Every child is an individual, developing at his/her own pace and differing in needs, abilities, interests, cultural influence, learning patterns, and behaviors. Some children are primarily visual learners, whereas others are auditory learners. Some prefer individualistic learning, whereas others learn best in groups. In addition, different learning styles and strategies are exhibited at different ages, when learning different subjects, or when confronted with different kinds of problems. These differences, therefore, must be taken into account in choosing appropriate teaching methods and activities in the classroom. This section provides an overview of different teaching and learning methods, and provides practical suggestions for their implementation in the classroom.

Competitive, individualistic, and cooperative learning In any social situation, there are three different ways in which individuals may relate to each other. They may compete to see who is best, act independently without interacting with each other, or work together to achieve shared goals (Johnson & Johnson, 1994). Such social interdependence exists continually. Therefore, it is important for children to learn to function effectively in all three types of social situations. Learning, in any subject area, can foster students' competitive, individualistic, and/or cooperative efforts. For example, teachers can structure their lessons so that students:

• Engage in win-lose struggles to see who is best using a competitive approach to learning.
• Work independently to achieve goals at their own pace and in their own space in order to foster individualistic efforts.
• Work cooperatively in groups, ensuring that all members master the assigned material.

Competition is based on perceived scarcity and social comparisons. When students are required to compete with each other, they work against each other to achieve a goal that only one or a few students can attain. Individualistic efforts are based on independence and isolation from others. Thus, when students work individually, they learn by themselves to accomplish learning goals unrelated to those of other students. Finally, cooperation is based on joint actions to accomplish mutual goals. When cooperating, students seek outcomes that are beneficial both to themselves and other group members (Johnson & Johnson, 1994).

Research findings (Johnson & Jonson, 1994) indicate consistently that cooperative learning is one of the most important and powerful ways to structure learning situations. It promotes higher learning achievement, more positive interpersonal relationships, and higher self-esteem than do competitive or individualistic efforts. This does not mean, however, that competitive and individualistic learning should be abandoned. Each learning approach - competitive, individualistic, and cooperative - has its place in the learning process. When used appropriately, these interdependence skills form an integrated whole.

Knowing how to structure students' competitive, individual, or cooperative learning is one of the most important aspects of teaching. As suggested by Johnson & Johnson (1994), the decision needs to be carefully made according to the following criteria:

6. How should the learning space be arranged? In order to decide which learning approach, or combination of learning approaches, to use in a lesson, teachers should understand: (1) what cooperative, competitive, and individualistic efforts are; (2) the conditions under which these approaches are effective; and (3) the teachers' and students' roles in using these learning approaches. The table below will help you think through these issues in order to decide which learning approaches are most appropriate for your lessons.

Table 2. Major components of appropriate competition, individualism, and cooperation.

5.1 Teaching methods and activities A number of teaching methods and activities are particularly helpful in structuring competitive, individualized, and cooperative learning efforts. They include:

1. Group work

• Demonstration, experiment, and observation
• Project work
• Role play and drama
• Story telling
• Games
• Songs and dances
• Go Around

6. Use of books

Group work Each child who enters your school is a part of many different communities. For example, each can be a member of a family, a cultural and ethnic background, and/or a religion. Over time, children can enjoy benefits of joining one more community - that of your learning group. Through the method of group work or cooperative learning, teachers try to create a sense of community and belonging among children. By creating a sense of community, you provide children with skills and a background that will prepare them for living and working in the future as members of families and of other communities in society.

The whole class is a group, and it is useful to know how to utilize this group most effectively. Classes can vary in size from a few students to sometimes over 100 students. In large classes it is difficult to give each child individual attention. Moreover, people tend to behave differently when they are in large groups as compared to when they are in small groups. For example, shy children may be less likely to ask questions, practice, and apply what they have learned in a large group, and advanced children may be bored and frustrated when they have to wait for other learners. Group work is helpful in allowing every child to gain adequate practice and attention through cooperation with their peers.

PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS: Some ways of dividing children into groups

Grouping friends together. This is sometimes helpful in allowing children to develop their social relations and to help each other. It is particularly helpful at the beginning when children may feel lost and lonely. Friends may find it easier to express themselves when they are together in a small group rather than when they are in a large class. This also provides the opportunity to integrate shy and lonely children into a smaller group.

Mixed ability/age grouping and peer teaching. Mixed ability grouping means joining together students of different educational levels, ability, or age, so that the more advanced ones can help their peers. Older, or more advanced students can often find it very satisfying to help those who have not managed to do as well. Moreover, making the more advanced group members responsible for the learning of their peers fosters cooperation and can ensure that everyone does well. Mixed ability grouping is often useful in content subjects and culturally related subjects, such as art, crafts, music and drama.

One of the problems faced by many schools is the shortage of instructional materials, such as books, pictures, and charts. Group work allows you to use a few instructional more effectively. For example, if you have only 5 reading books in a class, dividing the class into smaller groups will enable every child to have an opportunity to read each day. Similarly, different mathematics cards and models can be shared by children learning in small groups.

Intergroup competition. Intergroup competition is a combination of group cooperation and competition. Allowing cooperative groups to compete with each other brings in a healthier type of competition than the interpersonal one. The emphasis is on fun rather than winning. What you gain is a change of pace to provide some fun, energy, and variety within your lesson. Team competition can be used for most subjects, for example in spelling, mathematics, and science.

CASE-STUDY: Using intergroup competition in a science class A science class has been learning about things that sink and float. The class was divided into cooperative learning groups, and the groups experimented with a variety of materials. One of the materials was clay. Each group was given the same weight of clay and was instructed to build a clay boat. As the groups experimented with different design, the teacher decided to have an entertaining change of pace by structuring a class competition to see which group could design and build the boat that would hold the most weight. Each cooperative group was told to build the boat and ensure that all group members understood the design. The boats were then placed in water, and weights were placed inside each boat until it sank. The boat that supported the most weight before sinking won. The winning group was announced and the class then studied the winning design and determined why it was better than the others. Each group then built a replica of the winning boat.

Source: Johnson & Johnson, 1994

Individualized work. There are times when children will be required to do individual work. Individualistic situations are most appropriate when students need to complete simple tasks, such as learning specific facts or acquiring simple skills. Such activities can be useful when students are reading or when they doing written exercises to be evaluated later. It is important that instructional materials, such as books and exercise books, are made available to every student. Active learning. Children learn best when they are active participants in the learning process rather than passive recipients of information. In this context, the role of the teacher is to facilitate learning through activities which will help children to practice necessary skills in the subject area. Such activities may include: discovery and observation, role play and drama, story telling, games, songs, and dances.

Demonstrations, experiments, and observation. Some subjects such as natural science and geography lend themselves to demonstrations and experiments. Demonstrations are usually done by the teacher while the pupils watch. Experiments can also be done by the teacher as a demonstration, but more often the children themselves carry out experiments either individually or in groups. Demonstration and experiments go along with observation, which means looking at things carefully and recording what you see. An experiment, demonstration, or observation can help children to develop scientific skills and increase their excitement about learning.

CASE-STUDY: Experiments and observation in a science class Plants provide endless possibilities for both demonstrations, observations, and experiments. For example, you can experiment with different plants by placing one plant in the dark and the other in the sunlight, or by putting different types and quantities of fertilizer on different plants. Planting seeds in different types of soil is an interesting experiment, too. Measuring and recording a plant's growth regularly provides learning experience in mathematics and science.

Project Work. Project work is a good way of allowing children to develop their own interests, to work in groups, and to learn independently. It can help to develop research and analytical skills. Project work that can be done in any learning space include:

• interviews with parents and other people in the community;
• studies of the surrounding area (farm, forests, desert, river, ocean);or
• a class newsletter where each pupil or a group is responsible for different assignments.

Since projects are original and creative work, they may take a lot of time. It is generally sufficient to do one project per term, devoting a couple of hours per week to the project.

