TA Handbook-Chapter 4

INSTRUCTIONAL STYLES

Revised by Carol Washburn, Ed.D., Instructional Designer, Center for Instructional Development & Distance Education

By the time you are a teaching assistant, you will have experienced approximately seventeen years or more of instruction. Your own teachers will have demonstrated a variety of instructional strategies and methods, and you probably have developed some ideas about what constitutes "good teaching." As you begin to put together your lessons and reflect about your own instructional style, your immediate inclinations will likely be based upon those experiences most familiar and comfortable to you.

One way of thinking about instructional styles is to consider our approaches to teaching and learning. These approaches typically fall on a continuum anchored between an instructor-centered style on one end, and a learner-centered approach on the other.

Instructor Centered Learner Centered

In a traditional classroom, the instructor is viewed as a "transmitter of knowledge" and learning is defined by how well students absorb and recall the material presented to them by their teachers. All of us can remember sitting in lecture halls and listening as the instructor introduced principles, defined concepts and explained applications. An instructor-centered style prioritizes covering content, to the extent that teachers will argue that interaction with students jeopardizes the quantity of information that can be presented and ultimately, what students will learn. The extreme characterization of this style would contend that "if you give students the information, they will learn it." This style coincides easily with the traditional lecture format requiring little or no student participation or involvement.

In contrast, with a learner-centered orientation, the instructor becomes a facilitator of knowledge-assisting, guiding, and coaching students in developing skills and competencies in ways that are meaningful to them. Student discussion, group work and other forms of activities dominate classrooms displaying a learner-centered style, where the contribution of ideas and perspectives in conjunction with facts and information is viewed as an integral part of the learning process. Because these activities take time, it is not easy to cover the breadth of material normally introduced in an instructor-centered classroom.

Most instructors fall somewhere along this continuum, exhibiting a tendency toward a preferred manner of teaching. You may be wondering whether or not students learn better when instructors favor a particular style. Are there methods that we can adopt as teachers to increase what our students learn?

In answer to this question, one popular approach focuses on understanding our students better through the use of inventories that analyze learning styles. For example, the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator is based on research conducted within the framework of the theory of psychological type. [1] It is postulated that the psychological type of a student can influence responses to assignments, study environments and testing formats. It is also argued that psychological type can influence teachers' preferences in the organization of a course, in the selection of presentation formats, and in the ways in which the instructor interacts with his or her students. You may be tempted to analyze and match your manner of teaching with your students' learning preferences using the Meyers-Briggs survey or one of the many other surveys available. While this information is interesting as a means of developing self-awareness toward your own style or that of your students, the utility of these instruments in course design should be viewed with caution.

Regardless of the means of assessment that you use, you will ultimately discover that your students vary in their preferences, their personalities, their ways of processing information, and in their developmental stages of learning. Some students may be analytical, while others draw on intuition. Some may be concrete in their approach to problem solving and answering questions, while others tend to see multiple perspectives to a problem. Some students may enjoy working alone while others prefer exchanging ideas through group work. Regardless of the explanations for these behaviors, there is no conclusive research that supports the theory that matching your teaching styles to the learning styles of students will lead to an increase in learning. In fact, it is often found that students with one style outperform others in a given course regardless of which teaching method is used. [2] Even when students are taught in ways incongruent with their preferred learning style, they still adapt and learn.

Ultimately, it is important to recognize that differences do exist and that our students are diverse in their approaches to learning. The best way of meeting this diversity is to vary consistently and purposefully our strategies and approaches within the classroom, based upon the learning objectives that we are trying to accomplish. For example, if you want students in biology to "distinguish the different stages of mitosis and meiosis," then give them visual material and ask them to do exactly that. If you want them to "discuss the ramifications of our involvement in the Middle East," then have them break into groups to do just that. This experience of practice by doing is far more powerful and productive than analyzing and contriving behaviors to meet the specific learning styles of some of the students in your class.

Are there general approaches to teaching that have been found to be effective with students, regardless of their individual styles? A significant body of research has concluded that the more active involvement students have in the learning process (through discussions, question and answer sessions, group projects, presentations, etc.), the more information they retain and the more enjoyable they find their experience. Using an interactive teaching style may have the following benefits for students:

Students become active rather than passive participants in the learning process.
Students retain information longer.
Interactive techniques are more democratic processes and thereby give students experience in collaborating and cooperating with others.
Problem-solving and critical thinking skills are enhanced in discussion settings.
Some students may learn better in a group situation.
Self-esteem is enhanced by class participation.
Students are given the opportunity to clarify their beliefs and values.
Student motivation for future learning is increased. [3]

In general, there is considerable evidence to indicate that teaching techniques which maximize interaction between students and teachers, and among the students themselves, tend to emphasize cognitive tasks at higher levels.

Don't fall into the trap of adopting some types of activities only because they seem enjoyable or appear novel. This is not to say that classroom activities should be dull or always serious. Activities and group work are effective tools for learning when they are geared toward accomplishing specific learning objectives. When you come across an idea for an activity that you would like to use for your class, always ask yourself the following question: How will this activity help the students accomplish the learning objectives? How many times have you sat in a classroom during a lively and involved discussion, and then walked away without any sense of how that discussion related to the topic at hand or to the goals of the course? Or, how many times have you participated in a group activity, and found that because of the work distribution, some group members benefited more than others? When you select lesson activities to use toward meeting your objectives, try to design them, structure them, or provide introductions and closure that maximize the learning for most students.

