In today’s world, teachers have adopted diverse ways of teaching as student learning abilities have evolved. Teachers are having trouble with certain classes and students are having trouble learning in classes.
Jeremy Bouis teaches two subjects currently: environmental science honors and biology. He says he bases his teaching off of Socrates.
“Asking a question to lead students to the answers is how I’ve always taught,” said Bouis.
Bouis has been teaching for eight years and enjoys teaching science. He has high expectations for his students because he feels that he is a helpful teacher and that students do not generally have a problem learning in his class.
“Over the years I’ve taught I have not received many complaints about my teaching style,” was another thing Bouis said.
He expressed having troubles with teaching biology class because of how much information there is for students to learn in such little time, but does not have any complaints on the teaching method itself.
Isabella Brodsky, who is in his environmental honors science class, said that she thinks his teaching method is working. Brodsky reported, “He is just a really great teacher and even though the subject is not my favorite, I enjoy the class.”
Another student in his environmental honors science class, Isabella Doss, has difficulty with the teaching style.
Doss highlighted the fact that much of the material being taught was expected to be read from a textbook. She made the point, “Not everyone learns that way.”
Science classes are not the only ones that have had to adapt to new and different teaching styles.
Emmitt Smith is a student in Christina Ballew’s German class. Ballew teaches Spanish II and German. Smith says that it’s a relaxed class, making it easier to learn what she is supposed to learn.
“Mrs. Ballew is a pretty good teacher,” Smith said. Jayden Sheffield, another student in her class, agrees with this.
An experienced math teacher, Donna Jemmison, teaches and has taught many math classes. She says she tries to teach in many ways but says that she does not have a specific teaching style because of the differences in the classes she teaches. Some of her classes are student driven and some are teacher driven. Jemmison wishes that there would be more options for students on the math side of school. She stated that she likes teaching math because there are so many things to teach and so many ways to teach it.
Sara Shao is in Jemmison’s Algebra II Trigonometry Honors class and does not have a problem with her teaching, but did note that the class is fast paced. She says that Jemmison teaches things half-way and will help students figure out the rest as needed. Shao says the class could be a bit slower, but she understands that being in an advanced math class means that they have to go fast.
Kaelyn Southworth has a different math teacher, Sara Ralph, for the same class as Shao, Algebra II Trigonometry Honors. Southworth believes that Ralph’s class goes into lots of detail and is pretty clear.
Smith is in the same class as Southworth. She described Ralph’s teaching as a fast class that does not feel that fast.
“Her teaching style is explaining a new topic in detail every day,” said Smith.
Across similar subjects and subjects that differ entirely, students and teachers and working to make sure information is being received. While this can be difficult depending on the way students take in information, each teacher does have a distinct teaching style that works for some and does not work for others.
