Education seeks to empower students with knowledge and skills to excel in life. A teacher’s job is one of immense responsibility, playing a crucial role in a student’s academic development. Teachers come with variable experiences, abilities, and temperaments.
They need to adapt to different learning environments, instructing students depending on their individual learning styles and differences. Four common teaching styles that enable instructors to build such bridges with students include the lecture-based style, discussion-based style, cooperative-learning style, and experiential style.
The Lecture-Based Teaching Style
The lecture-based teaching style is one of the most traditional teaching strategies. This approach holds the teacher in front of the class as primary instructor.
The teacher uses lectures, audios, and visual aids to explain a concept in detail to the students. Lectures offer the teacher the flexibility to move on to a further segment of a topic the moment they feel they have sufficiently conveyed one. Lecture-based teaching is best suited for beginners or students who tend to need more practice or need to understand a concept better before they can apply it.
Advantages: Lecture-based teaching offers students an opportunity to get a fuller, organized picture of the topic that’s being taught. The teachers can engage students in activities such as question and answer sessions, quizzes, and debate sessions.
This makes lectures interactive and helps students ask valid queries and get their doubts cleared in real-time. Disadvantages: The biggest disadvantage of this teaching style is that it can be monotonous, with the teacher doing most of the talking. This can compromise the involvement of the students, who may find it hard to stay alert and focused.
Lecture-based teaching is also time consuming and there is a lack of creativity and dynamism in the teaching strategies employed.
The Discussion-Based Teaching Style
The discussion-based teaching style is the most preferred within modern education systems. This teaching style holds more importance on the student’s viewpoint and encourages them to research and explore topics. The teacher facilitates the discussion by introducing a brief background needed for understanding the topic and moderating the discussion then allowing the students to take the lead.
Advantages: This teaching style allows students to voice their opinions and considerations lucidly, making them more familiar with the subject. It also allows teachers to gauge the level of understanding of a particular topic among their students.
This style encourages collaboration and critical thinking among students, thus, allowing them to engage in meaningful dialogue. Disadvantages: This teaching style can occasionally lead to heated and irrelevant conversations.
This style is often time-consuming and if not handled properly, it can also lead to information overload.
The Cooperative-Learning Teaching Style
The cooperative-learning teaching style is based on the notion of collaboration, where students engage with their peers to get their doubts and queries cleared while taking ownership of their learning. The teacher plays an active role in facilitating the learning process by giving a presentation of the subject, engaging in discussions, and structuring tasks. Advantages: This style of teaching encourages critical thinking, which is an essential component of a students’ academic development.
It also offers a sense of community and collaboration amongst students, as they are all helping each other learn better. This, in turn, facilitates greater engagement in the classroom, improves knowledge retention, and helps boost problem-solving skills of a student in a fun and interactive manner.
Disadvantages: This learning style can sometimes be difficult to manage, as it relies heavily on collaboration and involvement, which may not always come easily. Without a keen eye and guidance from the teacher, students may get off the track and waste valuable time.
The Experiential Teaching Style
The experiential teaching style is based on the experiential learning cycle, where students gain knowledge and skills based on previous experiences. Student-centered activities and assignments are encouraged, thereby utilizing all of the senses, learning through direct experience, and practicing and reflecting on the gained experiences. Advantages: Experiential learning enhances problem solving and leadership skills of the students.
It gives students an opportunity to think more critically, evaluating their experiences and exploring solutions to any challenges they may face. Such activities are naturally more engaging and allow students to link theory and practice in their learning.
Disadvantages: Experiential learning is time-consuming and may not be suitable for all groups. Such activities require tremendous planning and ensure that they adhere to safety requirements. Without proper guidance, the activities may not positively contribute to an individual’s academic development.
Conclusion
The four teaching styles discussed in this article are essential aspects of an effective teaching-learning process. They facilitate the understanding of a subject by students, allowing them to apply their knowledge and develop skills with practice.
The best teaching style for any student is the one that resonates with their individual learning needs. The ultimate goal of any teacher should be to bring out the potential of their students and help them reach their highest potential.