Effects of Different Teaching Styles in Students’ Learning

Submitted to:

Dr. Merlyn Lee

By:

Aguda, Kimberly Marie S.

Almario, Alexandra D.

Babasa, Cherry Mae I.

Banayos, Juan Carlo V.

March 4, 2009

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Table of Contents

Page

Chapter 1

Introduction

Background of the Study 3

Statement of the Problem 4

Significance of the Study 4

Scope and Delimitations 5

Materials and Methods 6

Definition of Terms 6

Chapter 2

Discussion 8

Chapter 3

Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation

Summary 13

Conclusion 14

Recommendation 14

Bibliography 16

Appendix

Survey Form 17

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Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

Biological and environmental factors affect the intelligence of a person. Teh

(2007) states that, “the biological factors are those that which occur naturally to a

person influenced by the characteristics encoded to one’s genes, while the

environmental factors are those surrounding a person and influence their learning“. One

example of the latter factor is by going to school and acquiring knowledge and skills

which are taught by teachers, professors and other members of the educating team.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (1990) emphasizes

that, “although some information are emphasized what a learner should acquire, it also

acknowledges how these information are taught is correspondingly essential”. This

shows that the students’ learning depends not only on their proficiency, but also on how

their educators deliver the material.

The environmental factors and the approach on how students are being taught

are influences behind students’ grasp to knowledge. Certain teaching techniques would

be a great benefit to enhance a learner’s comprehension and appreciation to a

particular theme or subject matter. Information given by an educator could be perceived

by different learners in distinct ways. Different teaching styles and strategies can affect

a person’s learning and comprehension towards a certain subject.

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Different teaching styles and its effects on students’ learning are the prime

emphasis of this research paper. The paper aims to acknowledge educators how to

impart facts to learners in a way that they would easily and clearly understand. And

also, this might be a help to learners on how to establish a rapport to educators and the

information to be easily implied.

B. Statement of the Problem

The study aims to answer the following questions:

1. What teaching styles are commonly used in teaching content-based subjects?

2. What are the different approaches used by first year level nursing professors to

their students?

3. What are the effects of these strategies to the academic learning of the students?

4. Of the different approaches, what might be the most effective strategy for better

comprehension as perceived by students?

C. Significance of the Study

This research could possibly help the following:

College of Nursing students. This research paper could be able to help

students in the nursing course to identify what teaching strategies could be the most

effective for their easy comprehension of content – based subjects. Also, this could help

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them understand certain subjects which could be a precursor for other subjects in the

later years.

College professors. This term paper could be a help for professors who teach

content – based subjects in a way that they would know a suitable way of teaching such

subject matters which could let students understand. From this, they could formulate

another teaching strategy that s/he thinks a more efficient way to educate students.

Future researches. This could serve as a reference guide for future researchers

who would explore more on the same or related topic. There is a need for conducting

more studies and researches since professors and other members of the teaching body

handle different students with distinct levels of intelligence and understanding in a

particular subject. From this, researchers would be able to devise other teaching

techniques that would help not only the professors, but also students as well.

D. Scope and Delimitations

The study is focused on determining the different teaching strategies of first year

nursing professors, its effects and which strategy is most effective to students’ learning.

This will be particular to the different teaching techniques of content-based subjects

taught by the professors. The target population of the study is first year college students

taking B. S. Nursing course of De La Salle University – Health Sciences Institute of the

school year 2008 – 2009.

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Due to time constraints, content – based subjects taught by professors in the

main campus will no longer be tackled and interviews to the professors about the

different teaching strategies will not be done. Instead, the points of view of students

regarding how the teaching strategies affect their learning will be taken into

concentration.

E. Materials and Methods

The information which is connected to the study will be collected from different

regions of reference such as books and the media. Meanwhile, human resources will be

used for the survey gathering only for students. Then, the sources of opinions will be

attained from teachers who are highly specialized in the nursing courses as well as

nursing students themselves.

Hence, the type of method to be implied in this teaching strategy study will be the

use of descriptive method. The researchers will prioritize the results obtained through

survey and interview results.

F. Definition of Terms

Teaching. The profession or practice of being a teacher.

Expert teaching. A form of teaching strategy that transmits information from an

expert status. It challenges students to enhance competence.

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Formal authority teaching. This is concerned with acceptable ways to do things

and provide structures students need to learn.

Personal model teaching. This overlooks and guides students to emulate by

using personal experiences as examples.

Facilitative teaching. This emphasizes personal nature of teacher – student

interactions. It also guides towards the development of capacity for independent

actions.

Delegate teaching. This style develops students’ capacity to function

autonomously. This also encourages independent projects.

Style. A way of doing something, especially a way regarded as expressing a

particular attitude or typifying a particular period.

Strategy. A carefully devised plan of action to achieve a goal, or the art of

developing or carrying out such a plan.

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Chapter 2

DISCUSSION

What teaching styles are used in teaching content-based subjects?

