LESSON

Understanding the Facilitative

1 Teaching-Learning Process

What Is this Lesson About?

As the instructional leader in your school, you play an important role in
directing it toward achieving its educational goals. You are, therefore,
expected to constantly provide guidance to your teachers to help them
deliver quality education to their students. But how is quality education
achieved? Quality education is achieved primarily through the effective
facilitation of the teaching-learning process. The teaching-learning process
is the heart and soul of schools. It forms the core of the “business of
education.” Therefore, this important activity must be done well if schools
are to be described as successful in achieving their goals. Students go to
school not simply to absorb information. They also have to be trained on
what to do with such information and how to apply what they learn to
real-life situations.

However, before teachers can be expected to facilitate the teaching-

learning process well, you fi rst need to help them refl ect on their beliefs
and attitudes about teaching and facilitation of learning. Why did they
become teachers in the fi rst place? What kind of teachers are they striving
to become? What beliefs about students and learning do they hold as
important pillars in providing instruction? Knowing their basic attitudes,
beliefs, and practices will give you a good opportunity to examine why
they encounter certain problems in the facilitation process. This is just like
going back to their teaching foundations or philosophies. Are you familiar
with your teachers’ teaching philosophies? Whether you are familiar with
the development of a teaching philosophy or you simply need to refresh
your memory, this lesson is a good place for you to start.

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 1

 Through this lesson, you will learn how to prepare a statement of teaching
philosophy. You will also be able to determine the characteristics of a
facilitative teaching-learning process, know about the different teaching
styles, and how these can affect the teaching-learning process. Are you
now ready to know more about these important factors that can affect your
teachers’ performance as instructional providers? If you are, then read on.

What Will You Learn?

After studying this lesson, you should be able to:

• Write your own teaching philosophy.

• Guide your teachers in writing their own teaching philosophies.

• Discuss the characteristics of a facilitative teaching-learning

process.
• Differentiate the four teaching styles.
• Evaluate your teachers’ teaching styles.

Let’s Read
Read the two scenarios below carefully.

Teacher A
Mr. Kamulwat is a third-grade teacher in a primary school. He has been
teaching for fi ve years. He loves teaching and considers it his vocation.
He believes that students have their own unique abilities that he can
help develop by giving them opportunities to learn and practice their
skills. He feels that his students have as much to teach him as he them
so he encourages his students to ask questions and plan activities that
will enable them to apply new lessons to practical situations. He gives
his students opportunities to work in groups and come up with projects
that further explore their new skills.

As Mr. Kamulwat encourages his students to discover their potentials,

he also makes sure that he rediscovers himself by enrolling in
professional development courses available for teachers.

2 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

 Teacher B
Mrs. Prinsakorn is a teacher in a primary school. She believes that
students are like empty vessels that need to be fi lled with knowledge.
Indeed, it is her role as a teacher to provide them with as much
knowledge as possible. Her preferred teaching method is lecturing. She
gives long assignments to her students to encourage them to think
more. She believes in the authority of the educator. Hence, she has the
tendency to be very strict in class. She frowns upon noise and
unnecessary class activities. Mrs. Prinsakorn follows a carefully
prepared lesson plan every time. She expects her students to listen to
her attentively when she gives lectures. She asks them questions to
make sure they learned the concepts she presented. She views students
as passive receivers of information. She looks at her role in education
much like a driver does his/her passengers. And, of course, in that
situation, the driver is given total control.

Just as Mrs. Prinsakorn meticulously plans her lessons and sticks to the
plan, she has carefully laid out her own career path targeting
promotions in the school.

In whose class would you rather belong — Mr. Kamulwat’s or Mrs.

Prinsakorn’s? Why? Who provides students more opportunities to really
think and process rather than just absorb information? How are their
teaching approaches different?

Feedback
The previous activity shows you that teachers teach differently using
different techniques and approaches because they have different teaching
philosophies. A teaching philosophy describes teachers’ beliefs about how
learning occurs, how they can intervene in this process, what chief goals
they have for students, and what actions they should take to implement
their intentions for students.

Teachers’ beliefs and attitudes are different from one another’s because
they are unique individuals who have different experiences. These
experiences, whether acquired from their training as teachers or when they
were still students, form the foundation of their teaching attitudes and

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 3

 activities. For a school head like you, helping teachers examine and reflect
on

Let’s Read What Is a Teaching Philosophy?

The activity shows you that teachers teach differently using different
techniques and approaches because they have different teaching
philosophies. A teaching philosophy is a set of beliefs that a teacher values
as well as uses as a guide in instructional activities. It encompasses the
teacher’s beliefs about students, learning, teaching, and his/her role as an
educator.

Purposes

A teacher’s statement of teaching philosophy does several things. It can:

- Clarify what the teacher believes good teaching to be.

- Explain what the teacher hopes to achieve in teaching.
- Contextualize his/her teaching strategies and other evidence of
teaching effectiveness.
- Promote and provide an opportunity for refl ection and
professional development in teaching.
- Provide a means for others to learn from the teacher’s experiences.

Components

A statement of teaching philosophy is composed of the following

components:

- The teacher’s defi nition of good teaching, with an explanation of

this particular defi nition.
- A discussion of teaching methods: how does the teacher implement
his/her defi nition of good teaching?
- A discussion of evaluation and assessment methods used and a
description of how they support the teacher’s defi nition of good
teaching.
- The teacher’s description of his/her students, and their most
important learning goals and challenges.

4 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

 Let’s Think About This What Is
Facilitative Teaching?

It is well known that learners differ from one another. They come from
diverse cultural backgrounds and they have a wide range of learning
needs. Some may have challenging physical, mental, and social problems.
Others may not be strongly motivated to learn. Learners also tend to vary
signifi cantly in the degree to which they are willing to engage in self-
directed learning by comparison with learning under close teacher
guidance. They also differ in how much they prefer to learn using a hands-
on approach as opposed to learning through listening and reading.
Correspondingly, some teachers may not possess the facilitation skills
needed to deal with learners of diverse learning styles and preferences.

This scenario calls for the intervention of a school head like you. As an
instructional leader, your guidance to your teachers on good teaching for
diverse students is crucial. Good teaching is now understood to involve a
process of facilitating learning rather than being the simple transmission
of knowledge from the teacher to the learner.

What comes to your mind when you hear the phrase “facilitative
teaching”? What roles should teachers take as facilitative teachers? Write
your answers on the space below:

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________
Facilitative teaching is teaching that guides, instigates, and motivates
students to learn. It uses learner-centered teaching-learning practices,
instead of teacher-centered ones. As such, the teacher is the facilitator
rather than the source of learning. The facilitative teacher effectively
implements appropriate instructional strategies and creates a positive

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 5

 learning environment in the classroom (Methodist University, 2010). The
box below describes the roles of facilitative teachers.

Let’s Read Roles and Behaviors of Facilitative

Teachers
The teachers in your school play a crucial role in facilitating the
teachinglearning process. The box below describes their tasks as facilitative
teachers (Smith & Blake, 2005).

Roles of Facilitative Teachers

1. Provide a meaningful context for learning where lessons are

framed by the context of the students’ life situations.

2. Encourage ‘hands on’ and interactive approaches to learning

activities to allow learners to think about and apply concepts
learned.

3. Establish learning outcomes that are clear in their intent to

achieve ‘work-readiness’ for learners.

4. Give learners the opportunity to collaborate and negotiate in

determining their learning and assessment processes.

5. Understand learners as ‘co-producers’ of new knowledge and

skills.

6. Recognize that the prior learning and life experiences of learners

are valuable foundations for constructing new knowledge and
skill sets.

7. Use fl exible teaching approaches that address the different

learning styles of students.

8. Value the social interactions involved with learning in groups.

The facilitative teacher functions enumerated can be effectively performed

when teachers possess the following characteristics and practice the
corresponding teacher behaviors (Methodist University, 2010).

6 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

 Characteristics and Behaviors of Facilitative
Teachers

1. Teacher Characteristic: ATTENTIVE

Teacher Behaviors:
• Maintains eye contact
• Listens actively
• Demonstrates awareness of verbal and non-verbal behaviors
• Monitors student activity
• Monitors progress and provides feedback for all students 2.

Teacher Characteristic: GENUINE

Teacher Behaviors:
• Is honest in interpersonal relationships
• Displays a real concern and caring for the student 3. Teacher

Characteristic: UNDERSTANDING

Teacher Behaviors:
• Demonstrates sensitivity and responsiveness to students’
personal ideas
• Demonstrates sensitivity and responsiveness to students’
needs
• Demonstrates sensitivity and responsiveness to students’
interests
• Demonstrates sensitivity and responsiveness to students’
feelings
• Demonstrates sensitivity and responsiveness to students’
diverse cultural backgrounds

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 7

 4. Teacher Characteristic: RESPECTFUL

Teacher Behaviors:
• Values each student as being unique
• Shows a positive regard for each student
• Accepts student’s feelings
• Shows politeness to students, even when handling
misbehavior.

5. Teacher Characteristic: KNOWLEDGEABLE

Teacher Behaviors:
Content Knowledge
• Demonstrates current knowledge of subject matter
• Identifi es concepts, facts and/or skills basic to the content
area(s)
• Utilizes outside resources pertaining to their fi eld
• Follows clear, concise objectives
• Provides appropriate instructional opportunities adapted to
diverse learners

Pedagogy Knowledge
• Facilitates student learning through presentation of the
content in clear and meaningful ways
• Utilizes a variety of strategies, including technology, to
communicate subject matter
• Keeps students actively engaged
• Asks high level questions to elicit critical thinking, problem
solving, and performance skills
• Accurately assesses and analyzes student learning

8 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

 6. Teacher Characteristic: COMMUNICATIVE:

Teacher Behaviors:
• Interacts positively with students including active listening
• Speaks and writes articulately using the language of
instruction
• Integrates multiple technological approaches
• Provides clear and precise directions that students can
easily understand
• Recognizes and builds upon teachable moments

Roles of the Principal in Supporting Facilitative

Teaching-Learning

If you are to nurture the facilitative teaching skills of your teachers, it is

crucial that you, as school head, support their student-centered approach.
Here are some of the things you can do to promote and sustain the exercise
of facilitative teaching in your school [Power & Boutilier (2009); Blase &
Blasé (2000)]:

1. Create a climate of openness to creativity, inquiry, and

innovativeness. Invite teachers and students to contribute ideas
and solutions to school problems and challenges. Appreciate the
worth of their ideas and opinions.

2. Know and understand the theories of human learning so that they

may serve as a resource in your understanding of how to enhance
instructional effectiveness.

3. Model effective facilitative teaching skills.

4. Inspire teachers to adopt innovative pedagogies in the classroom

by supporting teachers’ instructional methods, allocating
resources and materials, visiting classrooms frequently,
providing feedback on instructional methods and techniques, and
using data to focus attention on improving the curriculum and
instruction.

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 9

 5. Make suggestions and give feedback and praise for effective
teaching.

6. Support collaboration and provide professional development

opportunities and capacity-building activities at school so that
new and existing teachers can support each other and have refl
ective discussions about their practice throughout the year.

7. Build a trusting relationship by assuring teachers that you are an

accessible on-site instructional resource.

8. Clarify to your teachers “that the school head’s role is not to

evaluate, but to assist teachers in refl ecting upon their work,
learning new practices, analyzing student work and assessments,
and designing more effective lessons”.

9. Allocate time for teachers to refl ect on their successes to give them
more perspective on their growth and increase their motivation to
further improve instructional practices.

10. Show compassion and cheer people on.

11. Accentuate the positive.

12. Engage the teachers in refl ective questioning.

13. Validate the good things that are happening in their classrooms
as part of best practices.

Working through Resistance to Change

As a leader of change, you have to keep in mind that there will always be
resistant teachers who will cause you to refl ect and to question your
actions in the process. Regardless of whether the teachers are completely
on board with new initiatives or not, you, as school head, must continue to
work toward engaging individual teachers in an effort to improve student
learning. Building upon positive working relationships to address various
aspects of teaching-learning will enable you to work your way through.
You will also be able to model facilitative teaching and foster respect and
understanding if you appreciate not only their teaching philosophies, but
also the resulting teaching styles.

1 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

0
Let’s Study Teaching Styles
Do you know that your teachers’ teaching philosophies infl uence their
teaching styles? A teaching style is the way in which teaching tasks are
chosen and carried out (Mohanna, Chambers & Wall, 2008). Some teachers
choose to have more teacher-focused activities such as giving lectures and
minimizing independent work. Others prefer to draw out information
from their students after engaging them in group activities. Teaching styles
determine the effectiveness of teachers in promoting learning, enhancing
positive attitudes about learning, and improving self-esteem. They are
determined by teachers’ personal characteristics, experiences, and
knowledge of the teaching-learning process and teaching philosophies.

Do you know your teachers’ teaching styles? Before you go and fi nd out
theirs, let us fi rst see what your own teaching style is.

Teaching Style Categories

As you have learned in the previous activity, there are four teaching style
categories: formal authority, demonstrator, facilitator, and delegator. Let
us get to know more about each one based on the work of Stein, Steeves,
& Mitsuhashi (2001).

Formal Authority

Teachers who have a formal authority teaching style tend to focus on

content. This style is generally teacher-centered, where the teacher feels
responsible for providing and controlling the fl ow of the content and the
student is expected to receive the content.

One type of statement made by an instructor with this teaching style is “I

am the fl ashlight for my students, I illuminate the content and materials
so that my students can see the importance of the material and appreciate
the discipline.”Teachers with this teaching style are not so much concerned
with building relationships with their students or enabling students to
form relationships with other students. This type of teacher doesn’t usually
require much student participation in class. This teaching style is often
called the “Sage on the stage” model.

Demonstrator or Personal Model

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 11

 Teachers who have a demonstrator or personal model teaching style tend
to run teacher-centered classes with an emphasis on demonstration and
modelling. This type of teacher acts as a role model by demonstrating skills
and processes and then as a coach/guide in helping students develop and
apply these skills and knowledge; thus, the teacher is called a “Guide on the
side.”

A teacher with this type of teaching style might comment: “I show my

students how to do a task properly or work through a problem and then
I’ll help them master the task or problem solution. It’s important that my
students can solve similar problems independently by using and adapting
demonstrated methods.”

Instructors with this teaching style are interested in encouraging student

participation and adapting their presentation to include various learning
styles. Students are expected to take some responsibility for learning what
they need to know and for asking for help when they don’t understand
something.

