Presentation as a Teaching Method

Task analysis works best for procedures and skills like mathematics.

A teacher who knows when to use each model can plan lessons that fit the content. A teacher who knows only one model will use it everywhere, and the lesson will not always work.

What presentation teaches

Presentation is a teaching method where the teacher presents content. Two kinds of content fit presentation:

1. Concepts. A concept is an idea. It can be one word (energy, food, beauty, noun) or two words (positive reinforcement, primary colors). Some statements and generalizations also work.
2. Procedures. Steps for completing a task (long division, writing an argumentative essay, conducting an experiment).

Procedures fit task analysis well.

Concepts need a different kind of mapping. The concept analysis model and the advanced organizer model are built for concepts.

Modes of presentation

Two modes were introduced earlier in this guide. They apply to all three presentation models.

Inductive mode. The teacher gives specific examples first. Students study the examples. From the examples, students arrive at the general definition or principle.

Deductive mode. The teacher gives the definition or principle first. Students study the definition. The teacher then gives examples that illustrate the definition.

’s plant example shows the difference. A teacher who tells students “plants need water” and then has them prove it with two plants is using deductive mode. A teacher who has students conduct the same experiment without telling them what they will find is using inductive mode. The students themselves arrive at the conclusion that plants need water.

Both modes are valid. The choice depends on the topic, the students, and the teacher’s goal.

Concepts as the focus

Most school content includes concepts. Science has concepts like energy, food, photosynthesis, and digestion. English has concepts like noun, adjective, paragraph, and thesis. Mathematics has concepts like fraction, area, and prime number. Social studies has concepts like government, society, and economy. Islamic studies has concepts like Namaz, Zakat, and Tawheed.

Children must learn what each concept means. Without conceptual understanding, they cannot apply the concept in new situations.

A teacher who teaches a concept poorly leaves children with only examples. The students can list examples of nouns but cannot say what makes a word a noun. They can list foods but cannot say what food is.

A teacher who teaches a concept well leaves children with the full picture. The students can define the concept, identify its critical features, give examples, distinguish non-examples, and place it in a hierarchy of related concepts.

The two models in this chapter help teachers do this well.

Two models in this chapter

Concept analysis model. The teacher analyzes the concept into five components and then presents each component to the students. The five components are name, definition, characteristics (critical attributes), examples and non-examples, and place in the hierarchy of related concepts. This model can be used in either inductive or deductive mode.

Advanced organizer model. The teacher presents the whole structure of the topic at the start of the lesson. The structure is often a graphic organizer (a diagram showing how concepts connect). After the overview, the teacher isolates each piece, discusses it, and then integrates the pieces back into the whole. This model uses deductive mode.

Both models work for teaching concepts. They are different tools for different situations.

Flashcard

What two models does this chapter cover for teaching concepts through presentation?

Tap to reveal

Answer

Concept analysis model and advanced organizer model

The concept analysis model breaks a concept into five components: name, definition, characteristics, examples and non-examples, and hierarchy.

The advanced organizer model presents the whole structure of a topic at the start, then breaks it into parts, then integrates the parts.

Both work for teaching concepts.

What this chapter does not cover

Presentation has limits. Presentation works for declarative knowledge (knowing what). It does not work as well for procedural knowledge (knowing how) like physical skills, complex math procedures, or laboratory technique. For those, direct instruction is a better method. Direct instruction is covered later in this guide.

Presentation also does not cover discussion, cooperative learning, or inquiry methods. Those are different methods, also covered later.