8/4/2019 If a Pupil Cannot Learn the Way You Teach Can You Teach
the Way They Learn
1/2
If a pupil cannot learn the way you teach can you teach the way
they learn Discuss
One of the great things about teaching is that no two pupils are
alike, therefore in this short essay I
will briefly focus on these main points of teacher
flexibility:
1. The importance of reflective teaching2. Acknowledgment of
pupil learning styles3. Consequent approaches to teaching and
learning1. Nicholas Cook writes that, ...it is all too easy to see
the teacher as the active contributor
and the student as the passive vehicle, but in reality this is
anything but the case.1
I agree
with Cook as I believe that as the teacher, it is essential to
assess how your approaches to
lesson content and delivery are being processed and absorbed by
the pupil, for if learning is
not taking place, then something needs to mutually change.
Whilst a lack of pupil progress
should not always be attributed to inadequate teaching, it is
nevertheless important for the
teacher to possess a level of self-reflection and analysis to
evaluate learning outcomes and
monitor how effectively they are communicating their teaching
strategies.
2. No matter how effectively a teacher may believe they are
communicating, there will comeinstances where the pupil is not
improving as easily as is to be normally expected. The most
obvious reason why this may be the case could be due to learning
styles, as for instance if
you are teaching a song aurally to a pupil who is primarily a
visual learner, then progress is
bound to be slower than if a form of graphic notation was to be
employed. Of course, no
pupil will be completely one style of learner, and they might
even change or mix their
learning styles according to the task, but again it is up to the
teacher to analyse and pinpoint
how their pupil responds in every instance. Consequently, a
teacher needs to be eclectic
and flexible enough to communicate the appropriate expertise in
whatever shape or form
necessary, regardless of learning style or the teachers personal
preference.
3. Whilst this may appear daunting, Jasenka Horvat argues that
it is beneficial for both teacherand student, as she states, The
more tools you have in your teaching toolbox, the better a
teacher you will become.2
I agree to a large extent with Horvat, as a multi-sensory
and
interdisciplinary approach to certain teaching strategies will
enable you to successfully tailor
your teaching to each individual learner, as opposed to saying
the same thing over and over
again without any thought into what learning outcome is actually
being communicated.
Again, it is a question of flexibility and being able to adapt
to any given learning situation in
which a pupil may place you; as it is not always the other way
around.
To conclude, I think that if you cannot switch from teaching the
way a pupil learns as
easily as enabling a pupil to learn the way you teach, then your
levels of success are
bound to decrease.The ability to be flexible is just as
important as the knowledge
itself.
Word count: 540
1Nicholas Cook,Musical Creativity, page 16
2Jasenka Horvat, page 95 from Music therapy with children and
their families
