CHOOSING THE BEST TEACHING STYLE
When it comes to keeping students engaged in the lesson, teachers must determine the style of teaching that suits their students best.
Being knowledgeable about the subject they are teaching is a given, but how teachers are able to present it to their students will help the latter best understand the subject being taught. Other important factors to consider when developing a teaching style is one’s educational philosophy, classroom demographic, and the school’s mission statement.
Keep in mind that there are two key approaches in teaching styles, there’s the teacher-centered approach and the studentcentered approach.
Teacher-centered approach
The teacher-centered approach is more traditional, wherein the teacher is the main authority figure and the students simply learn through lectures and direct instructions. Their progress is assessed through traditional pen-and-paper tests.
EXAMPLES OF TEACHER-CENTERED APPROACH:
Direct instruction
Otherwise known as traditional teaching, the idea here is that the teacher is responsible for providing the students information and knowledge they need to learn through lectures and teacher-led demonstrations. There are three teaching models related to this style: Formal Authority (The teacher is the sole person of authority and leadersip.); Expert (This kind of teacher guides and directs students in a classroom setup wherein students simply receive the knowledge.); and Personal Model ( The teacher leads by example, showing the students how to find information and how to understand it. The idea is for the students to learn by watching and copying what the teacher exactly does.).
Student-centered approach
The student-centered approach is where students are able to play a more active role in the learning process. While the teacher remains as the authority figure, the students are given more freedom to come up with solutions on their own. The students’ progress is assessed through informal as well as formal methods. There are tests, group projects, class participation, and portfolios. The teacher can also assist the students during the lessons to gauge how well they are learning. This way, the teacher is able to have a better grasp of which teaching method is best for his students.
EXAMPLES OF STUDENT-CENTERED APPROACH:
Inquiry-based learning
Inquiry-based learning is a teaching style that focuses on letting students explore and actively participate in learning. Instead of simply dictating to students what they need to know, the teacher functions more as a guide, giving students advice and supporting their efforts. Students are expected to play an active role to be able to learn.
There are three models under this teaching style: Facilitator ( The teacher makes use of an open-classroom model wherein there’s a strong emphasis on teacher-student relationship. Students are encouraged to be more independent, more exploratory, and more hands-on.); Personal Model (As opposed to Direct Instruction Personal Model, the Personal Model learns with the students, encouraging them to explore and experiment with new ideas. This shows students that there’s nothing wrong with making a mistake as long as you learn from them); and Delegator (The most hands- off approach out of all the modeled teaching methods as the idea is to encourage independence in the students’ learning process. The teacher will give the students the resources they need but will only answer questions or check the students’ progress when needed).
Cooperative learning
This kind of teaching style enchances the students’ ability to work well with others. Through group projects, the students are responsible for their own learning and development. The idea behind this style of teaching is that students become responsible for their own learning and development. The two models under this subcategory are Facilitator (The teacher makes use of an open-classroom setup but instead of going through the process alone, students are divided into groups that work together on different tasks/projects) and Delegator (There is a higher focus on group project compared to the inquiry- based learning delegator model).
It’s important to note that choosing a teaching style should also be based on your values and philosophy as an educator. It’s also imperative that you have a keen sense of what your students need to be able to learn better. This way, you’ll have a good sense of which teaching style you will become most effective with as a teacher.