Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Instructional Strategies
In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s indicated that hands-on-learning was a very effective teaching strategy yet teachers seldom used the approach. What could be the reasons for the lack of use of this strategy? For approximately the last decade, it has been indicated that an effective teaching strategy in the classroom is hands-on learning. However, some teachers seldom use this type of instructional strategy. What could be the reasons for not implementing this teaching?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
A reason for not implementing it would be that it is a new technique that teachers are unfamiliar with. There would have to be a change their style of teaching and time allotment. There is also a belief that it will not relate to the subject or topic that the teachers instruct. Even with data that suggests hands-on learning as an effective strategy it may not be implemented because teachers do not want to change their lessons.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Carlsonc9027 in that the concept of hands on instruction could be a new idea to some teachers. They may still be unaware of how to implement it in the classroom. Another reason as to why some teachers aren't using it in their classrooms could be that they are still stuck in the idea that the old way works best. They may still want to teach how they have been taught. They may also think that they are incapabable of doing hands on instruction because their students are too out of hand and would never be able to that kind of learning. This is false though, because hands on instruction could be exactly what the students need in order to gain focus and engage in the learning process. Overall, I think that teachers are either unsure of how to implement hands on instruction, or they are still under the impression that the old way works best.
ReplyDeleteI believe some teachers may not know how to use hands-on activities. Some teachers think that in order to get all the teaching they want to accomplish in a day means they just have to lecture all day instead of doing activities. They may feel like hands-on activities take too much work to plan out or they feel like it will take too much time up in order to accomplish it in a day. These are the only reasons I can think of as to why teachers do not incorporate hands-on activities.
ReplyDeleteLike anedved said, "Another reason as to why some teachers aren't using it in their classrooms could be that they are still stuck in the idea that the old way works best." Change is inevitable wherever we teach, so as future educators we have to be prepared for this, especially when it comes to hands-on learning. Some teachers are still using techniques of teaching circa the 1920's or 1930's with lecturing, note taking, and worksheets. That does not really scream successful instructional teaching strategy. Students need things like project-based learning, hands-on, real life or personal experiences that get students critically involved in their own learning like constructivism. Students also want to have high self-efficacy and teachers can do that by setting reasonable goals and helping students experience success through hands-on learning.
ReplyDeleteI believe certain teachers that have been at a school district for 20 to 30 years do not want to change their teaching and just go with what works for them. The question of, "How are my students doing?" needs to be asked not, "how am I doing?" There is a time for self-reflection and hands-on learning requires that practice to be a successful instructional strategy. We have to have student engagement in the learning goals, objectives, or tasks students are trying to complete. That should be the starting point and then driving towards critical thinking skills, self-efficacy, growth in learning, and personal development. Positive interdependence can also happen through hands-on learning because students are relying on their peers for input and different perspectives as to how they are working through the task, objectives, or learning goals. Students want their learning to mean something to them and that is what we need to accomplish.
ReplyDeleteAs Andrew said it's less of how a teacher is doing and more about the students. It makes sense to focus on students learning. Not changing totally to one type of instruction but to vary and give different opportunities for students find what works well for them. By providing different styles of teaching students can improve on their own.
ReplyDeleteI agree with anedved also in the fact that some teachers are still stuck in the old fashion way of teaching. Many teachers who have been teaching for several decades may not know how to switch to the present day way of teaching. I do not think there should be a reason for new teachers to not implement hands-on teaching strategies.
ReplyDeleteI think a big factor in the non-use of effective strategies is lack of education. It is great to have students do hands on things but if you don't have the education to be creative and make sure these hands on activities have their intended impact it can be scary. I also think limited resources is another reason there is a lack of the strategy. Having kids learn in a hands-on style is a lot of times done better with the use of other materials. For example having access to a variety of scientific materials to conduct a science experiment. I think teachers sometimes get into a root and do the same thing because they have used it forever and don't want to stray and try something new.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Caitlin. I think there is so little time in the day anymore and more and more information that we need to make sure students know. I think some teachers are afraid that if they use outside activities that they will somehow be taking away from the learning that they could do by just simply telling students the information. I think it is so important to make sure we don't deprive students of the opportunity to learn something in an exciting way that will stick with them. I think that teachers who are afraid to use hands-on activities are just taking the easy way out and making sure that they tell students all of the information without any real regard to student retention of that information.
