| One of the purposes of education is to provide children with the skills and knowledge needed to function capably as adults. With the world changing rapidly, the abilities acquired in schools today need to be reassessed, as do the ways in which students are expected to learn . . . And when the content of the curriculum changes, ways in which the curriculum is delivered must change correspondingly. | |
| Toward the Year 2000. Saskatchewan Education, 1985 (p. 6). |
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Knowledge of what constitutes effective teaching and learning has increased significantly in recent years. For example, knowledge of the psychology of child development and learning has become more sophisticated in its ability to provide an intelligent and informed context for instructional decision-making. In addition, knowledge of teaching and learning styles has led to an appreciation of what constitutes the best practice in meeting individual student needs. Educators recognize, too, that learning is an interactive process, and that students need to be actively involved in tasks that are achievable, useful, relevant, and challenging if they are to respond successfully to the curriculum challenges posed for them.
Above all, however, educators have learned that effective teaching occurs when the student is placed at the focus of decisions that are made not only about the curriculum itself, but also about the "process" by which the curriculum is delivered. Within this context, there is acknowledgement of the need for positive relationships between teacher and student.
Saskatchewan's Core Curriculum will find integration in the classroom through instruction. It is only after the teacher has worked through a curriculum with the students for whom it has been designed that the curriculum can be said to have been truly implemented. In this sense, the teacher is the facilitator through which the elements of Core Curriculum find expression. Such a notion provides a compelling rationale for an instructional resource such as this document.
Effective instruction can be defined and described. Instructional practice, then, can be improved through professional development programs that encourage teachers to be reflective practitioners.
Gage (1978) and Bruner (1966) use the terms teaching and instruction almost synonymously. For purposes of this document, teaching is used as the broader, more encompassing term. This follows Gage's statement that teaching is " any activity on the part of one person intended to facilitate learning on the part of another" (p. 14).
For the purposes of this document, instruction refers to those curriculum-related, professionally-informed decisions that teachers purposefully enact to enhance learning opportunities for students. Effective instruction is interactive and designed to accommodate student learning needs and styles through a variety of teaching practices.
Guiding Principles of Effective Instruction
Effective instruction is guided by general pedagogical approaches and specific instructional practices. The approaches and instructional practices espoused in this document are based upon the following beliefs about what constitutes effective instructi on.
Professional teaching practice is not constrained by a belief that there is one best way. Teachers should be invited to extend their range of instructional approaches in a secure, risk-taking environment.
Effective instruction occurs when the teacher links sound curriculum development and excellent instructional practice in a successful learning experience. Reciprocal, positive relationships between teacher and learner are also necessary for instruction to be truly effective. This means the student must be viewed as an active participant in the teaching-learning process.
Instructional judgement must be encouraged and nurtured in classroom professionals so that they acquire the flexibility needed to adapt instructional practice to meet a wide variety of student needs.
When making instructional decisions, teachers should consider the content, perspectives, and processes specified in the curriculum for a Required Area of Study or a Locally Determined Option, and the appropriate Common Essential Learnings. Teachers als o need to make decisions regarding adaptation of instruction to meet individual student learning needs.
Ever changing variables affect instructional decision-making. Educators are encouraged to extend their range of instructional approaches based on a foundation of research, a wide range of practical and theoretical knowledge, and a regard for students a s active participants in the learning process.
Effective instruction results from a blend of the art and the science of teaching. The science of instruction, which has predominated in the past, needs to achieve a balance with the artistry involved in the successful teaching act.
Teachers begin the instructional cycle by assessing individual student learning needs, interests, and strengths through observation and consultation with the student. They then determine the instructional approaches required, deliver instruction in a m anner appropriate to the students' learning abilities and styles, and evaluate student growth-and understanding. The cycle concludes with teacher self-reflection and further teacher-student consultation.
Instructional practice can be improved through sustained and systematic attention to professional development. Teachers can improve their own instructional practices by participating in professional development programs or working with peers and superv isors. These programs must include elements of the individual reflection that this document encourages.
Teaching is an art as well as a science. Educators need to achieve balance between the two.
How often have teachers lamented that what worked well with one class met with abject failure with another? How is it that an approach to teaching which bores one student lifts another to the heights of inspiration? These questions are difficult to add ress because they transcend the matter of instructional technique and dwell more in the realm of what constitutes the art of effective teaching. Although the art of teaching is much more elusive than the science of teaching, there are some e lements educators can capture and describe. Teachers can discuss these elements and explore them in the daily act of teaching. Through such discussion and introspection, enhanced teaching occurs.
Effective teaching blends the art and the science of teaching. Unfortunately, educators often respond to the mystery that is associated with this art by becoming overly defensive and by keeping their thoughts about their own teaching to themselves. The complexity associated with good teaching results in little open discussion. Palmer (1990) in speaking about the art of teaching states that educators:
. . . misconstrue mystery when we think of it as a 'black box' something opaque and impenetrable that we must either avoid or manipulate by main force . . . Good teachers dwell in the mystery of good teaching until it dwells in them. As they explore it alone and — ~ with others, the insight and energy of mystery begins to inform and animate their work. They discover and develop methods of teaching that emerge from their own integrity (p. 11).
