Differentiating Your Instructional Approach
By Adam Cirnigliaro
EDI 600 Psychological Foundation of Education
School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
June 9, 2009
After learning about the different approaches to instruction, it is clearly important to incorporate behavioral, cognitive and humanistic styles. Watching the mini lessons during class, it appears that even when your goal is to use one approach, it is not always easy to teach the lesson the way it was intended. You must be very conscious of the method you use, otherwise the information might be presented in an unintended way. Some of the groups wanted to implement the cognitive approach, however, they ended up displaying behavioral characteristics.
It wasn’t until afterwards when we discussed their lesson that they realized their execution varied from what they had planned. It is easy to fall into this teaching style because teachers are anxious about making sure students get all of the information. It is natural for teachers to want to get the material out there and explain it themselves because they do not want to miss any topics and they have an idea of how they want the students to learn the material. Although there is a time and place for all three styles, I love the cognitive approach because it initially creates excitement by introducing the material with some sort of demonstration. The students are engaged and are forced to work out the problems with assistance from the teacher. Students learn better when they are actively partaking in the learning process because it makes the new information personally relevant.
I also think the humanistic approach is very important because it is critical to recognize student’s emotional states. Students always learn better when they feel safe, comfortable and as though the teacher truly cares about them. It is essential to give students praise so they feel proud and confident about what they are doing. It is also important to find out how students are doing on a particular day. Children come to school with a wide range of emotions and it is good for them to be able to express themselves. Related to this topic, it was interesting to hear classmate’s views about hugging students.
I think it is unfortunate that we live in a time where we as teachers are not allowed to show this type of affection. I agree that there isn’t a place for this in high school and middle school, but at the elementary level I believe there are times when it is appropriate. It shouldn’t be done every day, but there are periods when young children are going through difficult situations and need a hug. It must be somewhat confusing for children when a teacher can not reciprocate this gesture. I know teachers can explain why they cannot, but children are always reading into things and often take things as personal faults.
Long Island University, C. W. Post
June 9, 2009
After learning about the different approaches to instruction, it is clearly important to incorporate behavioral, cognitive and humanistic styles. Watching the mini lessons during class, it appears that even when your goal is to use one approach, it is not always easy to teach the lesson the way it was intended. You must be very conscious of the method you use, otherwise the information might be presented in an unintended way. Some of the groups wanted to implement the cognitive approach, however, they ended up displaying behavioral characteristics.
It wasn’t until afterwards when we discussed their lesson that they realized their execution varied from what they had planned. It is easy to fall into this teaching style because teachers are anxious about making sure students get all of the information. It is natural for teachers to want to get the material out there and explain it themselves because they do not want to miss any topics and they have an idea of how they want the students to learn the material. Although there is a time and place for all three styles, I love the cognitive approach because it initially creates excitement by introducing the material with some sort of demonstration. The students are engaged and are forced to work out the problems with assistance from the teacher. Students learn better when they are actively partaking in the learning process because it makes the new information personally relevant.
I also think the humanistic approach is very important because it is critical to recognize student’s emotional states. Students always learn better when they feel safe, comfortable and as though the teacher truly cares about them. It is essential to give students praise so they feel proud and confident about what they are doing. It is also important to find out how students are doing on a particular day. Children come to school with a wide range of emotions and it is good for them to be able to express themselves. Related to this topic, it was interesting to hear classmate’s views about hugging students.
I think it is unfortunate that we live in a time where we as teachers are not allowed to show this type of affection. I agree that there isn’t a place for this in high school and middle school, but at the elementary level I believe there are times when it is appropriate. It shouldn’t be done every day, but there are periods when young children are going through difficult situations and need a hug. It must be somewhat confusing for children when a teacher can not reciprocate this gesture. I know teachers can explain why they cannot, but children are always reading into things and often take things as personal faults.
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