Macy Lorz

Section 1.1 Education Principles

2.1.2 Compare educational models and explain how they impact the classroom

Pedagogy can be defined as the art of teaching. It involves being able to convey

knowledge and skills in ways that students can understand, remember, and apply. Pedagogical

practice advances the wellbeing of students, teachers, and the school community. Initially, it

improves students’ and teachers' sense of confidence and quality of learning (Evidence 1.1.1).

The first major educational model studied is student-led. The best approach for this

pedagogy is social constructivism (Evidence 1.1.2). Famous theorists John Dewey and Benjamin

Bloom support this approach (Evidence 1.1.3). Dewey believed that schools learn best by

hands-on learning. Student-led learning would allow for this to happen as they get to experience

problem based learning and work to improve their self-regulatory skills. Bloom’s taxonomy

theory is a classification of different objectives and cognitive skills that educators facilitate. If

students follow this thought process through the student led strategies, then they will develop

higher order thinking skills. Some of these strategies include, cooperative learning, peer

teaching, socratic seminars, centers, and having students model the correct way to do a task

(Evidence 1.1.4). This pedagogy greatly impacts the students learning in a classroom. While

student-led learning is primarily appropriate for grades sixth through twelve, this allows for

students to take responsibility for their own learning and teaches them to be independent.

Teachers are then able to see how their students think/learn best and it is ensured that all students

are well engaged. However, the only concern with this pedagogy may be that students might not
receive or share the correct information causing the teacher to have to reteach some of the

material.

The second educational model is teacher-led. The best approach for this pedagogy would

be behaviorism in which both theorists, Jean Pidget and BF Skinner, both support (Evidence

1.1.5). Skinner's theory of operant conditioning is simply based on the idea of behaviorism and

the fact that behavior is acquired through conditioning, which is supported by this idea of the

teacher-led method (Evidence 1.1.6). Some of the strategies that teachers could incorporate to

successfully undergo this pedagogy would be direct instruction, lecture, modeling,

demonstration, or providing scaffolding (Evidence 1.1.7). This method is appropriate for any

grade, P-12. It ensures that students receive the right information and shows that students

experience better success on tests and grades through this approach. This way teachers are in

control of their classroom and can differentiate for certain students if needed. However, the only

problem that students and teachers could face are the students becoming disengaged and bored,

teachers might not be able to hit all different types of learning styles, and students might not

develop self-regulatory skills.

The third widely used educational model is collaborative student-teacher-led. This

involves groups of students working together with their teacher to maximize critical thinking and

learning. The best approach for this is social constructivism which is supported by theorists

Benjamin Bloom and Lev Vygotsky. Vygotsky's theory is very important as it demonstrates that

social interaction plays a big role in learning and that working alone can be frustrating (Evidence

1.1.8). Some strategies that can be practiced include whole class discussions, experiments, white

boards, stations, and interactive games or activities (Evidence 1.1.9). The impact of this
pedagogy in a classroom is very successful in any grade level. It allows students and teachers to

be left on the same page and allows them to build a strong relationship with one another.

Students gain a better understanding of the material and are more engaged, setting them up for

their future. Therefore, teachers get to know students' learning styles and know where students'

level of understanding is so they can then adjust their lesson plans to give each student the

appropriate learning they deserve.

The last educational model is response to intervention (RTI). This pedagogy is used by

educators to help students who are struggling in a certain skill or students with learning disability

. This can be used ​with any student to help them succeed in the classroom—it's not just for

children with special needs or a learning disability.​ The best approach to this would be social

constructivism, which theorists Benjamin Bloom and Howard Gardner support. Gardner believes

that teachers should structure their presentation in a style that acquires all learning styles. This is

extremely important when it comes to RTI because a teacher needs to know how each student

learns best so they can adjust their lesson plan to help those who struggle in a certain skill or

area. In class, we put together our own lesson plan and it really put into perspective how

difficult, yet important, it is to incorporate different learning styles (Evidence 1.1.10). Some

strategies for response to intervention include differentiating instruction, scaffolding, using clear

and concise rubrics, and modeling expected behavior (Evidence 1.1.11). This pedagogy allows

for students to get the help and assistance they need as soon as possible and be adjusted

according to the student’s needs. Depending on how the student responds to this method, it may

provide information about particular strengths and weaknesses which is very useful to educators.
However, one of the major drawbacks of RTI is that children who are performing at grade level

in certain strength areas are not acknowledged if they have a weakness in another area.

Overall, educators need to be strategic and aware of when it is best to use one of the four

listed pedagogies above. There may be a better moment to use one of the pedagogies over

another that can lead to better outcomes. Incorporating a mix of each of these throughout a

student's learning is very impactful and initially leads the students to gain a better quality of

learning which sets them up for their future.