Leveling the Playing Field:
Models of Teaching
Linda S. Behar-Horenstein, Ph.D.
Distinguished Teaching Scholar and Professor
Department of Educational Administration and Policy
University of Florida
Diane Archer-Banks, Ph.D.
Program Coordinator
UF Alliance
College of Education
Imagine the conversation
Classrooms where
teachers carefully
explained to students
what and how they
were going to teach and
told students exactly
what they wanted
students to be able to
do as a result of their
teaching-learning
interactions.
Imagine the sense of sharing
The feeling that you
were going to be
part of something
bigger than you.
The sense of
excitement of
learning something
new -- that you
could almost taste it.
Imagine
The feeling of
empowerment
Schools as places that students longed
to attend
Overview
Models
of teaching
Benefits, limitations
Questions for critical reflection
What are Models of Teaching?
 Prescriptive
strategies to guide
planning and instruction
 Supported
evidence
by research based-
Models of Teaching
 Detailed
overview of how to teach
 Role of instructor
 Type of classroom structure
 Ways teacher supports student
efforts
What are Models of Teaching?
Provide common language to discuss
facets of instruction common across all
classrooms among administrators and
teachers.
What are Models of Teaching?
 Conceptual frameworks grouped by
purpose and intended outcomes into 4
families.
 Promote
awareness about how
individuals and collective faculty teach.
 Helps
students learn how to learn.
What are Models of Teaching?
 Eliminates
differences due to gender,
race/ethnicity, socio-economic status.
 Increases
probability of learning
certain skills/knowledge.
FAMILIES OF TEACHING
MODELS
INFORMATION-PROCESSING
FAMILY
 Enhances
making sense of new
information.
 Help
students learn how to
construct knowledge.
Information-processing models: An
example



Fourth grade students seated around a center. Jack
Jones’, the teacher, lights a candle and places a jar with
6 inch circumference over the candle. The candle burns
out.
He repeats this exercise several times with jars of
varying circumference and places them over lighted
candles.
He tells students, “Now we are going to develop some
ideas about what just happened.”
SOCIAL FAMILY
 Uses
group inquiry and problem-solving
strategies.
 Encourages
assimilation and
understanding.
 Relies
on students’ personal and social
values.
Social models: An example
Janie Hrock’s 12th grade class begins with a
videotape of a court room scene. A mother is
fighting to prevent a father from having time
together with their 9 year old daughter. Parents
have joint custody.
 As the case proceeds Ms. Hrock asks students to
document the “issues” and their “questions.”
 Following the tape, the students describe issues,
defend positions and ask questions.

PERSONAL FAMILY
 Emphasizes
self-actualizing, selfawareness, directing destinies.
 Exploration
and reflection about
goals or future careers.
Personal models: An example
Terrace Banks’ 6th grade students enter
Language Arts classroom on first day of school.
As they take their seats, Banks tells students to
write about what they want to be when they
grow up and asks to them to explain why.
 After about 30 minutes, students share essays
aloud. As students read, Banks asks them what
skills they think they will need to enter chosen
professions.

BEHAVIORAL FAMILY
 Develop
mastery in subject matter
or skills acquisition.
 Seeks
specific behavioral changes.
 Measurable
outcomes.
Behavioral models: An example
 Lem
McCoy’s 4th grade students
arrive to class and find a quiz on
their desks.
 Students are given 100, 1 by 1 digit
multiplication problems. McCoy
tells them to complete as many
correctly in 5 minutes are they can.
Explicit
use of teaching
models can accelerate rate
of learning, capacity and
facility in learning.
TEACHER BENEFITS
 Improves
the quality of instruction.
 Systematic
approach to planning for
instruction.
TEACHER BENEFITS
 Facilitates
awareness about students’
learning needs.
 Assess
 Offers
impact of instruction.
alternative ways of
representing content/skills.
TEACHER BENEFITS
 Develop
learning experiences
that yield successful outcomes.
 Facilitates
student engagement in
more meaningful ways.
STUDENT BENEFITS
 Increases
retention.
 Learn
aptitude for learning and
more rapidly.
 Facilitates
learning.
different kinds of
STUDENT BENEFITS
• Builds academic self-esteem.
• Acknowledges characteristics and
aptitudes.
• Promotes student awareness of
how they will be taught and what
changes are sought.
Caveats

Do not replace pedagogical expertise
– subject matter knowledge
– creativity
– interpersonal skills

No model is effective for everyone

Some methods increase or diminish desired
outcomes
WHY USE MODELS OF TEACHING?
 Meet
learning needs of heterogeneous
groups.
 Varied
outcomes, different levels of
sophistication.
 Repertoire
of approaches.
Questions for Critical Reflection
1.
What models do you use during
instruction?
2.
What other approaches do you
want to use?
References
Anusavice, S. H., & Behar-Horenstein, L. S. (2005). Looking into
classrooms:
Student achievement, student absenteeism, teacher efficacy, and teacher
Instruction of highly mobile students in specialized and traditional
school settings. Curriculum and Teaching 20, 15-39.
Behar-Horenstein, L. S., & Ganet-Sigel, J. G. (1999). The Art and Practice of
Dance/Movement Therapy. Needham Heights, MA: Pearson Publishing
Solutions. 209 pp.
Behar-Horenstein, L.S., & Seabert, D. M. (2005). Looking into
classrooms: Teachers' use of models of teaching.
Educational Practice and Theory 27(1), 49-66.
References
Joyce, B. & Calhoun, E. (996). Creating Learning
Experiences: The Role of Instructional Theory and
Research. Alexandria, VA: Association for Curriculum
Development and Supervision.
Joyce, B., Weil, M., & Calhoun, E. (2004). Models of
Teaching. 7th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Dr. Linda Behar-Horenstein
Distinguished
Teaching Scholar
and Professor
University of Florida
Lsbhoren@ufl.edu
(352) 392-2391,
Ext. 299