Inductive Method versus Deductive Method || Maxims of Teaching

THE INDUCTIVE METHOD

• It is a technique of evolution in which the mind progresses from the specific to the universal. Using concrete examples, the students reach a generalisation.
• The youngster is encouraged to seek out the truth for himself.

MERITS OF THE INDUCTIVE METHOD

•     Self-acquired knowledge is converted into 'wisdom.'
•       It encourages mental activity in students and turns them into active participants in the learning and teaching process.
•       It makes the lecture more engaging by putting the pupils in difficult circumstances.
•    The technique provides pupils with the opportunity to develop self-reliance and self-confidence.
•    The student's interest is maintained until the conclusion when generalisations are reached.

DEMERITS OF INDUCTIVE METHOD

•         Inadequate data can often lead to incorrect generalisations by the learner.
•         The procedure is extremely sluggish and time-consuming.
•         In the case of little children, it is ineffective.
•      It is not appropriate for the teaching of subjects where the emphasis is on the teaching of facts.
•         The inductive technique is not a stand-alone method.

DEDUCTIVE METHOD

In the deductive approach, students are given rules, generalisations, and principles and then asked to test them using specific instances.

MERITS OF THE DEDUCTIVE METHOD

• The teacher's job is made easier. He lays forth broad concepts and then backs them up.

• This procedure is highly cost-effective. It saves both students' and teachers' time and energy.

• It is ideal for little toddlers who are unable to uncover truths for themselves. They are given ready-made stuff.

DEMERITS OF THE DEDUCTIVE METHOD

• Knowledge is not self-acquired and, as a result, is not adequately digested.

• The youngster is robbed of the joy of self-activity and self-effort because he is provided ready-made formulae, principles, and regulations.

• It fosters memorising of information that is quickly forgotten, rendering knowledge meaningless. For children who lack the ability to understand abstract ideas in the absence of specific examples, this strategy is unnatural and psychological.

• It does not foster drive and enthusiasm in learning.

• It fails to instil in kids self-confidence and initiative.

Maxims of Teaching

A maxim is a basic idea or ground rule that has grown over time.

It serves as a guideline for future conduct or behaviour. Teaching has its own set of maxims, which are described more below.

1. From simple to complex: The instructor should begin with elementary items and ideas, which may be shown using real-life examples if feasible. A teacher can then progressively progress to ideas and technical terminology. This piques learners' interest in gaining new knowledge. This aids in memory retention.

2. From known to unknown: This relates to the first maxim. When new information can be related to previously learned information, retention improves.

3. From seen to unseen: Students should be taught about the present so that they may better comprehend the past and the future.

4. From concrete to abstract: Students' mental growth is aided by concrete things, which they acquire acquainted with and defines micro-words for them later on.

5. From the particular to general: Students should be given instances first, followed by explanations of general rules and their derivations. This is accomplished through experiments and demonstrations.

6. From whole to part: Gestalt psychologists have demonstrated that humans view the full item first, then its pieces. For example, we see the tree first, then its trunk, branches, leaves, and so on. As a result, the introduction or summary of the issues is critical.

7. From indefinite to definite: The instructor should assist pupils in transforming undefined information into definite knowledge and should strive to clear their doubts.

8. From psychological to logical: During the early stages, psychological order is more significant, but logical order is more crucial for older learners.

9. From analysis to synthesis: Initially, the pupils have just a hazy understanding of the material. Analyzing an issue entails breaking it down into its essential elements, which are subsequently investigated. The term "synthesis" refers to the process of understanding by linking the information gained by examining the pieces. The analytic-synthetic technique should be used by teachers.

10. Follow nature: It refers to tailoring a student's education to his or her personality.

11. Training of senses: Sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch are all gates to information. It is preferable if all or most of these senses can be used in teaching. The primary proponents of this principle are Montessori and Froebel.

12. Encouragement to self-study: Dalton's technique is self-study based.

Learning by doing relates to American philosopher John Dewey's educational philosophy. He proposed that learning should be active and practical, rather than passive and academic. He put this theory into action by establishing the University of Chicago Laboratory School. His ideas were influential in the development of progressive education techniques.

"I believe that the school must represent present life-life as real and vital to the child as that which he carries on in the home, in the neighbourhood, or on the playground." — John Dewey

Democracy and Education: John Dewey published An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education in 1916. Dewey attempted to combine, evaluate, and build on Jean-Jacques Rousseau's and Plato's democratic (or proto-democratic) educational ideas. He considered Rousseau's philosophy as exaggerating the individual, whereas Plato's philosophy exaggerated the society in which the person lived.

Pragmatism: is a philosophical tradition that originated in the United States around the year 1870. The philosophers William James, John Dewey, and Charles Sanders Peirce are typically credited with their inception. Peirce subsequently defined it in his pragmatic maxim: "Consider the practical repercussions of your conception's objectives." Then your perception of those consequences is your whole conception of the item.

The philosophy of pragmatism

"Emphasizes the practical application of ideas by acting on them to actually test them in human experiences".

Pragmatism focuses on a “changing universe rather than an unchanging one as the Idealists, Realists and Thomists had claimed”