Pre-requisites or Requisites of the Heuristic Method

Heuristic method cannot be used without certain prerequisites.

The teacher has to keep followings things in mind before using this method. The pre-requisites of this method are :

(a) The teacher should develop the heuristic attitude and make a lot of preparation for it.

(b) The question should be so planned that it may be possible for the students to find the solution independently by pro­ceeding in the proper direction. It is required because in this method the pupil is not told anything but he is led to see the solution through carefully planned and well-directed questions.

(c) This method is not suitable for the beginners because in the early stages, students need a good deal of guidance. This guidance should be planned in a scientific way.

(d) This method requires a lot of planning. Several precautions have to be observed so that things may be planned properly and the lesson may be effective.

(e) The teacher and the student should not be discouraged by the slow progress that is made in this method. This method proceeds very slowly and the progress is not very marked.

(f) The teacher should realise his responsibility properly. He should know that is Heuristic method, the students are not to be left alone without any support. Their difficulty should be properly solved and they should be given a proper guid­ance.

There are no definite steps to be followed in this method. The teacher gives a problem to the students, creates a learning situation and asks the pupil to solve the problem with their own efforts. The teacher puts thought-provoking questions and stimulates pupil effort.

Merits of Heuristic Method

(i) This makes the student active participants in the process of learning and allows them to have independent thinking.

(ii) He learns by doing so there is a little scope of forgetting.

(iii) It is a psychologically sound method as the student learns by self-practice.

(iv) It inculcates in the students the interest for the subject and also develops willingness in them.

(v) It gives the student a sense of confidence and achievement.

(vi) It develops the powers of original thinking and reasoning in the pupil thus it develops scientific attitude.

(vii) The teacher is in contact with the whole of the class and there is very little of home-work for the students.

(viii) It promotes self-discipline in the students as they feel responsible for their work.

(ix) The student acquires command of the subject. He has a clear understanding and notion of the subject.

Demerits of Heuristic Method

Some of the demerits of this method are as under:

(i) This method is un-suitable for certain types of students, because all the students cannot become independent think­ers. Discovery of thing needs hard work, patience, concen­tration, reasoning and thinking powers and creative abili­ties.

(ii) This method suits only hardworking and original thinking teachers. An average teacher cannot frame true heuristic questions and stimulate pupils’ thinking.

(iii) This method does not suit larger classes. If the number of students is large, individual attention by the teacher be­comes impossible.

(iv) The method is slow. The students have to spend a lot of time to find out minor results. The teacher may find it difficult to finish the syllabus in time.

(v) It is not desirable to discover everything. Mathematics is a vast subject. There are so many things have to be accepted as such. Moreover, the things discovered once, need not be rediscovered again and again.

(vi) The success of method depends upon well-equipped librar­ies, laboratories, and good text-books written on heuristic lines but such facilities are lacking in our schools.

(vii) The results found out by the students may not be correct. In the absence of individual checking, all the mistakes may not be rectified.

(viii) If the teacher is not able to distinguish between false and true heuristic questions, he may do more harm than good.

Conclusion

The success of this method depends upon a number of factors which may be mentioned below:

(i) The teacher must cultivate heuristic spirit in himself. This will require hard work on the part of the teacher.

(ii) The questions should be well thought of and these should be of true Heuristic type and the questions should not be leading ones, e.g. It would be wrong to ask a question like do you remember that the area of rectangle is equal to the product of length and breadth, rather the question be frame like, how to calculate the area of a rectangle ?

(iii) The work to be carried out by a student should be in accor­dance with his level and ability.

(iv) Teacher should provide only the minimum and necessary guidance.

(v) The teacher should plan his lesson in such a way that copying from the text-books is not possible.

(vi) This method must be supplemented by other methods of teaching Facts may always be discovered.

(v) Psychological Method

In this method emphasis is put on the psychology of the student. Their aptitudes and facilities are kept in mind while teaching them the subject-matter. This method attaches a little importance to the teaching of subject-matter and lays more stress on the development of Psychology and facilities of the child. Thus it is a more scientific and

This method makes the teaching of subject-matter interesting because here the faculties of the students and their psycho-physical requirements are kept in mind. While using this method following precaution be observed:

(i) The teacher should exercise certain limits and restrictions.

(ii) It should not be used in such a way that it leads to a total loss of the purpose of teaching and its only aim becomes the teaching method.

(iii) It should be used only as means and not as an end.

(vi) Dogmatic Method of the Teaching of Mathematics

Dogmatic method has a bearing on the attitude of the teacher as well as the mode of the presentation of the subject-matter. In this method, teaching of commerce is carried out by rigours. Students are made to practice things rigorously. Believers in this method are of the view that once the rigour is given up, the purpose of the entire method is defeated. In this method, the pupil is required to memorize formu­lae and cram up the rules and definitions.