The Seven Teaching Techniques
1. Mind Map
A teacher cannot teach effectively unless he or she is clear about the meaning of the value. EHV assists the teacher and the children to understand the value by developing a Mind Map. This also helps the teacher identify the main age-appropriate area of focus for the lesson to the children. The teacher can select the concept of the value appropriate to the age and maturity of the child and thus establish her own aims, objectives and learning outcomes.
2. Quietening / Focussing the Mind
The material that the teacher delivers is easily received by an undisturbed mind. The technique involves:
- Stilling the body - children are asked to relax
- Closing the eyes - visual distractions are minimised
- Focussing on the breath or a neutral image
Benefits of Quietening/Focussing the Mind as a Technique
- Calms the mind and improves receptivity
- Improves concentration and focus and facilitates learning, memory and retention
- Decreases distracting energy and increases composure and poise
- Develops self-confidence because mind is clear, uncluttered and steady
- Improves discipline, single-mindedness and determination
- Increases control over impulsivity, and the capacity to delay gratification is enhanced
- Improves capacity to regulate moods
- Enhances moral judgement, problem solving, capacities of negotiation and refusal skills
- Focussing the mind on light enhances the "other-centred" drive (generosity, compassion, kindness, fairness, respect, etc.)
- Enhances intuition as the mind is calm and can access inner sources of wisdom
3. Quotation / Affirmation / Prayer
Research has shown that positive thoughts give rise to positive emotions which build optimism as well as mental and emotional resilience against depression, anxiety, anger and other negative emotions. Positive statements may be made of quotations, affirmations and prayers. When repeatedly made they become embedded in the subconscious from where they influence thoughts and therefore actions of the child. Affirmations are made in the first person. They build a positive picture of child's highest possibilities and thus expand capacity for positive action.
Benefits of quotation as a technique
- Develops memory as well as a vocabulary of values
- Develops understanding of application of the value
- Improves concentration, sharpens focus
- Encourages positive thinking, positive emotions and optimism.
- Encourages intrapersonal, interpersonal and spatial intelligences
- Sharpens intuition, moral judgement and moral reasoning
- Encourages positive behaviour often involving self-control.
- Enhances capacity to delay gratification as it charts a preferred course of action.
- Encourages tranquillity, flexibility of mind and purposeful activity
Benefits of affirmation as a technique
- Gives the wisdom of the message in short, punchy manner
- Opens the child to his own possibilities
- Encourages positive thinking
- Develops memory as well as vocabulary of values
- Encourages positive behaviour
Benefits of Prayer as a technique
- Enhances faith
- Elevates consciousness
- Creates understanding of religious aspirations
- Enhances positive perception and tolerance of all religions
4. Story Telling
Stories paint a mental picture of characters, situations, moral dilemmas and their resolutions. By so doing they create a context of the value and its operation and at the same time sensitivity to societal norms, expectations, acceptable attitudes and standards of behaviour. Stories are selected carefully for their content, relevance to the value and to the age and maturity of the children. Story telling is an art and the technique is highly effective when it is well presented.
After the story the teacher explores the value in an interesting and interactive way. This enhances child's sensitivity to the practice of value, encourages empathy and builds moral reasoning.
Benefits of story telling as a teaching technique
- Stories have impact because they capture child's interest and imagination
- They are remembered as they recapture real life situations
- They create models of operational behaviour.
- They give a knowledge of strategies that may be used to solve problems
- They inspire and depict role models of ideal behaviour
- They enhance imagination and visualisation of situations in which the children are challenged
- They nourish the intuitive side of the child through interaction with adults at a personal level
- The atmosphere the teacher creates conveys his love for the child
- Stories can elicit powerful emotions. This helps to imbibe values
- They enhance critical/creative thinking
- They enhance listening skills
- They increase critical evaluation
- They increase the ability to understand non-verbal cues
- They enhance capacity to put aside other concerns in order to pay attention, i.e. bracketing
- They enhance understanding of cultural heritage and increase gleaning of wisdom
- They teach beauty and rhythm of language
- They increase vocabulary and arouse curiosity
5. Group Singing and Music
Singing and music impact on many levels - at physical level they restore balance and harmony, induce regular deep breathing, release muscle and nervous tension. At a neural level they excite all four cortical areas of the brain and thus help develop not only musical intelligence but also logical-mathematical and linguistic intelligences. When children work with others to create music they develop interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences, and when combined with dance kinesthetic intelligence as well.
Value songs infuse children with inspirational and catchy tunes are able to repeatedly reinforce the values in the mind of the child. The songs should be technically appropriate to the child's age.
Benefits of Group singing/Music as a teaching technique
- Increases vitality and relieves tiredness
- Changes moods, calms anxiety
- Develops concentration
- Improves memory and learning
- Develops intuition
- Develops creativity
- Enhances self-confidence, particularly overcomes shyness
- Enhances self-control through group dynamics that involve the child in creating harmony
- Enhances cooperation, team spirit - unifies the school
- Builds healthy relationships
- Values songs have a positive subconscious effect on the child
- Creates a sense of balance and harmony both within and in the classroom
- Develops all 7 intelligences including musical skills
- Focuses on a sub-value as worthy aim
6. Group Activities
Group Activities expose the child to the dynamics of values through social interaction. They deepen not only understanding of the value but how to put it into practice. In this the teacher takes the role of a group facilitator who has a very wide variety of activities to choose from.
The Group Activity should be selected for its special merit to allow the children to explore a specific aspect of the value selected. In addition Group Activity enables children to overcome shyness and loneliness. Thus it enhances social skills and social confidence, makes them sensitive to others, reinforces certain behaviours and all in all enhances self-awareness.
Benefits of Group Activity
They develop:
- Deeper understanding of values through experiential learning
- Confidence, initiative, self-reliance and self-discipline
- Understanding, cooperation, sharing, helpfulness and tolerance of others
- Concentration
- Creativity
- Leadership skills
- Assertiveness, refusal skills
- Negotiation and conflict resolution skills
- Intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligences
7. Creative Visualisation
We think in images that are not still and static but have movements, sensations and emotional overtones. When we imagine the future or recall the past we have appropriate bodily changes. Negative images can be overcome by strongly formed images and these are associated with positive feelings.
When children hear the teacher relate a narrative they form strong images as they are very good at visual imagination. If this is not cultivated they lose the capacity to form and retain strong images that are the basis of artistic creativity. Visualisation and spatial intelligence are functions of the right brain and for holistic development we need to develop both sides of the brain.
In EHV Creative Visualisation is used to create a strong image of the value (an operational model) so the child has a clear picture of circumstances under which a specific value is used to resolve a moral dilemma and the positive feelings associated in ourselves and others when we do so. This also strengthens their motivation and willpower to adhere to the value in face of softer options.
Benefits of Creative Visualisation
- Enhances understanding of values, their operations and the good feelings they generate
- Enhances empathy and social skills
- Enhances spatial and intrapersonal intelligence
- Enhances imaginative skills and creativity
- Enhances capacity to control impulsivity
- Enhance self-image and capacity to visualise success
- Enhances control over negative mental and emotional states, i.e. capacity to regulate emotions
- Increases optimism
- Enhances determination, perseverance in face of difficulties and set backs as well as self-management skills