Four Families of Teaching[edit]

People are different. They differ in many ways, appearance,

native language, and culture, all of which are easy to notice.

People also differ in ways that are not as noticeable. Some of

these ways include differences in belief systems, differences

in intellect, or differences in values. These differences make

each person a unique and special individual. It creates a

variety to life and society. However, for a teacher, these

differences create an average classroom. Teachers deal with

differences in appearance as well as internal differences. A

teacher also must handle one more difference, one that is

more important to the classroom than the others. This

difference would be each student’s learning style. To reach

the students, a teacher must be aware of the ways her

students learn new information. Also an effective teacher

must strive to increase the ways each student is able to

absorb the new learning, to make them better learners. To aid

in this endeavor, Bruce Joyce and Marsha Weil visited

numerous classrooms to research the ways that teachers

were teaching. They grouped the teaching methods they

observed into four groups, which they called families. The

models of teaching were grouped together because of certain

similarities which will be discussed further. The purpose of

Joyce and Weil’s many hours of research was to create a

logical classification of effective ways teachers can instruct

the learners.

Families[edit]

Behavioral Family Models[edit]

The most structured group of teaching models is the

Behavioral Family. This family of models is based on how

people respond to tasks. Much research was done on this

idea by Skinner who led the belief that people learn through

conditioning. This conditioning is accomplished with positive

reinforcement or behavior modification. The teacher presents

a lesson in small increments while observing the learning that

is, or is not, taking place. The teacher can then respond

accordingly. With the lesson presented in small sections, the

student is less likely to be overwhelmed by the new material

and more likely to successfully acquire the new skill. Teaching

models are placed within the Behavioral Family if they create

conditions that enable the students to progress and gain

satisfaction quickly. The models in this family can be used to

teach large groups of students quickly and effectively. In the

Behavioral Family, there are three models. One model

is Mastery Learning. This model was developed by Benjamin

Bloom. In Mastery Learning, information is presented to

students in tiny pieces. Student work to master one small

piece before moving to the next small piece. Students work at

their own pace often with appropriate degrees of difficulty.

This model works well for use in math classes, language

training through ‘language laboratories’, or special needs

classes. The second model in the Behavioral Family is Direct

Instruction. Direct Instruction also presents the concept taught

in small pieces. However, the teacher first prepares the

students for the lesson sharing the topic and the objective.

The teacher models the skill while explaining the steps.

Finally, the students follow with a series of practices. The

teacher walks the student through structured practice, guided

practice, then the students practice independently.

Throughout the practice the teacher leads the students to the

correct answers, guiding only as much as the student needs.

This systematic approach is very effective in any area where it

would be beneficial to present information in small steps with

controlled practice. Direct Instruction is often used in math

( Saxon Math program), grammar (Shurley English), and the

Slingerland approach for teaching reading to students with

Specific Language Disorders. Simulations are the final model

in the Behavioral Family. In Simulations, students learn from

the consequences of their actions, although the

consequences are not truly real. The teacher strives to make

the learning experience, simulation, as real as possible where

the learners would “modify their behavior according to the

feedback they receive from the environment” (327).

Simulations can be found in the version of board games such

as Monopoly or Life. Intensive simulations include those used

for drivers’ training experiences and flight simulators.

Simulations can also come in the form of a re-enactment or

mock government. The Behavioral Family focuses on learning

through conditioning and often allows more learning to

happen in less time.Information Processing Family Models[edit]

A second family of learning is the Information Processing

Family which is less structured than the previous family

discussed. The teaching models in this family emphasize

peoples’ desires to make sense of the world by gathering and

organizing data, determining problems, and finding solutions.

Models are put into the Information Processing family if they

seek ways of helping process information better and if their

goal is to help students become more powerful learners.

There are more teaching models in this family than in any of

the others. One model is Concept Attainment developed

by Bruner. In this model the teacher prepares positive

examples of a concept as well as negative examples. The

teacher then presents the exemplars to the class in pairs, one

that is a ‘yes’ and one that is a ‘no’. The students work to

make hypotheses about the concept being presented and test

their hypotheses as more exemplars are presented. After

several pairs are presented, the students are give the

opportunity to identify some examples as ‘yes’ or ‘no’

according to the hypothesis they have generated. Students

are also given time to create their own exemplars to further

test their hypothesis of the concept. Then, with teacher

guidance, the students evaluate their thoughts and the path in

which they reached their final, hopefully correct, hypothesis.

The Concept Attainment model is not only valuable as a

teaching model, it also helps foster thinking strategies in

students. This model can be used with any aged children and

all grade levels. Concept Attainment is an effective model to

use to introduce a lesson, to reinforce previous learning, or as

a means to reveal the depth of a student’s understanding of a

concept. Another model in the Information Processing family

is the Picture Word Induction Model (PWIM) which was

developed by Calhoun. Although this model was developed

with the young reader in mind, it can be used in other

teaching situations as well, such as an ESL or foreign

language class, or as a pre-writing activity for a creative

writing assignment. In the PWIM, Calhoun makes use of the

students’ own vocabulary to prepare and develop a group of

words that will work their way into sight words for the students

through a print-rich classroom and repeated viewing of the

word cards. First, the teacher presents a picture to the class.

