Teaching methods and aids in the training of state farm manual workers
Szypszak, A.; Szafranek, R.C.; Lewczuk, A.
Zeszyty Naukowe Adademii rolniczo Technicznej w Olsztynie, Rolnictwo (38(246)): 169-178
1983
Document Number: 383555
Several adult agricultural vocational courses for state farm workers in Poland were studied in the academic year 1977-78 to evaluate the effectiveness of the teaching methods used and to establish what methods would be most effective in this type of further education. 57 teachers and 1320 students in courses organized by state farming communities were interviewed and observed in class. The lecture was by far the most common teaching method. It was popular with teachers because they found it easy to prepare and execute, and it was often the only teaching method they were familiar with. It was popular with students because it did not involve their active participation. However, the lecture proved to be very ineffective since it required a high level of concentration from the students, abstract thinking and note-taking. Most of the students were not intellectually equipped for such activities as their previous education had ended at primary school. Lectures were made less comprehensible by the lack of visual teaching aids in many teaching centres. Only 10-40% of the content of lectures was absorbed by the students. Lectures combined with some form of discussion were a less frequent method used by the teachers although the students would welcome more discussion in the teaching process. To increase the effectiveness of the teaching, the teachers should regularly update their teaching qualifications. Special emphasis should be laid on training the teachers to employ more intensive teaching methods including discussion, problem-solving and work on individual projects by the students.