CH 11 – Teaching Styles and Strategies to Meet Learners’ Needs Direct teaching: Most teachers use this You explain and demonstrate a skill and everyone practices the same skill at the same time and they same way and the teacher gives feedback Saves instructional time and is good when the material can be learned in a strictly sequential, progressive manner. Does NOT help with skills requiring higher-order thinking & unstructured organization.

Teaching Styles The following styles are on a continuum from the command style, for which the teacher makes all of the decisions to the self-teaching style where the students make nearly all of the decisions EVERY style has a place depending on the situation (time and environment), students, teachers, and content

1. Command Style Teacher makes all the decisions. Teacher gives step by step instructions All students perform the same task at the same time Often appropriate for the initial learning stages, especially where safety is a concern Also appropriate when instructional time is limited or student behavior dictates a highly structured class routine

2. Practice Style Most commonly used style in PE Teacher determines what is taught, introduces the skills and tasks through demonstration or the use of task cards. Student determine the number of practice trials and often the order in which they will practice the skills Teacher circulates throughout the class giving feedback and answering questions Good for initial state of learning and when you don’t have a lot of instructional time. Better than command, because students have more time to practice skills and have more responsibility for their learning

3. Reciprocal Students give each other feedback Teacher determines the task they practice and identify crucial features for them Before this, you check for understanding by providing a number of demonstrations that include common errors, asking students to identify the errors and you give appropriate feedback Students work in pairs and the observer gives the doer feedback – a check list or criteria sheet helps Teacher communicates only with the observer Helps with social skills Limit to review of previously learned information

4. Self-check Teacher determines the task the student will practice and identify the critical features. The feedback comes from the student Should be skills where they can clearly see results. Helps them become more self-reliant, but does limit interactions with others – not really appropriate for middle schoolers

5. Inclusion Very appropriate for middle schoolers Teacher determines the task and its critical features, but you also give the students a choice of performance levels for the task from which they may select the level of practice that they think is right for them. May change size and weight of an object; size; distance, and height of a target; body position, etc. It is the students’ responsibility to determine when they are ready to move to a more difficult performance level

6. Guided Discovery Teacher determines the task and then arranges a sequence of problems or questions that, when solved by the students, leads to the one correct response. Students must give a verbal or motor response to each prompt Must give the students enough time to think through each question or problem May need to adjust prompts if all or most of students respond incorrectly Your goal is to logically guide students Takes time, BUT students will learn material

7. Convergent Discovery Student goes though the discovery process without any clues from you Should master guided discovery first Must select activities through which the students are able to discover the correct answer.

8. Divergent Production A problem-solving style You select a task and design a problem that can be solved in a variety of ways. Then ask students to find solutions and evaluate the effectiveness of each. Improve motor skills by showing students many different ways to accomplish tasks Best for learning tasks similar to tasks students have already mastered. Great at developing social skills

9. Individual Program-Learner’s Design Teacher chooses the general subject material, but you allow the learner to choose the specific question and determine possible solutions. We don’t use this much yet – but with more emphasis on individualized learning, we will

10. Learner Initiated Learner initiates the style for themselves. The student approaches you and states their desire to initiate and conduct learning activities. We don’t use this much, yet

11. Self-teaching Exact opposite of command style Doesn’t exist in the classroom, but it does in real life. Encourages students to pursue their own educational interests, based on their own capabilities and needs both outside the school setting and when possible within the school setting.

Instructional Strategies Teaching styles – address the question of who is making the decisions about instruction Instructional strategies – refer to the arrangement of the teacher, learner, and environment Many different types – we will explore only two

Station Teaching Students are in small groups and rotate from learning center to learning center effectively and efficiently. Provides students with a variety of drills and tasks Works best when equipment or space is limited Provides students with opportunities to practice and apply the same skill to different situations – crucial to mastering open skills

Station Teaching (Cont.) Set up different activities around the gymnasium Divide class into equal number of groups and assign to a different starting station Place a task card describing what you want them to do Make sure each station requires about the same amount of time to complete.

