Jamie Goodwin

5 Styles of Teaching to Try as a Student Teacher

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Student teaching is the time when you determine which styles of teaching work for you. There are lots of different styles of teaching to try, but here are the top 5 most common ones used in the classroom.

The Director

The Director teaching style is teacher-centered. It involves the teacher telling students what to do and how to do it. The teacher has very little interaction with students, if any. Some activities that this teaching style utilizes include lectures, readings, and presentations. While the teacher presents information, students take notes or complete graphic organizers.

As the teacher, you need to provide information in a clear and concise manner. You should offer as many details as possible to help your students understand the material.

The Moderator

The Moderator teaching style stems from Socrates in that the teacher leads a discussion. The teacher asks questions to students that push them to develop their own opinions backed by facts and data.

To make this teaching style effective, you should prepare questions that require students to think critically. During the discussion, include as many students as possible. You could also have students write their own questions for the discussion, too.

The Delegator

As a Delegator, teachers have students work independently, with partners, or in groups. The teacher should take a hands-off approach, acting as an observer. Some of the activities that you could use for this teaching style include research papers, group projects, or labs.

The Facilitator

As the Facilitator, teachers act similar to the Delegator. However, the Facilitator takes one step further by allowing students to make their own discoveries through self-learning. Students should discover answers and solutions through exploration. As the teacher, you need to set up activities for students and then take a step back.

The Demonstrator

Teachers who utilize the Demonstrator teaching style model how things should be done. This works well in science and math classes. After showing students how to do something, students should practice the process on their own. They can continue to follow the teacher’s lead until they master the task.

There are lots of different styles of teaching. You might find that one works better for you than another. You may determine which one you prefer. However, you should consider using each of the styles of teaching to bring variety to your lessons and better meet the needs of your students.

Author

  • Jamie Goodwin

    Jamie graduated from Brigham Young University- Idaho with a degree in English Education. She spent several years teaching and tutoring students at the elementary, high school, and college level. She currently works as a contract writer and curriculum developer for online education courses. In her free time, she enjoys running and spending time with her boys!

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