Republic of the Philippines

President Ramon Magsaysay State University

Teaching Social Studies in Intermediate Grades-Geography and Culture (ESC 17)

Principles of Teaching

“If your plan is for one year…. plant rice; if your plan is for ten years…. Plant a tree; but if your
plan is for eternity…. Then EDUCATE children.”

As the Master Teacher Attributes:

 Patient
 Effective
 Efficient
 Confident
 Firm
 True
 Dedicated

To Assume:
 Responsibility to society
 Cultivation of mind, heart and the soul of the youth
 To love the beauty, goodness and truth

Personal Qualities:
 Pleasing personal appearance
 Sense of humor, cheerfulness, enthusiasm
 Good physical health and personal hygiene
 Emotional stability, sound mental health and self-control
 Superior intelligence
 Flexibility, creativity, resourcefulness
 Integrity, trustworthiness, honesty, sincerity
 Promptness, efficiency
 Refinement in words, tact and courtesy, civility
 Pleasant modulated voice
 Sympathy, kindness, helpfulness, patience, and diligence
 Fairness, impartially, tolerance, patience
 Sociability, friendliness, cooperativeness
 Positive outlook, encouraging attitude
Professional Qualities

1. Mastery of the Subject Matter

 First essential requisites
 Thorough grasp of the subject
 Keep abreast and keep up with new updated trends

2. Understanding the Learner

 Knowledge on the nature of the children
 Know the different levels of intellectual and emotional maturity
 Genuine concern and sincere love for the children

3. Understanding the Principles and Methods of Teaching

 Know what to teach (subject matter)
 Know how to teach (method)
 Psychology of learning and how to sustain interest and individual differences

4. General Understanding of Other Branches/Filed of Knowledge

 Know how to relate the subject to the other subjects
 Broad understanding of all field of interests

5. Taking Pride of Teaching as a Profession

 Positive outlook in life and good attitude
 Understand your task and responsibility

The Learner

The learner is an embodied spirit. He is a union of a sentient body and rational soul. His body
experiences sensations and feels pleasure and pain. His soul is the principle of spiritual acts, the
source of intellectual abstraction, self-reflection, and free rational volition.

Body and soul exist in mutual dependence. Let us feed the body as well his spirit. “Man does not
live by bread alone”.

The learner is equipped with cognitive as well as appetitive faculties.

a. cognitive-five senses-able to see, smell, hear, touch and taste.

b. imagination-able to form representations of material objects which are not present to their
senses.
c. Memory-able to retain, recall and recognize past mental acts.
d. intellect-can form concept or ideas, and makes judgement
Appetitive – are his feelings, emotions and rational will.

The pain and joy of an object or an activity. It is indicated through the character of an individual.

Five Elements

1. Ability – it determines their capacity to understand and assimilate information for their own use
and application.

Categorized into:

a. physical – fast, average and slow achievers

b. mental – superior, above average and below average

2. Aptitude – refers to the students’ innate talent or gift. A natural capacity to learn certain skills.

3. Interest – refers to the attraction or strong appeal for something. Lessons that give them the
chance to express their deep feelings for objects or actions will be more meaningful and easily
absorbed.

4. Family and Cultural Background – students who come from different socioeconomic
background manifest a wide range of behavior due to differences in upbringing practices.

5. Attitudes – students have a unique way of thinking and reacting.

a. Curiosity – students are all times eager to learn.

b. Responsibility – they pursue assigned task to completion despite personal constraints.
Accountable to their actions and decisions.
c. Creativity – being imaginative they can think of new ways of arriving at solutions to their
problems. They can innovate procedures and techniques.
d. Persistence – students sustain interest in a learning activity not mindful of the extra time and
effort being spent.

Basic example to this:

Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence Theory

Intelligence as Disposition
Disposition Intelligence Sensitive to:
sounds, meanings, structures and styles of
Verbal Linguistic
language
patterns, numbers and numerical data, causes
Logical-Mathematical and effects, objective and quantitative
reasoning
colors, shapes, visual, puzzles, symmetry,
Spatial Intelligence
lines, images
 Bodily-Kinesthetic touch, movement, physical self, athleticism
Musical Intelligence tone, beat, tempo, melody, pitch, sound

The Learning Environment

 It consists of the physical, as well as the psychological environment, that surrounds the
learner and the that influences his/her learning.
 It is the classroom and all the instructional features and the non-threatening classroom
climate needed in planning and implementing all teaching and learning activities.

