Teaching Methods

C&G 7303 – Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector

Do you agree with this statement?

Some teaching methods are bad and shouldn’t be used.

Learning activities include 3 main components:

Teaching methods

Resources

Strategies

 -         presentation (teacher in control or teacher-centred), where the tutor predominately transmits ideas,

information or skills.  -         interaction (shared control or participative), where knowledge and experience are shared between the teacher and the learners and/or amongst the learners themselves.

 -         search (learner in control or learner centred), where the learners explore and discover for themselves, either on their own or in small collaborative groups.

Petty states the following advantages of giving students more control and responsibility:

•encourages active and deep learning, rather than passive

and superficial learning

•develops self-management and ‘learning to learn’

process skills as well as delivering the learning product.

•discourages learned helplessness and learned dependency -

encourages the development of self-belief, self-reliance and

autonomy.

•less stressful and more enjoyable for the teacher, who also

gains the students’ respect for treating them with respect

Petty G (1998), Teaching Today, Thornes (page 119)

Categorisation of methods by ‘domains of learning’

Cognitive domain: concerned with knowledge. Methods might include lectures, small group

work, problem solving tasks, research etc

Psycho motor domain: concerned with skills. Methods might include demonstration,

individual practice, coaching etc

Affective domain: concerned with attitudes. Methods might include discussion, case

studies, role play, simulation etc.

Are some teaching methods bad and

shouldn’t be used? Perhaps we should say:

Some teaching methods are ‘bad’ when used with some students

Some teaching methods are ‘bad’ for achieving some learning outcomes

Some teaching methods are ‘bad’ for some subject areas or domains of learning

Some teaching methods are ‘bad’ when used by some teachers

or…………

There’s no bad teaching methods just teaching methods used badly!

Daines J, Daines C & Graham B, (1998), Adult Learning Adult Teaching, University of Nottingham

(page 19)

‘No one method of teaching adults will suit every occasion. What matters

is to choose a method or methods which best help adults achieve the task in hand. Experience indicates that a combination of methods is likely to be more effective than any one used singly and that a variety will

help maintain people’s interest and motivation.’