TEACHING CONTENT AND SKILLS

Some differences between teaching content and teaching a skill:

Add your own points to these lists

Content:

• Can be taught by talking and listening:

teacher talking / students listening

teacher questioning / students answering.

• Reinforcement, usually by writing:

teacher writing / students copying

students writing or answering questions in writing.

• Can be tested by questioning either orally or in writing.

Skill:

• Must be taught by demonstration.

• Cannot be taught by talking / listening / writing.

• Can only be learnt by doing / practicing.

• Cannot be learnt by watching only.

• Will not usually be learnt by doing once only.

• Will only be learnt by practice and repetition.

WHICH TO TEACH FIRST:

Teaching theory first:

• Advantages:

Students

• understand what to do before they do it;
• know the purpose for doing something;
• know the names of things before they see them.

• Disadvantages:

Students

• may find it hard to understand unless they can see and handle something;
• may not understand an explanation unless they can see it;
• may try to learn the names and the theory, without learning the actual skill;
• may forget the theory before they have a chance to apply it.
• Teacher may run out of time so the practice is never done.

Teaching skill first:

• Advantages:

Students

• will be more likely to remember what they have seen and handled;
• cannot learn an action without actually doing it;
• will have opportunity to practice;
• will understand the theory better after they have practiced the actions and seen the tools/equipment.

• Disadvantages:

Students

• may not understand the purpose of what they are doing;
• may not know the names of tools / equipment so it may be difficult to give them instructions.

Teaching theory and practical skills at the same time:

• Advantages:

Students

• clearly understand the practical skill at the same time as they learn how to do it;
• learn the names and uses of tools at the same time as they learn how to use them;
• are more likely to remember the names and the theory if they see how it is related to the practice;
• may learn both theory and skills more thoroughly if they see and practice both together at each stage;
• will learn theory better if they have an opportunity to apply it themselves in practice.

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