Facilitator

Teachers who have a facilitator model teaching style tend to focus on

activities. This teaching style emphasizes student-centered learning and
there is much more responsibility placed on the students to take the
initiative for meeting the demands of various learning tasks.

This type of teaching style works best for students who are comfortable
with independent learning and who can actively participate and
collaborate with other students.

Teachers typically design group activities that necessitate active learning,

student-to-student collaboration, and problem solving. This type of
teacher, who is also a “Guide on the side” like the demonstrator, will often
try to design learning situations and activities that require student
processing and application of course content in creative and original ways.

Delegator

Teachers who have a delegator teaching style tend to place much control
and responsibility for learning on individuals or groups of students.

1 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

2
Teaching Techniques That Will Benefi t All Learners

Although not all your teachers may be the all-around fl exible and
adaptable teacher type, you can help them meet the needs of all the
students in any class by asking them to include several, if not all, of the
following techniques (Engineering, 2009).

Teaching Techniques That Will Benefi t All Learners

• Motivate learning by relating the material being presented to

what has come before and what is still to come in the same class
subject, to material in other subjects, and particularly to the
students’ personal experience.

• Provide a balance of concrete information (facts, data, real

experiments, and their results) and abstract concepts (principles,
theories, and mathematical models).

• Balance problem-solving methods with simple knowledge-level

methods.

• Use pictures, schematics, graphs, and simple sketches liberally

before, during, and after the presentation of verbal material. If
possible, show fi lms or provide demonstrations and hands-on
activities.

• Use technology-assisted instruction, if possible.

•
Do not fi ll every minute of class time lecturing and writing on the
board. Provide intervals - however brief - for students to think
about what they have been told.

•
Provide opportunities for students to do something active besides
writing notes. Small-group brainstorming activities that take no
more than fi ve minutes are extremely effective for this purpose.

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 13

 •
Assign some drill exercises but do not overdo them. Also provide
some open-ended problems and exercises that call for analysis
and synthesis.

•
Give students the option of cooperating on homework
assignments to the greatest possible extent.

• Applaud creative solutions, even incorrect ones.

•
Talk to students about learning styles to reassure them that their
academic diffi culties may not all be due to personal inadequacies.
Explaining to learners how they learn most effi ciently may be an
important step in helping them reshape their learning experiences
so that they can be successful.

Wow! This module has just walked you through important knowledge,
skills, and values that you can share with your teachers on how to state a
teaching philosophy, conduct facilitative teaching, and evaluate their
teaching styles. Your understanding of these important inputs in the
teaching-learning process will come in handy when you study the
succeeding lessons that focus on effective teaching-learning and
communication in teaching.

1 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

4
• A teaching philosophy is a set of beliefs that a teacher values and
uses as a guide in teaching. It encompasses the teacher’s beliefs
about students, teaching, and the teacher’s role as an educator. It is
developed by refl ecting on one’s basic beliefs about students,
teaching-learning, and the teacher’s role in an academic institution.
A teaching philosophy is not permanent. As a teacher changes,
his/ her philosophy also changes. A school head must, therefore,
guide the teachers in aligning their own philosophies with the
school’s instructional goals.

• Facilitative learning is a learner-centered approach to the teaching

learning process.
• The characteristics of facilitative teaching are:
1. Provides a meaningful context for learning where lessons are
framed by the context of the students’ life situations.

2. Encourages ‘hands on’ and interactive approaches to learning

activities to allow learners to think about and apply concepts
learned.

3. Establishes learning outcomes that are clear in their intent to

achieve ‘work-readiness’ for learners.

4. Gives learners the opportunity to collaborate and negotiate in

determining their learning and assessment processes.

5. Understands learners as ‘co-producers’ of new knowledge

and skills.

6. Recognizes that the prior learning and life experiences of

learners are valuable foundations for constructing new
knowledge and skill sets.

7. Uses fl exible teaching approaches that address the different

learning styles of students.

8. Values the social interactions involved with learning in

groups.

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 15

 • A teaching style is the way in which teaching tasks are chosen and
carried out. They are determined by teachers’ personal
characteristics, experiences, and knowledge of the
teachinglearning process and teaching philosophies.

There are four teaching style categories:

i) Formal Authority – This style is generally teacher-centered,
where the teacher feels responsible for providing and controlling
the fl ow of the content and the student is expected to receive the
content.

ii) Demonstrator or Personal Model – This style is also

teachercentered with emphasis on demonstration and modelling.
The teacher using this style acts as a role model by demonstrating
skills and processes and then as a coach/guide in helping
students develop and apply these skills and knowledge.
Instructors with this teaching style are interested in encouraging
student participation and adapting their presentation to various
learning styles. Students are expected to take some responsibility
for learning what they need to know and for asking for help when
they don’t understand something.

iii) Facilitator – This teaching style focuses on activities, emphasizes

student-centered learning, and places more responsibility on the
students to take the initiative for meeting the demands of various
learning tasks. This type of teaching style works best for students
who are comfortable with independent learning and who can
actively participate and collaborate with other students.

iv) Delegator – This style often gives students a choice in designing

and implementing their own complex learning projects and will
act in a consultative role. Students are often asked to work
independently or in groups and must be able to maintain
motivation and focus for complex projects. Students working in
this type of setting learn more than just course specifi c topics as
they also must be able to work effectively in group situations and
manage various interpersonal roles.

1 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

6
 •
The All-Round Flexible and Adaptable Teacher is a competent
teacher who assumes a combination of these different theoretical
positions. He/She is able to adjust the teaching approach to
students’ needs.

•
An effective teacher is responsive to the unique needs of students
and is able to develop instructional activities that address such
needs. This teacher uses teaching techniques that can benefi t all
learners.

•
As a school head, you play an important role in helping your
teachers write their statement of teaching philosophy. You also
need to support them in practicing facilitative teaching and in
applying teaching styles and techniques that will lead to effective
student learning.

LESSON
Toward Eff ective
Teaching-Learning
2
For teaching to be effective, all learning processes must be considered. All
students do not think and learn in the same way. Some learn better through
listening while others through seeing. Their motivators also differ. Some
are encouraged by verbal praise and tangible incentives. Others are more
motivated by their own inner drives to succeed. This lesson will familiarize
you with concepts that enhance the teaching-learning process. It will start
by focusing on students’ learning processes and their motivators for
learning. Later on, it will discuss how you can help your teachers modify
their teaching strategies to deliver more effective instruction.

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 17

 Do you want to know more about how an instructional leader like you can
guide teachers in improving the teaching-learning process? Read on if you
do.

What Will You Learn?

After studying this lesson, you should be able to:

• Describe the different learning styles.

• Identify the factors that affect learning.
• Describe some common myths about learning.
• Differentiate intrinsic from extrinsic motivation.
• Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using verbal praise as
an educational motivator.
• Apply the principles of motivation to the learning process.
• Give examples of strategies and models that can enhance teaching-
learning.

Let’s Try This (Activity 2.1)

Read the critical incident below.

Critical Incident
Mr. Kamulwat is worried about a student named Kim. Kim showed
promise as a learner. However, she did not do well in class activities that
did not involve pictures or stories conveying vivid images. She did
poorly in math and science, but when asked to draw pictures, she did
the task gladly. Whenever she asked questions, she tried to relate a new
concept to something she had seen before. Mr. Kamulwat recognized
that Kim seemed to have a different way of learning. So he tried his best
to provide Kim with opportunities to draw and relate new learnings
with images. He noticed that this strategy seemed to work. However, he
also noticed that this approach did not work well for his other student,

Thuy. Thuy seemed to prefer activities that involved movements. He

liked going out to the schoolyard and particularly loved role-playing
games. Whenever he heard a new concept from Mr. Kamulwat, Thuy

1 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

8
 wanted him to come up with physical activities such as games or any
task that required him to move around. Clearly, Thuy was different
from Kim.

Mr. Kamulwat is determined to provide these two students with the

opportunities to learn through activities that address their personal
learning styles.

Answer the following questions using the spaces provided.

1. How would you describe Kim’s preferred way of learning?

______________________________________________________________
_

______________________________________________________________
_

______________________________________________________________
_

______________________________________________________________
_

2. If you are to describe Thuy’s learning style, how would you do so?

______________________________________________________________
_

______________________________________________________________
_

______________________________________________________________
_

______________________________________________________________
_

3. What should Mr. Kamulwat do to address their different learning

styles?

______________________________________________________________
_

______________________________________________________________
_

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 19

 ______________________________________________________________
_

______________________________________________________________
_

Read on to fi nd out the answers to the preceding questions.

Let’s Study Learning Styles

Students like Kim and Thuy differ in terms of capacity to learn. Aside from
this or maybe because of it, they also differ in terms of how they learn. This
well-accepted fact has enormous implications for classroom teaching. Since
students learn differently, they should also be taught in ways that best
support their unique ways of learning.

What are learning styles? According to Kolb and Kolb (2005), learning style
describes individual differences in approaches to or ways of learning. A
person’s learning style is a biologically and developmentally imposed set
of personal characteristics that make the same teaching method effective
for some and ineffective for others. What works for Kim will not
necessarily work for Thuy. Like signatures or thumbprints, each learner
has a personal learning style. And if you accept the concept of having
different learning styles, then you must also accept that different
approaches to teaching help students develop their skills because they
have unique strengths.

There are many ways to classify learning styles. One of the most popular
is classifying them based on a learner’s sensory preference. The most
familiar concept of learning style involves sensory preferences and how
these affect learning. These preferences lead to different learning styles,
which are:

• Visual
• Auditory
• Kinesthetic
• Tactile

In the simplest sense, visual learners best acquire new information by

sight. Kim is a visual learner. She prefers the show-and-tell approach. She
wants demonstrations and assignments rather than mere topic discussions.
Visual learners often ignore verbal directions or fi nd them uninteresting.

2 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

0
Hence, teachers like Mr. Kamulwat must provide opportunities for
translating learning into visual images to help this type of students learn
well.

An auditory learner, on the other hand, needs to hear content explanations.

He/She appreciates and learns faster through songs and stories. He/She
also fi nds it easier to learn through sounds.

A tactile learner learns best by manipulating materials. He/She requires

experimentation and hands-on activities to learn well. He/She needs to
touch, feel, and experience.

Kinesthetic learners like Thuy prefer activities that involve their whole
bodies. Learners like him prefer dramatizations, pantomimes, and fi
eldtrips. They may often be restless in class. Role-playing and interactive
games are good strategies to help them learn.

Let’s Think About This

What kind of learner are you? What is your learning style? Recall the time
when you were still in primary school. What activities did you prefer over
others? What did your teachers do before that best triggered your interest?

Let’s Read
Aside from learning styles based on the different sensory preferences,
learning styles may also be based on other individual preferences. Students
can also be classifi ed based on their individual preferences for:

• Sound levels
• Lighting

• Temperature levels
• Seating arrangements
• Mobility
• Group sizes

• Types of learning activities

• Eating or drinking while concentrating
• Time preferences

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 21

 These variables allow for different ways of classifying students’ learning
styles. For example, based on preferences for sound levels, learners may
prefer total silence or hear background sounds/noises to concentrate.
Have you heard some students say, “I can study only when the television
set is turned on”? This refl ects a learning style that is specifi c for that
student. The basic principle applies to all the other variables. Can you think
of classifi cations based on lighting? How about seating arrangements?
How about group sizes? Learning styles research supports the different
means by which students learn. For example, there are existing researches
that document the effectiveness of small-group learning. Students from
Grade Three to Second Year tend to work better in small groups than either
alone or with the teacher (Shalaway, 2005).

Learning styles can also be classifi ed based on recognizing biological

differences among learners. Some learners may be “right brained,” others
“left brained.” According to Goethals (1985), left brain-dominant learners
are more analytic and inductive. They seem to learn in successive levels
using small steps leading to complete understanding of the topic. On the
other hand, right brain-dominant learners are more global and deductive.
This means that they are able to learn faster by obtaining meaning from a
broad concept before focusing on details.

In terms of other categorizations of learning styles, Kolb and Kolb (2005)

described two major differences in how people learn — how they perceive
situations and process information. To perceive new information, some
probe while some think and analyze. Some process by watching while
some do not.

McArthey (Kellough, 1994) described four other categories of learning

styles based on patterns of perceiving situations and processing
information, namely:

1. Imaginative learners: They perceive information concretely and

process it refl ectively. They learn well by listening to and sharing with
others while integrating others’ ideas with their own experiences. They
often have a diffi culty with traditional teaching approaches.

2. Analytic learners: They perceive information abstractly and process it

refl ectively. They prefer sequential thinking, require details, and value
what experts have to offer. They do well in traditional classrooms.

3. Common sense learners: They process information abstractly and

actively. They enjoy practical and hands-on learning. They often fi nd

2 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

2
 school frustrating because they do not see an immediate use for
learning.

4. Dynamic learners: They provide information concretely and process it

actively. They prefer hands-on learning and get excited with new
concepts and ideas. They like taking risks. Activities that are tedious
and sequential frustrate them.

Under what category is your learning style?

Let’s Think About This

Think of your own cognitive activities as an adult. Imagine that you are to
start reading a nice book that you have been wanting to read for a long
time. Given a choice, where would you want to sit? Would you want music
to play in the background? How loud? How about the lighting? Would you
want someone else to be present in the room? Would you prefer to discuss
the book with a friend afterward? How about eating while reading?

What did this activity help you realize?

Let’s Read Myths and Facts About Learning

You learned from the foregoing readings, discussions, and activities that
the concept of a ‘learning style’ is used to describe the preferred way, or
process, that a student uses to identify and integrate information. In other
words, the way a student seems to learn most often or most effectively is
called his or her learning style. It should be noted, however, that while
individuals vary in their preferred ways of learning, most people learn best
by actively working with new concepts and ideas, solving problems,
asking

and answering questions, discussing, debating, brainstorming,

researching, and explaining. Successful teachers provide students with
opportunities to engage in these types of activities.

In light of this understanding of learning styles, let us fi nd out how well

you can identify commonly held fl awed beliefs or myths about learning
against facts. In the list below, write F on the blank if the statement is a fact
about learning. Write M if the statement is a myth about learning.

______ We must be sitting in a chair at all times in order to learn.

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 23

 ______ The person who does the most listening does the most learning.
______ The best way to teach is to give information in a well-planned lecture.
______ If we’d only listen, we’d remember more.
______ The more “serious” the learning is, the more we will remember.
______ Fun is not important to learning.
______ The only person who should be the “sage on the stage” is the expert in the
fi eld.

