Heuristic Method of Teaching Meaning, Advantages & Disadvantages Dr. Goutam Patra


The term “Heuristic” refers to Armstrong who was the exponent of this strategy. Pollion and Dankar (1945) called it “problem solving”. It is based on the psychological principles of “trial and error” theory. Logical and imaginative thinking are perquisites for his type of teaching strategy. It is an economical and speedy strategy.
In Heuristic method {The word `Heuristic` means to discover}, the student be put in the place of an independent discoverer. Thus no help or guidance is provided by the teacher in this method. In this method the teacher sets a problem for the students and then stands aside while they discover the answer. In words of Professor Armstrong, "Heuristic methods of teaching are methods which involve our placing students as far as possible in the altitude of the discoverer - methods which involve their finding out instead of being merely told about things".
Procedure / Method:  1. Ation of Problem Arriving for appropriate solutions for the problem
 Execution - Perceiving and observing for accurate results Recording of the results observed
Conclusion - Formulation of hypothesis Identification / Arriving the accurate solution
Merits of Heuristic Method:
 This method of teaching  social science has the following merits:
1.       It develops the habit of enquiry and investigation among students.
2.       It develops habit of self learning and self direction.
3.        It develops scientific attitudes among students by making them truthful and honest for they learn how to arrive at decisions by actual experimentations. 
4.       It is psychologically sound system of learning as it is based on the maximum, "learning by doing"  It develops in the student a habit of diligence.  In this method most of the work is done in school and so the teacher has no worry to assign{ on check home task. 
5.       It provides scope for individual attention to be paid by the establishing cordial{ relations between the teacher and the taught.
6.       It helps in achieving cognitive, affective and psychomotor objectives i.e. it helps in all round development of the child.
7.       Students are put into the situation to learn by self-experience. It certainly develops self-confidence and self-reliance in the learners.
8.       It helps in developing scientific attitude and creativity in the learners.
9.       Teacher encourages the learners to explore the environment in search of the solution of the problems. By doing so, some new knowledge is discovered by them.
10.   Teacher is always ready to provide individual guidance regarding the solution of the problem. Thus interaction between the teacher and the learner takes place in a cooperative, conducive environment.

Limitations of Heuristic Method :
Main limitations of this method are as under: 
1.       It is a long and time consuming method and so it becomes difficult to cover the prescribed syllabus in time.  It pre-supposes a very small class and a gifted teacher and the method is too technical and scientific to be handled by an average teacher. 
2.       The method expects of the teacher a great efficiency and hard, experience and training.  There is a tendency on the part of the teacher to emphasize those branches and parts of the subject which lend brandies of the subject which do not involve measurement and quantitative work and are therefore not so suitable. 
3.       It is not suitable for beginners. In the early stages, the students need enough guidance which if not given, may greatly disappoint them and it is possible that the child may develop distaste for studies.
4.        In this method too much stress is placed on practical work which may lead a student to form a wrong idea of the nature of History  as a whole.  They grow up in the belief that  History  is some thing to be done in the laboratory, forgetting that laboratories were made for History and not History  for laboratories. 
5.       The gradation of problems is a difficult task which requires sufficient skill and training.  The succession of exercises is rarely planned to fit into a general scheme for building up the subject completely.  Some times experiments are performed merely for sake of doing them.
6.       It cannot be used at primary level of education
7.       Higher intelligence and divergent thinking is required in the learners. But, there are some students who are below average and fail to succeed in discovering the solutions of the problems. It frustrates them.
8.       In true sense, none of the teachers have patience for providing individual guidance to the learners. And learners, too, feel hesitation to approach the teacher for seeking his help.
9.       Evaluation of learning through heuristic method can be quite tedious.  Presently enough teachers are not available for implementing learning by heuristic method.
10.    This method cannot be successfully applied in primary classes but this method can be given a trial in secondary classes particularly in higher secondary classes.
11.    However, in the absence of gifted teachers, well equipped laboratories and libraries and other limitations this method has not been given a trial in our schools. Even if these limitations are removed this method may not prove much useful under the existing circumstances and prevailing rules and regulations.

Conclusion: There can be number of solutions for a problem. So, it is the teacher’s duty to provide guidance to the learners to select the most relevant solution of the problem
Problem should be related to the course and curriculum and a definite time period should be allotted to the learners to finish their research work.
Students’ abilities capabilities, interest and choice of the subject should be taken into consideration in allotting the problems.
In counties like India and Pakistan, the whole teaching is examination centered, neither teacher nor the pupils have patience to apply this teaching strategy and get the desired results. If some enlightened teachers of science, mathematics, and social sciences apply this teaching method in their teaching, it will help in developing creative, confidence students.


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  1. Yes sir,Priti Ghosh,roll no-19,2nd sem.

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