From "Polarization" To "Organic Integration": On The Thematic Instruction

Thinking mode, as the essential of the times, is the core of teaching methodology. The instructional innovation in theory and practice is in essence the innovation of thinking mode. The transformating key from traditonal teaching to modern instruction is to grasp exactly thinking mode that modern instruction should follow and to construct corresponding teaching form. Based on the notion, the paper is unfolded around two issues: (1)What is thinking mode, as the core of modern teaching methodology? (2)what is the practical teaching form coming down in one continuous line with thinking mode? The first question is the precondition, the second is the core. Concrete contents concerning the topic are as follows:1. Definitions of two kinds of thinking modes. Polarized thinking mode refers to a kind of thinking mode in which in the process of understanding and rebuilding the world, people make the various features, attributes and elements of things polarized, make the opposition abstract and isolated, magnified and ultimately their unity obscured, resuiting in one polar controlled by another polar, one polar dissolved by another, one polar destroyed by another. It is linear, unipolar, static and manipulative, especially controlled. Organic integrated thinking mode refers to a kind of thinking mode in which in the process of understanding and rebuilding the world, based on the whole world, people can coordinate and unite things and their elements in the concrete and real practice activities and make themselves perfect and ascendant and developmental. It is nonlinear, integrated, dynamic and harmonious, especially harmonious. Therefore, the paper puts forward its standpoints, perspectives and analytic framework based on the category of thinking mode.2. Teaching form dominated by polarized thinking mode (actually to be). Here "traditonal teaching" is defined as teaching form dominated by polarized thinking mode which takes on all kinds of opposite forms of relationships that is independent, inclusive, crossed and circular due to the whole teaching activities divided into two parts, curriculum and instruction. The kind of opposite, linear, static and unipolar controlled idea penetrates into the basic elements of instructional categories, resulting in multi-level, multi-dimensional, multi-angle dissimilated teaching activities such as rivals of subject positions between "Teacher-centered" and "Student-centered", of value orientions between "Society-centered" and "Individual-centered", of chosen contents between "Public knowledge" and "Individual knowledge", of activities form between "Pre-designed control" and "Generative construction", of evaluations between "Universality" and "Individuality".3. Teaching form oriented by organic integrated thinking mode (ought to be). Here "modern teaching" is defined as teaching form oriented by organic integrated thinking mode which calls for the integrating idea to shake off the oppsoite dilemma of curriculum and instruction. The kind of integrated, unlinear, dynamic and harmonious idea penetrates into the basic elements of instructional categories, resulting in aiming idea of of society-centered and individual-centered, the subjective idea of teachers and students, the content idea of public and individual knowledge, the pattern idea of pre-designed control and generation, the evaluating idea of unitary universality and multiplex individuality.4. Thinking mode inherent in the Eighth-round educational curriculum reform. Based on analysis of elements of new curriculum such as goal, content, structure, implementation and evaluation and on comparation between teaching form dominated by polartized thinking mode and oriented by organic integrated thinking mode, the paper draw the conclusion of Thinking mode inherent in the Eighth-round educational curriculum reform and in modern instruction is organic integrated thinking mode. Therefore, it is not traditonal teaching but modern instruction that can provide methodological supports for constructing the thematic instruction that reflects fully the idea, spirit and requirements of the new curriculum and objectives and tasks of practical teaching form of the new curriculum reform.What is the representing form of modern instruction oriented by organic integrated thinking mode? The thematic nstruction is just the kind.5. Transformation of the connotation of the teaching concept. Transformation of the connotation of the teaching conceps goes with thinking mode as the core of teaching methodology. The transformating core is instructional problems. Traditional teaching frame dominated by polarized thinking mode focuses on the problem How to teach, while modern instructional frame oriented by organic integrated thinking mode on the problem What to Teach and How to teach. The transformation of instructional starting point is the pivotal representation, that is, transformation from teaching material in traditional teaching to curriculum standard in modern instruction.6. Connation and traits of the thematic instruction. The thematic instruction is a kind of the whole instuction which takes organic integrated teaching mode as the direction, new teaching concepts as the basis, the theme as the hinge to make elements in teaching system connected, interacted and to shape "perfect man" -harmony of body and mental health-- in the process of teachers and students interacting, adapting and developing each other, of student's self-achievement, self-consummation and self-exceeding. The thematic instruction is whole, active, mutual, exceeding and open.7. Theoretical construction of learning process. Seen by organic integrated thinking mode, psychological foundation of the thematic instruction should adopt integrated view instead of the unitary view in prevenient learning theories. Therefore, the paper puts forward the theory of six-process of tranformation such as theme, assimilation, optimization, output, coinciding with real life, and activation as psychological foundation of the thematic instruction.8. Systemic stucure of the thematic instruction. According to requirements of organic integrated teaching mode, the paper analyzes instrucitonal systemic struture and constructs Theme-centered instructional model which nails down roles and functions of the theme, relationships among the theme, subsystems and elements.9. Operating mechanism of the thematic instruction. The basic operating procedure in the thematic instruction includes seven steges, ranging from contents of curricum, to contents of the theme, to problem, to situated problems, to problems in life, to interactive problem solving, to knowledge evolvement of structured system, to activation of knowledge.10. Experiment. The study gets some the results as follows: the thematic instruction can change teacher's roles to form good teacher-student relationship; the thematic instruction makes abstract knowledge active, concrete, situated to change student's interests, learning attitude and learning drive to sthenghthen student's learning subjectivity; the thematic instruction focuses on process, inquiry, cooperation of learning and on student's interaction in finding and solving problems to optimize student's learing methods; the thematic instruction pays more attention to the process of knowledge evolvement, of problem solving, of knowledge application to improve student's abilities; the thematic instruction can improve student's academic achievements due to the emphasis of joyful learning and learning skills and combination of joyful learning and learning skills; the thematic instruction can effectively control the polarization that is good for student's full development.Above all, the innovation of teachin mode is the core of modern instructional innovation. There are two kinds of thinking modes in cognitive process such as polarized and organic integrated thinking mode. The transformation from polarized thinking mode to integrated thinking mode is inevitable choice of the times. Instructional problems are enslaved to widely different teaching forms such as relationship of curricum and instruction, ideas of goals, of knowledge, of structure, of content, of form and of evalution. In China, the connotation of teaching concepts, psychological foundation, structure of teaching system and operating mechanism od instruction have changed absolutely due to the transformation from polarized thinking mode in tradtional field to organic integrated thinking mode in modern field. The thematic instruction as orginic integrated thinking mode, is the inevitable choice of the times and also the key of innovation of educational curriculum reform.