Traditional teaching is sometimes seen as a one-way street, as something that a teacher 'does to' or 'does for' a student. The focus is on the teacher and the message that is imparted. Is it possible for teaching to take place with little or no learning happening at the other end? Facilitating learning, or effective teaching, is more of a dual carriageway: learning is happening at the student's end, and this is supported by a teacher who helps this process to happen through a variety of means. Heron (1989) describes three 'modes' or styles of facilitation:
These facilitation modes can be applied to university teaching in a number of ways. Firstly, the standard modes of teaching can, at one level, be seen to reflect the above modes of facilitation. Generally lectures involve a 'hierarchical' approach by the teacher, who decides the content and controls the learning environment during the 45-minute lecture. Tutorials vary considerably, but often represent a co-operative approach to learning. Students have the opportunity to discuss the subject and clarify misunderstandings; they may also be able to choose topics, within limitations set by the tutor, for presentation. Some tutorials, for example those intended to review material, are designed according to student questions rather than the tutor's plan. Laboratories could be seen to reflect an autonomous learning mode: students are required to do their own learning by carrying out an experiment, drawing on the resources of the demonstrator when they run into problems. Secondly, different modes of facilitation can be tied to different stages of development in the learner. Lectures often are the primary mode of teaching for first-year students, who are seen to be in the early stages of their development as learners in a higher education environment. Third-year students are often expected to be able learn from each other through seminars and are provided with more self-directed project work. Often opportunities are missed for providing more co-operative and autonomous learning experiences for students by assuming, for example, that first-year students would have difficulty managing group projects or tutorial presentations. While many students do need more direction early in their first semester, during the semester the teacher might look to facilitate learning more in co-operative or autonomous mode. There may also be an assumption that third-year, honours and post-graduates students should be able to be largely self-directed in their learning. A co-operative or even a hierarchical approach may sometimes be helpful to the learner, for example at the outset of a new project or when the learner is moving into uncharted learning territory. One might consider using different modes of facilitation within a lecture or tutorial or in relation to a particular assignment, such as an essay or group assignment. Teachers might also ask themselves whether they consciously or unconsciously use different modes for different students. For example, are different facilitation modes used for male and female students? To what extent to students' cultural or language backgrounds shape the teacher's facilitation style? How could the three different modes be applied to assessment? Effective facilitation of learning means using different modes of facilitation in accordance with the learner's needs, rather than the teacher's preferences or habit or what might be the departmental or higher education norms. What is often difficult is giving up one's 'power' as the custodian of knowledge and how it is imparted, and instead supporting, empowering and challenging students to be self-directed learners.
|