If you wrote M in all the statements, you are correct. Below are fl awed
beliefs or myths about learning and their corresponding facts (WGBH
Educational Foundation, 2006).

• Myth: We must be sitting in a chair at all times in order to learn.

Fact: Our ability to learn by experience diminishes in direct proportion
to the amount of time we spend sitting.

• Myth: The person who does the most listening does the most learning.
Fact: The person doing the most talking, moving, or writing is doing
the most learning.

• Myth: The best way to teach is to give information in a well-planned

lecture.
Fact: We remember 10 to 20 percent of what we hear. If we want
someone to “hear” something, we lecture. If we want students to
“learn,” we need to work as a “guide on the side” and involve them.

• Myth: If we’d only listen, we’d remember more.

Fact: We learn and remember 80 to 90 percent of what we do and say. In
order to learn anything well, we need to talk about it with each other
and do it a number of times.

• Myth: The more “serious” the learning is, the more we will remember.
Fact: We learn and remember best when we are engaged and enjoying
what we’re doing.

• Myth: Fun is not important to learning.

Fact: Not only do we learn best and remember more when we enjoy
success at an appropriately challenging experience, but we also become
more willing to seek out other challenging experiences.

2 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

4
• Myth: The only person who should be the “sage on the stage” is the
expert in the fi eld.
Fact: We are all in the process of becoming experts in something.
The more we share our knowledge with others, the more we learn.

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 25

 Let’s Try This (Activity 2.2)
To fi nd out what your own learning style is, work on the questionnaire
that follows.

Learning Styles Inventory

[Adapted from Learning Styles Inventory by Wyman in Shalaway (1998)]

Instructions:

To fi nd out what learning style you prefer, encircle the numbers

corresponding to statements you agree with.

1. I prefer to listen to a book on audio tape rather than read it.

2. When putting something together, I always read directions fi rst.
3. I prefer reading to hearing a lecture.
4. When I am alone, I usually have music playing or I hum or sing.
5. I like playing sports more than reading books.
6. I can always tell directions like north and south no matter where I
am.
7. I love to write letters or in a journal.
8. When I talk, I like to say things like “I hear you,” “That sounds
good,” or “That rings a bell.”
9. My room desk, car, or house is usually disorganized.

10. I love working with my hands and building or making things.

11. I know most of the words of the songs I listen to.
12. When others are talking, I usually create images in my mind of
what they are saying.
13. I like sports and I think I am a pretty good athlete.
14. It’s easy for me to talk for long periods of time on the phone with
friends.
15. Without music, life isn’t any fun.
16. I am very uncomfortable with social groups and do not usually
strike up a conversation with almost anyone.

2 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

6
 17. When looking at objects on paper, I can easily tell if they are the
same no matter which way they are turned.
18. I usually say things like “I feel I need to get a hand on it” or “Get a
grip.”
19. When I recall an experience, I usually see a picture of it in my mind.
20. When I recall an experience, I mostly hear sounds and talk to myself
about it.
21. When I recall an experience, I remember mostly how I felt about it.
22. I like music more than art.
23. I often doodle when I am on the phone or in a meeting.
24. I prefer to act things out rather than write a report on them.

25. I like reading more than listening to stories.

26. I usually speak slowly.
27. I like talking better then writing.

28. My handwriting is not usually neat.

29. I generally use a fi nger to point when I read.
30. I can multiply and add quickly in my head.
31. I like spelling and I think I am a good speller.
32. I get very distracted if someone talks to me while the television is
on.
33. I like to write down instructions that people give me.
34. I can easily remember what people say.
35. I learn best by doing.
36. It’s hard for me to stay still very long.

Scoring to Determine Your Own Learning Style

Get your total score using the following guide to determine your learning
style.

Visual statements: 2, 3, 6, 7, 12, 17, 19, 23, 25, 30, 31, and 33
Auditory statements: 1, 4, 8, 11, 14, 15, 16, 20, 22, 27, 32, and 34
Kinesthetic statements: 5, 9, 10, 13, 18, 21, 24, 26, 28, 29, 35, and 36

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 27

 Fill in the table below. If, for example, you encircled statement 1, place a
check mark (p) in row 1 under the Auditory column because according to
the guide above, statement 1 is an auditory statement. Do the same for each
statement number.
Statement Number Visual Auditory Kinesthetic
1

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

2 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

8
 24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

Total _______ Total _______ Total _______

To get your score in percentage form, add the number of check marks in
each column. Divide this by the total number of check marks in all three
columns. For example, if you got a score of 12 for the Visual column and
your total number of check marks is 30, then 12 ÷ 30 = 0.4. Multiply this
number by 100 to get your score in percentage format, that is, 0.4 x 100 =
40%.

Your percentage score for each style indicates your relative preferred
learning style/s. Compare your scores for each column. What is/are your
predominant learning style/s based on the test? Some people have very
strong preferences, even to the extent that they have little or no preference
in one or two of the styles. Other people have more evenly–balanced
preferences, with no particularly strong style. The point is simply to try to
understand as much as you can about yourself and your strengths (your
preferred style or styles), and then make best use of learning methods
which suit your strengths (your preferred style or styles).

Now that you know how to determine your learning style, it’s time to
introduce the self-test to your teachers. Afterwards, they can ask their
students to accomplish the same instrument. The more the teachers

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 29

 understand their students’ learning styles, the better they can adapt their
instructions to accommodate as much learning preferences as possible. The
better students know the way they learn best, the greater their chances of
performing well in school.

What is your role as school head in this regard? Your responsibility is that
of guiding your teachers in preparing lesson plans using teaching styles
and techniques that would cover as many learning styles as possible.
Remember the teaching techniques that will benefi t all learners covered
on pages 35-36? Ask them to use those and see what difference they make.

Let’s Study
Do you want to know more about how your teachers can facilitate the
teaching-learning process effectively? This part of the lesson will introduce
you to the concept of motivation that you can share with your teachers and
its potent force in promoting and enhancing student learning.

Motivating Students to Learn

Refl ect on the statement below.

“Do not train children to learning by force and harshness, but

direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be
better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the
genius of each.”
— Plato (Gura and Percy, 2005)

Plato, one of the great Greek philosophers, was Aristotle’s teacher, who in
turn, was Alexander the Great’s teacher. A great teacher, Plato, used
didactics or discussions as his primary form of teaching. He acknowledged
very early on that motivation was the key to learning and teaching. Do you
agree with him?

Now, read the story below.

There was once a young duck who was born with only one leg. All the
ducks in the pond laughed at him because of his peculiar state.
Nevertheless, he never gave up trying to learn how to swim with only
one leg. He started by learning how to fl oat. Next, he found a way to
use his wing to compensate for his lack of one leg. In spite of many
failed attempts, he was able to swim in the end. He also helped other

3 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

0
 young ducks swim and this made him very happy. The other ducks
were amazed at what he was able to accomplish. One of the older ducks
said, “Young duck, I am impressed by your nice wing and how you
were able to use it to balance and swim.” The young duck replied,
“Thank you, sir, but I wish you could also see the determination
behind it.”

What lesson does the simple story impart?

The story reminds us that in all cases, it is one’s personal desire or

motivation that underlies any successful attempt to learn. Like the young
duck, learners may also be initially encouraged to take risks. They may
need help to understand that sometimes, failing is a part of succeeding.

Like the young duck, a teacher needs to learn how to capitalize on a

student’s interest and curiosity as he/she models the learning process.
When the young duck fi nally succeeded in overcoming his limitations and
learned to swim as fast as the others, the fi rst thing he did was to share his
knowledge with the other ducks that needed his help. When others did not
listen, he simply showed them how he did it. This was how he was able to
slowly win converts. He inspired others through example. Like him,
teachers can help students achieve academic success through effective
instructional strategies. Teachers can motivate students to study and foster
their desire to learn. Their quest for knowledge and curiosity about the
world is part of their being human. Your role as school head is to feed that
curiosity and facilitate its development.

The following are some basic principles in motivating students to learn:

• Motivation comes naturally. Teachers have to keep students

from losing their motivation. People by nature are passionate,
curious, and intrigued. They like making theories about things,
fi nding patterns, making sense out of things, and connecting
with others. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, some
students stop looking at the school as a place where their
curiosity and abilities are nurtured. School becomes just a place
where they take tests, learn how to conform, and give what is
expected of them.

• Teachers need to model passion for learning. Passion is

associated with enthusiasm, caring, commitment, and hope,
which are themselves key characteristics of effectiveness in
teaching. Teachers who have a passion for teaching listen to
what students say, develop emotional closeness with them,

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 31

 demonstrate good sense of humor, encourage students to learn
in different ways, and create learning environments that engage
students and stimulate their passion for learning. But
passionate teachers cannot have all these characteristics
without learning these fi rst. Thus, passionate teachers are also
passionate learners. They keep themselves knowledgeable

about their subject and teaching strategies that work; thus, they are
able to facilitate confi dently their students’ learning. Such passion
for teaching and learning is strongly felt by the students, inspiring
their own passion and motivation.

Because a teacher’s passion for teaching and learning is a critical

ingredient in effective students learning, you, the school head, are
expected to promote and sustain such passion. Towards this, Day
(2004) suggests that the following infl uences on the teacher be
taken into consideration carefully by both the teachers and the
school head:

• Teacher’s understanding of self or ability to be refl ective

• Emphatic leadership
• Cultures of openness and collegiality among staff
• Professional learning and development opportunities integral
to the progress of the lives and work of individuals as well as
organizations.

• Properly structured learning experiences foster motivation. If

students are provided with opportunities to ask and seek
answers to interesting questions and encouraged to learn in
their own ways, they will be more motivated to succeed.
Success in itself can be highly motivating as well.

So what can your teachers do to become better at their work? Continue

reading to fi nd out.

Let’s Read The Science and Art of Teaching

According to Shalaway (2005), the science of teaching refers to instructional
strategies that work based on research. Scholars call this a teacher’s
professional knowledge base. It is a set of principles that are unique and
essential to good teaching. It refers to teaching behaviors that make a
difference. Lastly, it refers to instructional strategies that teachers can

3 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

2
control and do something about to improve their skills. The following are
some examples of effective teaching strategies:

• Organizing instruction into integrated thematic units

• Using cooperative learning and group approaches
• Recognizing and teaching to multiple intelligences

• Accommodating individual learning styles

• Stressing thinking skills over plain memorization
• Harnessing the power of technology
• Practicing authentic assessment of student learning through
effective evaluation methods
• Motivating students to value learning
• Acknowledging the importance of active learning, engaged time,
and academic learning time
• Using wise group practices
• Encouraging student inquiry and initiative

This list of teaching strategies assumes a particular philosophy of teaching,

that is, “The teacher’s most important job is to teach students how to learn
and become independent thinkers.” Do you agree with this philosophy?

Said statement compels us to reexamine the basic role of teachers in the

classroom. Are teachers supposed to be “sages on the stage” or “guides on
the side”? A sage is a respected, wise person. Educators who act as sages
on the stage follow traditional teaching approaches where they act as
primary sources of information. In contrast, those who act as “guides on
the side” follow the facilitative teaching approach and practice cooperative
learning.
Which one do you think is better?

Let’s Think About This

According to novelist Edith Wharton (Cashman, 2008), “There are two
ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that refl ects it.” You
can either use a candle or be a mirror to refl ect a candle’s light. What does
this saying mean to an educator like you? Write down your answer in the
space provided below.

________________________________________________________________

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 33

 ________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

This saying means that a teacher can provide the “light of knowledge” in
two ways — by being a provider of information or by acting as a guide,
helping his/her students through the processes of discovery and
exploration. This is especially true in primary schools because studies have
shown that early experiences can be so powerful that they can determine
how a person turns out in the future.

Current research on education favors teaching approaches wherein

teachers act more as “guides on the side.” This facilitative learning
approach, also known as “cooperative learning,” allows students to be
active partners in learning and are given opportunities to plan, implement,
and evaluate lessons and instructional activities. How these specifi c
activities are effectively delivered depends on many factors, including how
motivated students are to learn.

As an instructional leader, you are expected to guide the teachers in your

school in motivating their students to become actively engaged in the
teaching-learning process. In the next part of the lesson, you will learn
more about motivation and motivational practices that can make teaching
and learning more effective.

Let’s Try This (Activity 2.3)

Are you familiar with the concepts of internal and external motivation?

The list below shows concepts that are associated with either internal or
external motivation. On the space before each number, write I if the
concept is associated with internal motivation, E if the concept is associated
with external motivation.

________ 1. A student’s natural curiosity

________ 2. Money as reward
________ 3. Getting good grades
________ 4. Hearing words of encouragement from classmates ________ 5.
The desire for mastery and success

Compare your answers with those in the Key to Correction on page 117.

3 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

4
Let’s Study Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation for
Learning
Motivation is defi ned as the process that initiates, directs, and sustains
goaloriented behaviors. Sometimes, these processes are nurtured by drives
and needs within ourselves and the outside forces that direct them
(Shalaway, 2005).

Intrinsic motivation is associated with internal drives and needs. It is

fueled by a student’s natural curiosity. It also refers to one’s desire for
mastery, success, and a sense of accomplishment. It is interest for its own
sake: a satisfaction derived directly from understanding a concept or
learning a skill. It is also associated with one’s confi dence in one’s abilities,
sense of ownership, or choices as well as other innate factors. Simply
expressed, intrinsic motivation is a natural love for learning.

Intrinsic motivation’s strengths lie in its ability to create enthusiasm and

commitment. However, it may also lead the learner to get “carried away”
and lose sight of his/her real motivational goal as he/she becomes too
focused on getting results.

Extrinsic motivators, as the term implies, arise from outside an individual.

They are also called “external reinforcements” or “rewards.” Examples
include praise, good grades, money, and anything observable.Extrinsic
motivation can result in cooperativeness and class-orientedness of the
learner who desires social acceptance or praise, for example. Extrinsic
motivation can also later on develop into more signifi cant commitment.

The probable downside, however, includes the possibility that the learner
might concentrate on the appearance of achievement to the detriment of
“deep” learning (Atherton, 2010). Some authors also contend that extrinsic
motivators sometimes discourage creativity, the desire to learn, and
commitment to good values (Shalaway, 2005). For example, Jere Brophy,
an educational researcher, said,“The improper use of praise, an extrinsic
motivator, can undermine a student’s desire to learn. Simply saying, ‘You
did a great job!’ may be interpreted in many ways. In this case, the student
who receives the praise may say, ‘Why are you saying that? Is it because I
was doing a poor job before?’” But still, it is important to praise children
for a job well done. This helps them to feel good about themselves and be
willing to continue to try harder. Challenge your teachers to fi nd
something to praise children for each day.

