.
• It includes all objects, events, natural phenomena and social surroundings in the teaching-learning process.
• It clarifies abstract concepts, develops concrete thinking and brings reality in real settings.
• During activity-based learning, the learners use his/her multiple senses to understand the concepts and enhance learning.
• It arouses the child’s interests, abilities, and needs during the learning process.

Hence, we conclude that all the above points are the advantages of the activity-based learning.

Activity-based learning refers to learning through hands-on experience to develop an understanding of the environment around us. An activity is an action performed by the students to understand their environment and the environmental processes. 

Key Points

•  Activity-based learning is a form of Learner-centered approach. It stimulates curiosity and independent thinking, develops problem-solving skills, promotes planning and execution of projects, and develops self-learning involving the acquisition of knowledge through observation of phenomena, and creative thinking abilities.
• Tuition -Centric approach - This approach does not exist.
• Teacher-Centric approach - It emphasizes the importance of a teacher and ignores the active involvement of the learner in the teaching-learning process.
• Subject-Centric approach - It focuses on the subject matter and acquiring the subject knowledge through textbooks and resources available to be a master in the subject rather than the development of the child.

Hence, option 2 is the correct solution.

Important Points 

• In a learner-centered approach, the Learner is at the center of all activities and the teacher plays the role of a facilitator of the learning process and an organizer of the learning situation.
• The learner brings with him/her previous knowledge and experiences which influence the classroom learning process.
• In this approach, the focus is given on developmental stages, maturity, learning strategies, prior knowledge and experiences, interests, social context, and culture of the learner.
• The teacher must understand the learner and their learning styles to know in detail the characteristics of each and every learner in our classroom.       

A learner-centered approach places the learner at the center of the learning process, emphasizing active engagement and personalized learning.

Key Points

• Activity-based scaffolding is an approach to teaching that involves breaking down complex tasks into smaller, more manageable parts and providing support as needed to help students develop the skills they need to complete those tasks independently.
• Activity-based scaffolding is particularly effective for helping students develop complex skills and knowledge.

Thus, it is based on  is based on the learner-centered approach of Education.

Additional Information

• Lecturing-demonstration is a teaching method in which the teacher presents information to the students, often using visual aids or hands-on demonstrations.
• Joyful method is not a commonly used term in education, but it may refer to teaching methods that emphasize fun and engagement in the learning process.
• Inductive method is a teaching method that involves presenting specific examples and then drawing general conclusions based on those examples.

Key Points

• Nai Talim is a spiritual principle that states that knowledge and work are not separate. Mahatma Gandhi promoted an educational curriculum with the same name based on this pedagogical principle.
• Gandhi was a utopian; he tried to bring ‘the Kingdom of God on the earth (Ram Rajya) where truth and non-violence would be guiding principles.
• His utopianism arose out of his love for humanity. The three pillars of Gandhi's pedagogy were its focus on the lifelong character of education, its social character, and its form as a holistic process.
• For Gandhi, education is 'the moral development of the person, a process that is by definition 'lifelong'.

Important Points

• Gandhiji described education as preparation for future life. He wanted education for all, for every Indian around the corners of India. 
• Mahatma Gandhi propounded activity-oriented learning such as weaving, agricultural works, paper designing, metal works, etc.
• Gandhiji has said in the context of self-reliance, “I would prefer to start a child’s education after teaching him some useful manual industry and enabling him for some innovative creation. Every school can be self-reliant”. Basic education was suggested by Gandhi.
• Basic education is activity- Oriented education where the focus of teaching will be on the principle “Learning by doing”. This will helps an individual to acquire practical knowledge on livelihood.
• Handicraft is an important part of his educational system. It will serve as a bridge between rural and urban life and to grow interest in the learners.
• The teaching programme was visualized around learning of a craft, this meant that knowledge that was hitherto associated with the lowest caste groups in society (spinning, weaving leatherwork, pottery, metalwork, etc) would now become the central teaching-learning process in schools.
• Making basic education is totally activity-oriented.

Thus, it is concluded that Mahatma Gandhi propounded activity-oriented learning like weaving, agricultural works, paper designing, metal works, etc. should be introduced in the syllabus.

Additional Information

• Mahatma Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, (born October 2, 1869, Porbandar, India—died January 30, 1948, Delhi), Indian lawyer, politician, social activist, and writer who became the leader of the nationalist movement against the British rule of India.
• He came to be considered the father of the nation of his country.
• Gandhi is internationally esteemed for his doctrine of nonviolent protest (satyagraha) to achieve political and social progress.tes that knowledge and work are no