Introduction
Within the world of education, we often hear the term ‘educational strategy’ used but very few people actually know what it means. In this article we explain this term, examine other similar terms which are sometimes used and the different strategies that can be used to educate children.
What is an Educational Strategy?
In simple terms, an educational strategy is a certain approach to teaching children new things. It is usually used in relation to teaching children academic subjects or the national curriculum. Sometimes, it may be referred to as a ‘teaching strategy’ but typically means the same thing. There are several different strategies which can be adopted as part of an educational strategy – these are explored below.
Teacher-Led
The first educational strategy is teacher led. This means that a teacher, or educational board, will decide which subjects will be taught to children and which learning resources will be used such as text books, worksheets or computer programs for example.
A teacher-led strategy is put together to meet a list of goals which typically include outcomes of the national curriculum. A teacher decides to teach an individual child or group of children in a certain way.
The advantage of a teacher-led educational strategy is that the teacher only has to do one batch of preparation and can tailor their teaching plans specifically to what they need to teach children in a way that works for the teacher. The main disadvantage of a teacher-led educational strategy is that it doesn’t take into account the specific and individual needs of the students. This can lead to some children not being challenged enough in their learning whilst others might be challenged too much, resulting in ineffective learning.
A teacher-led strategy usually meets a list of specific goals
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Student-Led
A student-led educational strategy is the complete opposite of a teacher-led one. The subjects chosen and method in which they are delivered is tailored to the specific needs of the pupil.
Some children learn better with more hands-on learning such as experiments and games, whilst others learn better in a more traditional theory based approach. One of the main advantages of a student-led approach is that learning resources and exercises can be tailored to the preferences of the child. Another advantage is that in a student-led approach, the learning can be done at a rate to suit the child too.
The main disadvantage of a student-led educational strategy is that the planning is more time-consuming for teachers as lessons and activities have to be planned on an individual basis – thus creating more work.
A student-led approach allows children to learn at their own pace
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Combined Approach
As well as the two extremes of teacher-led and student-led educational strategies, there’s also the combined approach which takes elements of both styles and works them into a new one.
A combined approach to educational strategy usually involves a teacher drawing up lesson plans based on the goals of the curriculum but then tailoring them slightly for the needs of specific students. Usually this is done by splitting a class of students up into groups and then tailoring the work to fit the abilities and skill levels of the group, however occasionally a combined approach will also allow for specific students to have a more unique learning experience.
Image Credits: cybrarian77 and MarkGuitarPhoto.
In reality, children do better in a student-led environment where their specific educational needs are met. The reality is usually down to the time and budgets that teachers have to adhere to so a combined approach to educational strategy is usually adopted in most cases.
