Approaches to Instruction
General Guidelines
This section of Program Considerations is to be used in conjunction with other resources that will explain and model instructional approaches and strategies. It is the intent of the writer to depict some of the traditional and non-traditional instructional methods that may be used in the Drafting 10 program. A variety of teaching methodologies will create a more balanced activity based learning environment where students will develop the skills and attitudes expected in real-life situations. The use of practical experiences, field trips, case studies, links with other communities through web and chat communities, direct links with the communities, will enhance the program and are essential for full development of the child. One of the most difficult roles of the teacher is to match instructional strategies with the learning style of the student. In order to realize this objective a variety of instructional approaches is necessary. For example if the focus of the lesson is to build CAD skills then instructional approaches should build that skill and adapt to students' individual needs by exposing them to Components of a CAD System. Regardless of the teaching method used, the teacher should focus on student learning and development. Here are some approaches to instruction with examples of how they may be integrated into your program:
Direct Instruction
The advanced organizer may be used to allow the participant to view an overview of the program and its expectations which we have called the "Student Instructions" further subtitled Course Directory. This allows the student preview each unit in a sub-directory and furthermore each activity in a file which is linked to each specific unit. You may wish to go one step further by providing a Progress Indicator which shows the progress each student has made to date. This could be linked to the student instruction page and may also include their evaluation for a particular activity or activities.
Computer and applications software and other tutorials should always be used as a tool in the teaching and learning process. Tutorials may be used to assist in the process. Tutorials or computer-assisted learning may be utilized when learning procedures that must be done exactly or when knowledge for certification of a skill is mandatory. Tutorials and computer-assisted learning should be used as a resource and combined with other instructional methods.
An example of one particular tutorial that would be necessary for students to understand in regards to AutoCAD Interface would be the specific Drafting Settings. Without this knowledge the students may struggle to understand the basics of the tool used in CAD work, for settings as setting the snap and grid, polar tracking and object snap. These are extremely important concepts to understand before proceeding with any further CAD activities. An activity has been added at the end of the tutorial to allow the students to further explore and understand the concepts presented as demonstrated in the above links as an example.
Concept formation involves the recognition that some objects or events belong together while others do not. Students are provided with data about a particular concept and are encouraged to classify or group the data. Once the objects have been grouped according to a particular categorization scheme, the grouping is given a label. The teacher is the initiator of the activity and guides students as they move cooperatively through the task. An example would be identifying the various drawing toolbars and how they differ in application. Your standard draw toolbar contains tools that allow you to draw a line, polygons, ellipses and other various objects. Because the application is for drawing they have been grouped as drawing tools in a Draw toolbar as shown below.
Once you have created the object through the draw toolbar you may wish to change the drawing to better suit your needs. You may have to rotate, move, duplicate, stretch, trim or possibly erase the object. These tools are not draw tools but are tools that modify the object therefore they would be found under the Modify toolbar as shown below.
In addition to being able to draw or modify a Caddist may choose to add dimensions to his object. These tools would therefore be located in the Dimension toolbar. There are many techniques involved in dimensioning most of which would be offered in the Dimension toolbar as shown below.
Providing the students with a tutorial may be helpful in forming the concepts related to the use of these different toolbars of which only a few have been used to explain " Concept Formation ". Where they are located, how to activate them and how they are used are further topics for discussion.
Concept Attainment focuses on learning or understanding what characteristics may be useful for distinguishing between members and non-members of a grouping or class. Concept formation has already taken place. The focus is on the categorization of meaningful groups.
The following are key elements necessary in defining a concept:
Names: term to a particular group
Examples: instances of the concept
Attributes: characteristics of the objects; and,
Attribute Values and Rule ( Critical Attributes ): to the range within which a characteristic exemplifies the concept.
The process of attaining concepts deductively may include a number of steps:
the concept label and definition may be given by the teacher;
attention is drawn to the critical attributes;
the definitions reviewed or arrived at by distinguishing non-essential characteristics of the concept; and,
other examples and non-examples are provided by students' practice.
The inductive approach promotes higher-order thinking skills and may be used as follows:
learners discover the essential and non-essential characteristics of the concept by looking at examples and non-examples of the concept;
the concept or rule is then defined by the student;
other examples and non-examples may be given by students and teacher; and,
practice occurs
( The aforementioned concept attainment excerpts are from the Saskatchewan Education; Practical and Applied Arts Handbook Draft, January 2000, page 30 )
The following is an example of how " Concept Attainment " is applicable to the Drafting 10.curriculum. The teacher must first teach " concept formation " as was illustrated above with the use of toolbars. Now that the students know how to differentiate the various toolbars they can be further taught how to use each toolbar specifically which would be " concept attainment ". If we use our first example of the draw toolbar from concept formation we can now show, possible through a tutorial, the students the types and functions of each of the draw tools. We may show them how to draw a line or an arc or an ellipse or maybe even a five sided polygon. In the tutorial you will show them how to use the command for each draw tool icon as shown in this example;
Following a tutorial on how to attain the concepts for using the draw toolbar, specifically the polygon and rectangle commands, you may wish to provide some further investigations or problems where they can explore and practice the use of these tools as shown in the link provided below;
The incorporation of Careers in Engineering Graphics provides us with another example of concept formation and attainment. The students use a Resource Based Learning activity to investigate the various design careers available which fall under a number of categories as viewed in the link above.
