Didactics is a theory ofteaching, and in a wider sense, a theory and practical application of teaching and learning. In demarcation from "mathetics", didactics refers only to the science of teaching. This theory might be contrasted with open learning, also known as experiential learning, in which people can learn by themselves, in an unstructured manner, on topics of interest. The theory of didactic learning methods focuses on the baseline knowledge students possess and seeks to improve upon and convey this information. It also refers to the foundation or starting point in a lesson plan, where the overall goal is knowledge. A teacher or educator functions in this role as an authoritative figure, but also as both a guide and a resource for students. Didactics or the didactic method have different connotations in continental Europe and English-speaking countries. For example in the Anglo-Saxon tradition, the Oxford dictionary defines didactics as a particularly moral instruction. Following that, the didactic method still carries the original meaning of teaching moral contents, and is therefore associated with unfavourable views opposed to the teachings of a true art or science. Didacticism was indeed the cultural origin of the didactic method but refers within its narrow context usually pejoratively to the use of language to a doctrinal end. The interpretation of these opposing views are theorised to be the result of a differential cultural development in the 19th century when Great Britain and its former colonies went through a renewal and increased cultural distancing from continental Europe. It was particularly the later appearance of Romanticism and Aestheticism in the Anglo-Saxon world which offered these negative and limiting views of the didactic method. On the other hand, in continental Europe those moralising aspects of didactics were removed earlier by cultural representatives of the age of enlightenment, such as Voltaire, Rousseau, and later specifically related to teaching by Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi. The consequences of these cultural differences then created two main didactic traditions: The Anglo-Saxon tradition of curriculum studies on one side and the Continental and North European tradition of didactics on the other. Still today, the science of didactics carries much less weight in much of the English-speaking world. With the advent of globalisation at the beginning of the 20th century, however, the arguments for such relative philosophical aspects in the methods of teaching started to diminish somewhat. It is therefore possible to categorise didactics and pedagogy as a general analytic theory on three levels:
a theoretical or research level
a practical level
a discursive level
Didactic teaching
Didactic method provides students with the required theoretical knowledge. It is an effective method used to teach students who are unable to organize their work and depend on the teachers for instructions. It is also used to teach basic skills of reading and writing. The teacher or the literate is the source of knowledge and the knowledge is transmitted to the students through didactic method. Didactic Teaching materials: The Montessori school had preplanned teaching materials designed, to develop practical, sensory, and formal skills. Lacing and buttoning frames, weights, and packet to be identified by their sound or smell. Because they direct learning in the prepared environment, Montessori educators are called directress rather than teachers. In Brazil, there has been for more than 80 years the government program called PNLD. This program seeks to provide basic education schools with didactic and pedagogical records, expanding access to the book and democratizing access to sources of information and culture. Textbooks, in many cases, are the only sources of information that poor children and young people have access to in a poor country like Brazil. These books are also valuable support to teachers, offering modern learning methodologies and updated concepts and content in the most diverse disciplines. Source: https://www.fnde.gov.br/acesso-a-informacao/institucional/area-de-imprensa/noticias/item/11015-em-comemoracao-aos-80-anos-mec-lanca-concurso-literario https://www.fnde.gov.br/programas/programas-do-livro
Functions of didactic method
cognitive function: to understand and learn basic concepts
formative-educative function: to develop skills, behavior, abilities, etc.
instrumental function : to achieve educational objectives
normative function : helps to achieve productive learning, attain required results, etc.
Method of teaching
In didactic method of teaching, the teacher gives instructions to the students and the students are mostly passive listeners. It is a teacher-centered method of teaching and is content-oriented. Neither the content nor the knowledge of the teacher are questioned. The process of teaching involves the teacher who gives instructions, commands, delivers content, and provides necessary information. The pupil activity involves listening and memorization of the content. In the modern education system, lecture method which is one of the most commonly used methods is a form of didactic teaching.
Limitations
Though the didactic method has been given importance in several schools, it does not satisfy the needs and interests of all students. It can be tedious for students to listen to the possible lectures. There is minimum interaction between the students and the teachers. Learning which also involves motivating the students to develop an interest towards the subject may not be satisfied through this teaching method. It may be a monologue process and experience of the students may not have a significant role in learning.
