Contrasting Teaching Methods: Content vs. Relationship
Extreme Teaching Methods
This document explores two extreme and opposite teaching methods:
1) Content-Based Pedagogy and Technical Skills
This traditional approach focuses on conveying technical knowledge. The demonstration is a key tool.
Advantages:
- Saves time by avoiding trial and error.
- Motivates pupils and encourages action through demonstrations.
- Helps establish teacher presence and authority.
- Unifies learning, as all students perform the same exercise, potentially leading to multiplied transfers of elements.
Disadvantages:
- Creates a gap between the demonstrated movement and the student’s perception.
- Can be anti-creative and inapplicable to all situations.
- May have a limited impact if the subject is new.
Features and Issues:
The problem of demonstration includes the challenge of body language.
2) Relationship and Communication-Focused Pedagogy
Popular in the 1960s, this method emphasizes effective interactions and participant engagement, downplaying the transmission of specific movement models. It eliminates technical acquisition pedagogy to promote freedom. Demonstrations are avoided. The focus shifts to communication between individuals, creating a “happening.”
Critical Points:
- Although movement is not explicitly shown, body language is influenced by society.
- The perception of others’ body language always influences us, either through imitation or rejection.
Teaching Styles and Strategies
A) Style
Teaching style refers to the unique way a teacher approaches the class. Effective teaching characteristics are not specific to any particular style but can be present or absent in any style.
B) Strategy
Muska Mosston, an American professor, introduced the concept of teaching styles in 1966. He proposed that choosing a style was based on a single variable. According to Mosston, styles progress steadily towards student independence and creativity, leading to full student development. Mosston’s concept of development is a linear progression towards student independence, enabling them to make decisions such as:
- Physical responses to explore possibilities and limitations.
- Intellectual implications, to think, evaluate, judge, and invent.
- Emotional growth to enhance their physical self.
Several factors influence the choice of teaching strategy:
- Personal abilities and preferences: Success is more likely when teachers use methods they believe in and are comfortable with.
- Characteristics of the students: Consider their experience, skills, discipline, and order.
- Nature of the content taught: The level of skills required to teach the content.
- Physical environment: Facilities and safety.
- Aims to be achieved.