Method 1: Teacher Centered

Hello Everyone,

This weekend has been full of power-point making and lesson planning. While I was busy copying and pasting images of the Industrial Revolution, I realized that I never told you about which methods I would be comparing in this study. Sorry to have left you all hanging, I will tell you now.

Due to the limited time I have, and the fact that studying which method of teaching is best is in itself difficult, I have narrowed my methodologies down to three main types. I will examine teacher centered, learner centered, and interactive methods of instruction.

This week I will begin with what I have found to be the simplest method: teacher centered. This method is known as lecture style, didactic instruction, and many others. My research of this method tells me that the flow of information is essentially a one way street. The teacher takes the information, processes it into a lesson, and then feeds it to the student. This style will be, in my opinion, the easiest to start out with because Mr. Bayer utilizes it a majority of the time he teaches. Also, the work he has me doing for him, making presentations, fits perfectly into the model for teacher centered.

Some of my books on teaching have outlined this style of teaching a little more. Didactic is definitely one of the oldest and most common forms of education. For those of you who took lecture classes in college, don't worry, I will not force my test subjects to endure that kind of teaching, I'll make it more enjoyable. Many describe the pupils in this style to be passive, and the teacher to be active. One issue I anticipate will be a lack of focus due to the fact that the students don't actually have any incentive to pay attention. Another criticism I have heard about this method is the fact that some students cannot learn as well in a strict lecture, some need to interact and discuss the topic at hand.

I still have much more research to do before I am ready to enact the teacher centered method, but I thought that I would keep you all updated on the project. Till next time!