Teaching-Learning Styles and Classroom Environment

1. META Online MOODLE Course for
EFL Teachers - 2015
Learning-Teaching Styles
and Classroom Environment
Instructor:
Irina Pomazanovschi, ETRC/IRIM
pomazanovschi@gmail.com

2. By the end of this session
you will be able to:
 State your opinion about learning styles;
 Learn about 5 classic teaching styles;
 Formulate 3 components of healthy
classroom environment that will help you
motivate your students

3. The VAK modelThe VAK model
The VAK model
is divided in
three different
learning styles
depending on
the way each
one receives
and processes
the information.

4. Learning Styles
Myth or reality?
Link:
https://www.yo
utube.com/wat
ch?
v=855Now8h5R
s
Video title on youtube: Learning styles & the importance of critical
self-reflection | Tesia Marshik | TEDxUWLaCrosse

5. No two teachers are alike, and any teacher with
classroom teaching experience will agree that their
style of teaching is uniquely their own.
TEACHING STYLE?

6. 1. Authority, or lecture style
 The authority model is teacher-
centered and frequently entails
lengthy lecture sessions or one-
way presentations. Students are
expected to take notes or
absorb information.
+
This style is acceptable for certain higher-
education disciplines and auditorium
settings with large groups of students. The
pure lecture style is most suitable for
subjects like history that necessitate
memorization of key facts, dates, names,
etc.
-
It is a questionable model for teaching
children because there is little or no
interaction with the teacher.

7. 2. Personal Model/Demonstrator, or
coach style
 The demonstrator retains the
formal authority role while
allowing teachers to
demonstrate their expertise by
showing students what they
need to know.
+
This style gives teachers opportunities to
incorporate a variety of formats including
lectures, multimedia presentations and
demonstrations.
-
Although it’s well-suited for teaching
mathematics, music, physical education,
arts and crafts, it is difficult to
accommodate students’ individual needs
in larger classrooms.

8. 3. Facilitator, or activity style
 Facilitators promote self-
learning and help students
develop critical thinking skills
and retain knowledge that
leads to self-actualization.
+
This style trains students to ask questions
and helps develop skills to find answers and
solutions through exploration; it is ideal for
teaching science and similar subjects.
-
Challenges teacher to interact with
students and prompt them toward
discovery rather than lecturing facts and
testing knowledge through memorization.

9. 4. Delegator, or group style
 The delegator style is best-
suited for curriculum that
requires lab activities, such as
chemistry and biology, or
subjects that warrant peer
feedback, like debate and
creative writing.+
Guided discovery and inquiry-based
learning places the teacher in an observer
role that inspires students by working in
tandem toward common goals.
-
Considered a modern style of teaching, it is
sometimes criticized as newfangled and
geared toward teacher as consultant
rather than the traditional authority figure.

10. 5. Hybrid, or blended style
 … follows an integrated
approach to teaching
that blends the teachers’
personality and interests
with students’ needs and
curriculum-appropriate
methods.+
Achieves the inclusive approach of
combining teaching style clusters and
enables teachers to tailor their styles to
student needs and appropriate subject
matter.
-
Hybrid style runs the risk of trying to be too
many things to all students, prompting
teachers to spread themselves too thin and
dilute learning.

11. Anthony F. Grasha, a noted professor of psychology at the
University of Cincinnati, is credited with developing the classic
five teaching styles. (1996)
He developed a teaching style inventory that has since been adopted and modified
by followers.
Expert: Similar to a coach, experts share knowledge, demonstrate their expertise,
advise students and provide feedback to improve understanding and promote
learning.
Formal authority: Authoritative teachers incorporate the traditional lecture format
and share many of the same characteristics as experts, but with less student
interaction.
Personal model: Incorporates blended teaching styles that match the best
techniques with the appropriate learning scenarios and students in an adaptive
format.
Facilitator: Designs participatory learning activities and manages classroom projects
while providing information and offering feedback to facilitate critical thinking.
Delegator: Organizes group learning, observes students, provides consultation, and
promotes interaction between groups and among individuals to achieve learning
objectives.
Although he developed specific teaching styles, Grasha warned against boxing
teachers into a single category. Instead, he advocated that teachers play multiple
roles in the classroom. He believed most teachers possess some combination of all or
most of the classic teaching styles.

13. Remain focused on your teaching
objectives and avoid trying to be all things
to all students!

14. Education authors Harry and Rosemary
Wong declare: “successful teachers
share three common characteristics”:
 effective classroom management skills
 lesson mastery
 positive expectations
All instructors, when developing their teaching styles,
should keep in mind these three goals, as well as the
primary objective of education: student learning.

15. CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT
Classroom Management Skills

16. 3 R’s

17. 1. Relationships
 What does it mean to ‘understand learners’?
 Think of a foreign language you have studied
in the past: what motivated you to learn?
 What motivates your learners to learn English?
Getting to know your learners helps you to find
out more about what motivates them.
 How do you get to know new classes/ learners
quickly? (activities?)

18. Rapport
 How has the teacher built this lesson around the
students’ interests?
 What kind of relationship she has with this class?
a relationship in which people like, understand,
and respect each other.
The doctor had an excellent rapport with his patients.
/ræ p r/ˈ ɔ

19. You might not be able to plan every lesson around
the interests of your learners, but there are some
things you can always do to build rapport and
create a good relationship with your learners.
 Choose your attitude
You need to be friendly but professional. Remember that your students don’t want
you as a friend, but want to respect you as a teacher. Show them from the outset
that you expect them to work hard in your class, but that it can be enjoyable.
 Use names
Yes, it can be difficult with a large class to learn names quickly, but using your
learners’ names shows that you see them as individuals and creates bonds.
 Listen
Really listen to the messages in what your learners say, not just the English that they
produce. Try to avoid unnecessary ‘echoing’, or simply repeating what learners say
and be aware of the amount of time you spend talking in a class.
 Avoid over-correcting
Teachers who correct learners every time they speak run the risk of damaging
learner confidence and breaking down rapport. Of course, learners need
correcting at times, and when this is done supportively it can increase trust between
learner and teacher.
 Stand tall
Work on your voice and body language so that you appear confident, even if you
really don’t feel it. Your voice needs to be loud and clear. Stand straight in front of
the class, and don’t hide behind a desk.

20. Activities-suggestions
 POSTER: what kind of teacher do you want?
 WEEKLY REFLECTIONS: write down and share in
small groups 2+ and 1- events in their lives
 “ALL ABOUT ME” BAG: few objects that reveal
things or are special to them, share with the
class.
 4 SQUARES: give time to write ;
Stand up and share box 1 with a partner
 “I AM” PROJECT: (poster, poem,
top 10 list; slideshow)
sentence starters to spur their thinking skills
“I am happy when …”
Like about
school
My family
Places I’ve
visited
Dislike about
school

21. Get-to-know you activities
 Extra resources from British Councils

22. Classrooms in Moldovan
Schools

23. How important is a
comfortable classroom?
 Research by Reinisch: comfort = “most necessary”
 775 4th
– 8th
graders: the following elements to a
good learning environment:
 A clean classroom
 Artwork and wall decorations
 A classroom pet

24. Tips on how to help young
children feel safe and more at
ease in the classroom:
 Have group activities where children are
encouraged to decorate the classroom together.
 Install a large bulletin board and encourage student
to bring photos of their family and pets to pin on the
board. Children should also be encouraged to bring
and share items of cultural significance to display.
 Hold an orientation early in the school year where
parents are invited to the classroom. This will serve as
an icebreaker and help the classroom environment
feel less strange.

25. Flexible Learning Spaces

26. What might scare teachers in flexible classrooms?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_x4OLsfReQ
Video Title on Youtube: Flexible Learning Environments

27. 3. Routines
 The key to getting your classroom to run
smoothly and minimize behavior issues is
to establish procedures and routines. This
takes significant work and practice in
the beginning

28. References:
 Colorado State University's Learning Styles Page
http://secure.casa.colostate.edu/applications/learningstyles/index.aspx
 Learning Styles.ALL STUDENTS ARE CREATED EQUALLY (AND DIFFERENTLY.)
http://teach.com/what/teachers-teach/learning-styles
 What is Your Teaching Style? 5 Effective Teaching Methods for Your Classroom. Posted
January 5, 2013 by Eric Gill in Teaching Strategies. Updated June 15, 2015.
http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/teaching-strategies/5-types-of-classroom-teaching-styles/
 How Comfortable Classrooms Lead to a Better Student Community. Posted October 19, 2012
in Featured Stories. http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/news/welcoming-classrooms-
better-students/
 Classroom Environments: Does Space Make a Difference? MARCH 17, 2011 BY Andrew
Marcinek, Director of Technology and EducatorU.org Co-founder, Boston, MA
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/classroom-environments-make-difference-andrew-marcinek
 http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/734
 http://www.ok.gov/octp/documents/Classroom%20Environment%201.pdf
 http://www.edutopia.org/blog/classroom-environments-make-difference-andrew-marcinek