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 35

 Training your teachers, then, in using praise effectively to promote and
encourage student learning is one of your important tasks as instructional
leader. Below are some guidelines for effective praise and encouragement
that you can share with them.

Guidelines For Effective Praise (Kizlik, 2010)

Effective Praise Ineffective Praise
1. Is delivered immediately upon 1. Is delivered long after
student performance of desirable student task
behaviors or genuine performance or
accomplishment. (You make me feel irregularly and without
glad that you’re applying the terms specifi c attention to
and concepts learned like what you are genuine
doing now.) accomplishment. (You
did some good work last
week!)
2. Specifi es the praiseworthy aspects 2. Is general or global, not
of the student’s accomplishments. specifying the success.
(I’m glad that you were able to follow (Great work!)
accurately the steps in the science
experiment.)

Effective Praise Ineffective Praise

3. Is expressed sincerely, showing 3. Is expressed blandly

spontaneity, variety and other without feeling or
nonverbal signs of credibility. animation, and relying
(Thank you. I really appreciate your on stock, perfunctory
creativity in coming up with that phrases. (Okay.)
poster.)
4. Is given for genuine effort, progress, 4. Is given based on
or accomplishment which is judged comparisons with others
according to standards appropriate and without regard to
to individuals. (Coming up with that the effort expended or
good hypothesis in your science class signifi cance of the
proved that your diligence in studying accomplishment of an
and reading paid off.) individual. (You’re the
most talented student in
your class!)
5. Provides information to students 5. Provides no meaningful
about their competence or the value information to the
of their accomplishments. (You have students about their
been trying so hard to learn those new accomplishments. (Very
words and now you are able to read the good!)
whole story!)

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6
 6. Helps students appreciate better 6. Orients students toward
their thinking, problem-solving comparing themselves
and performance. (Student: with others. (Student:
Understanding how I learn best and I’m the best in gymnastics
using that study technique really in my class because I’m
helped me perform better in my talented!)
language class!)
7. Attributes student success to effort 7. Attributes student
and ability, implying that similar success to ability alone
successes can be expected in the or to external factors
future. (Since you have been doing all such as luck or easy
your math homework, you have task. (You are lucky!)
improved your grade! Continue doing
that and you’ll stand a good chance of
being invited to the Math Circle.)
8. Encourages students to appreciate 8. Encourages students to
their accomplishments for the effort succeed for external
they expend and their personal reasons -- to please the
gratifi cation. (Congratulations for teacher, win a
coming up with a very practical and competition or reward,
useful home technology project! You etc. (Use your talents and
must be pleased with yourself and bring home the bacon!)
feeling proud that all your hard work
has paid off.)
Praising Children Publicly or Privately

Your teachers praising children publicly is also a good practice. It has the
benefi t of inspiring other students to follow the example. Students may act
embarrassed, but the more your teachers point out the positive things
students do, the more students will work to receive your praise. Public
praise is also an excellent way to keep students behave appropriately. For
children who commit misdemeanours in your class, try to catch them in
moments when they are doing good things and focus on praising them.
This will help them shape up faster than being compared to their
classmates.

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 37

 Praising children quietly for a job well done is an alternative to public
praise when a student is particularly sensitive. Quietly praising a student
for following directions, neat handwriting, or correct answers can be a
great motivator for students. Consider the student’s personality when
deciding whether to give public or private praise for a job well done
(Wagaman, 2009).

Let’s Try This (Activity 2.4)

Can you tell between effective and ineffective praise? Write E on the spaces
beside praise statements that are effective, and I for ineffective praise
statements.

_________1. I noticed how you took time to show the new student around
the school. I am sure she appreciated the help.
_________2. I’m proud of you!
_________3. That’s an interesting idea!
_________4. You are amazing!
_________5. I can see that you enjoy math. You have worked on these
problems for over half an hour!
_________6. You are such a good student.
_________7. I’m glad to see you are working so hard on your spelling!
_________8. Your artwork is the best in your group!

Feedback
To check your answers, turn to the Key to Correction on pages 117–118.

If you answered all eight questions correctly, you already know very well
how to provide effective praise and you can easily train your teachers on
this skill. If you missed one or more items, you need to re-study the
discussion on how to provide effective praise.

Aside from giving rewards, teachers’ expectations can also infl uence
student motivation and achievement. Students often refl ect and even
magnify their teachers’ expectations. If teachers do not expect much from
their students, chances are, the students will be less motivated to learn.

3 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

8
Let’s Read Teacher Expectations and Student
Behaviors

Low expectations often result in low achievement and poor behavior.

Raising expectations may improve behavior and achievement even in the
youngest students. It is a common understanding that children will rise to
meet the expectations placed upon them. Raising expectations for students
has to be done carefully in order for those expectations to be reasonable for
students. Teacher expectations may be grouped into three areas: student
classroom behavior, academic achievement, and social behavior.

Teacher Expectations for Student Classroom Behavior

Teachers need to expect more from their students regarding their

obedience and classroom behavior. Students should understand the rules
and consequences for misbehavior and know that their teacher believes in
their ability to follow those rules. Teachers may discover that changing
their expectations is all that is necessary to turn a misbehaving class into a
focused, obedient class.

Teacher Expectations for Student Academic Achievement

Raising expectations for academic achievement should be done

carefully because students who struggle and have diffi culties
learning in some areas might be pushed too far and fail. At the
same time, though, students who are capable of reaching higher
levels of academic success should be pushed and required to meet
higher expectations.

Teachers should make a habit of expecting just a little more from their
students each day. Pick a subject, an assignment and push students a little
more. It is important that these expectations are not portrayed in an angry,
frustrated or impatient tone. Expectations should be conveyed with
patience, confi dence, and gentleness.

Teacher Expectations for Student Social Behavior

Teachers need to spend some time teaching students simple social skills
that help them understand how to make a friend, how to be good friends,
how to walk away from a fi ght, and other basic social skills. When
speaking with students about how a situation was handled, the teacher

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 39

 should convey the expectation that next time, the students will act
and react more positively. Teachers need to reward students for
small actions that show they, the students, are meeting
expectations (Wagaman, 2009).

Let’s Think About This

What can you say about your own expectations of students? How about
your teachers – are they expecting enough of the students? What makes
you think so?

Knowing more about what motivates students as well as being conscious

of your teachers’ expectations of students can help your teachers design
lessons, activities, and teaching strategies that capitalize on their students’
interests. Your teachers’ main goal must be to motivate the students to
learn. For students to become lifelong learners, teachers need to motivate
them to learn early on in life.

To learn more about motivating and effective teaching strategies that you
can train your teachers to apply, read on.

Let’s Study Effective Teaching Strategies

Effective learning is a function of effective teaching. You learned earlier

that students learn better if they are properly motivated to do so. You also
studied some suggestions to improve your teachers’ teaching skills based
on the basic principles of teaching and learning.

What effective teaching strategies can your teachers use to further improve
the teaching-learning process? Here are some of them:

• Experiential Learning
Teachers provide opportunities for real-world experiences. Students
may expand upon their prior knowledge and apply what they
already know. Examples include fi eld trips, role playing,
simulations, drama, and laboratory experiments.

Students who engage in real-world experiences will attain and

assimilate information effectively because the activities are
meaningful in their day-to-day life experiences.

4 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

0
 • Direct Instruction
This is a highly structured, teacher-centered information delivery
method. Many teachers routinely follow this strategy. It includes:
objectives, a materials list, warm-up, presentation, guided practice,
independent practice, closure, appraisal, and evaluation.

This strategy provides the teacher with a framework for imparting

information.

• Social Learning
Teacher-guided cooperative learning that facilitates student
interaction. This strategy is based on the belief that information will
be learned and remembered if there are social interactions about
the information.

This strategy strengthens students’ ability to retain information through

social interaction involved with cooperative learning within socially
appropriate norms.

• Problem-based Learning
This strategy promotes critical thinking by presenting students with
interesting and puzzling problems to solve. The problem-solving
process involves observing, developing, and testing predictions,
collecting and organizing data, and formulating concepts and
explanations.

• Constructivist Instruction
The teacher encourages students to construct hypotheses, make decisions,
and discover principles by themselves. The instructor’s task is to
“translate information to be learned into a format appropriate to the
learner’s current state of understanding” and organize it so that the
student continually builds upon what he/she has already learned.

The context in which an idea is taught as well as students’ beliefs and

attitudes affects learning.

• Multiple Intelligences
Under this strategy, the teacher helps students learn effectively by
utilizing the learning strengths and intelligences of each student. At the
same time, the teacher assists the students in the development of less–

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 41

 developed skills, which will enable them to function well in the world
of work and society.

It identifi es students’ abilities in eight areas of intelligence and does not

limit intelligence to strength in the logical-mathematical and linguistic
areas. This teaching approach is based on the theory of Howard
Gardner: learners learn in different ways because they are also smart in
different ways. Learners can be:
• word smart • music smart
• number smart • people smart
• picture smart • self smart
• body smart • nature smart
An effective teacher knows how to vary his/her teaching
strategies to address different learning needs and styles. To learn
more about this, you may study the TEACHeXCELS module
Manage the Integration of Multiple Intelligences and Higher
Order Thinking Skills.

Which among these strategies are your teachers using in their classes? Are
there other strategies and approaches that they are already effectively
applying? Share and discuss these other teaching strategies with your
Flexible Learning Tutor and co-learners.

Let’s Read Motivating Students to Learn

Students become more motivated to learn if the teaching-learning activities
are enjoyable and pleasant. For this to take place, it is your role to impart
to your teachers that learning should not be held within a competitive or
stressful atmosphere , such as when teachers say, “Study this because this
will be part of the exam,” or “Memorize this or else you will get a low
grade.”

To motivate students to study and learn, it is also important for teachers to

teach students that the amount of effort they exert in learning affects how
effectively they will learn. Putting in more effort will yield better school
performance. Teachers need to emphasize to their students that their:

4 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

2
 Level of effort = Level of outcome

How can you motivate students to increase their efforts in studying?

Researcher Jere Brophy (Shalaway, 2005) suggests that teachers should ask
students to:

• Work on building their skills. “When you work on this project, it

will be easier for you to accomplish the next tasks in this course.”

• Develop their skills in stages. “You may fi nd it diffi cult now but
it will become easier with practice and as you exert more effort.
Sooner or later, you will master the lesson and will fi nd it much
easier.”

• Focus on mastery rather than competing and comparing with

others. “If you work on this science project well, you will develop
a better understanding of how clocks work,” and not “Put in more
effort for this project because your classmates are working hard on
theirs.”

Another good approach to teaching is by providing students with choices.

Remember when you were a student yourself? Did you like it when your
teacher gave you a choice on what to do? The principle remains the same.
Students may easily lose interest if they are not provided with choices in
terms of topics and learning activities. According to Khon (Shalaway,
2005), effective teachers provide opportunities for their students to choose
from:

• What to learn
• How to learn
• How well they need to learn and why

A teacher’s job is to guide students to make responsible choices and take

control of their own learning and behaviors. In short, at least once a day,
give learners an opportunity to decide what to do. It may not be very grand
but asking them what story they would like you to read to them is very
empowering and motivating in terms of their learning process.

A good way that you can impart to your teachers in motivating their
students is to create a thinking atmosphere inside the classroom. Think of
eight possible ways to achieve this. Write down your answers in the spaces
provided below.

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 43

 1. ______________________________________________________________

2. ______________________________________________________________

3. ______________________________________________________________4

. ______________________________________________________________

5. ______________________________________________________________

6. ______________________________________________________________

7. ______________________________________________________________

8. ______________________________________________________________

Compare your answers with mine below. Are they similar?

The following are my suggestions for creating a thinking atmosphere

inside the classroom:

1. Examine your own thinking about thinking.

2. Start early.

3. Every day, give students something to think about.

4. Teach students to look at all sides of a concept or issue.
5. Encourage students to fi nd threads and patterns or make connections.
6. Encourage students to question standards or the way things are always
done.
7. Ask unconventional questions.
8. Teach students to say what they mean.
9. Encourage students to consider other points of view.

10. Ask students to “wear other people’s shoes.”

11. Write things down.
12. Encourage students to ask questions to each other.

According to Kellough (1994), there are so many activities that teachers can
do to facilitate the teaching-learning process. Basic behaviors that teachers
can manifest to make students learn include:

• Structure the learning environment.

4 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

4
 • Establish an intellectual, psychological, and physical environment
that enables students to act and react productively.
• Accept instructional responsibilities.

• Intervene and redirect potential misbehaviors.

• Overlap topics to help students see relationships between them.
• Provide a variety of motivating and challenging questions.

• Engage students’ preferred learning styles.

• Model behaviors.
• Facilitate data acquisition.
• Accept students’ opinions.

• Clarify confusion.
• Use silence.
• Question intelligently.

Further information regarding each of these teaching behaviors are

discussed in Annexes B and C of this module. Refer to the Annexes if you
want to share more with your teachers.

Many of these teaching behaviors refl ect a constructivist teaching and

learning environment. In such an environment, learning is an active
process in which learners construct new ideas and concepts based on their
current and past knowledge and experience. For more information about
“constructivist teaching behaviors,” please refer to Annex D.

As a school head performing instructional leadership roles, you are

expected to provide your teachers with knowledge and resources to help
them meet the instructional needs of all students. The teachers’ ability to
apply teaching strategies that motivate students to focus on their studies
and succeed is half of the story. The other half lies in how you motivate
and support both teachers and students in this respect. We hope that the
previous discussions have equipped you with the knowledge and practical
skills that you need to enable your teachers to progress from traditional to
facilitative teachers and your students from average to high-achieving
learners.

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 45

 Let’s Think About This
There are many ways for you to help your teachers improve their
teaching strategies. In this lesson, you learned some guiding
principles that teachers can follow. However, you need to make
your teachers understand that these guidelines are not meant to be treated
as a strict recipe for practice. Teaching is a complex human behavior.
Teaching philosophies and styles, learning preferences, and motivation all
have to be factored in. One of your most important roles as an instructional
leader is to exemplify all learnings from this lesson and in the next. As an
example, just as you will soon be coaching your teachers on building the
confi dence of their students, you will also have to build confi dence among
the teachers. Like your teachers to their students, you must communicate
high expectations and then ensure that your teachers develop the confi
dence to meet those expectations. Remember, they can who think they can.
You can if you think you can.

