Writing Definition

Educational Ideas

Defining Something

What is a Definition?

The action of describing, explaining or making definite and clear some word or word group or phrase etc.

Thus we can have definition for several educational words such as teaching, learning, education itself and so on. We also have definition for educational phrases such as Educational technology, Information and Communication Technology etc.

What are the different approaches to define something?

There are several approaches to define a word or phrase. Two distinct approaches among them could be

A. Statement-Explication Approach

B. Explication-Conclusion Approach

What is the Statement Clarification Approach?

In this approach we can present a definition first. Remember a definition is a usually a concise and precise statement containing the essential features of the thing/word being defined. It can be normative or descriptive. The concise statement is followed by a clarification of the different terms used in the statement and their interrelationships.

How can we illustrate this approach?

Let’s start with a definition of teaching

S: Teaching is retrieval of knowledge in a new form through a triadic interaction between content, teacher and students to further students learning.

C: Teaching is inseparably related to learning. It aims to further the learning among students and learning may include skill developments knowledge enrichment or attitudinal changes. The process involves sort of interaction among the three important elements viz the content around which the teaching learning process is configures, the teacher and the student. Thus we have, in the words of T. Human, a triadic interaction that constitute the process. Irrespective of whether a teacher centric or student centric approach is followed, the teacher has a crucial role in designing the process. The difference in different approaches is manifested in different role for the teacher. However, in either case, the teacher has certain knowledge or skill component in a particular form organized in the discipline according to the organisational principle normatively accepted in the discipline. The knowledge as such is not compatible for the learners. The teacher has to reproduce the knowledge taking in view several factors including the student characteristics. The teacher has to use logical and psychological principles to retrieve the knowledge in a new form that is compatible for learners to digest. Thus we can say that teaching in any approach minimally involves a reproduction of the knowledge i.e. retrieving the knowledge ina new form with a new configuration that is accepted and conveniently organized by the learners.

How can we illustrate the Clarification-Statement Approach?

Let’s see the second approach to define something, say curriculum.

C: Education is a comprehensive phenomenon. It is both formal, as well as nonformal in nature. Within a formal setup education catalyses the learners development in accordance to well deliberated goals. The formal education is itself a systematic process hierarchically organized and sequentially implemented. Curriculum is the operational manifestation of the educational principles philosophised at some particular level in some particular context. Further, the educational processes are thematically ategorised into different groups to facilitate its planning and transaction as well as it’s valuation and further improvement. We usually call these categories as courses. The educational goals are realised through the implementation and evaluation of these courses. Thus education, at a particular level in a particular context represents a vision and the different courses are considered as the planned, practical and pertinent operations to realise the vision. Therefore we can justifiably define curriculum as

S: a set of courses designed and implemented by an educational institute to attain some specialized educational vision.