Nine Principles of Teaching
According to Richard White, the nine principles of teaching are: "the
principle of vocabulary, principle of innovation, principle of matching, principle
of minimum expenditure of energy, principle of variation, principle of balance, principle
of maximum opportunity, and the principle of support." (Oser and Patry,
1997, 51-60) These principles are controversial, but they are based on the evidence
and the studies conducted by Baird, Bakopanos, Fensham, Gunstone, Mitchel, Slattery,
and White. These nine principles are philosophical concepts that are important aspects
in creating an effective form or structure of teaching for an instructor. These principles
are conceptual ways to create and monitor a teacher’s personal teaching process.
The principle of vocabulary states that "the knowledge of terms for processes
of learning improves a student’s rate of acquisition of learning strategies."
This means that in order for students to become better learners both they and their
teacher have to realize that it means more than just working or concentrating harder.
This principles means that there is recognition of what the problem is that plagues
the student. A teacher needs to have a working knowledge of the different types of
memory, linkage, metacognition, concepts, processing, learning strategies, and learning
styles. When students are more aware of the terms associated with the development
of their learning, then can then work with the teacher to adapt and work on becoming
a better student.
The principle of innovation states that although a teacher might be content and believe
that their style is effective, they must also be willing to try new methods, learn
more about teaching, and experiment with different strategies in their classroom.
The two parts of this principle are:
"If methods and styles match exactly then there is no problem; there is then
stagnation in the development of strategies of learning. The students may continue
to acquire subject matter, but they will not become better learners. Therefore, in
order for new strategies of learning to develop, teaching style and learning style
don’t have to always match." (Oser and Patry, 1997, 54)
These principles look to create a balance between them that will best maintain an
effective classroom. This principle not only seeks to achieve a balance, but also
looks to find that point at which initial losses are over taken by the gains.
The principle of minimum expenditure of energy in a broad sense is that for both
students and teachers to minimize the amount of energy they expend, in economic terms
it is maximizing utility and minimizing input. Contained within this principle is
the concept of repeating actions until they become automatic. This can be accomplished
by matching a teaching style to a classroom’s learning style, utilizing the strategies
and available means to create the most efficient classroom. For public schools this
is an important principle to master. With large classrooms, budget constraints, and
legal obligations, teachers need to maximize each students potential, with out short-changing
the other students time and progress.
The principle of variation counteracts the stagnation that can occur with the principle
of minimum expenditure of energy. If you continue to do something over and over again
it will reach a point in which there is no innovation, and learning has become boring
and stagnant. Variation in presentation, activity, and material is essential to maintain
teacher and student interest. This in turn maintains good learning, through the usage
of high energy.
The principle of balance tries to maintain the classroom variation, and repetition.
Teachers need to know their students’ limits. How many new procedures can they learn?
How often can a task or activity be repeated before students lose interest? What
is the optimum balance in the classroom? White states this principle as follows:
"the principle of balance: the optimum resolution of issues in education is
some balance point between extremes- or extreme positions in education are unworkable."
(Oser and Patry, 1997, 58) White recommends that in order to find a balance, we may
have to teach fewer topics. The purpose of teaching is to help students learn. Time
is a constraint and a preoccupation with experimentation hinders a child’s development
of basic skills and knowledge.
The principle of maximizing opportunity "refers to the conduct of lessons: the
pace and style of each lesson must be chosen to give students the maximum opportunity
to learn. Carroll (1963) recognized this in his equation that the amount of learning
is a function of the ratio between time needed to learn and time available to learn."
(Oser and Patry, 1997, 59) It is important for teachers to realize the dynamics of
students as a class and as individuals: making sure the material being presented
is not too cumbersome, long, or complex, and that the material is of interest to
the students.
The principle of divergence is using interventions that are effective in increasing
the range of differences in effective learning. The object of intervention is to
give the weaker students the same advantages and level of achievement as the stronger
students. "The principle of divergence is a conclusion that, despite the inequalities
of birth and fortune that education may be able to counter, education will produce
inequalities of its own… As soon as you start to teach, some students will learn
more than others, and when they develop learning strategies, they will do so at different
rates, and so some will learn even more." (Oser and Patry, 1997, 60)
The principle of support is based on the concept of the classroom as a macro-society.
The teacher becomes the authority, and source of validation. It is crucial that teachers
reward not only effort but also achievement. Criticism is damaging to a student’s
development, and comfort level. Consist support is essential to maintaining a students,
interest and level of participation high.
Click
here for graphic display of educational principles.