Let’s Remember
In this lesson, you learned that:

•
A person’s learning style is a biologically and developmentally
imposed set of personal characteristics that make the same
teaching method effective for some and ineffective for others. Each
learner has his/her own preferred way of, or approach to,
learning.

•
There are many ways to classify learning styles. The learning styles
based on sensory preferences are:

o Visual o
Auditory
o
Kinesthe
tic o Tactile

4 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

6
• Students’ learning styles may also be classifi ed based on their
individual preferences for:
o Sound levels o
Lighting o
Temperature
levels

o Seating arrangements o
Mobility o Group sizes o Types
of learning activities o Eating or
drinking while concentrating o Time
preferences o Biological differences

•
The four learning styles based on patterns of perceiving situations
and processing information are:
o Imaginative
o Analytic o
Common
sense o
Dynamic

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 47

 •
Some common myths on learning are:
o Myth 1: We must be sitting in a chair at all times in order to
learn.
o Myth 2: The person who does the most listening does the
most learning.
o Myth 3: The best way to teach is to give information in a
well-planned lecture.
o Myth 4: If we’d only listen, we’d remember more.
o Myth 5: The more “serious” the learning is, the more we
will remember.
o Myth 6: Fun is not important to learning.
o Myth 7: The only person who should be the “sage on the
stage” is the expert in the fi eld.

•
To effectively provide learners with opportunities that address
their different learning styles, teachers need to vary their teaching
strategies to provide many choices of activities and experiences to
encourage learning.

4 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

8
• A teacher needs to learn how to capitalize on students’ interests
and curiosity as he/she models the learning process. A teacher
can motivate students to study and foster their desires to learn.
Some basic principles in motivating students to learn include:

o Motivation comes naturally. o Teachers need to model

passion for learning. o Properly structured learning
experiences foster motivation.

• Some effective teaching strategies include:

o Organizing instruction into integrated thematic units o

Using cooperative learning and group approaches o
Recognizing and teaching to multiple intelligences o
Accommodating individual learning styles o Stressing
thinking skills over plain memorization o Harnessing the
power of technology o Practicing authentic assessment of
student learning through effective evaluation methods
o Motivating students to value learning o Acknowledging the
importance of active learning, engaged time, and academic
learning time
o Using wise group practices o Encouraging student inquiry
and initiative

• Motivation is defi ned as a process that initiates, directs, and

sustains goal-oriented behaviors. Intrinsic motivation is
associated with internal drives and needs. Extrinsic motivators
come from outside an individual.

• Teachers should strive to use praise effectively.

• Aside from rewards, teachers’ expectations can also infl uence

student motivation. Knowing more about how to motivate
students and what to expect of them can help teachers design
lessons and activities that capitalize on student interests.

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 49

 •
The main goal of teaching is to nurture students’ potentials and
make them lifelong learners As such, teachers need to motivate
them from the very beginning.

•
Effective teaching strategies should:
o Help students fi nd their own reasons to learn and realize
why learning is important

o Be relevant to students’ needs and circumstances o Provide a

variety of activities to promote interest and address
individual learning styles
o Require active learning and actions/applications o Provide
opportunities to discuss personal meanings and values
o Encourage student inquiry and nuture students’ natural
curiosity

•
Good teaching aims to provide students with choices. Effective
teachers should provide opportunities for students to choose
from:
o What to learn o How to learn
o How well they need to learn and
why

•
A teacher should guide his/her students to make responsible
choices and take control of their own learnings and behaviors.

3. Which of the following are characteristics of effective praise? Encircle

the letter of the correct answers.

a. Delivered long after student task performance.

b. Sincere, spontaneous, with variety and other non-verbal signs of
credibility.
c. Provides information to students about their competency.
d. Given based on comparisons with others.

5 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

0
 e. Specifi es the praiseworthy aspects of the student’s
accomplishments.
f. Is given for genuine effort, progress, or accomplishment which is
judged according to standards appropriate to individuals.
g. Expressed blandly without feeling or animation.
h. Is general or global.
i. Helps students to appreciate better their thinking, problem-solving
and performance.
j. Is given according to standards appropriate to individuals.

k. Attributes student success to effort and ability, implying that

similar successes can be expected in the future.

Part 2

Read the critical incident below and answer the questions that follow.

Critical Incident
The clock ticks to 2:40 p.m. and the bell rings. With a weary smile, Ms.
Choong waves goodbye to her grade two pupils as they scurry out of
the classroom. Feeling a sense of relief, she goes back into the classroom.
Sighing, she looks at the pile of spelling test papers on her desk, starts
going through them, and fi nds that most of the words in the test papers
were misspelled. She had been so sure that her pupils would be able to
spell most of the words because she saw them listening well and looking
at the fl ashcards when she taught them the words. Apparently, it was
not so. At least, not for everyone. Ms. Choong sets aside the papers, too
disheartened to review them. Her eyes feel teary as she refl ects on her
day. She had caught Adi, Mazlan, and Ros secretly drawing each others’
faces while she discussed the history of the national fl ag in their social
studies class. The experiment she taught the pupils to perform for the
unit on rocks in their science class was too diffi cult. And her throat felt
painful but she could not take time off and leave her class to a substitute.
[Adapted from Jonson, K. (2008)]

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 51

 LESSON
Enhancing Questioning and

3
Active Learning Skills for Eff
ective Teaching

What Is This Lesson About?

Teaching is the heart and soul of a school. As you learned earlier,
it forms the core of the “business of education.” Therefore,
teaching must be delivered in the most effective way to help the school
successfully achieve its goals.

Part of good teaching is the ability to ask questions that trigger the use of
information stored in the mind of the student. Facilitative teachers ask
enabling questions that promote further learning and the use of higher
order thinking skills.

In Lesson 1, you learned how to guide your teachers to explore their

teaching philosophies. Lesson 2, on the other hand, familiarized you with
the guidelines for enhancing the teaching-learning process. Lesson 3 will
now focus on enhancing your questioning skills as a tool towards effective
teaching and improved learning. It will help you guide your teachers in
asking good questions when teaching. It will equip you with strategies for
converting simple questions into more challenging ones. You will also fi
nd how active learning can take place in your teachers’ classrooms and
how they can engage in refl ective teaching as an instrument for further
developing their instructional skills.

What Will You Learn?

After studying this lesson, you should be able to:

• Provide guidelines for asking good questions in class.

5 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

2
 • Apply strategies to convert simple questions into more
challenging ones.
• Describe the process of active learning.

• Defi ne what refl ective teaching is.

• Enumerate some guidelines for journal keeping.

Let’s Try This (Activity 3.1)

Read the story below.

The Obstacle in Our Path by

Tingting Rimart (2006)

In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he

hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock.
Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and
simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping
the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the
way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables on his back.

Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and
tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and
straining, he fi nally succeeded. As the peasant picked up his load of
vegetables, he noticed a purse lying on the road where the boulder had
been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King
saying that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from
the roadway. The peasant learned what many would never
understand!

Answer the following questions about the story using the spaces provided.

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 53

 1. What did the king place on the roadway?

_______________________________________________________________

2. What did the merchants and courtiers do when they came upon the
roadway?

_______________________________________________________________

3. What was the peasant carrying on his back?

_______________________________________________________________

4. What did the peasant fi nd under the boulder?

_______________________________________________________________

5. What did the purse contain?

_______________________________________________________________

What do you think about the questions you have just answered? Respond
to the following questions with a Yes or a No.

1. Did the questions encourage you to think about the story? __________
2. Did they challenge you to extract the moral of the story? __________
3. Did the questions lead you to appreciate the story based on how they
were asked? __________

The answers to all the questions above should be No. They were all recall
questions. As such, they failed to encourage you to analyze and appreciate
the moral of the story. They are what almost 90 percent of teachers ask their
students every day. It is about time you learn how to transform recall
questions into enabling ones or questions that enhance learning and the
use of higher-order thinking skills.

Let’s Read
What are enabling questions? How are they formed? Read on to fi nd out.

5 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

4
 Asking Good Questions to Enhance Learning

Nearly 2,200 years ago, Socrates, the teacher of Greek

philosopher, Plato, asked questions that stimulated thinking
among his students. He asked questions and his students
responded. Their answers led to more questions. For Socrates, the
process of asking questions and coming up with well-thought of answers
form the foundation of learning. Learning was defi ned as a change in
beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors due to experiences. As students go through
the experience of being asked, they gain more insights about topics and
develop their own capacities to reason and respond. However, merely
asking questions is not enough. Teachers must also know what kind of
questions to ask.

Through the years, educators have recognized the value of good

questioning as an essential educational tool. Questions have many signifi
cant purposes in education. Questions can encourage critical thinking,
promote reasoning skills, determine the amount of information absorbed
by students, and stimulate interest. Asking the “right” questions can
stimulate higher order thinking skills which develop creativity and insight
among students (Shalaway, 2005). Do you know what higher order
thinking skills are? They represent the higher levels of cognitive
functioning. Higher order thinking skill questions are not merely fact-
recall or comprehension questions. They encourage learners to analyze and
explore further applications of acquired knowledge. You may learn more
about higher order thinking skills in the TEACHeXCELS module, Manage
the Integration of Multiple Intelligences and Higher Order Thinking Skills.

Many teachers today still ask questions that only encourage recall of
information (Shalaway, 2005). These questions focus on the lowest level of
cognitive functioning. Put simply, they only challenge students to
regurgitate or repeat information and not actively process them. Asking
good questions is essential in enhancing the teaching-learning process. As
school head, you are expected to guide your teachers in learning how to
ask more enabling rather than just recall questions. Teachers need to
develop their skills in asking “good” questions and, in the process, help
their students become better thinkers. Study the strategies given below.

Strategies to Convert Simple Questions to More

Challenging Ones

[Adapted from Shalaway (1999)]

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 55

 1. Yes, but why? Teachers need to ask their students why they think their
answers are correct rather than just accept them as true. If a student
answers that “Photosynthesis is the process of food/energy production in
plants,” don’t just say, “That’s right!” Instead, ask him/her, “Yes, but why
can’t plants produce food the way humans do?” This will encourage better
information processing and not just recalling as well as develop the
student’s ability to think.

2. What’s the use? Teachers need to ask questions that encourage the use
of information. Ask questions like, “Why do you need to know the different
ways of food production by various organisms?” In this way you present to
your students an opportunity to remember facts more easily and
promote appreciation for the topic by highlighting its relevance.

3. What’s different now? If something changes, teachers need to ask “How

will this change affect the way things are done?” Furthermore, there are
eight tactics to introduce changes in concepts through which teachers
can construct challenging questions:

• Adapt. “How would we (humans) function if we produced food the way

plants did?”

• Modify. “If plants were to produce food only through the use of moonlight
instead of sunlight, what do you think would happen?”

• Substitute. “What do you think would happen if all plants were blue
instead of green?”

• Magnify. “If bees that help pollinate fl owers were as big as cats, would
they still be able to do their job?”

• Minify (make smaller). “What would happen to the food production

capacity of plants if all their leaves were smaller?”
• Rearrange. “If a plant’s roots were above the ground and its leaves
underground, which of their processes would need to be changed?”

• Reverse. “If fruits appeared before fl owers, how would this affect the
pollination cycle?”

• Combine. “How different would the world be if there were only one kind
of plant?”

5 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

6
4. Can you prove it? Ask for proofs for answers. This requires learners to
formulate answers and support them. “How can you prove that sunlight is
essential for photosynthesis in plants?”

5. Right, wrong, or neither? Avoid questions that have only one correct
answer. Encourage creative thinking by asking questions that have
answers that require students to defend them. Ask questions like,“How
important is knowing about agriculture in human history?”

6. All of the above? Ask questions that have more than one correct answer
like, “What plants can be used as medicine? Why?”

7. Alike or different? Ask questions that require comparison and contrast

like,“How is a cactus similar to an orchid? How are they different?”

8. Square peg and round hole? Questions with unusual relationships

encourage creative thinking like,“What do you think would happen if
human beings had no ears?”

As an instructional leader, you ought to guide your teachers in the practice

of transforming recall questions into enabling ones using the suggestions
above. Doing so can enhance their teaching skills, no doubt about it.

Let’s Try This (Activity 3.2)

To fi nd out how creativity is enhanced through the use of enabling
questions, answer the question below.

“What do you think would happen if humans produced food through

photosynthesis?”

Write down as many answers/scenarios as you can think of on a separate

sheet of paper.

Feedback
Compare your answers with mine in the Key to Correction on page 122.

How did you fi nd the activity above? Did it stimulate your interest in the
topic? Did it make you think more analytically and creatively? Did you fi
nd this activity fun? Imagine what it would be like for your teachers and
their students!

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 57

 Let’s Try This (Activity 3.3)
Before proceeding, change the following recall questions in Activity 3.1
into enabling ones. Write your revised questions on the spaces provided.

1. What did the king place on the roadway?

______________________________________________________________
_

______________________________________________________________
_

2. What did the merchants and courtiers do when they came upon the
roadway?

______________________________________________________________
_

______________________________________________________________
_

3. What was the peasant carrying on his back?

______________________________________________________________
_

______________________________________________________________
_

4. What did the peasant fi nd under the boulder?

______________________________________________________________
_

______________________________________________________________
_

5. What did the purse contain?

______________________________________________________________
_

______________________________________________________________
_

5 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

8
Do you think your questions would now make the students think more?
Why?

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Compare your answers with mine in the Key to Correction on page 123.

Let’s Read Tips for Asking Questions

Now that you are already more familiar with the kinds of questions to ask
to strengthen learning among students, you will learn next how to ask
these questions. Below are some tips for asking questions that can further
enhance the teaching-learning process.

• Ask questions that are appropriate to the students’ level of mental

development.
• Elicit thinking by asking different kinds of questions.
• Prepare questions in advance.

• Be alert for opportunities to ask questions during the class session.

• Call on students randomly to respond to questions.
• Repeat or rephrase a question to help students in answering it.
• Give students adequate time to respond to your questions.

Asking better questions helps students become better thinkers. Converting

simple questions to challenging ones promotes “cognitive independence”
or the ability to think for oneself.

