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More than anything I found this article to be informative.  Sometimes as an educator you can get caught in a rut or not realize how many ways there are to teach something.  I like this idea that teaching inductively will allow students to connect what they are learning in the classroom to the outside world.  In return I think this may spark some interest in the students, because they will feel there’s a reason why they are learning what they are learning.

When I first read this article for a conference I attended I was uncomfortable with all the different teaching styles because I didn’t know what they were all about.  I was and am all for trying new things in the classroom, but I feel it’s important to make sure that you (the educator) present the material in the appropriate manner or you may not achieve what you set out to achieve.  This is why I would want to find out as much as I can about a certain style before I actually implemented in my future classroom.

I was fortunate enough to sit in on a mock “case study” classroom.  I enjoyed it very much.  We used a previous study/experiment to question what we would do and how we would construct the study and then we would compare it to what was actually done.  In this setting we worked in groups and then a person would present the groups ideas.  It was important that the teacher made sure different people were speaking all the time and were heard.  It was also set up in a way that it wasn’t necessary to have prior knowledge of whatever you end up discussing.  I would actually argue that it’s best if you don’t have any prior knowledge.

I appreciate how the article is honest and addresses the fact that these different styles may be met with opposition.  And even though in the end it suggests that there are better results from inductive versus deductive teaching, it also states that some of these styles can be difficult to implement.

As a future educator I appreciated this article because I always want to know what’s out there for me to look into and perhaps adopt.  I also believe that the traditional ways of teaching are not as successful as some may think and do not plan on teaching in this way.  I would like to find more about these ways of teaching and other ways as well.