Instructional models help teachers achieve their teaching goals and help their students accomplish numerous academic achievements. Every instructional model is developed within a certain philosophical and psychological framework. For instance, the inquiry training model can be associated with the constructivist viewpoint as it implies the use of certain materials and concepts combined with their application in the real-life setting (Hardiman, 2012).
It is also necessary to note that the use of models is often determined by the governing philosophy or worldview. At present, society puts an emphasis on applicability, lifelong learning, and collaboration. Therefore, these are major teaching goals.
I believe these are quite attainable goals as contemporary students have all the necessary capabilities to acquire, process (as well as understand) new information. I have worked with different students, but all of them managed to grasp new knowledge. Of course, students often have some difficulties concerning the development of some skills. I have worked with several students who have insufficient social skills. However, there are always various ways to help students fill in the existing gaps. It is noteworthy that models of teaching can help make the teaching and learning process more effective and fun.
The Informational Processing Family can become a valuable platform for transferring knowledge (this is especially true for new teachers). I believe the models provide particular tools to achieve numerous educational goals. The models help develop the most effective instructions and most exciting lessons as they are based on several philosophies and worldviews. The models can be applied in different disciplines or even different classes to explain concepts or practice some skills.
The understanding and deep knowledge of these models can be specifically beneficial for new teachers as they lack experience and confidence. The use of well-developed models can help new professionals to acquire experience and become confident, which is crucial for an effective and inspirational teacher.
Clearly, these models are not universal, so-to-speak. In other words, they cannot be used in various settings without certain adjustments. It is critical to make sure that teaching models fit each class and even individual, as well as every lesson and topic, discussed. I would not modify the models, but I will and do adjust them to particular students and lessons. I believe it is beneficial to use a combination of models when developing each lesson.
Interestingly, the models of teaching can also be used in teachers’ professional development. For instance, I would use the inquiry training model to present the models to other teachers. The model includes such phases as the confrontation with the problem, data gathering (verification), data gathering (experimentation), explanation development, and the inquiry process analysis (Joyce, Weil, & Calhoun, 2015). As for me, phase one can be the most difficult to implement in this case.
Teachers often have to confront numerous difficult and surprising situations, so it can be difficult to evoke the necessary feelings. Joyce et al. (2015) stress that strong feelings (for example, great surprise) can encourage students to make the necessary effort. Therefore, it is possible to ask them to share some difficulties they encountered and apply the inquiry model to come up with the most effective solutions. As far as the most valuable phase, it is the final stage as teachers should evaluate and analyze their own inquiry process to be able to use these skills in their professional life.
References
Hardiman, M. (2012). The brain-targeted teaching model for 21st-century schools. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Joyce, B., Weil, M., & Calhoun, E. (2015). Models of teaching. New Jersey, NJ: Pearson Educacion.