On the other hand, questions should not only come from the teacher.
Students should also be encouraged to direct their own questions not only
to the teacher, but also to each other. Many students are afraid to ask
questions for fear of ridicule. Make sure that the classroom is an
environment that is safe for such an activity. Show respect to your students
for them to also respect you. In other words, teach by example.

Let’s Study Active Learning

Active learning refers to dynamic teaching and learning, which engages
learners as active participants in the teaching-learning process. Teacher

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 59

 and students learn by doing, performing, and refl ecting on insights gained
from specifi c activities such as fun games, simulations, role play,
introspection, and the like. Active learning facilitates an engaging process
of refl ection on an action for the purpose of developing or enhancing skills
and competencies.

Here are some examples of active learning strategies.

Think-Pair-Share

Sample situation:

The teacher gives students a task such as a question or problem to solve,

an original example to develop, etc. The students are given 2-5 minutes to
work on it alone (think). Then they form pairs to discuss their ideas for 3-5
minutes. Finally, the student pairs will share their ideas with the whole
class (share).

Collaborative Learning Groups (CLG)

These may be formal or informal, graded or not, short-term or long-term.

Students are assigned to heterogeneous groups of 3-6 students. They
choose a leader and a scribe (note-taker). They are given a task to work on
as a group. Often, student preparation for the CLG has been made earlier
(reading or homework). The group produces a group answer or paper or
project.

Games

Games such as jeopardy and crossword puzzles can be adapted as course

materials and used for review, for assignments, or for exams. They can be
used at the individual, small group or full class levels. There are now some
computer programs, for example, to help teachers create crossword
puzzles.

Video Analysis

Videos offer an alternative presentation mode for course material. Videos

should be relatively short (5-20 minutes). The teacher should screen them
beforehand to make sure they are worth showing. Students should be
prepared ahead of time through the use of reaction or discussion questions
or a list of ideas on which to focus; this will help them pay attention. After
the video, the teacher may have them work alone or in pairs to answer
critical questions, write a “review” or reaction, or apply a theory.

6 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

0
Student Debates

These can be formal or informal, individual or group, graded or not, etc.

They allow students the opportunity to take a thesis or position and gather
data and logic to support that view critically. Debates also give students
experience with verbal presentations. Some teachers ask students their
personal view on an issue and then make them argue the opposite position.

Student Dialogues

Student-to-student (peer-to-peer) dialogues provide an opportunity for

students to present their own ideas, as well as to hear and refl ect on the
ideas of others. Dialogue with one’s peers facilitates the meaning-making
process and is the foundation of effective cooperative learning.

Student-Generated Exam Questions

This strategy may be used for review or for the actual exam. This technique
helps students actively process material, gives them a better understanding
of the diffi culties in writing reliable and valid examination questions,
helps them review material, and gives them practice for the exam.

Mini-Research Projects

A teacher can have the students conduct a research study on a topic from
the class. The teacher can guide them on collecting data during class time
through observing some situations or giving out short surveys. The teacher
can also guide students on doing outside-of-class data gathering. Either
way, students will, afterwards, present their research in a class research
symposium similar to the conduct of professional meetings. The teacher
may invite other faculty and students as guests.

Use of Raw Data

The teacher may ask students to do three steps: collate raw data about
certain topics, analyze them, and draw up a conclusion. The teacher can
review the students’ data analysis and provide feedback so the students
are guided on how to utilize raw data.

Case Studies

The teacher may bring to class case studies for students to read. Students
can discuss and analyze the case as well as apply concepts, data, and theory
to the class. They can work individually or in groups or do this as a
thinkpair-share activity. The teacher may consider combining this with a
brief in-class writing assignment.

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 61

 Keeping Journals or Logs

The teacher can have students make journal or log entries

periodically (on paper or computer, in or outside of class).
He/She may also require a brief critical refl ection or analysis of
each entry. The teacher should be aware of ethical issues involved
in asking students to record and analyze personal events or issues.

Newsletter

As school head, you may support small groups of students in producing a

newsletter on specifi c topics related to class, relevant research, information
on upcoming related public events, and so on.

Concept Map

Students may create visual representations or models of ideas and

relationships between concepts. These can be done individually
or in groups and can be shared, discussed, and critiqued.

Let’s Think About This

“Students who are hands-on are students who are minds-on.”

What does the statement above mean to you? Do you agree with it?

The statement above means that students who are actively involved in the
learning process learn better. In active learning, students are provided with
opportunities to learn through application and practice, which enhance the
learning process and guarantee comprehension.

Teaching-learning is a dynamic process. A teacher should never stop

working toward becoming better at his/her vocation. What tools can he/
she use to improve his/her teaching? Read on to fi nd out.

Let’s Read
Refl ective Teaching: Thinking About Teaching

Toward Professional Growth

Teaching is a constantly evolving process. Like doctors who attend training

regularly to improve their skills, teachers should constantly try to perfect

6 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

2
the art of instruction. The process may not be easy, but thinking about the
way one teaches is a start to improve one’s teaching skills. Being
professionals, teachers should be thinkers and decision makers as well.
They are expected to take full responsibility for their classrooms and
students.

There is a saying that goes, “The better you are at thinking and talking
about teaching, the better you are in the classroom.” Do you agree with
this? Teachers should be encouraged to stop and think about the way they
teach every now and then. As school head, you should help them refl ect
on their skills as educators. Systematic refl ection on one’s teaching skills
is not easy. It needs time and effort. Refl ective teaching is thinking about
one’s skills as a teacher and constantly fi ndings ways to improve them.

Journal-Keeping and Refl ective Teaching

Encourage your teachers to write in their personal journals about their

teaching. The process of writing is in itself already a form of thinking.
Often, people do not really know what and how they think until they write
about it. The process of journal-keeping is powerful. Many teachers have
benefi ted from this practice in improving their teaching skills. Keeping a
teaching journal can boost teachers’ morale. It may also be an eye-opening,
tension-releasing, and instructive experience. Consciously documenting
self-observations encourages teachers to become “educational researchers”
using themselves as sources of data.

The following are some tips on journal-keeping that you can share with
your teachers (Shalaway, 1999).

• Make entries regularly.

• Keep a permanent record.
• Set aside a regular time for journal-writing.

• Write any thought or refl ection that comes to mind.

• Document your growth as a teacher.
• Identify and celebrate small successes.
• Target different aspects of teaching.

• Keep track of how much you have been focusing on each aspect of
teaching.
• Occasionally review your journal.
• Store your journal in a safe place.

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 63

 Let’s Study
Below are some entries in teachers’ journals.

July 12, 2009

I had a wonderful time in class today. The students enjoyed the story
they chose to refl ect on. I think it was a good idea that they chose
parables because they are short and they encourage students to
really think for themselves. I remember last week when I read to
them a story that was quite long. Some seemed bored. I should
continue giving them shorter stories as anchor for group
discussions. To vary the presentation, I might ask some students to
act out some scenes from the story. That would be exciting! I will try
that next time.

What do you think of the journal entry above? Was it easy to understand?
Were you able to relate to the teacher who noted her insights about the way
she teaches and the way her students respond to her in class? How would
your teachers like it as a sample for writing simple journal entries?

Some teachers may want to keep track of their progress but have little time
for writing. They may write shorter journal entries similar to those shown
below.

August 8, 2009
Rene participated in the discussion today. Now I realize that all he
needs is to be a group leader. I should give him more chances to
play that role.

August 9, 2009
I am glad the poem appreciation lesson went well!

August 10, 2009

Must read more on higher-order thinking questions.

Whether journal entries are written in long narratives or simple phrases,

what is most important is for teachers to have a system to document or
track their teaching progress.

6 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

4
Writing journals is just one of the activities in refl ective teaching. Teachers
may also prepare class newsletters, take videos, or run discussion groups
with their colleagues. In any activity, just remember that the goal of refl
ective teaching is to allow for a way to document, refl ect, and analyze one’s
teaching abilities through observations. It is an essential step toward
professional growth and teaching-learning enhancement.

As school head leading your teachers towards instructional effectiveness,

you should always support them in their efforts to teach refl ectively. One
way of doing this is by sharing your insights and expertise with them in
the process of acquiring refl ective teaching skills.

This module has just walked you through your role as the fi rst resource
on facilitative and refl ective teaching for the teachers. With the knowledge,
skills, and values you have gained on leading teachers in facilitating the
teaching-learning process in your school, you can now look forward to
improved student performance and enhanced teacher competencies.

Let’s Remember
In this lesson, you learned that:

•
It is important for teachers to develop the ability to ask enabling
questions or questions that tap higher order thinking skills
among students.

•
Asking the “right” questions can stimulate higher-order thinking
skills and develop creativity and insight among students. As
school head, you are expected to help teachers learn how to ask
enabling questions rather than just recall questions.

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 65

 •

The strategies for converting simple questions into more challenging

ones include:

o Yes but why? o What’s the use?

o What’s different now?

 Adapt 
Modify
 Substitute 
Magnify 
Minify 
Rearrange 
Reverse 
Combine

o Can you prove it?

o Right, wrong, or neither? o All of
the above. o Alike or different? o Square
peg and round hole?

•
The following are some tips for asking questions:

o Ask questions that are appropriate to

students’ knowledge level.

o Elicit thinking by asking different kinds of questions. o

Prepare questions in advance.
o Be alert for opportunities to ask questions during the class
session.
o Call on students randomly to respond to questions.
o Repeat or rephrase a question to help students in answering
it. o Give students adequate time to respond to your
questions.

6 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

6
•

Active learning refers to a dynamic process of learning new ideas,

skills and attitudes by engaging learners as active participants in
the teaching-learning activities. Teachers and learners are both
learning from doing, performing, and taking action through
learning vehicles/devices such as:

o Think-Pair-Share
o Collaborative learning groups
o Games
o Student debates
o Student-to-Student dialogues o Student-generated
exam questions o Mini-research proposals or projects
o Using raw data o Analysis of case studies o
Keeping journals or logs o Writing and producing
newsletters o Concept mapping

•
Refl ective teaching is thinking about one’s skills as a teacher and
constantly fi nding ways to improve them. Journal-keeping is an
important activity in refl ective teaching. Keeping a teaching
journal can boost one’s morale. It can also be an eye-opening,
tension-releasing, and instructive experience.

• As an instructional leader, you may have teachers who can ask

enabling questions that tap students’ higher order thinking skills,
who can promote active learning, and who can engage in refl
ective teaching. That is a great advantage; however, having
teachers with these qualities does not happen overnight. It
requires a school head who possesses these competencies and
who can share and model these teaching skills. It needs an
instructional leader who can exemplify how effort works towards
success. And it calls for a motivating school head whose support
is felt and seen by the teachers as they set out to be refl ective and
effective teachers.

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 67

 How Much Have You Learned
From This Lesson?
Answer the following questions using the spaces provided for
each.

1. Why is refl ective teaching important?

______________________________________________________________
_

______________________________________________________________
_

______________________________________________________________
_

______________________________________________________________
_

2. Convert the simple questions below into more challenging ones.

a. What is photosynthesis?

______________________________________________________________
_

______________________________________________________________
_

______________________________________________________________
_

b. Who is the head of the United Nations General Assembly?

______________________________________________________________
_

______________________________________________________________
_

______________________________________________________________
_

c. What is the third letter of the English alphabet?

6 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

8
 ______________________________________________________________
_

______________________________________________________________
_

______________________________________________________________
_

d. When was the light bulb invented?

______________________________________________________________
_

______________________________________________________________
_

______________________________________________________________
_

3. Why is active learning important?

______________________________________________________________
_

______________________________________________________________
_

______________________________________________________________
_

______________________________________________________________
_

4. Why should teachers provide ample time for students to respond to a

question?

______________________________________________________________
_

______________________________________________________________
_

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 69

 ______________________________________________________________
_

______________________________________________________________
_

Feedback
Compare your answers with those in the Key to Correction on pages 123–
124. If your answers are similar to mine, that’s great! If not, review the parts
of the lesson you made mistakes in; then, revise your answers before
proceeding to the fi nal part of the module.

Let’s Sum Up
• Lesson 1 introduced to you what a teaching philosophy is and how
it is created. It also defi ned facilitative learning and its
characteristics. You also studied the four major teaching styles —
formal authority, demonstrator, facilitator, and delegator.

• Lesson 2 described the different learning styles of students. You

also learned the factors that affect learning, as well as the common
myths about learning styles. It also familiarized you with intrinsic
and extrinsic motivation, as well as provided a discussion on the
use of verbal praise as an educational motivator. Lastly, it taught
you several strategies and models in enhancing the
teachinglearning process.

• In Lesson 3, you learned how to formulate enabling questions to

enhance the learning process. You also studied active learning and
refl ective teaching.

• The lessons covered in this module provided you with knowledge

and skills you need to help your teachers enhance your school’s
teaching-learning activities.

7 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

0
 Lesson 1: Understanding the Facilitative
TeachingLearning Process
Let’s Try This (Activity 1.1) page 13
Teaching Mr. Kamulwat Mrs. Prinsakorn
Beliefs
Components
Beliefs about Teaching by example Good teaching means providing
good teaching is key. Students have as much to students as much knowledge as
teach him as he has to them. possible. Her role as an
educator is much like that of a
driver who brings students to
their destination wherein she is
in total control.
Preferred class He uses activities that enable She gives lectures in class and
activities students to apply new learnings expects students to listen. She
to practical situations. asks students to work on long
assignments.
He provides students with
opportunities to work in groups
and come up with projects that
can help them further explore
their new skills.
Beliefs about Students have their Students are like empty vessels
students own unique abilities that can be that need to be fi lled with
further developed. knowledge.

He respects their opinions and They are expected to listen to

believes that there are many her attentively as she conducts
things he can learn from them. lectures.

They are passive receivers of

information.
Learning goals To develop students’ skills by For students to learn as much
for students giving them opportunities to knowledge as possible and to
learn and practice. think more.
Goals for To rediscover himself by To follow a career plan that will
selfimprovement enrolling in professional lead to her promotion at school.
development courses available
for teachers.
does not specify the successful behavior.

E 5. I can see that you enjoy math. You have worked on these problems for over
half an hour!
The correct answer is E, effective, because the statement attributes student
success to effort and ability.

