Introduction:
Teaching is a continuum from conditioning to
Teaching
indoctrination. It is organized from memory
level to reflective level. One teaching is
confined upto memory level even at college
and university level. At the most teaching can
be organized at but understanding level,
instructional situations should be organized in
such a way so that teaching may be done at
reflective level.
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Meaning:
A seminar as an instructional technique
involves generating a situation for a group
to have guided interaction among
themselves on a theme which is generally
presented to the group by one or more
members.
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Definition:
“Seminar is an instructional technique of
higher learning which involves paper
reading on a theme and followed by the
group discussion to clarify the complex
aspects of the theme".
Objectives of Seminar Technique:
Cognitive Objectives:
To develop the higher cognitive abilities: analysis,
synthesis and evaluation as compared to the
situations involving human interaction.
 To develop the ability of responding in this manner
would involve higher cognitive actions: valuing,
organizing
and
characterization
of
quick
comprehension of the situation, examination of it
against the knowledge he possesses and construction
of his reactions to the situation.
 To
develop the ability of keen observation
experiences, feelings and to present them effectively.
 To develop the ability to seek clarification and defend
the ideas of others effectively.

Affective Objectives:
To develop the feeling to tolerance the
opposite ideas of others.
 To develop the feelings of cooperation
with other colleagues and respect of the
ideas and feelings of others.
 To develop the emotional stability among
the participants of the seminar.
 To acquire the good manners of putting
questions and answering the questions of
others effectively.

Roles of Seminar Techniques:
In organizing a seminar the following roles
are performed.
 Organizer or Instructor.
 President or chairman or convener of the
seminar.
 Speaker of the day.
 Participants.
 Observers.
Role of Organizer:
It is the responsibility of an organizer to
plan and prepare the whole program of
the seminar. He decides the topic or
theme of the seminar and assigns the
different aspects of theme to different
persons who have to play the role of
speakers. The date, time and place are
decide by him. Generally, he also suggests
the name of convener of the seminar. He
prepares total schedule of the seminar.
Role of Speaker:
The organizer assigns the topic to the speaker.
They prepare the topic thoroughly and Xerox
copies of the papers are prepared and these are
distributed among the participants before the
commencement of the seminar, so that the
participants should also prepare themselves on
the theme.
It encourages the discussion to last long. The
speaker should be ready to defend the
questions. The speaker should have the
tolerance of anti ideas or criticism of others.
Role of participants
The participants of the seminar should be well
acquainted with the theme. They should
appreciate the performance of the speaker.
They should be able to seek clarification and put
questions. They should place their own ideas
regarding, The theme on the basis of their
experiences. They should address the president
for seeking clarification. They should not put
question directly to the speaker. There are 25 to
40 participants in the seminar.
Role of Observer
Some guests and observer are also invited
and allowed to observe the activities of
the seminar. Generally, they are not
permitted to participate in the discussion.
They should be allowed at the end to
discussion and present their observations
by permission of the chairman.
After the theme is presented, it is
discussed by the group. During
discussion participants may:
–
–
–
Seek clarification of the theme presented.
Make observations in the light of their
knowledge and experience regarding the
theme and
Raise issues relating to the theme for
further analysis and evaluation.
Procedure of the Seminar
Seminar as an instructional technique involves
creating a situation for a group to have guided
interaction among themselves on a theme which
is generally presented to the group by one or
more members. The person who presents the
theme should have studies the theme
thoroughly before hand. This would mean
selection of relevant material and its
organization. Generally, this organized material
put in the form of a paper which is circulated
among members in advance. The paper helps
structure
the
theme,
facilitates
its,
communication, and focuses the scope of
discussion.

Proceeding of a seminar will be guided by
a chairman who may be knowledgeable
about the theme. The chairman's role
would be to keep the discussion on track,
stimulate maximum participation and
consolidate at appropriate stages, the
view points expressed.

Seminar as an instructional, technique
seek to provide maximally for interaction
among the members. This means that
sufficient time should be allowed for the
discussion session. If this necessitates
cutting down the time for presentation, it
could be done since the main purpose of
the presentation is to initiate the
discussion.
Advantages of a Seminar
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Due to process stimulation of thinking brought about
through interaction, different higher cognitive abilities
like, analytical and critical thinking, synthesizing and
evaluating the ideas will tend to be developed.
A part from these cognitive abilities certain effect
attributes like tolerance for other's views openness to
ideas cooperation with others, emotional stability and
respect for others feelings will be inculcated among the
participants during the course of such sessions.
These effects attribute represent
the norms of
behaviour for the group in seminar situations. Moreover,
these norms are same as these of a democratic society.
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
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Concomitant effect of seminar as
instructional technique will be the
development of better learning habits.
Seminar has great instructional value as
it makes the instruction learner-centre
and provides for learning through
enquiry which is based on a very natural
characteristics of inquisitiveness in
humans.
It is mainly confined to higher education.
Types of Seminar

Mini seminar – A seminar organized to
discuss a topic in class is known as mini
seminar. The purpose of the mini-seminar
is to train the students for organizing the
seminar and play different roles.
Main
Seminar:
Such seminar are
organized at departmental level or
institutional level on a major theme. All
the students and staff members take
part in such seminars. These seminars
are organized weekly or monthly in
departments.
National Seminar: A national seminar is
organized by an association or organization at
national level. The experts are invited on the
theme of the seminar. The secretary of
seminar prepares the schedule theme, time,
dates days and venue. Generally NCERT
organizes such seminars at national level, on
the theme:
Educational Technology, Population education,
Trends of Education, Distance education, NonFormal education, Quality control of education
Research in India.
International Seminars: Generally
such seminars are organized by UNESCO
and other international organization. The
topic or theme of seminar is very broad.
E.g.. Student's unrest or activism,
Innovations in teacher- education and
examination reforms.
Limitations of Seminar Technique
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A seminar cannot be organized on all the content of a
subject matter. Some topics are highly structured a
theme of a seminar should be such on which discussion
may be held.
The technique cannot be used for all levels of education.
In a seminar, the discussion confines only few persons
rather than whole group because, the person who speak
too much dominate the discussion of seminar and do not
provide opportunity to others.
During the discussion, group are formed in two ideas,
anti-ideas and favorable ideas on theme.
As a result they try to win over each other. The purpose
of seminar is not served. The Chairman should
discourage this type of activities.