STRUCTURING YOUR LESSON [4]

Regardless of the methods that you use, each learning situation should contain the following events of instruction. These events should be included in almost any instructional situation, regardless of the methods employed: group work, lecture, etc. As you think about your class, try to answer each of the following questions.

				Guidance
				^
Introduction	>	Presentation	>	Practice	<	Practice	<	Test
				^
				Feedback

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of the introduction is to focus students' attention on what is expected of them, to motivate them by explaining the benefits of the instruction, and to relate information to knowledge already known. Is the objective of the lesson described? When you tell students what you expect them to be able to do, you direct them toward the purpose of the instruction. It is not always clear to students what they are supposed to be able to accomplish.

"After the lecture today, you should be able to read 'The Necklace' and analyze it from a psychological point of view."

"Your objective today is to argue whether or not watching television is a passive activity."

Is the relevance described? Information is more meaningful when students understand how a learning task fits into the broader instructional goal. Describing the relevance of the lesson also answers the question "Why are we learning this...why is it important?" When students see the value of a learning task, they learn it better.

"By focusing on the behavior of the characters, the problems they have, their feelings about themselves and others, and finally, their self-evaluation, we can enter into the text and construct a reading that will eventually lead to a context that is both specific and different from merely a surface reading."

"Decisions are often made by parents who assume that watching television from a cognitive standpoint is an entertaining but meaningless activity unless it is public television. But is this true? The research that we will be talking about today in regards to how children learn and react to television challenges these assumptions."

How will the new learning relate to old learning? When new learning is related to something that the students already know-even if it is just a brief review of the previous lesson-then a framework is developed within which the student can place new information.

"Each of you is familiar with common psychological terms such as 'depression', 'regression', 'anxiety', and 'self-esteem'. These are also just a few of the many terms we all know that are applicable to fictional characters." [6]

"Remember when we talked about social learning theory and modeling? Who can summarize what Bandura's research found in the 1960s?"

BODY OF THE LESSON

When new information is to be learned, the lesson should present the new facts, concepts or rules and/or describe and demonstrate the skill. Is the structure logical? Students will be able to remember more when you present it in a highly structured form without extraneous information. Stress key points by repeating them often.

Are the important characteristics of the material highlighted? Make sure that you call attention to the critical attributes of a concept. Aural presentations are appropriate for familiar, simple, or very meaningful material. Visual presentations facilitate learning more difficult material. Finally, when teaching concepts, make sure that you provide examples as well as theory.

How will information overload be avoided? Because students can process only so much information during a given time, you should "chunk" information into logical, meaningful units. Consequently, it will be easier for your students to recall at a later date. For example, rather than learning the characteristics associated with the fifty states, it is much easier to concentrate on geographical locations such as the Northeast, Midwest, etc. Organize the information further by relating all of the locations to specific categories such as natural resources, manufacturing, or population.

A rapid rate of delivery can also increase information overload. Try introducing the information one way, and then presenting it in another way from a different point of view or perspective. This facilitates students placing the information into memory.

PRACTICE

"Practice is the most important ingredient of effective instruction; it speeds up learning, aids long-term retention, and facilitates recall.... Instruction is less effective when there is no opportunity to perform the task or when practice is delayed until after the instruction has been completed. Unfortunately, much of the instruction in our classroom provides little or no opportunity for practice." [7] Does the practice progress from easy to hard? Generally there are two types of practice: transitional practice provides students early in the learning process with situations they can handle. During the initial practice activities, instructors may want to cue students or provide more frequent feedback in an effort to make the practice as error free as possible. Then, the practice activities can increasingly become more difficult until students improve in their skill level, reaching a criterion level of practice just before evaluation.

"Although we have gone over what your research paper should contain and look like when you are finished, I want you to begin by selecting a topic and preparing an outline. Once I have given you feedback for consistency and continuity on your outline, you may proceed with the draft of the first section."

Practice does not always have to be limited to the formal experience that we frequently associate with homework. It can occur as part of a lecture: the instructor can pose a problem and ask students to work out a solution. Practice can be a gauge for instructors to determine whether they should continue on with the lesson.

"On this overhead is a brief outline of a research plan. Take two minutes to jot down on your scratch paper whether or not you feel it is flawed and, if so, in what way. Then we'll talk about your reactions."

Does the practice occur immediately after new information is presented? The more opportunities for students to respond, the more learning will occur. For some instructors, the concept of "practice" is more common in subjects where scientific or mathematical problems provide substance for homework assignments. Yet, practice is important in other subject areas as well. How can you include practice activities throughout the lesson?

"Look at these two slides. Which building characterizes Richardson?"

Before our next class, I'd like you to analyze the main characters from 'The Necklace.' Men, you analyze Monsieur Loisel and women, you analyze Madame Loisel. Describe his or her underlying needs and subsequent behavior. We will trade our analyses among ourselves, and determine where we fall in our skill as psychoanalysts."

FEEDBACK

As you assess the practice attempts of your students, ask yourself the following questions: Is the feedback complete? Tell your students the entire answer rather than simply stating that the answer was incorrect.

Is the feedback specific and corrective? Explain where the students went wrong, and also why the answer was wrong.

Is the feedback immediate? When students perform a practice activity and receive feedback right after completing the work, the task itself is still in the students' minds. They don't have to recall what they were doing and the logic under which they were doing it. The longer the interval between the activity and the feedback, the less meaningful the practice. Give feedback as soon as possible to students so that they can revise, reword, and learn why their efforts yielded incorrect responses.

TESTING

Your evaluation should reflect your objectives. Did the students accomplish the objectives that you set out to teach? (For more on testing, see Chapter 8.)

Chapter 3	Prev. Section	Next Section	Chapter 5