ReplyDeleteI agree with carlsonc9027 in that if teachers use a variety of strategies, students will learn best. All students learn differently. There are some who may prefer to show the teacher what they know by performing something or doing somehting hands-on. At the same time, though, there may be some students who prefer to express themselves in writing. This is why I believe that, as a teacher, it is important to know and use a variety of instructional strategies.
ReplyDeleteI agree that hands-on learning is one of the best ways students can learn. I think the reason some teachers don’t use this technique is because it takes a little more planning and forecasting. Sine students cannot be let alone with certain hands on activities and it would call for more supervision and more materials. I think this is an important way to learn because not all students know how to learn with solely teacher-directed environments. On the other hand not all students do well in a solely student-centered environment. I think there should be a balance between hands on learning and teacher directed instruction. I hope to use both forms of instruction to adapt to my students. I think if I don’t I am being lazy and choosing the easiest way to do things. I also think one reason teachers don’t use this technique is because they are a little harder to grade. How do you grade that a student understands absorption, it is a different more strenuous process but worth it for the learner.
ReplyDeleteOne reason for teachers not using this strategy may be that they don't know how to. It's something new that many teachers may not be familiar with, especially the ones who have been teaching for years. Going from one teaching strategy to another isn't something that can be done overnight. It takes a lot of planning and extra work to come up with something completely different. Which brings up another point; it's a lot more work, and some teachers may not want to spend that extra time planning their lessons. It's easier to just stick to what you know that it is to revamp your whole strategy.
ReplyDeleteAs explained in the education classes at UNI, we teach what we know. It is difficult for teachers to teach in other ways than they remember being taught in schools. A simple example is the “Round Robin” reading strategies used in my elementary classrooms and even junior high. This is a strategy that will most likely still be used in classrooms even though this reading strategy is found to be ineffective and can cause anxiety in students. Because this strategy is familiar to teachers it will likely show up in classrooms in the future despite new strategies being available. Another unfortunate reason as to why hands-on strategies are not being used is these types of activities take more time to plan. Easy, go-to strategies can be used in a bind and require less daily planning than thought-out, hands-on activities.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteFrom personal experience, I would say that when students participate in hands-on learning, management becomes a great concern. Even if hands-on learning is effective, it can only be effective if the environment is conducive to learning. I favor hands-on learning. I find learning easier and more enjoyable when I participate hands-on in class. I also enjoy teaching hands-on lessons. You can see your students fully engaged in the lesson and the information. But, in order to reach the intended learning goals, one must do a lot of planning. They must plan not only for the lesson, but for the behavior problems or interferences that may occur when the students are participating fully in their learning. Therefore,I agree with the many others who noted planning and teaching a lesson is time consuming.
ReplyDeleteI think many teachers are so used to teaching a certain way that they may not want to take the extra effort to alter their lesson plans to create a larger variety of teaching methods. Hands-on activities definitely require more planning and sometimes extra supplies. Another reason teachers may not being using hands on activities is due to the time factor. They may feel as if though there’s just not enough time in a day to fit in extra activities. I believe hands-on activities are a great strategy to use when teaching. Since all students learn in different ways it’s important to provide a variety of ways for students to engage themselves.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Samantha when she says that it’s something new that many teachers may not be familiar with, especially the ones who have been teaching for years. Going from one teaching strategy to another isn’t something that can be done overnight. For that reason, I think it’s great that we’re now learning in college the importance of hands-on learning so that way we can start our teaching careers with plenty of knowledge and experience in that area. Instead of having to recreate lesson plans like many teachers today would have to do, we can go into teaching already having those types of lesson plans created.
ReplyDeleteI think that many of the teachers don't like using new techniques to teach the students with. They are really just set in their own ways and that is how it is. There has been numerous times that I have heard a teacher tell the class they don't know how to run a computer. Now the times are changing and it is up to the teachers to change with them.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with Jesse when she says that hands-on requires alot of planning on the teachers part and teachers really don't want to do the extra part. They are pretty much just set in their own way. So it is important that we encourage those older teachers to come up to speed with all of the new technologies. For if we do this then we will actually we able to better equipe our students.
ReplyDeleteI feel that teachers need to be constantly learning. Students will benefit from the new techniques that teachers learn. Some teacher are so narrow minded and do not open up to the changing world. Times are changing and so is the way we teach students. Teachers must be able to run a computer without problems and be able to imbrace all of the changes that come along the way.
ReplyDeleteI agree with andrew. We must have student engaement and focus more on how the students are doing instead of how we are doing. It is important to educate the teachers who have been around for 20 plus years on new ideas to use.
ReplyDelete