Role playing and drama. Role playing as a model of teaching has roots in both personal and social dimensions of education (Joice & Wells, 1996) . It attempts to help individuals find personal meaning within their social worlds and to resolve personal dilemmas with the assistance of the social group. It allows individuals to work together in analyzing social situations and developing an agreed upon way of coping with these situations.

On its simplest level, role playing is a way to deal with problems through action - a problem is identified, acted out, and discussed. Some students can be role-players, others observers. As pointed out by Joice & Wells (1996), the role playing process provides a live sample of human behavior that allows students to: (1) explore their feelings; (2) gain insight into their attitudes, values, and perceptions; (3) develop their problem solving skills; and (4) explore subject matter in varied ways.

Role playing, as a teaching and learning method, is especially appropriate in emergency situations where children may experience feelings of anxiety and distress. Role playing emphasizes not only intellectual content, but also emotional aspects of daily life. It provides a possibility to explore students' feelings, which they can recognize, understand, and perhaps release. Several types of social problems can be explored through role playing, including:

10. Historical or contemporary problems. These include critical/emergency situations in past or present which influence the personal lives of children.

As suggested by Shaftels (1967), role playing activity consists of the following nine steps: (1) warm up the group; (2) select participants; (3) set the stage; (4) prepare observers; (5) enact; (6) discuss and evaluate; (7) reenact; (8) discuss and evaluate; and (9) share experiences and generalize. Each of these steps has a specific purpose that contributes to the focus of learning activity. Together, they ensure that a line of thinking is pursued throughout the complex of activities, that students are prepared in their roles, that goals for the role playing are identified, and that discussion afterwards provides a meaningful conclusion. These phases and activities are summarized in the role playing guide on the following page.

PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS: Role Playing Guide

Story telling. Story telling is a sharing experience. It establishes a warm relationship between teller and listener, drawing them closer to one another: adult to child, child to child. In emergency situations, where children may be separated from their parents and relatives, stories can reach out to children, reducing their alienation and anxiety and bringing a sense of belonging. Furthermore, hearing stories in the course of children's school life can (1) strengthen their creative impulses, particularly in the area of writing; (2) expand their reading interests; and (3) keep alive the cultural heritage of people.

Storytelling, as a teaching method, is a perfect way to involve parents and other community members in education of their children. They can share stories about their past, local culture, and social events. Their stories can be a mixture of legends, mythology, fairy-tales, or personal tales. When parents and other community members are concerned, interested, and involved in learning, they send a powerful message to their children about education. They inspire the child.

Stories to be enjoyed by children of different age and education must combine aspects that appeal to all groups of listeners. For example, younger children enjoy the plot and action, whereas older children enjoy the subtleties of humor and the interplay among characters.

Games. Children have to master a great number of skills in any grade. As has been discovered in research on teaching methodology both in the classroom and tutoring children one-to-one (Kaye, 1991), game-playing can be an effective help for children to learn and practice almost every skill that school requires. Games can enhance a child's ability to gather information, learn new words, read, write, or count. Games can also promote intellectual curiosity and creative thinking in a child.

At the same time, games are fun and enjoyable learning activities. When children sit down to play an interesting game, they relax and concentrate at the same time - relax because the game is interesting, and concentrate because the game is challenging (Kaye, 1991). This combination creates a perfect frame of mind for learning. There are many occasions for teachers to use ten-minute game activities in the classroom. For example, games can be used:

4. to review old topics.

You will be able to find examples of games designed for reading, writing, and counting in the Part 5 of the guide.

Songs and dances. Songs and dances have educational value because they provide a possibility for children to learn about cultural values of their community. Although it might be difficult to set aside special time for songs and dances during school hours, you can effectively introduce them as warm-up exercises in the beginning of the day.

Go Around. Go Around is a teaching method that can help you to involve all students in a learning activity. Each child in a group or classroom takes a turn in order to comment on a topic, add ideas and facts in answering questions, or develop narrative to a story. Each child may speak only once each round. The teacher defines how long each contribution should be as the Go Around begins and gives feedback if the process goes off track. This teaching and learning method equalizes opportunity and, in mixed groups, helps children practice anticipating what will be said by other students (O'Gara, 1996).