Interactive Instruction
Concept Mapping and Concept Webbing [ CM/CW ]
Concept webbing may begin with a concept presented in the middle of the page. From that concept, a group of students may brainstorm all related concepts that they feel are relevant or that flow from that initial concept. Concepts will multiply as more and more of them are generated and presented on paper. Each individual within the group may build upon the concepts of others. Concept mapping is designed to show meaningful relationships between the concepts. The difference between concept mapping and concept webbing is that " mapping " is hierarchical. Webbing is more free flowing and does not need to be hierarchical. Mapping can make clear to students the key ideas on which to focus. It can show new relationships between concepts and can " stretch " the student's mind to see things in a new perspective.
An example of concept webbing could be demonstrated in teaching about the " Components of CAD " in one of your lessons. You may ask the students to simply create a diagram ( concept web ) showing all of the relationships between the following terms; drafter, input , processing and storage, output, joystick ( light pen, mouse ), central processing unit, storage media, monitor ( plotter, printer ). A discussion could follow to see how they perceived these concepts one in relation to the other. They could do this as a group project and display it on cardstock at the front of the room and give a presentation to the rest of the class. They may do a powerpoint presentation using the technology available. To see the actual answer click on the link above. There webbing may be quite different than those of the instructors. This activity would have to be presented prior to the viewing of the information in the link above which would defeat the purpose of the activity.
Brainstorming is defined as an interactive method used with large or small groups to generate ideas or to identify possible solutions to problems. Although brainstorming is most often used in groups, it can be used by a single individual. The teacher may act as a facilitator for the activity. A recorder will list ideas as accurately as possible. All students are encouraged to express ideas. No judgement of ideas is to take place. After the activity is completed, linkages of ideas may take place.
An example of this form of interactive instruction may be used in any of the following activities;
Unit One; Activity
One
Unit Two; Activity Two
Unit Three; Activity Three
This activities may be done as an individual brainstorming session or as a group session. The only consideration will be the evaluation of the submitted work.
Role playing involves participants and observers in a real problem situation. Te process allows students to gain insight into their own values, attitudes and perceptions; to develop problem solving skills and attitudes; and to explore subject matter in another way. The method de-emphasizes the traditional role of the teacher and encourages the learning and listening of the students. In preparation for role playing, the problem must be clearly defined and roles must be assigned. Following the enactment, discussion and evaluation must take place. Role playing in the Practical and Applied Arts allows students to act upon, experience, and gain further insight into problem-solving situations and the problem-solving processes. For example, scenarios involving customer relations, or job interviews could be role played. Within unit one we have provided an Activity 1-3 we asks the students to provide a job description of a variety of design careers. This activity could be extended to include role playing. Once the job description has been realized the students may also wish to advertise or post their design careers and set up an interview process. This would be fun and provide additional information on each of these careers. They in fact may have to investigate further to find more information about the design career they have chosen. By applying and experiencing the interview of a different design career choice they will also learn more about these fields of employment than the one(s) they have chosen to research.
Experiential Learning
Field Observation, Job Shadowing, Work Study, Mentorship [ FO ]
There are opportunities within the Practical and Applied Arts for students to find and use community resources. Observations and experience in the field provide valuable feedback to the students on how the knowledge, skills, processes and attitudes learned in the classroom can be applied to real-life situations. All field visits should be prearranged and the purpose of the visit made clear to the students. The valuable contribution of the community should be acknowledged by students and teachers. It is the role of the Work Experience facilitator/teacher to monitor and evaluate all aspects of community placements. Because field observation and interaction with the community may be used often in the Practical and Applied Arts, the teacher may make arrangements with various organizations to accommodate students throughout the school year. The purpose of assignments or work agreements should be clearly explained to all parties involved so that the intent of the time spent in the community is clear. An example of field observation would be demonstrated in the unit about " Architectural Design Concepts ". We discuss floor plans and elevations as main concepts in this unit. An additional activity linking these concepts is a field trip to our lumber yard to look at different materials for house design as well as a trip to a local contractor who builds homes for an on site presentation where the students will learn about the same concepts discussed in the unit itself. This could be accomplished in two trips or done in one afternoon. The students should be supervised and there should be some follow-up in the classroom in the next drafting class. This could be through discussion, written summary about what they learned on the trip ,etc. To view the lesson and concepts click on the link above.
Independent Study
Assigned questions may be used to cover basic facts and knowledge. The use of a mixture of convergent ( single correct answer ) and divergent ( open -ended answers ) is desirable. Assigned questions should be combined with another instructional method or strategy. For examples of each type of question, convergent and divergent, click on the links above.
Writing is an instructional method that allows students to express their ideas and knowledge. Being able to communicate in writing using appropriate technical vocabulary is an important skill. For example, this writing skill could be actualized by asking the students to write an essay on how MC - GPS ( hand held microcomputers/GPS receivers could be utilized to insert position information, along with field notes, into a map drawn with AutoCAD. This would show the application of AutoCAD, microcomputer systems and mappings. For an example on a site with this information click on this link: A Satellite Feed into AutoCAD Mapping.
Last Updated January 11/01