Theme I: Aims of Education and Role of Schools in a Democratic Society

Section 1.1: Educational Models

2.1.2: Compare Educational Models and Explain how they Impact the Classroom

Teachers can teach in many different ways by choosing methods or following pedagogies

that are based on the learning styles of their students. Certain aspects of these models are better

for certain grade levels based on the development of the students. For early grades, it is better for

the lesson to be a simple hands on task while later in the child's development the teacher can use

a more lecture based teaching. Educational models vary, and impact the classroom in different

ways, it's important to understand when each one is used and how it benefits certain

circumstances.

Learning about student-led pedagogy taught me that constructivism is what student led

teaching is based off of. In my notes(Evidence 1.1.1), I learned that constructivism is when

people construct their own understanding and knowledge through experiences and reflection. My

classmates and I compiled everything we have learned about student led teaching into a graphic

organizer(Evidence 1.1.2). We explained that when integrating student-led teaching in the

classroom you can do cooperative learning, experiential learning, peer tutoring, stations, or

socratic seminars. The theories of John Dewey and Benjamin Bloom, their ideas of student-led

teaching impacts both teachers and students which I discussed in my student learning

notes(Evidence 1.1.3). Student-led teaching allows students to have more critical thinking,

creativity, problem solving, independence, leadership skills and develops students confidence.

The disadvantage though is that students could complete the wrong task or retain the wrong
information. For teachers, this allows them to see how students learn best, to monitor their

students, keep all students engaged and if needed to differentiate. The teacher may also change

the structure if needed. The teachers' disadvantages are they have less controls and they may

have to reteach the lesson. Student-Led teaching impacts all students and teachers in different

ways but the positives do outway the negatives.

Teacher- Led is based on behaviorism, it is the focus on objectively observable

behaviors, discounts independent activities of the mind and learning is the acquisition of new

behavior based on environmental conditions. Behaviorism can be applied in any classroom

preschool through 12th grade. In my graphic organizer for Teacher-Led Models(Evidence

1.1.4), I explain the different types of teaching styles of this pedagogy. A teacher can give direct

instruction, lecture, modeling, create scaffolding and demonstrate for the students. This does

impact the student and teacher in both positive and negative ways explained in my teacher-led

notes (Evidence 1.1.5). This pedagogy benefits the students by keeping them on task, they retain

the correct information, and it is easier to understand and ask questions. The downfalls for the

students though is that there is not enough critical thinking or creativity, they are dependent on

the teacher, it also becomes very repetitive and it could be the wrong pace for some students. For

teachers, the benefits are more control, they can reevaluate, they can differentiate, they know the

correct information is being taught, they can also engage with all students and they can set the

pace. The downfalls for teachers though is students may become bored and not listen. The

teacher may also experience more discipline problems because the students don’t have a fun

outlet or may not remain engaged. This form of teaching has more benefits for the teachers than

students, yet for some courses this may be the only way to teach the content. This is also more
likely seen in high school and middle school where the students are old enough to know the

importance of listening and paying attention to learning.

Another Pedagogy is Teacher-Student Collaboration, this is based upon social

constructivism. According to my notes social constructivism is the collaboration and cooperative

learning. Seen in my graphic organizer(Evidence 1.1.6) I explain the different types of teaching

styles that have been created based upon the theories of Benjamin Bloom and Lev Vygotsky. The

teachers can use stations, whiteboards, field trips, experiments, interactive games and whole

class discussions to have this collaborative workspace with the students. With every style of

teaching there are ups and downs you can see this in my collaborative notes(Evidence 1.1.7). The

students benefit from collaboration, as they develop or practice; critical thinking, problem

solving, creativity, develop better understanding, are more involved and build teamwork. The

downside is that teachers can not be in all places at once and students could lose focus and

concentration. The teachers’ advantages from collaborative teaching is a better understanding of

students, seeing the students different learning styles, and the teacher may assess the students.

The downfall is it will take longer to write lesson plans, because the teacher will have to account

for many variables of the classroom. This model is a combination of Student-Led and

Teacher-Led, and out of the three has the least amount of downfalls. It is the model that should

be used more in the classroom. It creates a great teacher-student relationship and allows students

to think outside the box.

The last pedagogy is Response to Intervention and is based on social constructivism. It is

important to watch out for kids who need help in every grade, but is best when caught early on.

This pedagogy is based on the theorist Benjamin Bloom. This model is used to help students who
may need more help in the classroom than other students. In my graphic organizer(Evidence

1.1.8), I explain the process of helping these students. First step to implement this model is to

watch and help identify students with special needs or learning disabilities. To help compile

evidence for the student the teacher can use experiential learning. The second step is to help the

student obtain early intervention to help support the child. The last step to creating a supportive

environment for the student is to determine the support needed for the student so they can

succeed.