Children learn in a variety of ways both individually and in groups the NCF (2005) states that the children require opportunities to learn through making and doing things, experiencing, experimenting, reading, discussing, listening, thinking, and reflecting and expressing themselves in speech, movement, and writing.
- Therefore, it becomes the responsibility of the teacher to create a learning environment by following appropriate strategies and helping children to construct theirknowledge. There are variousstrategies that can be used for teaching and learning social sciences.
Key PointsDiscussion method:
- Itis one of the important methods in teaching social sciences that allows every student to express her/his thoughts in the process of learning.
- It is an orderly process of making collective decisions, which helps in cultivating democratic values.
- It seeks agreement, but if it is not reached, it has the value of clarifying and sharpening the nature of the agreement.
- Whenever there is a problem/ issue/ a situation which has scope for difference of opinion, it calls for a discussion method of teaching.
- Discussion is initiated and moderated by the teacher and continued by the students in an orderly manner.
- Every student is free to express her/his thoughts regarding the issue that is taken for discussion.
Thus, it is concluded thatDiscussion method is used in social science teaching and learning when there is a situation where there is a scope for difference of opinion.