Re: Teaching Styles
Dear Amy,
Having only just come out of university, you are probably without doubt, the most enthusiastic teacher at your school. Not only are you buzzing with ideas and bring to the classroom the most up-to-date knowledge in terms of skills and pedagogy, but we are almost certain that you are a teacher who will take risks, experiment by utilising different teaching and learning experiences and move away form the ‘traditional’ pedagogical approach. We think that this is fantastic, and there is nothing better than seeing innovative teachers in our profession who are willing to do something different. Amy, from what we have discovered of you, it is obvious that you are a big fan of student-centred learning and teaching. Many of the teachers in Project BEAM teach from a constructivist perspective (Vialle, Lysaght & Verenikina, 2000), because we too, are firm believers that all knowledge is built upon in the interaction of the learner and the material to be learned (Krause, Bochner & Duchesne, 2003). Despite this, we know that deep down it is not always possible to adapt such a teaching approach for every single learning experience. Realistically, we can see that you are struggling because we feel that you are being too one-dimensional in terms of the way you teach. Element 4.1.5 of the NSWIT PTS (2006) outlines that graduate teachers will use a range of teaching strategies and resources to foster interest and support learning, and we believe that the best teachers will use a wide variety of strategies from either end of the continuum (Cruickshank, Jenkins & Metcalf, 2005). In essence, we believe that you Amy need to reflect on the continua of teaching styles in our profession to best cater for every child in your classroom.
We imagine that many of the teachers at your school teach from a behaviourist perspective (Vialle et al., 2000). That is, teaching that implies that there is ‘a set amount of information that has to be imparted to students’ (Hinde McLeod & Reynolds, 2003, p. 63). You have probably seen them use a number of ‘old school’ teaching methods, from lecturing and teacher talks, to practise drills, the emphasising of key points, rote learning, direct instruction and demonstrations (Barry & King, 1998). As a team, we have always believed that teachers come to the classroom with different views on what a teacher should do and how teachers should do it. Every teacher is different, and realistically, there is no right or wrong. Although you may think that teaching in such a manner is somewhat boring, and does not derive from your own teaching philosophy, such methods have proven to be beneficial, as learning experiences are structured, students know what to expect, and content is broken into ‘learnable’ chunks so it can be easily digested (Cruickshank et al., 2005; Marsh, 2008).
Still not convinced? Although Marsh (2008) has recognised that a teacher centred instructional mode can ‘lead to a lack of student involvement and boredom’ (p. 108), he believes that there are many ways to counteract this. When lecturing or conducting teacher talks, keep your presentations brief and intersperse them with student activity and involvement. Use visual aids, music and personal student examples when utilising a teacher centred approach, keep things such as practise drills short and incorporate a lively and enthusiastic style (Marsh, 2008). Despite the fact that you make think that utilising a behaviourist and/or teaching centred approach in your classroom is somewhat boring and old fashioned, you Amy cannot deny the fact that they work. There is nothing wrong with teaching from this end of the continua. They have been trialled and tested for years, and in essence, it is up to you to make such teaching techniques fun and exciting for yourself, and your students.
Conversely, we don’t want you to neglect the student-centred approach in which you have utilised and begun to use this year. We think this is fantastic, and something that more teachers need to do in their classrooms. Just because you have struggled with implementing a student-centred classroom, it does not mean you should give up. Yes it is hard work, but such an approach maximises student understanding, and allows students to do things that simply cannot stem for a teacher-centred classroom – it enables students to become active learners, allows them to make sense of information on their own, formulate questions, address issues and work with their fellow peers (Sparrow, Sparrow & Swan, 2000). We believe that you Amy, should continue to follow this path … continue to implement learning experiences such as problem solving, discussion and role play and find out what best works for you. If something doesn’t work, don’t get disheartened because remember that teaching is all about learning, and that not every single lesson is perfect.
Ultimately, it’s up to you Amy to use a variety of teaching strategies from either end of the continuum. Keep in mind that there is no right or wrong in teaching. Sometimes, it will be necessary to use a more teacher-centred approach for a learning experience, but then there will be other times where you will able to implement more interactive and student centred approaches to learning. Always remember to consider the type of activity/concept about to be learnt, the resources you have, your students in your care and the way your classroom is organised when determining a teaching approach (Cruickshank et al., 2003). Reflect upon each factor and then make a judgement. Remember Amy, that teachers need to ‘adapt lessons to cater for different groups of students’ (Hinde McLeod & Reynolds, 2003, p. 63) and that the ‘teacher who works at developing a varied combination of instructional modes of teaching is moving strongly to becoming a flexible teacher, and most likely to becoming a very effective one’ (Marsh, 2008, p. 156). Take on board the information in which we have presented to you – not only will you benefit from initiating and experiencing a range of teaching strategies, but so too will your students.