? Asking Questions. Questioning is the heart of teaching. Asking good questions is one of the most effective means of stimulating thinking and learning. This is a skill that every teacher needs to develop. Make sure that you enable every child to answer questions rather than listening only to the few fast and daring children. You can do this by: (1) allowing children to write down their answers individually so that every child has enough time to think and give an answer; or (2) using group work to enable every child to contribute within a small and friendly group. This will provide a possibility for every child to contribute to discussion. In order to reduce teacher talk and promote participation of students, you can use the following techniques:

• Calling on non-volunteers. When students know that they are not likely to be called upon unless their hands are raised, they are likely to keep their hands down. The few pupils who do raise their hands tend to monopolize the experience. You can simply announce that all individuals will be called upon or use Go Around in order to facilitate active participation of non-volunteers.
• Redirection. Teacher talk can be minimized by asking questions that elicit several responses. You could instruct, "This question has many parts to it. Please give only one when you answer." Redirection has the added advantage of encouraging students to respond to each other.
• Pause for adequate time. The teacher should pause for a few seconds after asking the question and before calling upon someone for an answer. By pausing you give each student time to organize his or her thinking for an answer. You should also note that some students need more time for expression than others. If you cut a student off before s/he is finished, shy students tend to be discouraged.
• Be open to unexpected answers. You may sometimes hear the expected answers from students and other times you may not. When you hear an answer which you did not expect or which you feel is unacceptable, instead of saying, "No that is wrong" try to clarify what the student means.

• Repetition/rote learning. Asking children to repeat what they have learnt. This is called rote learning, and is important for remembering formulas, times tables, and rules.
• Retelling. Asking children to repeat a story they have heard in their own words. This is a better way of teaching and learning than mere rote learning.
• Summary. Asking children to summarize the main points of the learned material.
• Explanation. It is important to use the questions "how," "why," "when," "what," and "by whom" in the classroom. After you know that students understand the essential facts of the learned material, you can ask questions to assess their understanding. These questions typically ask students to explain information, relate facts, generalizations and definitions.
• Expression. Asking children to tell original stories or to express their own ideas. This is easier in the mother tongue or in a language the child already knows well.
• Analysis. Analyzing knowledge that has been given. Many exercises require analysis, for example dividing objects into categories such as hard/soft, big/small, strong/weak, mammals/insects/reptiles. The process of analysis involves taking apart information and creating relationships in order to discover its basic structure or hidden meaning. Analysis includes working out assumptions, motives and implications. Students can identify issues and come to conclusions based on the facts given.
• Problem solving. Problem solving can be introduced by providing a problem and seeing how children can solve this problem. An example is to see how to provide suitable housing for different climatic conditions: a hot climate versus a very cold climate; the need for sunshine and air whilst keeping out the wind and the rain; or how to keep the house clean.
• Evaluation. Evaluation questions call for comments involving judgments, opinions, personal reactions, and criticism. Questions such as "In your opinion ..... ?" "Do you think .....?" "How would you react....?" The students are asked to state his or her opinion and then provide a basis for such views. There are no right or wrong answers for such questions.

5.2 Learning and Teaching Aids The effective use of learning and teaching aids is important in making the students' learning experience enjoyable, interactive, and meaningful. When you are planning and preparing your lessons, look for resources around you that you can utilize or create to make learning more meaningful and more fun. For example, nature provides numerous learning and teaching aids, such as the soil, sand, seeds, plants, leaves, sticks, stones, insects, and water. The home provides many more sources of learning and teaching materials, such as sugar, salt, oil, and detergents. You can also utilize pictures, charts, and the blackboard as learning and teaching aids in your lessons.

Pictures. A collection of pictures is a very powerful learning and teaching aid. Today it is possible to make a good collection at little cost. You could make a good collection of pictures from newspapers, magazines, and brochures. When using pictures, try to engage students as actively as possible. Good questioning will stimulate interest, increase observation, and lead to reasoning.

