Handbook Table of Contents > Preparing to Teach > Your Instructional Style
Indiana University Teaching Handbook
Preparing to Teach
Your Instructional Style
Having established objectives and assessment techniques, determined an appropriate sequence, and chosen suitable instructional materials to help students meet your expectation, you now have the opportunity to implement these plans in a variety of ways. Remember, “the instructional strategies and techniques that you adopt as a teacher bespeak your attitudes about yourself and your students and your respective roles in the teaching process” (adapted with permission from Crow, 1980).
It is important to remember that everyone tends to teach in the style in which they learn best. An instructor who has studied with a great lecturer may feel lecturing is the only way to teach. However, this might not be the best instructional style for all of your students. Be aware that individuals vary greatly in their learning styles, and your goal is to take them from wherever they are to the next level of development. Learn to teach the students you have rather than the students you want to have. All students can succeed when their learning needs are addressed. The following differences represent a continua along which different people have learning preferences. Some people:
- think symbolically, in words and numbers, while others are spatial, thinking in pictures and images
- are analytic, preferring to focus on details, while others are synthetic, preferring the “big picture”
- are intra-personal, preferring to work alone while others are interpersonal, preferring to collaborate
- are reflective, preferring to think about new information, while others are active, preferring to do something
There is no one “best way” to learn, no one right or wrong preference on the continua. Try to include activities that allow students to learn in a variety of modes. The more active involvement students have in the learning process (through discussions, question and answer sessions, group projects, problem sets, presentations, etc.), the more information they will retain and the more enjoyable they will find their learning experience in your course. Using an interactive teaching style may result in the following benefits for students:
- students become active rather than passive participants in the learning process
- students retain information longer
- interactive techniques are 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
In general, considerable evidence indicates that teaching techniques that maximize interaction between students and teachers (and among students themselves) tend to emphasize cognitive tasks at the higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy of learning objectives (X-ref; see page 2). In selecting an instructional style for your lecture, discussion, lab, or course, keep in mind what it is you think is most important for your students to learn. The ways in which your objectives are carried out will either facilitate or hinder what you are trying to accomplish with students. This is why it is important to “fit” your teaching style to both your course objectives and to your students’ varied learning styles.
The following are some interactive teaching techniques to help do this (adapted from Povlacs, 1986):
- have students write a question on a 3 X 5 card and turn it in for you to answer in a “press conference” format
- put students into pairs or “learning cells” to quiz each other about the subject matter
- have students apply subject matter by solving real problems
- give students red, yellow, and green cards (made of poster board) and periodically call for a vote on an issue by asking for a simultaneous showing of cards
- roam the aisles of large classrooms and carry on running conversations with students as they work on problems (a portable microphone helps in a large hall)
- ask a question directed to one student and wait for an answer
- place a suggestion box in the rear of the room and encourage students to make written comments every time the class meets
- do oral, show-of-hands, multiple-choice tests for summary, review, and instant feedback
- use task groups to accomplish specific objectives
- grade quizzes and exercises in class as a learning tool
- give students plenty of opportunity for practice before a major test
- give a test early in the semester, grade it, and return it at the next class meeting
- have students write questions, collect them, and answer them at the beginning of the next class period or via e-mail
- make collaborative assignments for several students to work on together
- assign written paraphrases and summaries of difficult reading
- have students write something
- have students keep three-week, three-times-a-week journals in which they comment, ask questions about or respond to course topics
- invite students to critique each other’s essays or short answers on tests for readability and content
- give students a take-home problem relating to the day’s lecture
