The Teacher as a Decision Maker
Seven Decisions in Teaching
| # | Decision | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | What to teach | Without authority |
| 2 | How to teach | Autonomy |
| 3 | How to manage class | Autonomy |
| 4 | How to assess | Autonomy |
| 5 | How to give feedback | Autonomy |
| 6 | Which resources | Partial autonomy |
| 7 | Which activities | Autonomy |
Responsibility on “how to teach”
- Match teaching method to learning styles
- Three styles: visual, auditory, kinesthetic
- Use multiple methods so all students can learn
Teachers often say they have no authority. The Ministry decides the curriculum. The textbook is fixed. The school management decides the timetable. The teacher just delivers.
This view is partly right and mostly wrong. A look at seven specific classroom decisions shows that teachers control most of what matters.
The seven decisions
The list starts with the one decision a teacher does not control, then moves to the ones a teacher does control.
- What to teach. The teacher does not have authority. The curriculum comes from the Ministry of Education or the school management. Textbook content is set.
- How to teach. The teacher has full autonomy. Method choices are inside the teacher’s authority.
- How to manage the class. The teacher has autonomy. Routines, transitions, and rules are the teacher’s call.
- How to assess pupil learning. The teacher has autonomy. Choice of test, observation, performance task, or written work is the teacher’s.
- How to give feedback. The teacher has autonomy. Style and format of feedback are not controlled by anyone else.
- Which resources to use. The teacher has partial autonomy. Some resources are fixed by the school; many low-cost choices are open.
- Which activities to use. The teacher has autonomy. Activity design is inside the teacher’s authority.
Six of the seven sit firmly inside the teacher’s authority. One sits partially. Only the first sits outside. The teacher is a decision maker in most of the daily classroom.
Authority comes with responsibility
Authority is not free. Each decision carries a responsibility. The teacher who has authority on “how to teach” must use it well.
Match teaching to learning styles
Visual learners. These students learn best when they see what is being taught. Diagrams, blackboard work, demonstrations, written examples, and chart papers help them understand quickly.
Auditory learners. These students learn best when they hear what is being taught. Lectures, group discussion, read-alouds, and verbal explanations land with them. They can listen to a long lecture and stay engaged.
Kinesthetic learners. These students learn by doing. Watching does not stick. Listening does not stick. They must touch, move, build, or perform to learn. They look unfocused during a lecture because the lecture format is not how they take in knowledge.
A teacher who only uses the blackboard reaches the visual learners. The auditory learners may follow if there is also explanation. The kinesthetic learners struggle. They get scolded for not paying attention. The problem is not the student. The problem is the method.
A teacher with autonomy on “how to teach” must take this responsibility seriously. The method must reach the full range of learning styles in the class.
Visual, auditory, and kinesthetic
Visual learners need to see (diagrams, demonstrations).
Auditory learners need to hear (explanations, discussion).
Kinesthetic learners need to do (build, move, perform).
A method that reaches only one style fails the other two.
Three methods for one topic
A practical rule follows. When teaching a topic, design three different methods so the same content reaches all three styles.
For example, a lesson on metals and non-metals could use:
- A list of items in the classroom (kinesthetic), where students walk around, touch objects, and identify whether each contains a metal.
- A discussion (auditory) of what makes those items metallic, drawing out properties from the students.
- A board diagram (visual) summarizing the properties students named.
The three methods reinforce the same content from three angles. Visual learners get the diagram. Auditory learners get the discussion. Kinesthetic learners get the hands-on identification. The lesson reaches every student.
This is not extra work. It is the work. A teacher with authority on “how to teach” has the responsibility to plan it this way.
Classroom management as maximizing learning
The third decision is “how to manage the class”. A common misunderstanding equates classroom management with discipline and discipline with silence. The teacher fears noise. The head walks past and complains “your class is noisy”. The teacher cracks down. Talking stops. Learning stops too.
Classroom management is not the absence of noise. Classroom management is the maximization of student learning. Sometimes the best management produces noisy talk: students discussing a question, debating an answer, working on a group activity. The classroom looks unruly to an outsider but is actually well-managed.
Wait time is part of this. After asking a question, the teacher should wait at least five seconds before calling on anyone. Many questions cannot be answered in one second. Wait time gives every student space to think, not only the fastest.
A teacher with authority on classroom management must use that authority for learning, not for silence.