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 71

 Ways to Overcome
Challenges
the Challenges
Many of Ms. The school head may train Ms. Choong on the use of
Choong’s facilitative teaching skills and techniques that can
pupils are not benefi t all learners no matter what their learning
performing styles are. Instead of just using fl ash cards and direct
well in spelling teaching to the pupils (which benefi t only visual
tasks. learners), Ms. Choong could provide concrete
materials like actual objects or pictures of the words
being spelled, or create opportunities for students to
do something active besides reading the fl ash cards
and writing notes, such as acting out the words or
spelling the words with their bodies or by forming the
words using beads or other things that they like.
Pupils’ lack of The school head may train Ms. Choong on applying
interest in the teaching techniques that heighten the motivation of
topic being students to learn. This includes relating the topic to
discussed. situations that are fun, familiar, and signifi cant to the
pupils. For example, instead of directly teaching the
pupils about fl ags, Ms. Choong may group the
students into three teams and ask the teams to create
their own fl ags that would symbolize their respective
teams. This will defi nitely be a fun starting point for
rich pupil-centered discussions about fl ags, leading
to their discussion of the national fl ag as guided by
Ms. Choong. The school head can also train her on
exploring the multiple intelligences of the students by
asking them to draw or create the national fl ag using
available materials or to act out the history of the fl ag.
Ways to Overcome
Challenges
the Challenges
Ms. Choong’s Instead of doing the experiments herself, Ms. Choong
diffi culty in could guide her pupils in performing it. The students
conducting will learn much from the hands-on activity and Ms.
activities such as Choong won’t be exhausting herself too much.
experiments.

7 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

2
 Ms. Choong’s The school head needs to help Ms. Choong realize
health that her formal authority teaching style necessitates
condition and her to speak and move all the time in the classroom.
weariness. This can exhaust her vocal cords and drain her
Ironically,
stamina. The school head may ask Ms. Choong to
although she
feels unwell, observe classes of effective and relatively relaxed
she cannot teachers who adopt learning styles different from her
delegate own.
teaching to a
teacher
substitute. Ms.
Choong truly
feels like a
“sage on the
stage”!

Annex A Constructivism

[Adapted from Constructivism in Teaching and Learning

Project COMPETE Module (SEAMEO INNOTECH, 2002)]

Constructivism refers to the idea that learners construct knowledge for

themselves. Constructing meaning is learning. There are two signifi cant
consequences of this view:

- Teachers should focus on the learner in thinking about learning, not

on the subject or lesson to be taught.

- There is no knowledge independent of the meaning attributed to

experience constructed by the learner or community of learners.

Other defi nitions of constructivism are:

Constructivism is a theory of knowledge based on the premise that

knowledge is physically constructed by learners who are involved in active
learning and that knowledge is socially constructed by learners who
convey their meaning–making to others. Knowledge is constructed
through a learner’s interactions with his environment. In this theory,
knowledge is not absolute; it is not separate and independent from the
owner. In other words, knowledge does not have an objective or absolute
value or, at least, that we have no way of knowing this reality.

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 73

 We can not fully understand, much less appreciate, constructivism and its
implications on improving our pedagogy if we don’t have a glimpse of its
historical context and antecedent. In the 18th century, an Italian
philosopher by the name of Giambattista Vico held that humans can only
clearly understand what they themselves have constructed. To know,
according to Vico, means to know how to make. Implied from his view is
that whatever it is that we succeed in learning is nothing more or less than
the ideas we construct for ourselves.

Jean Jacques Rousseau published Emile, a treatise on education, in

which he argued that the senses were the basis of intellectual
development and that the child’s interaction with the environment
was the basis for constructing and understanding. Thus, Rosseau
emphasized learning by doing. The teacher simply presented
problems that would stimulate a student’s curiosity and promote
learning. Rosseau’s views directly oppose the educational
framework that focuses on the study and memorization of the
classics.

John Dewey could be considered as the foremost proponent of

situated learning and learning by doing. According to him,
education depended on action. Knowledge and ideas emerged only
from situations where learners had to draw them out from the
experiences that had had meaning and importance to them. These
situations had to occur in a social context, such as a classroom,
where students joined in manipulating materials and, thus, created
a community of learners who built their knowledge together.

Like Rosseau and Dewey, Jerome Bruner saw learning as an active

process in which learners constructed new ideas and concepts
based upon their current and past knowledge. The learner selected
and transformed information, constructed hypothesis, and made
decisions relying on a cognitive structure to do so.

Source: SEAMEO INNOTECH. (2002). Constructivism in Teaching &

Learning.
Project COMPETE, pp. 6-9.

7 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

4
Annex B
Teacher Behaviors That Encourage Student Learning
[Adapted from Kellough (1994)]

Structuring the Learning Environment

• Plan detailed lessons.
• Begin and end classes promptly.
• Learn and know students’ names on the fi rst day of meeting.
• Assign responsibilities, procedures, and expectations.
• Use instructional vocabulary.
• Establish, clearly communicate, and maintain classroom rules and
procedures.
• Organize students.
• Help students organize their learnings.
• Provide clear defi nitions and instructions.
• Identify time and resource constraints.
• Communicate lesson objectives.
• Provide summary reviews.
• Organize the classroom as a safe and positive learning
environment.

Accepting Instructional Responsibility

• Attend to students’ questions and recitations.
• Require students to demonstrate their learnings.
• Call upon students to share their thoughts.
• Plan engaging activities.

• Identify desired learning behaviors.

• Offer incentives for acceptable performance.
• Share the responsibility for accomplishing course objectives with
students.
• Attempt to improve instructional effectiveness.

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 75

 • Communicate well with parents, administrators, and colleagues.

• Formulate a program for monitoring and feedback.

• Intervene in cases of and redirect potential misbehaviors.
• Attend to the entire class while working with a group.

• Communicate using clues and gestures.

• Refocus and shift attention when interest wanes.
• Limit time for a topic when students are not interested.
• Monitor continuously classroom activities.

• Attend immediately to disruptive behaviors.

• Conduct regular comprehension checks.
• Allow a class to recover when distracted.
• Conduct simultaneous or overlapping activities.

Providing a Variety of Motivating and Challenging

Activities
• Show pride in learning, thinking, and teaching.
• Expect students to do their best in all activities.
• Show enthusiasm for teaching-learning.
• Be optimistic about students’ abilities.
• Plan shifts in activities and other intellectual challenges.
• Plan exciting and interesting lessons.
• Pace lessons smoothly and briskly.

Modelling
• Demonstrate rational problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrate higher-order thinking skills.
• Show respect for students.
• Readily admit and correct your mistakes.
• Spell words correctly and use correct grammar.
• Write legibly.
• Arrive promptly in class.

7 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

6
 • Demonstrate competence.

• Communicate things clearly and concisely.

• Return assignments promptly and give encouraging comments.

• Do not interrupt students’ thinking processes.

• Use mental modeling and “thinking-aloud” strategies.

Facilitating Data Acquisition

• Provide clear and specifi c instructions.
• Emphasize major ideas.
• Create a responsive classroom environment.

• Provide direct learning experiences.

• Serve as resource person.
• Use cooperative learning while regarding students as potential
resources.
• Use older students, other faculty members, and people in your
community as resource persons.
• Ensure the availability of information sources.
• Select materials that facilitate student learning.
• Provide feedback data about each student’s performance.

• Ensure that equipment and materials are available.

Accepting
• Avoid the use of criticisms.
• Use strong praise for students rarely.
• Give reinforcements frequently.
• Use paraphrasing and refl ective listening.
• Accept students’ moods or expressions of feelings empathically.

• Plan to give positive actions within lessons to show respect for

students’ experiences and ideas.
• Use nonverbal cues effectively.

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 77

 Clarifying
• Provide step-by-step, sequential learning experiences.
• Give infrequent summary views.
• Invite students to be more specifi c.

• Ask students to elaborate or rephrase ideas.

• Ask students to give examples.
• Assure adequate practice for the contents taught.

• Repeat student responses.

• Allow students to correct misinterpretations.
• Conduct frequent comprehension checks.
• Relate new contents to previous lessons. • Relate contents to
students’ experiences.
• Help students make learning connections between disciplines.

Using Silence
• Pause for thinking and refl ection.
• Wait longer than two seconds after asking a question or posing a
problem.
• Use teaching silences to stimulate group discussions.
• Keep silent when students are working quietly.

• Listen actively when students are talking.

• Maintain classroom control using nonverbal signs.

Questioning
• Use a variety of questions to stimulate both convergent and
divergent thinking.
• Help students develop their own questioning skills.
• Plan questioning sequences that enlist a variety of thinking skills.

• Maneuver students toward higher cognition levels.

• Encourage student questioning without judging the questions’
quality or relevance.
• Attend and respond to questions by building upon their contents.

7 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

8
 • Encourage students to ask questions of each other.

Annex C Variables That Enhance Learning

[(Adapted from Kellough, 1994)]

The Learning Environment

Learning is enhanced if the learner:

• Can maintain some control over the space for learning

• Develops a better understanding of his/her own learning style and
thinking process
• Feels accepted by the teacher
• Feels that although learning is rewarding, the rewards are within
reach
• Feels welcome in the classroom
• Is personally involved in learning activities
• Perceives teacher as approachable
• Perceives teachers as friendly, understanding, sympathetic, and
nurturing
• Understands class expectations and procedures

Lesson Planning
Learning is enhanced if the teacher:

• Shows how learning is relevant to students

• Provides well-prepared lessons
• Provides links between lessons

• Gives frequent learning practice and comprehension checks

• Provides interesting and motivating lesson introductions
• Establishes specifi c and clearly stated expectations

Instructional Behaviors
Learning is enhanced if the teacher:

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 79

 • Adjusts his/her teaching style to students’ learning styles
and preferred activities
• Appreciates and encourages active learning among
students
• Functions as an effective decision–maker
• Is in control of classroom events
• Demonstrates enthusiasm for teaching-learning
• Gives sincere, low-keyed praise for individual
student achievements
• Is able to multitask
• Is approachable
• Is businesslike but has a good sense of humor

• Monitors student activities constantly

• Poses carefully–worded and well-thought of questions
• Employs a variety of teaching-learning strategies
• Uses a variety of questions
• Promotes higher-order thinking skills and multiple intelligences
• Uses meaningful gestures and other types of body language

Annex D Constructivist Teaching Behaviors

[Adapted from Constructivism in Teaching and Learning
Project COMPETE Module (SEAMEO INNOTECH, 2002)]

1. Constructivist teachers encourage and accept student autonomy and

initiative.

Autonomy and initiative prompt students’ pursuit of connections among

ideas. Students who frame questions and issues and then go about
answering and analyzing them take responsibility for their own learning
and become problem solvers and, more important, problem fi nders. These
students, in pursuit of new understandings, are led by their own ideas and
informed by the ideas of others. These students ask for, if not demand, the
freedom to play with ideas, explore issues, and encounter new information.

The way a teacher frames an assignment usually determines the degree to

which students may be autonomous and display initiative. Here is an
example: students in a 12th grade English class were assigned to read

8 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

0
Oedipus Rex. The teacher also asked the students to write an essay
describing the book the way Oliver Stone, the controversial fi lm director,
would and then to compare that with their understanding of Sophocles’
views. To twit their interest, the teacher assigned one group of students to
look for a proof in the text that would show Oedipus had actually slept
with his mother. After poring over the text, this group concluded that,
according to the chronology of events, Oedipus could not possibly have
done so. The students then wrote their essays defending their positions and
retold the story as they imagined Oliver Stone would have told it.

2. Constructivist teachers use raw data and primary sources, along with
manipulative, interactive, and physical materials.

Concepts, theorems, algorithms, laws, and guidelines are abstractions that

the human mind generates through interaction with ideas. These
abstractions emerge from the world of phenomena such as falling stars,
nations at war, decomposing organic matter, gymnasts who can hurl their
bodies through space, and all other diverse happenings that describe our
world. The constructivist approach to teaching presents these real-world
possibilities to students, then helps the students generate the abstractions

that bind these phenomena together. When teachers present to students the
unusual and the commonplace and ask them to describe the difference, it
encourages students to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate. Learning
becomes the result of research related to real problems– and is this not what
schools strive to engender in their students?

For example, students can read historical accounts of the effects of the
social policies of the early 1960s on the economic and educational profi le
of the Muslim population in the Philippines. Or, students can be taught to
read the census reports and allowed to generate their own inferences about
social policies. The former relies on the authority of a stranger, the latter on
the ingenuity of the individual student. Lists of fi gures and pages of charts
are probably not the fi rst images evoked when the terms “hands–on” or
“manipulative” are heard. But the census data can tell a loud story if the
right pages and lists are highlighted in the context of a good question.

3. When framing tasks, constructivist teachers use cognitive

terminology such as “classify,” “analyze,” “predict,” and “create.”

The words we hear and use in our everyday lives affect our way of thinking
and, ultimately, our actions. When one teacher asks students to select a
story’s main idea from a list of four possibilities on a multiple-choice test,

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 81

 and another teacher asks students to analyze the relationships among three
of the story’s characters or predict how the story might have proceeded
had certain events in the story not occurred, the tasks being required are
different. Analyzing, interpreting, predicting, and synthesizing are mental
activities that require students to make connections, delve deeply into texts
and contexts, and create new understandings.

In a 3rd grade classroom, a teacher read a story to her students about three
children who got lost in a forest. The teacher related that after struggling
mightily, yet unsuccessfully, to fi nd their way, one of the three children, a
brave and daring youngster, volunteered to go off alone in search of help
while the two waited in a clearing. At this point, the teacher stopped and
asked the students to predict how the story was likely to end and to
support their answer. Majority of the students predicted that all three
would be rescued. Their reason? They pointed out the competence of the
child who went off in search of help. The students used information and
impressions gathered from the text to predict how the story was likely to
end. Framing

tasks around cognitive activities such as analysis, interpretation, and

prediction—and explicitly using those terms with students—fosters the
construction of new understandings.

4. Constructivist teachers allow student responses to drive lessons, shift

instructional strategies, and alter content.

This descriptor addresses the notion of “teachable moments” throughout

the school year. As educators, we have experienced moments of excitement
in the classroom, moments when the students’ enthusiasm, interest, prior
knowledge, and motivation have intersected in ways that made a
particular lesson transcendental and enabled us to think with pride about
that lesson for weeks. We recall the gleam in our students’ eyes, their
excitement about the tasks and discussions, and their extraordinary ability
to attend to the task for long periods of time and with great commitment.
If we were fortunate, we encountered a handful of these experiences each
year and wondered why they did not occur more frequently.