During several decades of research and writing in this field, educators have recognized both the art and the science of teaching. Silberman (1966) affirms there is an art to teaching, but goes on to indicate that because of the repertoire of techniques , procedures, and skills involved, teaching has the characteristics of a science. Hunter (1984) refers to teaching as an applied science. However, not all authors stress the science of teaching to the same level. Eisner (1983) states that efforts to devel op a prescriptive science of teaching do not hold promise. He supports the idea that scientific inquiry in teaching can provide "rules of thumb", but not rules. He argues that no science of teaching could be so prescriptive as to make teaching r outine, and that the dynamics of the classroom , setting require that the teacher read subtle nuances and respond creatively to them.
Gage (1978) presents the idea that there is a scientific basis for the art of teaching. He views teaching as a useful or practical art which ". . . must be recognized as a process that calls for intuition, creativity, improvisation and expressiven ess . . ." (p. 15). Gage provides the following example: when a chemist is using available knowledge, he or she is practicing science, but when research is conducted there is an element of art as well. He summarizes his analogy by stating, "in m edicine and engineering, where the scientific basis is unquestionable, the artistic elements also abound. In teaching, where the artistic elements are unquestionable, a scientific base can also be developed" (p. 18).
Vaill (1989) describes management as a performing art and suggests that effective leaders and, by implication, effective teachers, consistently model the characteristics of a performing artist. He states that the artist:
Flinders (1989) suggests that there are several areas where the artistry in teaching is apparent:
This document, with its instructional framework, supports the idea that there is both science and art in effective instruction. Recognition of the art and science in instruction reinforces the position that the teacher is an instructional decision-make r and, therefore, requires an array of instructional approaches from which to select when making informed decisions. This document also supports the idea that elements of effective teaching are honed and internalized when teachers reflect on their own tea ching, watch others in the teaching process, and talk to each other about the reasons for successes and disappointments. It is through such self-reflection and professional discourse that the elusiveness associated with the art of effective teaching is capable of being captured.
Teachers should see themselves as instructional decision-makers. They must have a sound knowledge base of teaching, a repertoire of instructional practices, and the abilities of reflection and problem-solving (Arenas, 1988).
Research in the areas of teacher effectiveness and school effectiveness has resulted in a useful information base for educators. While research may provide the "rules of thumb" referred to by Eisner, research is also replete with information regarding the other aspects of instruction, namely the learner and the instructional task. The following summarizes some of the important characteristics and attributes that research and experience indicate ought to exist for optimal learning to occur.
Teachers should:
Learners should:
The instructional task should:
Learning styles and teaching styles are topics that have been the focus of extensive research, and have direct applicability to instructional approaches. Defined simply, learning style is a specific or unique way a person learns. Sternberg (1990) state s that styles "are propensities rather than abilities" (p. 366). A particular learning style is an indicator of how a person prefers to learn, rather than of how well or how much the person learns. Because of the range of learning styles in the average class, an instructional method that is effective for some learners may be ineffective for others (Dunn, Beaudry, & Klavas, 1989). Teachers can foster greater student academic achievement and decrease discipline problems when the selection of i nstructional methods recognizes learning style variance (Dunn & Dunn, 1987).
Despite such research findings, teachers tend to teach the way they were taught or according to their own preferences for learning. Most teachers agree that they should become more familiar with reaming styles and that they could do more to match teach ing with reaming. Henson (1988) asserts that teachers should purposely master and use a variety of instructional approaches. He adds that teachers need not always accommodate student preferences. Students, he notes, should experience a variety of styles.
Teachers, then, need to recognize the interaction among teaching styles, instructional strategies, and reaming styles. They must view themselves as instructional decision makers and partners, along with their students, in the teaching-reaming experienc e.
Students should be viewed as autonomous learners who can become aware of their own learning needs and their own ability to meet them.
A fundamental refrain that echoes throughout this document is that education should develop autonomous reamers. Learning how to learn has never been as important as it is for students today. Statistics indicate that those soon to assume a place in the work force will need to retrain several times throughout their lifetimes. It is important to note that not all post-graduation reaming needs to be job oriented. The ability to learn independently will aid students in all aspects of their lives beyo nd formal schooling.
In becoming autonomous learners, there are several continua of developmental growth along which students may progress:
There are, of course, a variety of ways teachers can help students become autonomous learners. The Common Essential Learnings, and Independent Learning in particular, aim to encourage autonomous learning and decision-making. Learning with a wide variet y of print, non-print, and human resources encourages the development of research skills and independent learning skills.
Teachers can encourage autonomous learning, first by recognizing the importance of viewing students as self-directed learners, and second by the selection of appropriate student-centred instructional approaches. The selection of these approaches should be made in consultation with individual students, so that they become aware of their own learning needs and ability to meet them. The teacher should also establish a classroom climate in which students feel comfortable making their own decisions and refl ecting on the consequences.
There are many bases upon which Instructional Approaches: A Framework for Professional Practice has been developed. These include the following:
Each of the above underscores the importance of instructional decision making, particularly considering the challenges associated with the delivery of the components of the Core Curriculum.
There is a need to assist the reader in understanding the range and complexity of instructional approaches. The following chapter presents a framework designed to illustrate a comparative overview of instructional practice.
This document is intended to be of assistance to educators by:
The reflective questions at the end of each chapter were developed with the above intentions in mind. They provide a context for personal reflection and a starting point for group discussion on the various topics addressed in the document