Nondirective Teaching: The Learner at the Center

Nondirective Teaching: The Learner at the Center

Process nondirective teaching .The hard part of figuring out how to teach is learning when to keep your mouth closed, which is most of the time
Illustration
Mary Ann is a compulsive worker who does an excellent job with literature assignments. However, she is reluctant to share those stories with other members of the class and declines to participate in any activities in the performing arts. The nondirective teaching is based on the work of Carl Rogers (1961 and 1971) and other advocates of nondirective counseling. Rogers extended to education his view of therapy as mode of learning. He believed that positive human relationship enable people to grow, and therefore that instruction should be based on concepts of human relations, not, subject matter. From the nondirective stance, the teacher’s role is that of a facilitator who has a counseling relationship with students and who guides their growth and development. The nondirective teacher is patient and does not sacrifice the long view by forcing immediate results.
Orientation to the model
The nondirective teaching model focuses on facilitating learning. The environment is organized to help students attain greater personal integration, effectiveness, and realistic self-appraisal. Students do not necessarily need to change, but the teacher’s goal is to help them understand their own needs and values so that they can effectively direct their own educational decisions . The teacher mirrors students’ thoughts and feelings. By using reflective comments, the teacher raises the students’ consciousness of their own perceptions and feelings, thus helping them clarify their ideas. Here, the teacher gives up the traditional decision-making role, choosing instead of the role of a facilitator who focuses on student feelings. If the students complains of poor grades. The teacher encourages the student to express the feelings that may surround his or her inability to concentrate, as feelings about self and others. Instead of resolve the problem simply by explaining the art of good study habits.
The nondirective atmosphere has four qualities.
First, the teachers shows warmth and responsiveness, expressing genuine interest in the student and responsiveness, expressing genuine interest in the student and accepting him or her as a person.
Second, it is characterized by permissiveness in regard to the expression of feeling; the teacher does not judge or moralize.
Third, the student is free to express feelings symbolically but is not free to control the teacher or to carry impulses to action.
Fourth, the relationship is free from any type of pressure or force .
A Growth Syndrome
A kind of “growth syndrome” emerges as the student (1) releases feelings, (2) develops insight, (3) action, (4) integration that leads to a new orientation . Problems inhibits the expression of feelings, which are the root of the problem of growth.
The difference
An intellectual response would be “start making an outline”,. An emphatic response would be “when I got stuck I often feel panicky. How do you feel? In the scenario, the students come to realize that the problem lies in her own fear, rather than the objective possibility of judgements by others. Ultimately , the test of personal insight is the presence of actions that motivate students toward new goals. At first, these positive actions may concern minor issues, but they create a sense of confidence and independence in the student. The teacher (in the illustration) then tries to create “safe space”.
The nondirective strategy usually looks to three sources of student problems:
Present feeling
Distorted perceptions
Alternatives that have been unexplored because of an emotional reaction to them.
Teacher Responses in Nondirective Teaching: Lead Taking
During discussion teacher has to do “lead-taking”
Nondirective lead taking responses are statements by the teacher that help start discussion, establish the direction, give students indication what to discuss.
Nondirective lead-taking remarks
What do you think of that?
Can you say more about that?
How do you react when that happens?
I see
Sequence of the Nondirective Episode, Phase one: defining the helping situation Teachers encourages free expression of feelings. Phase two: exploring the problem Student is encouraged to define problem, Teachers accepts and clarifies feelings. Phase three: developing insight Student discusses problem. Teachers supports student Phase four: planning and decision making Student plans initial decision making. Teacher clarifies possible decisions. Phase five: integration Students gains further insight and develops more positive actions. Teacher is supportive. Action outside the interview,
Student initiates positive action “open” classroom effect An open classroom typically has the following characteristics:
Its objectives include affective development, growth of student self concept, and student determination of learning needs. Its method of instruction are directed toward student flexibility of learning (group work on creativities).
3. Teacher’s role is that of facilitator, resource person, guide, and advisor.
4. The students determine what is important to learn. They are free to set their own educational objectives and select the method(s) for attaining their goals.
5. The evaluation than of teacher evaluation. Progress is measured qualitatively rather than quantitatively.