In this article, we will discuss each teaching style, why it’s important to know each of them, and under which circumstances to use one.
One of the most required, exhausting, and loveliest careers in the world is being a teacher. You have the chance and the responsibility to mold the minds of your students. And when I say it’s a responsibility too, it’s because you will be one of the most important figures in the academic life of your students. You don’t just have the responsibility to teach the subject. You have the responsibility to guide your students through the learning journey; verify that the subject has a real impact on their lives, that they understand the reason behind the course and why it is important they understand and be able to apply every topic on their lives.
Some teachers just focus on imparting a subject and do not care if the student understands each one of the topics and, as I mentioned before, if the student, in the end, can apply the topics to their lives and why they’re important. And that’s something concerning, you just can’t do something like that. First of all, it’s not ethical, and second, it’s because at the time that you become a teacher, you commit to yourself and your future students that you will put your soul in every class and will do your best.
Based on this it’s important to understand what your teaching style is because you can’t use the same style in all your classes and students. Depending on their ages they will require different attention and a different way to receive and process the topic.
In this article, we will discuss each teaching style, why it’s important to know each of them, and under which circumstances to use one.
The particularity of this style is that it is teacher–centered and in most of the sessions the teacher focuses on lengthy lecture sessions or one–way presentations.
This style limits the student’s participation, and the teacher expects that the student understands the topic just by that. But it is also recommended for topics that you need to provide a lot of information in great detail with minimal or no interruption, like history class when you have to provide specific information and the student has to memorize.
This style is one of the most used in college, the teacher shows you a presentation and starts explaining the content and providing some examples as well. You feel it to be more like a conference than a class. For that reason, it is not recommended for kids because when you’re imparting a class to kids, you need to make sure that yes, they’re following you and that the class is attractive to them. That way, they will pay full attention to your class.
As the name says, this style focuses on guiding the student and supporting the class with examples, multimedia resources, presentations, or even exercises. This one is similar to the previous one because it still focuses on keeping the figure of authority.
We know that when we’re practicing a sport, we’ll always have a coach who will guide us through the journey, teach us so many techniques, and help us improve our weak spots. Based on this, this style is recommended for teachers that impart classes that are related to numbers or science; for example, if you are teaching math to your students you can’t discuss the topic and leave your students with their own opinions about it, you have to teach them with examples every rule and reinforce the topic with exercises.
This method requires that you, as a teacher, be more prepared about your material, what you will present to your students, and how this will help your students understand the topic easily.
One of the good things about this style is that if you prepare presentations for your classes, you can share them with your students. If they have any questions, they can always go back to the presentation and find some kind of refresher.
This is a very interesting style because it challenges both the teacher and the students, but it also allows the students to learn by trial and error and enhance their critical thinking.
The teacher must develop a proper environment. A safe space for the students, in that way they will feel more confident about themselves and about exploring self-teaching.
As a facilitator it doesn’t mean that you aren’t going to prepare a class and just leave your students alone, it means that you have to prepare your class, the safe space, and the appropriate environment to promote self-teaching.
This style recommends that you, as a teacher, be transparent about yourself and be able to share your thoughts and experiences about the topic. It is also important that you trust your classroom and believe in their capabilities and abilities.
Remember that it is key to show empathy in the classroom and make them feel that it is okay if they fail. Errors make them stronger, and a mistake would never define them.
The delegator or group style focuses on giving the students control, and they become responsible for themselves or their group.
This style usually allows the students to develop their leadership skills because they have the responsibility to guide their groups, learn the topic that they have to explain to their classmates and make sure that they understand it very well.
The function of the teacher in this role is to delegate to each group what topic they have to board explain how to do it, and provide some points of reference. This is a very risky style because since the responsibility is on the student, you can’t make sure if the student understands the topic very well and if they will be able to explain to the class the topic. You need to make sure they are ready and the information that they have it’s accurate.
It’s recommended that you provide your comments and clarify the topic after the student’s presentation.
Not all the teaching styles will fit you or your class. It will depend directly on your student’s needs or their learning process. It is not mandatory to use one all the time; with time, you will find out under which scenarios one will work better and under which one will work another. Don’t be afraid to try each of these.
