Views on Choosing Teaching Methods
When confronted with the methodological diversity, some teachers feel comfortable to adopt one particular method consonant with their own beliefs, experiences and fundamental views about teaching and learning. They may get well trained in the method for teaching their subjects, and this particular method could also be well documented with plenty of research evidence supporting it. This is the view of one method being the best.
There is another group of teachers. They think that because there are so many different teachers, school subjects, learning levels, and students, it is impossible that one method could be suitable to all. On the other hand, considering that every method has its weakness and strength, these teachers argue that the best choice is to select different methods for teachers and learners in different contexts.
However, in the profession, there are more and more teachers believe that teaching is full of contingencies that require a response in the moment that may be more intuitive than a conscious philosophical position. As a result, when asked what teaching methods should be employed in class, these teachers might say, “it depends.” This answer, showing the wisdom of practice, has brought to light a “deep structure” issue regarding the implementation and selection of a teaching method, that is, too many important factors and decisions are outside the control of the teachers. As Fanselow (1987) observed that perhaps as little as tow percent of the variance that contributes to learning may be controlled by the teacher (1987:11).
Relationship between Teaching and Management
Broadly defined, a teaching method could be recognized as comprising mainly two organically ...
... middle of paper ...
...al with class management issues, it is clear that it is not enough for a teacher just know how to implement different strategies or tactics. We should also emphasize to pool the teachers’ efforts together (by different grades). We need to provide the support to each other’s class management, and share the most effective strategies and tactics.
On the other hand, while strengthening the communication with the parents, and encouraging their active involvement, the school administrators should lead and work with all the faculty and staff to build up a positive subculture in school in order to suppress the negative influences from the outside, hence, creating a healthy teaching and leaning environment for school. Only with all these strategies implemented cooperatively, can it be possible that teachers will achieve a better class management and successful teaching.
When I first decided to be a teacher I had many thoughts and opinions about teaching and education. Some of my thoughts and opinions have stayed them same; however, many have changed from the discussions and readings in LL ED 411 and 480. When I first decided that I wanted to be a teacher I thought that most students learned in the same manner. I also thought that the teacher should have power over the classroom. Likewise, I thought that technology should not be used in the classroom--except to type papers. I now know that there is not much truth to my ideas and thoughts because my thoughts were shaped only from my experiences. My experiences are narrow because they were shaped from the problems in schools and the old ideas that teachers still have. Now that I have learned the other sides to these problems I know that my thoughts about teaching and education are not fully developed.
...simply reuses the same approach and methodology each year, his class is likely to become boring and ineffective. In order to properly educate students, a teacher must always be looking for ways to improve his course—methods of making the knowledge seem more interesting and relevant to students. Originality and innovation not only maintain students’ attention, but also help keep teachers interested. Any subject matter will seem boring if an instructor teaches it the same way for twenty years. In order to maximize the effectiveness of their teaching, educators constantly must be in search of new methods of presenting content. Complacency, after all, is the first step on the road to ineffective instruction. Teachers, like their students, must always remain motivated by the desire to improve. Without this desire, the process of education becomes stagnant and empty.
In my twelve years of teaching experience, one thing that most of my colleagues have struggled with at some point in their career has been classroom management. Classroom management is one many keys to instructional success. Unfortunately, many have left the teaching field due to lack of knowledge of classroom management best practices.
Everyone has a different way of teaching, but in the end, the method should help the students learn. In the
From the book The Spectrum of teaching styles, From Command to Discovery, written by Muska Mosston, he explains that there are a variety of teaching styles. These styles are all a part of the Spectrum of Learning. The spectrum of learning is defined as “the framework for teaching where the term teaching style was selected to differentiate the descriptions of specific teaching behavior.”(Mosston, 1986) Mosston explains that through the process of decision-making, we are left with eleven styles of teaching on the spectrum. “Mosston’s analyses showed that for any style a teacher might choose, certain aspects or possibilities of the teaching-learning situation were facilitated while other as4pects were diminished.” (Thomson, 2009) meaning there are both strengths and weaknesses of each teaching style. The styles are, The Command style, The Practice Style, The Reciprocal Style, The Self-check Style, The Inclusion Style, The Guided Discovery Style, The Divergent Style, The Convergent Discovery style, The Divergent Production Style, Learner Designed Individual Program Style, The Learner Initiated Style, and The Self Teaching Style. Each style is unique in its own way and each is practiced in teaching. (Mosston, 1986) Although, it is apparent that there are seve...
