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| Kids should take away from school the idea that learning can be exciting., Jodie Gateman, Explorer |
| TECHNIQUES USED IN STUDENT-DIRECTED TEACHING |
Teaching Styles are part of a system where the student tells the teacher what they need the teacher to do in order for them to have successes in learning. There are 5 teaching styles the students may choose. There are lists for each of the Teaching Styles that say the student will do the following and the teacher will do the following. They are,
Connected to each style is, what the teacher needs to do and what the student needs to do. If a student is not exhibiting the characteristics of the Teaching Style they have chosen they are required to make a new choice. Students have 61/2 seconds to prove to the teacher the Teaching Style they have chosen is the correct style for them or they need to make a new Teaching Style Choice.
In all Teaching Styles the teacher will create a unit plan using objectives. This plan details the work that is to be completed in small bite size pieces, using language that the students can understand and includes the time required to complete each days tasks. This unit objective time-line will have a certain number of objectives that must be completed within a class or go home for homework. Students must be equivalent or ahead of the Command or Task group in order to choose Peer-Partner, Student-Teacher Contract or Self-Directed. If not ahead or equal to they may only choose Command or Task.
Teaching Styles involves a great deal of choice for students who are capable of learning more independently but still provides the formal instruction for those who need it. The five Teaching Styles incorporate the individual learning styles of students. It becomes the responsibility of each student to choose the teaching style that works best for them. The choice is never not to work, the choice is how do you want to do the work.
A very high percentage of students are capable of a much greater degree of independence then many teachers thought possible.
Teachers who have used Teaching Styles in their classrooms have reported a decrease in the amount of time needed to complete a unit, increased class averages, reductions of discipline problems and an enhanced parent/school relationship.
Students working in the Command or Task styles will have their time organized for them by the teacher, however Peer-Partner, Student-Teacher Contract and Self-Directed students need to be able to organize their own time. We know the program is working when we see the students understand the importance of staying focused, showing high engagement, compacting objectives and maximizing their learning. The students become true learners not just good students.
Students working in Peer-Partner, Student Teacher Contract and Self-Directed organize their own time. These students will experience the instructional process as initiators of instruction rather then merely recipients of it. They receive no formal instruction unless they ask for it. They may decide to listen to some or all of the formal instruction given to the Command and Task groups.
The numbers of students that fall into each Teaching Style is not important, the fact that the students understand how they learn and have the opportunity to exercise that ability in making decisions is truly the most important thing.
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