Charts. An effective chart should be simple. It expresses one thought so clearly that it should be understood at a glance. Colors should be used effectively to highlight the important points. Try to express the concept clearly and avoid a crowded or confused mass of messages. Good charts can be done on cardboxes in which goods are packed. Felt pens and crayons are ideal, but colored chalk and paint can also be very serviceable. Words on the chart should be large enough for all students to read without any strain on the eyes. Students sitting at the back of the classroom should be able to read what is written on the chart if it is displayed in the front. Leaving charts on the walls is a good way of encouraging revision of the learned material by the students, as well as of decorating and brightening up the classroom.

Chalkboard. Using the chalkboard effectively is a skill that every teacher must learn. All work on the chalkboard should be visible to all students if the chalkboard is used as a focal point for your lessons. You may want to use different colors of chalk on the board to emphasize what is being learned. You can also think about different ways of utilizing the blackboard space. For example, you can write the following information regularly:

• date;
• objective of the day;
• wise sayings or proverbs; and
• news, such as birthdays or health care days.

• stories about the children written by children themselves;
• history and geography of the area written by parents, grandparents, and other community members; songs sung by community members, such as folk songs, work songs, harvesting songs, celebration songs;
• traditional poems and poems heard on the radio;
• local news; and
• scientific stories.

For the upper grades, you can use stories from the newspaper. You can even use newspaper cuttings. For example, advertisements, stories, and reports can be utilized as reading materials. If you have a duplicator, you can make copies. If not, the book can be written on good paper or on cardboard, and stapled or sewn together to make a book. You can soon collect a minimum of 50 reading cards or books for your class.

Textbooks. A textbook is an important part of the tools teachers use. However, you should avoid inappropriate use of the textbook, such as regular reading and memorizing from the text. Remember that the textbook should not, and cannot, replace you, the teacher.

PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS: Some Ways of Using the Textbook

• A good textbook will give you a logical coverage of the knowledge and skills to be taught and learnt, so you can utilize this to ensure that you cover the areas thoroughly. Use the textbook as a reference book and as a guide to check on whether you have covered the area adequately.
• Take some of the examples and exercises from the textbook and apply them to the local conditions. For example, if you are doing fractions, how would this be useful in the family and community? What is divided in the family (Food? Money? Land?) If the story is about the family, let the children talk about their families. If the story is about animals, let the children talk about the animals in their homes or on their farm.
• Do some of the exercises from the book orally and then select a few children to write them up on the blackboard.
• Use some of the exercises from the book as competitions and games. For example groups can compete to see who gets the most math problems/spellings/ sentences correct in the shortest time.
• Dramatize some of the stories in the textbook to bring them to life. This can be done through an exciting narration by the teacher or by creating a play with the children. Adding music and dance can make it more exciting and interesting.
• Use the textbook for revision of skills that have been taught.

Maps. Suitable maps are very useful teaching tools. The atlas provides the skeleton of geographical study. You, in turn, give it the flesh and life. Wall maps are effective teaching aids because the whole class can look at the same map and direct their attention to any feature you wish to emphasize. You can make your own wall maps if these are not available. Generally, wall maps would include the continent and your country. You may also want to make a map of the world. Children can make maps of their home village or region, which can also be used as wall maps.

The Radio and Audiocassettes. If broadcast lessons are available in your community, the radio often provides good supplementary lessons to your teaching. You and your students need to be adequately prepared before the broadcast begins. The follow up work after the lesson is equally important.

PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS: Some Ways of Using Audiocassettes in the Classroom

• Record and play traditional, popular, or classical music for dance, drama, music or language lessons. Because children enjoy learning songs, they can be a good way of learning language, particularly second languages.
• Record the teacher and children's pronunciation. This allows the children to correct their pronunciation, for example when learning the words "hit", "heat," and "hurt" in English.
• Record dialogue, interviews, and debates in the classroom as if they are for broadcast on radio.
• Use speeches and stories recorded from the radio in language lessons, for example for listening and comprehension.