Teaching Style Analysis-Education
Teaching success means reaching ALL students
Without knowing the variety of learning styles in a class and without knowing their own teaching style, it is much harder for educators to get through to students who do not meet the expected norm: sit still, listen, only reply when asked, and so on.
By creating LSA Group Profiles, it is possible to find out the strengths of a class or group, but also to recognize students' hidden learning potential, as well as to avoid methods that lead to no learning failure. This will enable educators to divide your class into study groups or to mentor individual students separately as needed.
If then the personal Teaching Style is adapted to the learning needs of these sub-groups and additionally the learning preferences of individual pupils are considered, each pupil can be reached in their own way. This activates the whole class and leads to successful lessons. It is precisely this deliberate variety of methods that corresponds to personalized learning - each student is allowed to learn in his or her best way. Although this initially requires more preparatory work, the results are profound - not just for individual students, but for entire schools, even for entire families.
However, educators also experience another positive side effect, especially as they get to know their own teaching style better, therefore reducing stress in their daily teaching.
Benefits of Teaching Style Analysis (TSA):
By creating a personal TSA profile, educators can:
- gain important self-knowledge
- recognize their personal teaching style - from traditional to individualized
- compare their own learning style with their current teaching style
- show the most commonly used teaching strategies
- achieve long-term improvement in teaching success
- improve relationships with students/parents/colleagues
- reduce tensions to difficult/unusual/underachieving learners
- increase flexibility in teaching
- apply diversity of methods with continued success
- reduce stress, prevent burnout
- regain job satisfaction & increase motivation
With TSA, educators can make sure that their Teaching Style is in line with the learning needs of their students. Key prerequisites for successfully aligning lessons and learning behaviors are LSA Group Profiles, learning style classrooms with informal, comfortable areas, background learning music, and LS learning materials. It is equally important for teachers to know their own Learning Style because learning style preferences often show up in a person's Teaching Style, summed up in this old saying: "The way you learn is the way you teach". But they should accept that the learning styles of their students can be very different from their own one and strive to apply more flexibility.
Structure of the TSA Model
The pyramid model of the TSA consists of similar elements as the LSA pyramid. Social Aspects are integrated into another layer and a new layer has been added: Techniques. With these Lesson/Unit Planning techniques it becomes possible to evaluate teaching methods used by active teachers.
Description of the Teaching Style Analysis Instrument
TSA is a tool for professional self-development for people currently active in teaching professions. Like the Lerning Style Analysis, it is based on a pyramid model and consists of graphs, detailed personal findings and a catalog of actions for self-development.
Of the many educational profiling tools available to educators, only the TSA shows all the style traits of a teacher in the six key areas of the pyramid model:
- Information processing (left-right brain dominance)
- Teaching methods (Senses)
- Teaching practice (Physical)
- Classroom design (Environment)
- Lesson/Unit Planning (Techniques)
- Professional characteristics (Attitudes)
For each graph there is a detailed description of the general and individual results of the person concerned. Based on this, an Action Plan (with numerous suggestions for self-development) can be created for each area in which changes are desired.
Graph 1: Teaching Style
1A. Teaching Methods (Senses):
This diagram describes teaching methods in the field of sensory perception, which are usually very much based on one's own learning style. The results relate to the way in which knowledge is conveyed to students through stimulating their senses. The whole process is divided into the following elements: auditory (listening, discussing, self talk); visual (reading, watching, imagining); tactile (touching/manipulating) and kinesthetic (physical activities/feeling). The results show the use of these methods in class work ranging from traditional (analytic), to flexible (in transition) or individualistic (holistic) overall style.
1B. Teaching Practice (physical classroom management):
This part of Graph 1 describes personal leadership strategies in the classroom that very often build on individual experiences during one's own school time. They show how teachers manage the physical and social learning strategies with their students. These include social interaction, BrainGym exercises, authority and control, understanding students' urge to move, their need of mouth stimulation (chewing, eating, nibbling, drinking), and awareness of certain times of the day preferences (individual bio-rhythms).
1C. Classroom Design (environment):
Here preferences for sound and music (silence or background noise), light (dim or bright), room temperature (cool or warm), and learning area (formal or informal/comfortable), as influenced by the teacher are shown.
1D. Planning Techniques (lesson preparation):
The results in this chart describe how educators plan their lessons or teaching units. They highlight the following aspects:
Does the planning include tasks for individual students, for small groups and/or for the whole class? Does the planning provide for defined structures or are students free to structure their own learning? Is the preparation more focused on curriculum content, or are methods used to allow a free-flowing learning process and to work with individual students ?
Graph 2: Left-Right Brain Dominance
The categories in this graph are divided into three groups: A high score in each of these groups indicates the preference for a particular style of thinking (reflective - spontaneous), a mental technique (sequential - simultaneous) and a general tendency (analytic - holistic) used in classroom work.
High results in both the left and right hemisphere (80% and higher) indicate that the person has achieved high integration and equally uses both hemispheres.
Graph 3: Professional Characteristics
These are divided into the following areas:
motivation, persistence, conformity, responsibility, creativity, diversity awareness, classroom routines and the need for change/variety. Low, flexible or high attitudes are often dependent on the situation and/or the respective interest in a work task.
Graph 4: Success Rate with Students
To present the results more clearly, the different types of students are listed in descending order. If a result is in the range of 80% or higher, then this success rate is among the highest; however, a 0% result simply means that the teacher is currently not working with this type of student.
Personal Report & Guidelines
The core information of the TSA can be found in the Personal Report which gives interpretations of Graphs 1 - 4 and derived from these teachers find Guidelines for individual Professional Development.
Self-Enhancement Action Plan
For each Graph there is a detailed description of the individual personal results. Based on this, an Action Plan for self-development can be created for each area in which changes are desired.
In order to successfully implement an Action Plan, it is advisable to transfer it to the Monitoring System and systematically carry out the selected actions as recommended in the TSA Report - through systematic repetition. This is the only way the desired change in professional behaviour can be achieved and sustained.
Personal Monitoring System
The Monitoring System at the end helps to keep track of selected strategies in class and everyday life so that you can see what progress you are making and where you need to improve.
The Learning Style of a person has a decisive influence on their Teaching Style and in general, educators teach in the same way as they take information in. The insights gained from the TSA can be entered into the Action Plan, which is part of this tool, so that the person can develop their flexibilities. The goal is to use new teaching strategies to reach those students who have a fundamentally different learning style.
Each teacher has his/her own style in using personal teaching methods. The key to getting the most out of a lesson in the classroom is to discover style preferences and use them for preparation, classroom instruction, and successful student management - always matching students' learning style needs.
TSA Education
This instrument enhances the power to educate by showing how a teacher delivers the curriculum content and manages students in class. Of all the many educational profiling tools available, only TSA reveals all a teacher's style features across these six key areas: Sensory Teaching Methods, Classroom Management, Classroom Design, Lesson Planning Techniques, Information Processing - Brain Dominance, and Professional Characteristics.
The Personal Report gives practical advice, and the Action Plan together with the Monitoring System supports a successful implementation of desired changes.
Special Features: It's a professional assessment instrument for educators like no other! It enables teachers to capitalize on their strengths, guides them to performance improvement and gives clear insights into mismatches between own teaching strategies and students’ learning style needs. In pointing out combinations of style elements it even reveals possible reasons for stress and burn-out in teaching. Indispensable for career planning, taking up a new teaching position, wishing to improve one’s communication in class or getting on with difficult students.
Languages: Available in English, German, Turkish.