1. Arrangement of Furniture

a. the furniture, like the table for demonstrations located in front of the room and the chairs facing
it are nearly arranged with sufficient spaces in between for ease in moving around. Display shelves
for safekeeping of projects, collections, and outstanding outwork are located at the sides.

b. attached to the wall is a bulletin aboard and in front is the white board or blackboard used for
discussion and illustrations related to the lessons.

2. Physical Condition of the Classroom

a. it must be clean and orderly.

b. one or two frames, create a pleasant and inviting aura.
c. natural light and flowing fresh air add to their comfort and ease as they tackle the learning tasks.
d. free from noise coming from the surroundings, student’s concentration and interest are easily
sustained.
e. the doors and windows could be opened and closed with less difficulty and noise with tight
fixtures that could easily be found.

3. Classroom Proceedings

The clear and enthusiastic voice of the teacher that elicits equally eager and keen responses from
the students help create a conductive and beneficial ambiance for learning.

Supplies and materials must be prepared earlier. A system of distribution and retrieval must be
observed.

Positive mode set by both parties, the teacher and the learner, could keep the activities lively and
flawless.

4. Interactions

Diverse situation may exist in the classroom at any given time. Teachers must be sensitive to
positive and negative interactions and must immediately undertake an instant revision or
adjustment in the methodology when necessary.
The Learning Environment (A Facilitative Learning Environment Pine and Horne-1990)

It is an environment:

a. which encourages people to be active.

b. which promotes and facilitates the individual’s discovery of the personal meaning of data.
c. which emphasizes the uniquely personal and subjective nature of learning, in which difference
is good and desirable.
d. which consistently recognizes people’s right to make mistakes.
e. which tolerates ambiguity.
f. in which evaluation is a cooperative process with emphasis on self-evaluation.
g. which encourages openness of self rather than concealment of self.
h. in which people are encouraged to trust themselves as well as external sources.
i. in which people feel they are respected.
j. in which people feel they are accepted.
k. which permits confrontation.

A place therefore where people they are respected and accepted for who they are and for what they
say and do is a conducive atmosphere of learning.

Effective Bulletin Boards

Don’t be afraid to express yourself when it comes to you bulletin boards. Spice up your room by
trying a different approach to look.

 Take pictures of the students and school activities and post them.
 Use wrapping paper, cloth, or lace for the background.
 Use it as a “message center’ for your students.
 Post assignments
 Use 3D items such as cornstalks or toy spaceships to accent theme.
 Color, color, color
 Make your own cut-outs using copies from a book or the computer. You can trace them
onto the bulletin board with the help of an overhead projector.
 Use twisted brown butcher paper to make vine like border.
 Be creative and have fun!

Teaching Principles

 They are guide to make teaching and learning effective, wholesome and meaningful.
 Webster, says a principle is a comprehensive law or doctrine which an accepted or
professed rule of action or conduct is derived.
 Latin word princeps-which means the beginning or the end of all facts, circumstances or
state of affairs.
Five Areas to Consider in Teaching Principles

1. Respect for individual – it explains the respect for self-confidence and intellectual, and
emotional integrity of the individual.

Expressions such as:

a. Learning by doing
b. Understanding before memorizing

Have become a principle as well as theory of today.

2. Democracy, as a way of life – one of the major goals of education in the Philippines is to foster,
promote and develop democracy as a way of life.

It implies:
a. Respect for potentialities of individual
b. Obligation of each individual to contribute to the welfare of the group of which he is a member.
c. Participation in experience which will foster social, economic, intellectual, and physical growth
d. Right of every individual to make a choice commensurate with his intellectual capacity and
maturity.

3. Providing suitable condition for the development and maintenance of a sound personality
– it means that school life is of great importance in determining the present and the future mental
health and strength of personality of the learner. It includes therefore, the objectives of education
and the learning materials and various methods being utilized.

4. Improving group living in the classroom – it means that, a teacher should understand what
group dynamics is all about and what techniques must be used intelligently for group leadership.

5. Improving the classroom environment – teacher should see to it that the physical environment
of his classroom will provide a maximum degree of best condition conducive to learning.