High Performance Learning 3 Ways
Teaching styles vary enormously accordingly to time and
place. Some styles have a brief history, born and bled much like any other
popular fashion. Others are tried and tested, and continue strong with a
thousand year history behind them. Others are experiments, which fail in short
order. No matter what the staying power, teaching styles have a strong relationship
with cultural norms and expectations. American teaching and Chinese teaching,
for example, could hardly be more different. Yet both styles have their benefit
and both can lead to high performance results.
The three teaching styles studied this week differ
enormously in their approach, yet they all deliver on a performance level.
Let’s take a closer look.
The first video, Roller Coast Physics: STEM in Action (watch it here) is an example of Project Based Learning. In Ms. Migdol’s STEM (Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) class, middle school students are
working on a 2.5-week engineering design project and are tasked with building a
safe and effective roller coast using various materials. They are fully engaged
and active in their learning. Students work in groups on their design,
problem-solving every step of the way. Ms. Migdol gives them limited materials
at the start of the project and a fixed budget, which forces them to think
about what modifications and trade-offs need to be made in order to reach their
goals – this is problem-solving in action. Within groups, students each choose
a job according to their talents and interest, which not only encourages equal
participation and active engagement in the project, but it also speaks to
students personally since jobs align with their interest. The groups regularly
meet for whole-class discussions regarding project progress and setbacks. This
“real-life” collaboration, discussion and sharing of ideas prepares students
for professional life where this type of communication is an integral aspect of
the work force, partially in the sciences and engineering fields. Students use
technology to record their work and results.
It is clear that the teacher holds students to very high academic
expectations. All students are actively and equally engaged. They are expected
to continually take notes and write predictions, analyses, and conclusions of
their experiments using technical vocabulary. The use of technology not only
makes learning more engaging but also prepares them for life and work in the 21st
Century. Through this type of project-based learning students become
risk-takers, problem-solvers, collaborators and truly engaged in and passionate
about their learning.
Ms. Migdol achieves excellent student behavior by virtue of
truly engaging students in their learning. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy that
because of their strong involvement, interest and participation in their
learning, there is no behavior ‘problems’.
Respect and recognition for the work and input of peers is facilitated
through group work, whole-class discussions, and the division of labor within
groups.
Procedurally, the teacher has achieved a flow which is
guided by her but which is determined by students. She checks in with groups,
asks questions, distributes materials and organizes discussions, but it’s the
students who give life and momentum to their learning in this project-based
learning model.
The second video, 3rd Grade Chinese-Math Class (watch it here) is a very different approach to teaching.
The math lesson is teacher-led and students are made to repeat in unison
numbers and charts. This type of whole-class chanting, rhyming and repetition invariably
leads to effective memorization but it’s questionable who and how deeply
students are learning. It’s unclear how learning in taken to a deeper level,
i.e., how are skills connected to practical or ‘real-life’ learning. While this
method quite certainly creates strong test-takers it very unlikely produced independent
thinkers and problem-solvers. In China, this method of teacher-led teaching and
collective student-repetition dates back centuries. Clearly, it has tried and
tested historical value and is a venerable cultural tradition. This type of
teaching, however, would be a hard sell in cultures where independent thinking
is highly valued and encouraged.
The teacher undoubtedly has high academic expectations of
her students. This is proven by China’s status among the top ranking school systems
in the world in terms of academic achievement. However, I would venture to say
that academic achievement is about all that is achieved through this method of
teaching. Whole-child education, in other words independent thinking, collaborative
‘real-life’ learning, critical thinking, problem solving and individual
exploration of ideas and interests seem to be an afterthought, if at all. It’s
also unclear how the teacher checks for comprehension. She regularly calls on
students for responses, but there is not guarantee that student responses are
not more memorized and automated than deeply and consciously understood.
Behaviorally, the teacher has high expectations of her
students. Her teaching method is highly controlled and authoritarian, which
requires full student submission. Students are orderly and attentive, respond
when prompted and do as told. Additionally, it’s likely that students are
unwilling to ‘act out’ as it is deemed culturally unacceptable in China, and
therefore a gamble of losing face.
Procedurally, the teacher is fully successful. Her students
clearly understand the norms and procedures of their lessons, as they are all
neatly seated and chanting in unison. Teacher expectations are thoroughly understood,
as is evident by the student’s quick and effective responses to her cues.
The third video, Whole Brain Teaching Richwood High – The
Basics (watch it here) exemplifies yet another method of teaching, “Whole Brain Teaching”. This method
is teacher-led and uses highly animated gesturing, clapping and individual key
word repetition to focus students and make them attentive. Students are
expected to respond to teacher cues instantly and in a strictly prescribed
fashion. Student response time and tone
are constantly checked, quickened, and corrected. Gesturing, tonal repetition
and response on cue is an integral part of this teaching methodology, as it is
believed that this facilitates whole brain learning and leads to better focus
and concentration.
The teacher using this teaching method may have high student
expectations but it’s unclear what these expectations are and how students are
assessed, nor is it unclear how deeply and thoroughly they are learning
content. I would venture to say that in this authoritarian approach, there is
less value on personalized learning and creative thinking. I also feel this
method comes with the message that students are in need of military style
control. This method may snap students into attention but its questionable how
long students can remain at this level attention, and it begs the question what
it does to their psyche in the long-term. How will these students function in a
society that strongly values independent and creative thinking and flexibility?
Aside from a career in the army, I’d be concerned about the value that this
method brings to the students in regards to full and effective preparation for
the future.
The teacher clearly has very strong behavioral expectations.
Miming and responding to gestures in timed sequences has student very much
controlled. The teacher’s authority is undeniable. Student clearly understand
norms and procedures in the classroom, as in indicated by their unified,
immediate and nearly flawless response to teacher cues and gestures.
As a private art teacher I teach mixed-age groups of
international children who attend either the International School (IB school)
or local German schools. My students are highly motivated learners at excellent
academic standing at their schools. In my own classroom, the only method out of
these three which I currently use, and foresee using going forward in the
first, project-based method. Neither the second nor third teaching method would
be acceptable teaching methods for me personally, and for my students purely
out of cultural norms. There are, however, elements of the Chinese method that
I do occasionally tap into, such as whole-class repetition of a new vocabulary
term, or repeating teaching instructions back to me to check for understanding.
As an art teacher, however, this method has little value for my work. My art
classroom, by definition, is a project based learning environment because the
art-making process is about developing a piece of art, taking risks, problem
solving and thinking creatively. Absolutely by no means would I ever use the whole brain
learning method. On a personal level, its methodology is far too theatrical and
exaggerated for my taste. I could never ‘be’ that teacher. The approach is
almost painful to watch, as I feel it demeans the individual and sends a
dangerous and condemning message about the need to control her. On a pedagogical
level, it doesn’t suit my student’s learning styles or cultures, nor does it
make sense for art teaching.
In the
future I hope to teach art at International Schools where the 21st
Century skills of problem solving, collaborations, knowledge sharing, use of
technology, and critical and creative thinking are highly valued. Therefore, it
is only the project-based learning method that I foresee using in my teaching.
Roller Coaster Physics: STEM in Action. Retrieved from https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/teaching-stem-strategies
Whole Brain Teaching. Retrieved from http://wholebrainteaching.com/beginner/
3rd Grade Chinese-Math Class. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7LseF6Db5g
Whole Brain Teaching Richwood High – The Basics. Retrieved May 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iXTtR7lfWU&feature=youtu.be
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