Therefore the teacher proactively plans a variety of ways to ‘get at’ and express learning” (Tomlinson, 2001, p. 3). Planning for a variety of teaching strategies does not mean giving more work to the smart children. Instead the teacher must assess who understands the material, who is struggling, who needs to be challenged and decide what or how to teach the students from there (Tomlinson, 2001). Differentiation should occur naturally and involve individual, class and group work to allow for the differences in all students and all subjects of study (Tomlinson, 2001). Probably the most important aspect of differentiation is the idea of challenging all learners at their level instead of giving extra work to those students whom learn the concepts quickly.
In role play, the learners are assigned roles which they act out within a scenario given by the lecturer. The lecturer must choose a scenario for a role play that gives the learners an opportunity to prepare what they have been taught. The role should also keep the learners interested. A scenario for a role play can be found by things they have encountered in their lives, from a book or a movie. After choosing the scenario for a role play, their learners have to then brainstorm ideas on how the scenario would progress. The lecturer must try to keep the skill set for the role play simple or to a point where the learners can understand. Role plays with problems or arguments in them can be excellent motivators for making the characters in the role play talk. Once the role play has been chosen, the appropriate language use would be next. The use of vocabulary needs to be in sync with the grade level of the role play. The lecturer must then provide the learners with solid information and simple role descriptions. The lecturer then can either ask for volunteers or assign roles in advance, the latter keeps things simple with no time wasted. Finally when the role play is complete, the lecturer will take time to listen to the rest of the learner’s opinions about the play.
School administrators need to nurture both students and staff to maintain a positive school culture. Empowering students by putting them in charge of their learning, developing positive relationships are a few of the ways that a school culture can flourish.
This perspective represents a change in the thinking about the teaching-learning process; a change between an approach that favours what works to the majority of the students and that incorporates something “different” or additional ‘for those
...er’s should try to encourage and strengthen parents engagement in their Childs school experience, as the student is more likely to want to come to school and participate in work if they have the encouragement of their family members. Every single student has the ability to learn and reach their full potential if they have the right role models there to help them. All these aspects explain how it can be very challenging for a teacher to try and manage a classroom where every student has different learning abilities.
Classroom management has the largest effect on student achievement, so students cannot learn in poorly managed classroom. Additionally, research has pointed out that the quality of teacher-student relationships is the main aspect of classroom management.(…2). Furthermore, when teachers set classroom management plan, the plan will give structure to everything from seating to lessons to grading to the relationship between students. Teachers should incorporate strategies for addressing student behavior into classroom
Thought out our lives, we are faced with many different learning experiences. Some of these experiences have made a better impact than others. This can be attributed to everyone’s different multiple intelligences or learning styles. A persons learning style is the method though which they gain information about their environment. As a teacher, it is our responsibility to know these styles, so we can reach each of our students and use all of the necessary methods.
However, even the most supported theories can have opponents as proved by Flora Macleod and Michael Golby who stated that ‘’centralised, highly specified curriculum and its associated assessment procedures limit the possibilities. Perhaps most damaging, however, are the limitations imposed by narrow orthodoxies on teachers’ capacities to adopt imaginative, problem solving approaches to teaching in the practical situation.’’ (Macleod and Golby, 2003, p. 345). By definition, a specified curriculum does limit teachers in terms of what they can teach but it does not necessarily constrict teachers to a specific method of teaching. On the other hand, orthodoxies (the teaching methods taught in teachers’ college) do limit future-teachers abilities but still show evidence of being the significantly effective on students. For example, according behavioural learning theory, teaching should be based on reinforcement of positive behaviour through rewards thus teachers would be much more fit if they were instructed to chunk assignments and give regular encouraging feedback to student (Syomwene, Kitainge, & Mwaka, 2013). Shiundu and Omulando have supported this theory in 1992 as they noted that students reciprocate and learn much better through reinforcement from teachers (Syomwene,
By asking students about their situation in school, linked to the teaching-style of their teachers, I found out in which way students are influenced by the way their teachers try to submit the knowledge to them.
In this course I experienced an important change in my beliefs about teaching; I came to understand that there are many different theories and methods that can be tailored to suit the teacher and the needs of the student. The readings, especially those from Lyons, G., Ford, M., & Arthur-Kelly, M. (2011), Groundwater-Smith, S., Ewing, R., & Le Cornu, R. (2007), and Whitton, D., Barker, K., Nosworthy, M., Sinclair, C., Nanlohy, P. (2010), have helped me to understand this in particular. In composing my essay about teaching methods and other themes, my learning was solidified, my knowledge deepened by my research and my writing skills honed.