The class identifies the objects and actions they see in the

picture. As the students use their vocabulary to name items in

the picture, the teacher labels the items, spelling aloud and

repeating and re-spelling the word with the children after

writing it. She then makes flash cards for each word. The

students are encouraged to use their ‘picture dictionary’ to

review the words or locate the words with which they are

unfamiliar. The labeled picture and flashcards are used in a

variety of ways to reinforce the oral and written language

connection. A third model in the Information Processing family

is Scientific Inquiry. This model developed from a desire by

Schwab to make learning more like the functioning of a

laboratory where students are involved in their learning, not

merely receivers of facts. The students are invited into a

genuine study of a scientific inquiry and are confronted with

some area of investigation, a part of the experiment may be

left blank or been done incorrectly. The students are guided to

inquire about the how’s and why’s of the experiment to gain

their own understanding of the process. This model is

effective, of course, in the science curriculum, but is also

helpful for developing thinking and problem solving skills.

Advanced Organizers, a model developed by Ausubel, is

another helpful model for teachers to use in the Information

Processing family. Ausubel desired to improve the teacher’s

method for presenting information, “to help teachers organize

and convey large amounts of information as meaningfully and

efficiently as possible” (189). The use of Advanced

Organizers as a teaching model is very flexible and

adaptable. An organizer can be presented in the beginning,

middle, or end of a lesson to aid the student in understanding

the information. The teacher guides the students in preparing

or completing the organizer. Use of an organizer in learning

allows the students to relate their previous knowledge with the

new concepts being taught. It also encourages the students to

manipulate the new content, spending time with it and

enhancing their learning. There are many sources to acquire

organizers for students such as books, the internet, or

creating them. The Information Processing Family of models

incorporates models of teaching that allow students to

organize and understand the world around them in a more

meaningful way.Social Family Models[edit]

The Social Family of Models is more flexible than the previous

two models. At the heart of the models in the Social Family is

the belief that students working together accomplish more

than the sum total of their separate work abilities, a

phenomena also known as synergy. An early theorist for what

developed into the Social Family, John Dewey, believed in

group investigation where students may experience the give

and take of the democratic process. This becomes a central

role of education, to introduce students to democratic

behavior were the students can learn and do more when

working together. Teaching models belong here if they include

relationships between people in interdependent learning

communities. There is also an emphasis in these models

toward the social nature of the learners realizing how social

interaction can enhance learning. In the Social Family, the

models teach a social skill along with an academic concept.

There are two main models in the Social Family. The first

model is Partners in Learning, also referred to as cooperative

learning. Research in this area, led by Roger and David

Johnson, encourage cooperative learning in the classroom

because people are naturally cooperative, a trait that should

be fostered, not depressed. In cooperative learning, the

teacher organizes students into groups where each child has

a specific job. The roles each child performs change which

allows growth in different skills to develop. In these

cooperative groups, each student has a responsibility for the

success of the whole group. There is not group success

unless the group has worked together to make sure each

individual has mastered the concept. All students are

contributing to the learning that is taking place. When the

Partners in Learning model is used, effects on the learning of

content and skills are rapid. Also, there is a decrease in

disruptive or off-task behavior. Cooperative learning can be

used in any part of the classroom and at any age level. The

second model in the Social Family is Role Playing. The

researchers that supported Role Playing are George and

Fanny Shaftel. This model is not just the reading of a script to

create a drama, but it is the understanding of self and others

through participation in the re-enactment of a situation.

Students are chosen to participate in certain roles in a

situation. They are guided to analyze the roles and be true to

the character they are portraying. The students who are not

participating in the Role Playing carry an important part as the

observers who work to review and process the action. After

the students act out a certain situation, they are guided by the

teacher through an evaluation of how to improve the situation

being played out. A main goal in Role Playing is the

development of empathy in the participating students for

someone else’s view. This model is an excellent way to deal

with responses to drug issues on a class level, and can begin

as soon as the children can understand the concept. In the

Social Family of models, interaction with others is a key

element. What is learned from the students working with their

peers is just as important as learning the academic concept

itself.Personal Family Models[edit]

The final and most flexible family is the Personal Family of

teaching models. This model is based off Maslow’s theories of

self-actualization. In the Personal Family, it is believed that

education should lead to a better understanding of one’s self.

Teachers are not only to provide content, but also to gently

guide students to self-awareness and self-understanding. The

models placed in this family guide students toward greater

mental and emotional health by improving students’

awareness of self and raising their self-confidence. In the

Personal Family, there is a belief that education should stem

from the needs of the student. The main model within this

family is Nondirective Teaching. Nondirective teaching was

developed by psychologist and counselor Carl Rogers. This

model, formed from counseling, partners teachers and

students to provide the guidance needed for students to work

out their own problems. Nondirective teaching can be used

independently, or it can be incorporated into other models.

Teachers can use this model to direct students though conflict

resolution situations as they work toward building a better

class and improving students. Teachers become an

empathetic listener, facilitating the learning with some

counseling mixed in. Nondirective teaching is effective when

used as a response to “life” situations that occur within the

classroom or outside its walls. It could also be used to allow

students to respond to a historical situation so that event or

one like it would not be repeated or so an understanding of

the persons involved is developed. The study of the teaching

models within the four families developed by Joyce and Weil

expands a teacher’s ability to reach more students in more

effective ways. It opens doors providing the teacher with a

new variety of tools to incorporate into her methods of

teaching. One can only benefit from using any means to study

the variety of models. Like any learning, when a teacher first

begins using new models in her teaching, there will be

moments of discomfort. This merely signifies that learning is

occurring. Given time and practice, using a new teaching

model will move from uncomfortable to exciting as the teacher

watches her learning benefit her own students. As a teacher

begins using new models, one key to remember is to vary

them. This keeps learning fun and students interested and

involved. Teachers can also combine teaching models.

Teachers become the learners while incorporating different

models into their personal teaching style. The teacher

demonstrating that the discomfort of learning is not only

beneficial to the teacher but also to the students.