Everyday, different educators encounter different students, each with their

distinct comprehension and perception of lessons and approaches. With this in mind,

educators have formulated different strategies to be able to cope with these kinds of

situations. These strategies, involving a variety of modes of instructions, include

lectures, laboratories and activities, and mentoring. According to Clark (1995), “these

would stimulate the students’ interests, cognitive and critical thinking. These various

strategies would help students to better understand the knowledge based on how they

perceive the topic”.

Many people believe that good teaching is hard to define in a general way.

However, a large body of research suggests that certain characteristics may be a key

factor in giving good quality education to students. According to a study about winners

of the Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award at Ohio State shows the following teaching

strategies to their students:

The teachers got right into business. They start classes in a well

organized manner.

The educators teaches in a fast pace but stops regularly to confirm that

the students learn from the lecture.

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They use different instructional strategies like practical interactions rather

than lectures alone.

They focus on the topic itself and explain the lesson in a clear manner.

They use humor to incorporate with their style of teaching.

They respond immediately to the questions of their students and in doing

so exercises rapport.

They praise their students to give them a sense of well-being.

They use gestures, walks around the classroom and promotes eye

contact for better visualization of the students about the topic.

“A number of writers,” Lowman (1996) stresses, “had spotted some differences in

the teaching styles used by educators. They classify them on the dimensions that

represent on how teachers approach their students, the ways in which they think

learning takes place and their strengths and inclinations”. Grasha (1996) presented five

common teaching styles:

EXPERT – this kind of strategy transmits information from an expert status. This

also challenges students to enhance their competence.

FORMAL AUTHORITY – this is concerned with the suitable ways to do things

and provide configurations students need to comprehend a certain topic.

PERSONAL MODEL – this believes in teaching in the use of self as example.

This supervises and guides students to emulate.

FACILITATOR – this emphasizes the person nature of the teacher – student

interactions. This also guides them towards the development of the capacity to

perform independent actions.

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DELEGATOR – this develops the students’ level to function autonomously. This

also emboldens independent schemes.

According to the survey that was conducted about the effects of these teaching

strategies and teaching styles on the nursing students of De La Salle University-Health

Sciences Institute, nursing students prefer the facilitator type of teaching style. Out of

the 30 respondents, 34.15% of the students are in favor of this type of teaching style.

The next preferred teaching style is the formal authority type which gathered 26.83% of

votes followed by the expert type of teaching style and then the personal model type.

The least preferred teaching style was the delegator type which gathered 2.44% votes.

The result of the survey is presented in the graph below:

Figure 1: Teaching Styles Used in Teaching Content-based Subjects

Teaching Strategies Used in Teaching Content-based Subjects

19.51%

26.83%

17.07%

34.15%

2.44%

Expert

Formal Authority

Personal Model

Facilitator

Delegator

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The survey also shows the strategies of teaching favored by students when

executing the style of teaching by their professors. The graph below exhibits that

students prefer professors who uses humor and provides warm classroom environment

by having attempts to relate to students as people. 43.33% of the respondents’

population is in favor of being able to laugh while having discussions in the classroom

and be treated by their professors as people. On the other hand, 40% of the students

want their professors to use variety of instructural strategies rather than lecture alone.

For example, aside from the discussion held inside the classroom, students want to

have an exercise which is monitored by their professors to further develop their

comprehension of the lesson or to have ice breakers to keep them attentive. 10% of the

students prefer professors who uses non-verbal gesture while the remaining 6.67 like

professors who teaches in fast pace and is focused on the topic. The graph below

illustrates the results of the survey.

Figure 2: Teaching Strategies Done to Show the Teaching Styles

Teaching Strategies Done to Show Teaching Styles

6.67%

43.33%

10.00%

40.00%

Teaches in fast pace and isfocused on the topic

Uses humor and providesw arm classroom environmentby having attempts to relateto students as peopleUses non-verbal behaviorsuch as gestures toreinforce comments

Uses a variety of instructuralstrategies rather than lecturealone

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How do the teaching styles affect the students’ academic learning?

Figure 3: Effects of the Teaching Strategies to Students' Academic Learning

Effects of the Teaching Styles to Students' Academic Learning

45.45%

9.09%9.09%3.03%

33.33%Learn/Understand faster

Entertainment

Attentive

Saves time

Improvement of self

Based from the conducted survey, the result is represented on the graph above.

The graph shows that through the different teaching styles, 45.45% of the students

learn and understand the lessons taught by their professors faster. Other than faster

absorption of the information, 38.33% of the students improve themselves. Students

were also entertained and kept attentive during class discussion through the teaching

styles facilitated by their professors. While, 3.03% of the students noted that through

their professors’ teaching strategy, they were able to save time.

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Chapter 3

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

Summary

This research paper tackles the different teaching strategies used by content-

based subject professors and how do these teaching styles affect the academic learning

of the first year nursing students of De La Salle University – Health Sciences Institute.

