Demonstration (teaching)
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Demonstration involves showing by reason or proof, explaining or making clear by use of examples or
experiment An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into Causality, cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome oc ...
s. Put more simply, demonstration means 'to clearly show'.yourdictionary.com.''Demonstrating Definition''. http://www.yourdictionary.com/demonstrating.


Overview

In teaching through demonstration, students are set up to potentially conceptualize class material more effectively as shown in a study which specifically focuses on chemistry demonstrations presented by teachers.McKee, Erik, Vickie M. Williamson, and Laura E. Ruebush. "Effects of Demonstration Laboratory on Student Learning". ''Journal of Science Education and Technology''. 16.5 (2007) 395-400. Demonstrations often occur when students have a hard time connecting theories to actual practice or when students are unable to understand application of theories. Teachers not only demonstrate specific learning concepts within the classroom, they can also participate in demonstration classrooms to help improve their own teaching strategies, which may or may not be demonstrative in nature. Although the literature is limited, studies show that the effects of demonstration classroom teachers includes a change of perspective in relating to students, more reflection in the teachers’ own classroom strategies, and more personal responsibility for student learning. Bruce, Catherine D., John Ross, Tara Flynn, and Rich McPherson. "Lesson Study and Demonstration Classrooms: Examining the Effects of Two Models of Teacher Professional Development." Google. CD Bruce, Aug. 2009. Web. 15 September 2010.
Demonstration, or clearly showing (a gamut that ranges from mere pointing to more sophisticated strategies such as chemical reactions), can possibly be used in portraying ideas such as defining words. At first, simple observation and communication through pointing to an
object Object may refer to: General meanings * Object (philosophy), a thing, being, or concept ** Object (abstract), an object which does not exist at any particular time or place ** Physical object, an identifiable collection of matter * Goal, an ...
,
area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an obje ...
, or
place Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own Municipality, municipal government * "Place", a type of street or road ...
, like the
sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
,
moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
, or a large
mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...
top, occurs. Then basic definitions of words emerge. These definitions allow
humans Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...
to communicate, interact,
plan A plan is typically any diagram or list of steps with details of timing and resources, used to achieve an objective to do something. It is commonly understood as a temporal set of intended actions through which one expects to achieve a goal. F ...
, and co-ordinate in ways that help us to build
cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
, large buildings,
technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...
, gain
knowledge Knowledge can be defined as awareness of facts or as practical skills, and may also refer to familiarity with objects or situations. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is often defined as true belief that is distinc ...
and to successfully
communicate Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...
with computers. Further, basic concepts centered on
time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
,
space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider ...
, and
mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
are first required to demonstrate and teach probable theories that accurately describe universal phenomenon such as
nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...
,
planets A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a young ...
,
species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
, and the world around us. The history of phenomenon demonstrating concepts, which lead to specific definitions, goes back to the careful observations of ancient Greek
philosophers A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
and
natural philosophy Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior throu ...
.
Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...
,
Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
, and
Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
attempted to carefully define words that included natural phenomena and objects. The modern
scientific method The scientific method is an empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has characterized the development of science since at least the 17th century (with notable practitioners in previous centuries; see the article history of scientific m ...
often uses demonstrations that carefully describe certain processes and parts of
nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...
in great detail. In science, often one demonstrates how an experiment is done and shows this to others. People can also communicate values and ideas through demonstrations. This is often done in plays, movies, and film. Pictures without words can show or demonstrate various types of actions and consequences. When using demonstration, there is a four-step process that will allow the students to have a clear understanding of the topic at hand.


See also

*
Knowledge by acquaintance In philosophy, a distinction is often made between two different kinds of knowledge: knowledge by acquaintance and knowledge by description. Whereas knowledge by description is something like ordinary propositional knowledge (e.g. "I know that ...
*
Scientific demonstration A scientific demonstration is a procedure carried out for the purposes of demonstrating scientific principles, rather than for hypothesis testing or knowledge gathering (although they may originally have been carried out for these purposes). Most ...
*
Physics Instructional Resource Association The Physics Instructional Association (PIRA) is an American association of physics education professionals and enthusiasts. Members are physics teachers, physics administrators, physics educational support staff and physics students. Interests ...


References

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