Approaches to Teaching and Learning - Essay Example

Ans. To accommo the needs of all learners, I shall use a range of teaching strategies in each session. They will primarily include presentation methods like teaching through multimedia presentations, teaching through demonstration on the white board, practical demonstration of skills on models; participatory methods that include but are not limited to discussions, group work, and question and answer sessions; discovery methods like experiments, assignments, and research-based projects; and evaluator methods like tests, quizzes, and role plays to facilitate on-going learning and professional development of the learners. My approach would be to first form the theoretical foundation of every concept in the learners’ minds and then demonstrate practical work or supervise them as they engage in practical work in which they apply the theoretical concepts learned before.
I shall use direct instruction, informal instruction, inquiry-based learning, and cooperative learning randomly while teaching different techniques and topics so that students are never bored of the same teaching strategy and have something new to find in every session they attend. Besides, different learners have different preferred ways of learning (peterhoney.com, n.d.), so this way everybody’s needs would be addressed. Occasionally, I shall also invite experienced health and beauty experts and professionals to share their experiences with the learners and provide them with an insight into the health and beauty treatments and techniques.
The strategies I shall use to enhance the learning of my students will include group discussions, demonstrations through tutorials on Youtube, group assignments, question and answer sessions, and circulation of journals. I shall foster a range of learning styles to achieve best results that would primarily include visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic learning style during the sessions of the first week. I shall design my sessions on different days in a week with strategies fostering different learning styles to accommodate the needs of all learners. Use of all these strategies would help me develop a holistic understanding of the techniques in the learners.
I shall use the VAK model to provide the learners with an opportunity to see which teaching strategy works best for them. The visual learning style involves the use of vision e.g. seeing and reading, auditory learning style involves the use of speaking and listening, while kinaesthetic learning style involves the use of touching and doing. “The VAK learning styles model provides a very easy and quick reference inventory by which to assess peoples preferred learning styles, and then most importantly, to design learning methods and experiences that match peoples preferences” (Chislett and Chapman, 2012). At the end of the first week, after using different teaching strategies, I shall ask the learners which teaching strategy appealed to them the most. I shall base the rest of my sessions on the teaching strategy preferred by the students. In addition to that, in my lectures, learners will get an opportunity to see the theoretical concepts being applied on real models. This will not only strengthen their concepts but would also simplify the process of transition from the academic to professional life.
References:
Chislett, V, and Chapman A 2012, free VAK learning styles test, [Online] Available at http://www.businessballs.com/vaklearningstylestest.htm [accessed: 28 March 2013].
Peterhoney.com n.d., Honey & Mumford Learning Styles Questionnaire (LSQ), [Online] Available at http://www.peterhoney.com/ [accessed: 28 March 2013]. Read More