Preparing young people to face adult and professional life is a growing challenge, faced by parents and teachers. For this reason, when a school decides to adopt a teaching system, it shows that it is concerned with the integral formation of its students.
Practically all students in the school environment today are part of the “Z” generation. Thus, it is not possible to think of teaching as years ago, and it is necessary to change educational tactics and strategies in order to awaken the pleasure of study in the students.
To create this expectation in students, it is fundamental to find ways to increase their engagement in the classroom. After all, the distractions are increasing, as are the possibilities to learn through other sources. Therefore, it is important to be attentive to all available forms in order to make the classes more attractive.
Want to know more about the impact of these decisions on students’ future? In this article, you will understand what a teaching system is, how it can help solve the school’s needs, and discover the benefits of adopting it in your educational institution.
What is an education system?
It is a set of educational materials and services with the aim of providing support and solutions to the most diverse needs of the school. It was created with the pre-vestibular courses and its handouts in the early 1970s. At the end of that same period, these materials started to be used in the initial grades of high school and also in elementary school, reaching the Kindergarten Education only at the end of the 1980s.
At first, they were just handouts developed by the teachers themselves that grouped the content of the bimonthly classes in a single volume, becoming known as the apostillate system. However, with the evolution and changes within our society, it was necessary to reformulate the concept of the teaching system.
What are the main types of methodologies in the education system?
Now you understand what a teaching system is, so it is interesting to approach some of the main methodologies applied in the classroom or that even base the vision, objectives and functioning of school institutions. Shall we check them out?
Construtivist
For this reason, the basis of constructivist methodology lies in the concept that, for learning to be effective, there is a whole construction of knowledge. It is up to the educators to create and promote means to foster this structuring, elaborating more interactive activities, stimulating the students to experience situations that will help them “assemble” their own knowledge.
Among the most striking characteristics of a school that follows the constructivist line are
- rooms with fewer students: so that the teacher can not only propose collaborative activities, but also follow each student closely;
- chairs organized in a circle: instead of the educator in the center of the class, with everyone facing him, the constructivist classroom has its structure organized in circles, favoring the collaboration and participation of the students;
- less teacher intervention: the teacher, in the constructivist pedagogical line, is a mediator of knowledge, so he creates different ways of transmitting them;
- differentiated evaluations: in constructivist schools the tests happen in a different way, called diagnostic evaluations.
Waldorf
From the conception that all human beings are different, the schools that follow the Waldorf line look for ways to adapt the teaching to the needs of each student. In these schools, students and teachers have enough autonomy to determine and follow the curriculum employed in the classroom, going far beyond traditional subjects – mathematics, history, language and others.
In Waldorf methodology, it is understood that:
- there are no grades: students are divided by age group;
- there is no change of teachers: the same educator stays with the class for years, from the early stages to approximately 14 years.
- it is necessary to explore various intelligences: in a Waldorf school, besides the traditional subjects, there are classes of music, theater, dance, handicraft, cutting and sewing, gardening, domestic education, among others.
Montessorian
It is a teaching method thought, above all, for the children – precisely for this reason, it is more common to find it in children’s school institutions that go all the way to elementary school.
Some other characteristics of the methodology are:
- students can have different ages within the same class: the organization of a Montessorian school can be in grades, according to ages, or in cycles, bringing together students who do not necessarily have the same age group;
- teachers do not pass lessons: instead, classes are composed of activities spread throughout the classroom. It is up to the students, who work a lot in groups, to decide what will be accomplished that day.
Democratic
This teaching methodology clashes with the traditional system. However, it has been generating positive results: it is no wonder that most schools in Finland, one of the number one countries in terms of quality of education in the world, bring aspects related to the democratic method to the students’ daily lives.
In this teaching model, generally:
- There is no evidence: teachers evaluate the participation in classes and the work developed by each one;
- there is no fixed schedule: as we said, one of the principles of democratic methodology is the freedom that students have to decide what they will learn.
Freinet
Schools practicing this methodology usually provide classes in other environments, such as field studies, and elaborate activities with other classes and even schools, such as community newspapers. The intention is that the children learn to share their productions and knowledge with their peers.
In this teaching model, it is understood that:
- teachers should consider each student’s progress: they compare their previous personal performance, not with others;
- it is not necessary to use too much didactic material: the handouts are replaced by debates as a way to develop the students’ capacity of analysis.
Socioconstructivist
In schools where they apply socio-constructivist methodology, knowledge is not passed from teacher to student. The role of the educator is to give all the educational support and to mediate the interpersonal relations of the students in an environment where the children expose their opinions and visions.
The most striking peculiarities of a school that follows the socio-constructivist methodology are:
- the teacher has no main role: he is passed on to the student;
- there is no application of tests: the student’s evaluation (and if there should be) is at the discretion of each school;
- classroom with few students: the intention is that the relationship between educator and student is close;
- there are no grades: the classes are divided into cycles.
Behavioralist
In this proposal, the role of the teacher is to plan a teaching with the purpose of changing behaviors that may be harmful to the student and promote the acquisition of new according to determined social needs.
Some other characteristics of the methodology are
- evaluation by means of tests: students are submitted to exams to conclude if the proposed objectives have been achieved;
- students are rewarded: for each objective achieved the student receives praise, grades and even awards;
- the teachers are the holders of the knowledge: they teach the contents necessary for the development of the students.
Pikler
Pikler’s line of thinking focuses on Early Childhood Education, more precisely babies and children from 0 to 3 years old. It is based on the child’s ability to learn, always respecting the individuality and time of each one, since forcing situations can generate insecurity and compromise healthy development.
The educators who apply this methodology:
- value affectivity: tranquility and affection are part of the learning process;
- They are based on care: moments of exchange, bath and feeding are of extreme importance;
- They value communication: it is important to explain to the child what is being done to exercise the consciousness and for him/her to learn how to deal with certain situations in a natural way.