Page:SELECTED ESSAYS of Dr. S. S. KALBAG.pdf/107

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the learner with many parts and ask him to'guess' which one is a 'floppy drive' for example. He has to learn to observe and remember the distinctive features of the item and identify it in various configurations. This challenging situation, not only holds the learners' attention, but also makes it more satisfying for him. In our Basic Electrical Lab lesson, the child can play with the fittings and find out the rules of wiring by himself; connecting in all different ways and finding when the lamp lights. This is constructing own knowledge; "Learning through Discovery". Learners should know not only what is right, but also what is wrong. When presenting choices to the learner, we ask him not only to identify the right choice among many, but also sometimes the wrong one among many correct choices. This reinforces the concepts from the negative side as also the positive side. When the student makes a wrong choice, we do not say "wrong". But we say try again. Thus, we help to reinforce the student's self-confidence. We present a standard route for the lesson. If the student is very bright, he can skip and go faster. If he is a slow learner, we can give him a still more elaborately explained route. So the learner can chose the route matching his abilities. The learning process is a continuous series of quizzes (choices to be made) by the learner, with some explanation screens in between. The session therefore, provides continuous opportunity for the computer to store the "learning curve" of the individual student, session by session. The teacher can later open the student's file in the computer and see how the student is progressing. There is no need for a separate examination, unless one wants it for other reasons. 3. 5. Rural Development Through Education System 94