Although some teachers may not have much latitude regarding content, all
generally have a good deal of autonomy in determining the ways in which
the content is taught. For example, a certain elementary science curriculum
called for students to begin learning about the “scientifi c method” and to
conduct some rudimentary experiments using this method: ask a question
(develop a hypothesis), fi gure out a way to answer the question (set up an

8 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

2
experiment), tell what happens (record your observations), and answer the
question (support or refute the initial hypothesis). One 5th grade teacher
asked her students, in preparation for this assignment, to talk about their
favorite things at home. One student, Jade, spoke about her cat. A
classmate, Eric, discussed his house plants. Capitalizing on their responses,
the teacher asked Jade and Eric to think of questions each had about the cat
and the plants. Jade wanted to know if her cat would like other cat foods
as much as he liked the brand he normally ate. Eric wanted to know how
plants grow. Through the teacher’s mediation, Jade organized an
experiment to answer her question about cat food. She arranged four
different brands of cat food in four different bowls and placed them on the
fl oor. When the cat entered the room, she observed which bowl he went
to initially and from which bowl he ate. Jade changed the positions of the
bowls and tried the experiment again. Ultimately, she concluded that her
cat preferred one brand over the others.

With his teacher’s mediation, Eric focused his question: Does the human
voice affect the growth of a plant? Eric planted four bean seeds in four
different pots and placed them all on the same shelf near a window. Each
day he took each pot, one at a time, into another room. He spoke daily to
one of the bean plants. He sang daily to a second plant. He yelled daily at
a third plant. And he completely ignored the fourth. He recorded his
observations over four weeks and concluded that the plants to which he
spoke and sang grew the most.

The students’ thinking drove these experiments, and the teacher’s

mediation framed the processes that followed. The curriculum content—
exploration of the scientifi c method—was addressed faithfully in a
different manner for each student.

5. Constructivist teachers inquire about students’ understandings of

concepts before sharing their own understandings of those concepts.

When teachers share their ideas and theories before students have an
opportunity to develop their own, students’ questioning of their own
theories is essentially eliminated. Students assume that teachers know
more than they do. Consequently, most students stop thinking about a
concept or theory once they hear “the correct answer” from the teacher.

Constructivist teachers withhold their notions and encourage students to

develop their own thoughts. Approximated (or invented) spelling is a good
example of this approach. As very young students are learning how to put
words into writing, they begin to approximate the conventional spellings

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 83

 of words. A kindergarten girl titled a sign language book she had
illustrated by writing on the cover “My sin lnge bk.” The teacher chose not
to correct her spelling but, instead, to permitted her to continue
approximating the spelling of words. Interestingly, when reading the book
at home to her parents a day after writing this title, the girl said, “Oh, I left
the two o’s out of book.” No one told the girl that her spelling was incorrect.
She reformulated her own work in the process of sharing it. Her
reformulation was a self-regulated event. The teacher’s plan to share her
understanding of the conventional spelling, in this case, became
unnecessary.

6. Constructivist teachers encourage students to engage in dialogue,

both with the teacher and with one another.

One very powerful way students come to change or reinforce conceptions

is through social discourse. Having an opportunity to present one’s own
ideas as well as being permitted to hear and refl ect on the ideas of others
is an empowering experience. The benefi t of discourse with others,
particularly with peers, facilitates the meaning-making process.

Student-to-student dialogue is the foundation upon which cooperative

learning is structured. Reports state that cooperative learning experiences
have promoted interpersonal attraction among initially prejudiced peers
and such experiences have promoted interethnic interaction in both
instructional and free-time activities (Johnson et al. 1981).

The benefi ts of peer-to-peer dialogue among teachers reinforces its

potential for students. Pre-service teachers in one science methods course
were asked to design, in cooperative learning groups, a system for a family
to generate electricity for its home, using windmills. The instructions said
that no batteries could be used. During a whole-class discussion of each
group’s work-in-progress, the issue of energy storage led quickly to a
discussion of batteries. Most students defi ned “battery” in terms of what
one typically purchases in a store: an electrolytic cell such as the type used
in toys and fl ashlights, or larger cells such as those used to power
automobiles. Three students, however, objected and defi ned a battery as
any device that can store energy, such as an expanded balloon or a tank of
hot water. The dialogues that ensued resulted in, for some students, the
transformation of perspectives and, for others, the onset of refl ection on a
new topic.

Two weeks later, while this same class grappled with another seemingly
simple problem—how to redraw silhouettes in half the original size—one

8 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

4
student, after much consideration of the question, declared: “Now we’re
trying to fi gure out what ‘half’ really means. I still want to know: What is
a battery!” In each of these sessions, the students addressed their questions
and statements to one another. The teacher clarifi ed the questions they
raised of one another and demanded accuracy of word choice, but the
communication currents were between and among the students and led to
deeper understandings of the topics at hand.
7. Constructivist teachers encourage student inquiry by asking
thoughtful, open-ended questions and encouraging students to ask
questions of each other.

If we want students to value inquiry, we, as educators, must also value it.
If teachers pose questions with the orientation that there is only one correct
response, how can students be expected to develop their interest or their
analytic skills necessary for more diverse modes of inquiry? Schools too
often present students with one perspective: Pi = 3.14 (But C/d—
circumference/diameter—yields another number; and if Pi is computed as
the quotient of two integers, how can it be considered irrational?).

Complex, thoughtful questions challenge students to look beyond the

apparent, to delve into issues deeply and broadly, and to form their own
understandings of events and phenomena. They know that there are
different ways to compute with and conceptualize Pi, and that the search
for Pi’s precise value has infl uenced modern research relating to the
science of chaos. All this enables students to form important questions that
may lead to deeper understanding of geometry and mathematical
functions. Fostering appreciation for a multiplicity of truths and options is
the “real” mission of education because “real” problems are rarely
unidimensional.

In one 3rd grade classroom, a teacher formed “consultant groups.” Each

student became a consultant on a self-selected topic and was responsible
for keeping the rest of the class informed about that topic. Each consultant
belonged to a small group of students that is tasked to question each other
to learn about the chosen topics.

One student was so knowledgeable about volcanoes that he gave “lectures”

on the topic to other classes. One day, the student was describing to his
group how volcanoes develop in certain regions. As his group members
considered this new information, one student asked him whether a volcano
could be developing underneath the school, and if so, how would he know.
The student-consultant carefully pondered this question and said, “I don’t

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 85

 think volcanoes could develop here, but I’m not sure. But, I think we would
know if a volcano were developing here.”

“How?” another student asked.

“Well,” the student-consultant responded, “if a volcano were under the

school, the grass would be turning brown from the heat. As long as the
grass is green, I think we’re safe.”

Discourse with one’s peer group is a critical factor in learning and

development. Schools need to create settings that foster such interaction.

8. Constructivist teachers seek elaboration of students’ initial responses.

Initial responses are just that—initial responses. Students’ fi rst thoughts

about issues are not necessarily their fi nal thoughts or their best thoughts.
Through elaboration, students often reconceptualize and assess their own
errors. For example, one high school mathematics teacher assigned his
class problems in a textbook. A student, looking quite confused, asked the
teacher if her approach to solving one of the problems was appropriate.
The teacher asked the student to explain what she had done. As she was
explaining her approach in a step-by-step manner, she recognized her own
procedural error. She smiled and said, “I forgot to multiply both sides of
the equation by “x.” The teacher based his responses to the student on the
premise that he could learn more about what teaching steps to take in
subsequent lessons with the student than he could learn from simply fi
xing the mistake for her.

9. Constructivist teachers engage students in experiences that might

engender contradictions to their initial hypotheses and then
encourage discussion.

Students of all ages develop and refi ne ideas about phenomena and then
hold tenaciously onto these ideas as eternal truths. Even in the face of
“authoritative” intervention and “hard” data that challenge their views,
students typically adhere staunchly to their original notions. Through
experiences that might engender contradictions, the frameworks for these
notions weaken, causing students to rethink their perspectives and form
new understandings. Consider the following example:

During a discussion in a high school history class about the causes of World
War I, one student contended with great conviction that the assassination

8 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

6
of the Archduke Ferdinand of Austria caused the war. The teacher then
asked, “If the Archduke had not been assassinated, what do you think
would have happened with the economy and politics of Europe?”

After a moment’s thought, the student said, “I guess they wouldn’t have
changed that much.”

The teacher then asked, “Would anything else have changed? How about
Germany’s quest to rule Europe?”

The student replied, “I can’t think of anything that would have changed,
except that maybe the Archduke would still be alive.”

“Then,” continued the teacher, “what was it that made this event the cause
of the war?”

The student, now quite enmeshed in thought, said, “I guess that maybe it
[the war] could have happened anyway. But, the killing of Austria’s
Archduke gave the Germans an excuse to begin their plan to conquer all of
Europe. When Russia and France jumped in to help Serbia, the Germans
declared war on them, too. But, I think I see what you mean. It was
probably going to happen anyway. It just happened sooner.”

Note that this elaborate explanation didn’t come from the teacher. It came
from the student. Note also that the student said, “I think I see what you
mean,” as if the meaning came from the teacher. But it did not. The
meaning was constructed by the student who was ready and able to
understand a different point of view. When the student revealed his
original perspective, the teacher was presented with the opportunity to
intervene; but the contradiction was constructed by the student.

In this example, the teacher challenged the student’s thinking with

questions. The questions provided a mechanism for the student to reveal
very sophisticated understandings of the events and political subcurrents.
The teacher never directly told the student to look at the assassination as a
catalyst rather than a cause. She simply wanted to present a way for the
student to consider this perspective as an option. The student quickly
embraced this view. Some other students in the class didn’t distinguish
between a catalytic event and a causal event. They didn’t construct the
same “contradiction” that this student constructed. The teacher then
directed the class discussion to other students with subsequent questions
such as: “Who also thinks that war would have just happened sooner?”
“Why?” “Who disagrees?” “For what reason?” Without acknowledging

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 87

 one answer as better than another, everyone can participate and listen to
others.

10. Constructivist teachers allow wait time after posing questions.

In every classroom, there are students who, for a variety of reasons, are not
prepared to respond to questions or other stimuli immediately. They
process the world in different ways. Classroom environments that require
immediate responses prevent these students from thinking through issues
and concepts thoroughly, forcing them, in effect, to become spectators as
their quicker classmates react. They learn over time that there’s no point in
mentally engaging in teacher-posed questions because the questions will
have been answered before they could develop hypotheses.

Another reason students need wait time is that the questions posed by
teachers are not always the questions heard by the students. The “Gatling
gun approach” to asking and answering questions does not provide an
opportunity for the teacher to sense the manner in which most of the
students have understood the questions.

11. Constructivist teachers provide time for students to construct

relationships and create metaphors.

In one 2nd grade classroom, students were given magnets to explore. In a

short time, almost all of the students had discovered that one end of a
magnet attracted the other magnet while the opposite end repelled it. Soon,
most of the students discovered that if one of the magnets were turned
around, the magnets that had attracted each other now repelled each other.
This activity took nearly 45 minutes, during which time some students
went beyond these initial relationships and joined forces with their peers
to create magnetic “trains,” and to create patterns with iron fi lings. A great
number of relationships, patterns, and theories were generated during this
activity, and none of them came from the teacher. The teacher structured
and mediated the activity and provided the necessary time and material
for learning to occur, but the students constructed the relationships
themselves.

Encouraging the use of metaphor is another important way to facilitate

learning.

At an in-service seminar offered to experienced teachers and

administrators on the topic of educational change, participants were asked
to think of metaphors for the process of change in their work settings. One

8 Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process

8
participant likened change to the making of wine: The seeds must be
planted in fertile ground; the grapes must be harvested at the right
moment; and the wine must be aged in vats or bottles. Another participant
thought of educational change as a symphony orchestra: There must be a
conductor who decides what pieces shall be played and who helps all the
musicians to play together. A third participant compared change to
preparing a meal: There is a chef who selects the menu, chooses
complementary condiments, applies them according to a recipe (or whim),
and lets the food cook until it is ready for consumption. Metaphors help
people understand complex issues in a holistic way and tinker mentally
with the parts of the whole to determine whether the metaphor works. And
all of this takes time.

12. Constructivist teachers nurture students’ natural curiosity through

frequent use of the learning cycle model.

The learning cycle model describes curriculum development and

instruction as a three-step cycle.

First, the teacher provides an open-ended opportunity for students to

interact with purposefully selected materials. The primary goal of this
initial lesson is for students to generate questions and hypotheses from
working with the materials. This step has been called “discovery.” Next,
the teacher provides the “concept introduction” lessons aimed at focusing
the students’ questions, providing related new vocabulary, framing with
students their proposed laboratory experiences, and so forth. The third
step, “concept application,” completes the cycle after one or more iterations
of the discovery-concept introduction sequence. During concept
application, students work on new problems with the potential for evoking
a fresh look at the concepts previously studied.

Let’s take a look at how this cycle evolved in a 3rd year earth science
classroom. In this classroom, the teacher told the students about the
Chinook winds, the warm, dry, fast winds that blow down from the Rocky
Mountains into the region just east of the mountains. The winds can be 40°-
50° warmer than the surrounding air. In this example, the material made
available for discovery purposes was a scenario for the students to
consider. The teacher asked the students to work in small groups to
generate a diagram that could explain why this occurrence might happen.
As the groups began to work, the teacher listened to his students’
deliberations, intervening in different ways dependent on the course of the
dialogue occurring among the students. He asked a group that was “stuck”
to begin by drawing the vegetation on the sides of the mountain. While

Facilitate the Teaching-Learning Process 89

 drawing, the students began to talk about rainfall, where it was coming
from, the patterns of cloud movement, and so on. At that point, the teacher
moved to a group of students having a conversation about how hot air
rises. The teacher asked another group, “Why does the warm wind move
down if hot air rises?” One girl in the group said emphatically, “That’s
what I don’t understand!” That’s music to a constructivist teacher’s ears!

The teacher said: “Now you know what the problem is. Just don’t forget
that the wind is fast, too.” And the teacher moved on to students with
whom he had not yet interacted that day.

What concept introduction should follow this discovery opportunity? The

teacher wanted to introduce the concept of adiabatic pressure—a most
sophisticated concept that without consideration of heat gain and heat loss,
wind speed, and moisture conditions is largely inaccessible. The Chinook
winds activity allowed the teacher to assess what elements of the concept
are within the students’ intellectual reach.

Source: SEAMEO INNOTECH. (2002). Constructivism in Teaching &

Learning.Project COMPETE, pp. 21-29.

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