Aside from the natural intelligence that people have ever since they were born, this

intelligence is further developed by nurturing factors in the process called learning. An

example of these factors is by attending the school and acquiring knowledge through

instructions of the professors. A student’s learning is greatly affected by the way or style

through which a lesson is delivered. Therefore, the researchers wanted to determine the

different teaching styles used by the professors particularly those who teach content-

based subjects and how do these teaching styles affect the students’ learning. This

paper aims to determine the different teaching styles used by the content-based subject

professors, how do these affect their students’ learning and which is the most effective

of all the teaching strategies utilized. This research paper focuses on the first year

nursing students of De La Salle – Health Science Institute of the school year 2008-2009

as their respondents and the utilization of descriptive method in collecting data and

results for the study.

Based from the conducted research and survey among the first year nursing

students, the facilitator type of teaching style wherein the professor uses humor during

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class discussions and relates to their students as people are preferred by the students

because it enables them to learn and understand the lessons faster.

Conclusion

Based on the conducted research and survey, the researchers came up with the

following conclusions:

1. Students prefer interactive and fun teaching styles which also have a

balance between competence and challenges.

2. The commonly used teaching strategy in teaching content based

subjects of DLSU-HSI is the facilitator type which emphasizes the

personal nature of teachers as well student interactions toward the

development of capacity toward the development of independent

actions.

3. With the use of the different teaching strategies, students learn faster

and achieve greater understanding of the lessons.

Recommendation

After the study has been conducted, the researchers gave the following

recommendations:

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1. Content based subject teachers may explore and try different teaching

styles to deliver and discuss the lesson in a way that the students will

improve their learning.

2. Different activities and teaching strategies can be used to facilitate

class discussion depending on what is suitable to the lesson which will

be discussed.

3. The facilitator teaching style preferred by the students is highly

recommend since results show that it increases the rate and quality of

the understanding of students during the discussion of topics on content

based subjects.

4. Future researchers can widen the scope of their respondents to get a

more general result which can be applied not only to first year Nursing

students but to other students who have content based subjects as

well.

5. Future researchers can conduct an interview to an expert, for example,

an education psychologist, to get views on student’s understanding and

comprehension of the lessons as a result of the teaching style showed

by teachers based on an expert’s observation in their field.

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Bibliography

American Association for the Advancement of Science. (1989). Effective learning and

teaching. Science for All Americans Online. [online]. Available:

http://www.project2061.org/publications/sfaa/online/Chap13.htm?

txtRef=&txtURIOld=%2Ftools%2Fsfaaol%2FChap13.htm

North Central Regional Educational Library. (2004). Effective teaching strategies.

Learning Point Associates. [online]. Available:

http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/envrnmnt/drugfree/sa3effec.htm

Clark, J.M. (1995). Suggestions for effective university teaching. [online]. Available:

http://io.uwinnipeg.ca/~clark/acad/teach/effteach.html

Regents of the University of California, The. (2000). Teaching strategies. UCIrvine

Extension. [online]. Available: http://unex.uci.edu/instructor/strategies/

Pennsylvania State University. (2003). Teaching styles. Penn State Teaching and

Learning with Technology. [online]. Available:

http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/research/teaching_styles.shtml

Carbone, A., Conway, D. & Farr, G. (2000). Techniques or effective tertiary teaching.

[online]. Available:

http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~damian/papers/HTML/TeachingTechniques.ht

ml

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Appendix

Survey Form

De la Salle University – Dasmariñas

Dasmariñas, Cavite

January 26, 2009

Dear Student,

We are conducting a study on the “Effects of Different Teaching Strategies in Students’

Learning” as a requirement in ENGL102. Please help us by answering the survey form below.

Thank you very much.

Truly yours,

Aguda, Kimberly Marie S.

Almario, Alexandra D.

Babasa, Cherry Mae I.

Banayos, Juan Carlo V.

BSN 1-1

Directions: Answer the following questions.

1.) What teaching strategy of your Nursing professor do you prefer? Please encircle 1-2 letters of

your choice.

a. teaches in fast pace and is focused on the topic

b. uses humor and provides warm classroom environment by having attempts to relate to

students as people

c. uses non-verbal behavior such as gestures to reinforce their comments

d. uses a variety of instructional strategies rather than lecture alone

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2.) Which of the following teaching styles do you prefer to be used by your professor/s? Encircle

the letter of your choice.

a. expert (transmits information from an expert status; challenges students to enhance

competence)

b. formal authority (concerned with the acceptable ways to do things and provide structures

students need to learn)

c. personal model (by personal example; overlooks and guides students to emulate)

d. facilitator (emphasizes personal nature of teacher - student interactions; guides towards

the development of capacity for independent actions)

e. delegator (develops students’ capacity to function independently; encourages independent

projects)

3.) From the teaching styles listed on #2, what do you think will help you in your academic

learning?

4.) How will these affect you?

Thank you for your cooperation…

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