Teaching Learning in School

Teaching Learning in School

Contextual teaching and learning (CTL) is a conception of pedagogy whereby educators use instructional approaches to relate subject matter content to realworld situations that, presumably, will help students relate this knowledge to their current and future roles as students, citizens, family members, and workers. Drawing on studies and development work in the late 1990s, various researchers employed an operational definition that stated that contextual teaching enabled learning in which students employ their academic understandings and abilities in a variety of in- and out-of-school contexts to solve simulated or realworld problems, both alone and with others. CTL emphasizes higher-level thinking, collecting and analyzing information and data from a variety of sources, and transfer of knowledge from school to out-of-school contexts.

Contextual teaching and learning is a response to a continuing challenge that so many students find school irrelevant to their lives and seem to have difficulty using knowledge they are required to learn to solve diverse, complex problems in other settings, inside and outside of school. For far too many students, especially those in high school, academic subjects seem to be taught through abstract, didactic, “chalk and talk” methods and textbook reading and memorization—all of which culminate in end-ofcourse or end-of-year test taking based on recall from class notes and the textbook.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Most teaching strategies have emerged from the research done on learning. The logic is that if learning occurs under certain circumstances, such as in a group dialogue or from observing, then teaching strategies should match those circumstances. As a result, teaching strategies have been classified according to a wide range of criteria. Student-centered, inquiry-oriented, constructivist, direct instruction, and cognitive are some of the categories used to describe teaching strategies, all of which emanate from philosophical and/or research-based perspectives on learning and teaching. This discussion includes two broad categories of teaching strategies: instructor-centered and student-centered. In instructor-centered teaching strategies, the instructor takes an active and engaged role throughout the teaching process. Of course, all instructors are most effective when they are actively engaged regardless of the teaching strategy being used. However, a key distinction between instructor- and student-centered strategies is the direct and continual involvement of the instructor throughout the learning process in instructor-centered strategies. In the category of student-centered teaching strategies, the instructor may take on the role of observer, guide, facilitator, or even mediator during the learning process, leaving aspects of the learning to occur within and among the students. Student-centered teaching strategies involve similar planning and preparation efforts on the part of the instructor, but less direction and control during the learning process.

Instructor-Centered Teaching Strategies

Expository Teaching Strategies

Expository teaching strategies involve the instructor verbally leading and engaging students in the learning process. These strategies include the traditional lecture method or smaller, mini-lectures/presentations. In the traditional lecture teaching strategy, certain elements are associated with positive learning outcomes: gaining attention and generating anticipation, presenting the objective of the lesson/lecture, stimulating background knowledge and review of previously addressed material, verbal explanation of the concepts or ideas, ...