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Thriving in Academe
Issues To Consider

Teaching and Learning Style
Four questions to enhance your efficiency.

What’s an activity that can allow for material to be covered while having active participation?
Team teaching is an activity where students are held responsible for teaching a small section of the text to the class. Working in teams allows for learning within the group and keeps the presentation flowing. A discussion on good methods of teaching (e.g., learner actively involved, giving lots of examples, and providing visuals) and bad methods (e.g., reading to class, no interaction) allows the class to set the rules. “Teachers” get to examine the material from all angles and take ownership of it. Students experience the level of preparation needed to truly learn the concepts, and most of this happens outside class time.

How can I move from what I’m doing now to activities closer to the student’s learning style without taking up too much time?
Gradually, try adding more activities in which students are actively involved, such as group work, debates, group tests, and problem-based learning. Much of the time needed for this will be outside class. Try an activity that’s worked for a colleague so that you can brainstorm together when inevitable snags occur. Make some activities options and monitor the response. Give clear, explicit directions in writing for the activity and give a rubric in advance. Or, if you want to stir the students’ creativity, give very little direction and be ready for some surprises. Every time you try an activity, you may alter it to ensure even more success.

How can I help students “take charge” of their learning?
Some students don’t have a good understanding of the learning process and the role of the instructor as a facilitator of learning. They have never taken ownership of their learning and don’t know they’re supposed to. Encourage independent learning by helping students focus on their own goals and what they are getting out of the learning situation. We can help the maturation process by empowering students through active learning. In learning by discovery they are active participants in the process.

How can I teach for a particular style? Won’t some students be left out?
The idea behind “teaching around the circle” is to continually vary activities so that all styles are accommodated at some point and all styles are challenged to grow. This includes involving students in a new experience through labs or field work, for example; developing observations about the experience through learning logs and journals; creating theories to explain observations through papers; and then using theories to solve problems, as in case studies or simulations. These activities foster learning by discovery and allow students to excel in some aspect of the class.

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