Kind Regards,
Dear Amy,
Having only just come out of university, you are probably without doubt, the most enthusiastic teacher at your school. Not only are you buzzing with ideas and bring to the classroom the most up-to-date knowledge in terms of skills and pedagogy, but we are almost certain that you are a teacher who will take risks, experiment by utilising different teaching and learning experiences and move away form the ‘traditional’ pedagogical approach. We think that this is fantastic, and there is nothing better than seeing innovative teachers in our profession who are willing to do something different. Amy, from what we have discovered of you, it is obvious that you are a big fan of student-centred learning and teaching. Many of the teachers in Project BEAM teach from a constructivist perspective (Vialle, Lysaght & Verenikina, 2000), because we too, are firm believers that all knowledge is built upon in the interaction of the learner and the material to be learned (Krause, Bochner & Duchesne, 2003). Despite this, we know that deep down it is not always possible to adapt such a teaching approach for every single learning experience. Realistically, we can see that you are struggling because we feel that you are being too one-dimensional in terms of the way you teach. Element 4.1.5 of the NSWIT PTS (2006) outlines that graduate teachers will use a range of teaching strategies and resources to foster interest and support learning, and we believe that the best teachers will use a wide variety of strategies from either end of the continuum (Cruickshank, Jenkins & Metcalf, 2005). In essence, we believe that you Amy need to reflect on the continua of teaching styles in our profession to best cater for every child in your classroom.
We imagine that many of the teachers at your school teach from a behaviourist perspective (Vialle et al., 2000). That is, teaching that implies that there is ‘a set amount of information that has to be imparted to students’ (Hinde McLeod & Reynolds, 2003, p. 63). You have probably seen them use a number of ‘old school’ teaching methods, from lecturing and teacher talks, to practise drills, the emphasising of key points, rote learning, direct instruction and demonstrations (Barry & King, 1998). As a team, we have always believed that teachers come to the classroom with different views on what a teacher should do and how teachers should do it. Every teacher is different, and realistically, there is no right or wrong. Although you may think that teaching in such a manner is somewhat boring, and does not derive from your own teaching philosophy, such methods have proven to be beneficial, as learning experiences are structured, students know what to expect, and content is broken into ‘learnable’ chunks so it can be easily digested (Cruickshank et al., 2005; Marsh, 2008).
Still not convinced? Although Marsh (2008) has recognised that a teacher centred instructional mode can ‘lead to a lack of student involvement and boredom’ (p. 108), he believes that there are many ways to counteract this. When lecturing or conducting teacher talks, keep your presentations brief and intersperse them with student activity and involvement. Use visual aids, music and personal student examples when utilising a teacher centred approach, keep things such as practise drills short and incorporate a lively and enthusiastic style (Marsh, 2008). Despite the fact that you make think that utilising a behaviourist and/or teaching centred approach in your classroom is somewhat boring and old fashioned, you Amy cannot deny the fact that they work. There is nothing wrong with teaching from this end of the continua. They have been trialled and tested for years, and in essence, it is up to you to make such teaching techniques fun and exciting for yourself, and your students.
Conversely, we don’t want you to neglect the student-centred approach in which you have utilised and begun to use this year. We think this is fantastic, and something that more teachers need to do in their classrooms. Just because you have struggled with implementing a student-centred classroom, it does not mean you should give up. Yes it is hard work, but such an approach maximises student understanding, and allows students to do things that simply cannot stem for a teacher-centred classroom – it enables students to become active learners, allows them to make sense of information on their own, formulate questions, address issues and work with their fellow peers (Sparrow, Sparrow & Swan, 2000). We believe that you Amy, should continue to follow this path … continue to implement learning experiences such as problem solving, discussion and role play and find out what best works for you. If something doesn’t work, don’t get disheartened because remember that teaching is all about learning, and that not every single lesson is perfect.
Ultimately, it’s up to you Amy to use a variety of teaching strategies from either end of the continuum. Keep in mind that there is no right or wrong in teaching. Sometimes, it will be necessary to use a more teacher-centred approach for a learning experience, but then there will be other times where you will able to implement more interactive and student centred approaches to learning. Always remember to consider the type of activity/concept about to be learnt, the resources you have, your students in your care and the way your classroom is organised when determining a teaching approach (Cruickshank et al., 2003). Reflect upon each factor and then make a judgement. Remember Amy, that teachers need to ‘adapt lessons to cater for different groups of students’ (Hinde McLeod & Reynolds, 2003, p. 63) and that the ‘teacher who works at developing a varied combination of instructional modes of teaching is moving strongly to becoming a flexible teacher, and most likely to becoming a very effective one’ (Marsh, 2008, p. 156). Take on board the information in which we have presented to you – not only will you benefit from initiating and experiencing a range of teaching strategies, but so too will your students.
Kind Regards,
Project BEAM