Station Teaching (Cont.) Have students complete a data sheet at each station. It is best to start with only 3-4 stations and then add more -this will minimize teacher talk Can use this with a variety of teaching styles – reciprocal, self-check, and inclusion Keep tasks fairly simple

Cooperative Learning Research shows that cooperative learning results in greater achievement gains, improved cross-cultural friendships, increased social skills, enhanced self-esteem, greater interdependence (teamwork), increased cognitive and affective abilities, and an improved classroom climate.

Cooperative Learning (Cont.) True cooperative learning requires: Formation of heterogeneous teams Establishment of positive interdependence and individual accountability Opportunity for team members to get acquainted with one another and establish a team identity. Use of an established structure Opportunity to debrief the situation

1. Form heterogeneous teams Teams should have a balance of gender, ethnicity, ability, etc. You can randomly assign and then adjust for the above or you can rank students by ability and then assign one from the top with one from the bottom, etc. Group sizes of 4-6 are about right, but partners can work too.

2. Establish positive interdependence and individual accountability Set up one task to be accomplished by each group. Make sure it can be completed ONLY if the students cooperate Establish individual accountability making sure each member has a specific task, role, or resource ensuring that each must contribute to the successful completion of the task

3. Promote Team Building Students need time to get to know one another and develop trust before being presented with a task Groups go through 4 stages: Forming Storming Norming Performing

4. Select a Structure There are many – we will limit to four Think-pair-share: Students work with partners. You pose a question and give students time to think about their answer. After thinking, they share their responses with their partners. Partners question each other to help refine the answer

Structure for Cooperative Learning (Cont.) 2. Numbered Heads: Students work in partners You pose a question and they solve it together – asking each other questions to make sure their answer is appropriate

Structure for Cooperative Learning (Cont.) 3. STAD (student teams achievement divisions) Students assigned to groups of four You present the lesson and supply instructional materials, then students work to make sure everyone in their group masters the information Reciprocal style helps here

Structure for Cooperative Learning (Cont.) 4. Jigsaw: Students assigned to home teams of 4-6 members Each member of the home team selects a different piece of material to learn. Have students from different teams who have similar pieces of information, forms expert groups to discuss their information and develop a presentation for their home teams. No more than 4-6 in expert groups Have students return to home groups to share information

5. Be Sure to Debrief Ask students: Was the task completed? If not, why? How did it feel to have someone accept your suggestions? How did it feel to have someone complement you? What can you do next time to make your group work more successfully? What learning can you take from their experience to use in the future? What were some encouraging things you saw or heard?

Working with Limited-English Proficient Students LEP = limited English Proficient SDAIE = specially designed academic instruction in English Four methods for working with LEP students: create a supportive learning environment Use a variety of instructional strategies, including cooperative learning Make sure information is comprehensible to students Include a technique called total physical response

1. Supportive Environment Ask them to share their experiences Incorporate some of their background into the class Establish consistent routines so they know what is happening next Avoid forcing them to speak (takes 6 mo. To a year at least) When they do speak, correct their errors only through verbal mirroring

2. Variety of Strategies, Including Cooperative Learning All of your students learn in unique ways – including the LEP students Technology is helpful Nice to have a bi-lingual student in group with LEP

3. Comprehensible Input Use simple terms Reinforce key concepts over and over again Check often for student understanding Slow down speech pattern Pause frequently Enunciate clearly Emphasize key words of phrases Keep information in context

3. Comprehensible Input (Cont.) Use visual aids, gestures, organizers, and other real objects Demonstrate concepts Simplify information Expand on student’s ideas by asking additional questions Provide definitions Make comparisons Provide lots of examples Avoid idioms Summarize often Increase wait time

4. Total Physical Response There is a definite link between physical activity and language acquisition. TPR = demonstrate something physically and have the student respond with a physical movement

Summary You will work with 20 – 60 different learning styles during one instructional period Make sure learning is hands-on, relevant, and student centered.