12 Best Maxims of Teaching In Education

Maxims of Teaching​ are the universal facts found out by the teacher on the basis of 
experience. They are of universal significance and are trustworthy. The knowledge of 
different maxims helps the teacher to proceed systematically. It also helps to find out 
his way of teaching, especially in the early stages of teaching. 

The different maxims of teaching are briefly explained below. 

Known to Unknown: 

This maxim is based on the assumption that the student knows something. We are to 
increase his knowledge and widen his outlook. We have to interpret all new knowledge’ 
in terms of the old. It is said that old knowledge serves as a hook on which the new one 
can be hung. Known is trustworthy and unknown cannot be trusted. So while teaching 
we should proceed from known and go towards unknown. For example, while teaching 
any lesson, the teacher can link the previous experiences of the child with the new 
lesson that is to be taught Teaching of English 

Simple to Complex: 

Class-room teaching is formal where the teacher tries to teach and the students try to 
learn things. In this process of teaching-learning, the teacher should see those simple 
things are presented first to the students. That way they will start taking an interest. 
Once they become interested, thou gradually complex type of things can also be learnt 
by them. By learning simple things, they feel encouraged and they also gain confidence. 
On this basis, they become further receptive to the complex matter. On the other hand, if 
complex types of things are presented to the learner first, he becomes, upset, feels 
bored and finds himself in a challenging situation lot which he is not yet ready being 
immature and unripe. 

Gradually more difficult items of learning may be presented to the students. It will 
smoothen teaching being done by the teacher and make learning convenient and 
interesting for the students. 
For example, while teaching sentences of English simple sentences should be taught 
first and complex type of sentences may be taken afterwards. 

Concrete things are solid things and they can be touched with five senses. But abstract 
things can only be imagined. So it is rather difficult to teach children about abstract 
things. The students are likely to forget them soon. On the other hand, if we teach the 
students with the help of concrete objects, they will never forget the subject matter. 

For example, when we teach counting to the students we should first examine concrete 
nouns like, laptop, book, Pen etc. and then proceed to digits and numbers. The stars, the 
moon, the sun etc. being taught first whereas the abstract thing: like a planet, satellites 
etc. should be taught afterwards. 

How The knowledge of different maxims of teaching helps the

Analysis means breaking a problem into its convenient parts while synthesis means the 
grouping of these separated parts into one complete whole. A complex problem can be 
made simple and easy by dividing into different parts. 

“Analysis is the approach for understanding and synthesis is for fixation.” Analysis of a 
sentence’ is taught to students, that helps the students to understand the different parts 
of a sentence. Later on, the synthesis of sentences should be taught. 

Particular to General​: 

While teaching, the teacher should, first of all, take particular statements and then on 
the basis of those particular cases, generalization should be made. Suppose the teacher 
is teaching Present Continuous Tense while Teaching English, he should, first of all, give 
a few examples and then on the basis of those that make them generalize is that this 
tense is used to denote an action that is going on at the time of speaking. 

Empirical to Rational​. 
Empirical knowledge is based on observation and firsthand experience. II is particular 
concrete and simple. We can see, feel and experience it on the other hand; rational is 
based on our arguments and explanation. The stage of arguments is the last whereas 
seeing things or feeling them is the first stage. Empiric.il is less general statements 
whereas rational is more general statements. So the safe approach in teaching is that 
we should proceed from empirical to rational. It is a journey from less mental maturity 
to more mental maturity. 

Induction to Deduction 

Induction means drawing a conclusion from a set of examples whereas deduction is its 
opposite. The teacher should proceed from induction to deduction. For example, in 
English, while teaching the conversion of active voice into passive voice, the teacher 
should first convert a few sentences of active into the passive voice and on the basis of 
those conclude the general rule for a conversation of active voice in to passive voice. 

Psychological to Logical​. 

While teaching, the teacher should first keep in mind the interest, aptitudes, capacities, 
development level etc. of the children during the selection of subject matter and then on 
to its logical arrangement. 

In teaching English, the structures are selected as per the needs and requirements of 
the students and then arranged in a logical way. The psychological appeal of the thing i​ s 
more important at the early stages. Then the’ logic behind it should be seen. 

Actual to Representative​. 

For teaching excellently, actual objects should be, shown to the children as far as 
possible. It gives them concrete learning which is more desirable. The learners are able 
to retain it in their minds for quite a long time. Especially in the lower classes, first-hand 
information to the students impresses them a good deal. Representative things in the 
form of pictures, models; etc. should be used for the grown-ups or the seniors who are 
already familiar with the actual objects. 

For example, the teacher should show the elephant, the camel, the horse, the railway 
station, the post office etc. and thereby he should make them understand about these 
things. The representative of these things in the form of pictures or models may be 
used at later stages. 

Near to Afar. 

Every child is able to learn well in the surroundings to which he belongs. So the child 
should be acquainted fully with his immediate environment. Gradually he may be taught 
about those things which are far from his immediate environment. This principle, if kept 
in view, will smoothen the leaching-learning process considerably. 

Thus the child should be taught the home, followed by the street, the bazaar, the school 
and then the distant environment of the city to which he belongs. In the same way, 
acquaintance with the city should lead to acquaintance with the Tehsil, the District, the 
Division, the Stale and then the Country as a whole. This type of teaching will be 
incremental and will be step by step learning. The textbook writer who writes books for 
the small children should also place the different chapters in his bookkeeping in view 
this principle. Then only his book will stand better chances of approval by all concerned. 

Whole to Part. 

In teaching, the teacher should try to acquaint the child with the whole lesson first and 
then the different portions of it may be analyzed and studied intensively. This principle 
holds good while teaching a thing to the small children. At the early stages, the child 
loves to speak full sentences because in daily life situations, full sentences are used. 
The child should be given a full sentence. Then he may have full familiarity with the 
different words contained in that sentence. Later he may have the knowledge of words. 
Then he will have the knowledge of different letters forming the words. 

Suppose a poem is to be taught to the students. They should be acquainted with the full 
poem first. Gradually they may be asked to grasp the poem stanza by stanza In the case 
of average students, their first attempt may be on full stanza, taking it as a whole and 
then to the different lines con I. lined in the stanza as parts. It will help the teacher to 
teach better and the learners to learn things conveniently. 

Definite to Indefinite​. 
In teaching, definite things should be taught first because the learner can easily have 
faith in them. Then afterwards he should give the knowledge of indefinite things. 
Definite things, definite rules of grammar help the learner to have good knowledge. 
Gradually he can be taught about indefinite things.