Is What you do…..
the same as
A
What you say you do
Is Teaching A
?
Mad-Hatter Tea Party?
Cindi H. Fries, Ed.D.,
ABD
College of Education
Northeastern State
University
Presentation for
NSU Community & Collaboration Day
March 6, 2012
Format of the Session: General Workshop
Target Audience: Undergraduate and Graduate faculty
Relevance to NSU’s 5 Core Values: Integrity – This workshop session asks faculty to reflect on the
consistency of their teaching practices with their beliefs.
Presentation Summary:
Many educators support the concepts of either a teacher-centered or
a learner-centered teaching style; however it takes critical self
reflection to determine if their classroom practices match their beliefs.
Like Alice in Wonderland at the Mad Hatter tea party, it is easy to get
befuddled with teaching style rhetoric. Discover your 7 key elements
of teaching style. Explore the similarity of your beliefs to your
classroom practices. Do you do as you say, and say as you do? Participants will
take a survey to about their support of 7 key elements of teaching style.
Discussion will enhance the participant’s ability to say what they believe
about their teaching style and to do what they say they believe.
[March Hare] Then you should say what
you mean.
[Alice] I do – at least -- at least I mean
what I say -- that’s the same thing, you
know.
[Hatter] Not the same thing a bit! You
might just as well say that “I see what I
eat” is the same thing as “I eat what I
see!”
Chapter VII
Mad Hatter Tea Party [March Hare] You might as well say that
“I like what I get” is the same thing as
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland “I get what I like!”
[Dormouse] You might as well say that “I
By Lewis Carroll
Illustration by
breathe when I sleep” is the same
Sir John Tenniel
thing as “I sleep when I breathe!”
1865
I say what I do is the same thing
as
I do what I say! ......RIGHT??!
What do you say is your preferred Teaching Style?
Learner-Centered or Teacher-Centered
Is that the same as what you DO in the classroom?
Do your preferred Teaching Style
&
Classroom Actions
Match??
The Principles of Adult Learning Scale
PALS developed by Dr. Gary Conti
• PALS measures congruency between
– adult education practitioners‘ classroom behavior
– Teaching Style
– Based on statements from adult learning literature
• Teaching style quickly assessed in 10 to 15
minutes
• Self-administered, has 44 items
• Leads to a single score and which will place you
on a scale
TeacherLearnerCentered
Centered
Principles of Adult Learning Scale
A
Always
AA Almost always
O Often
S
Seldom
AN Almost never
N Never
• If an item does not apply to you, circle Never
• There is NO right OR wrong answer!
• Select the response which best fits your teaching
PALS Scoring process
Step 1
• Question numbers 1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 14, 15, 17, 18,
20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 28, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 39, 42,
43, and 44
A = 5, AA = 4, O = 3, S = 2, AN = 1, N = 0
• Question numbers 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 16,
19, 21, 26, 27, 29, 30, 33, 37, 38, 40, and 41
A = 0, AA = 1, O = 3, S = 4, AN = 5, N = 5
PALS Scoring process Step 2
Total Score for 7 PALS Factors
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Learner-Centered
Personalizing Instruction
Relating to Experience
Assessing Student Needs
Climate Building
Participation in the Learning Process
Flexibility for Personal Development
Factor 1: Learner-Centered Activities
PALS Scoring process Step 3
For each factor, transfer the appropriate
question
Question #
2
4
11
12
13
16
19
21
29
30
38
40
Total Score
Score
Transfer the total score for each factor
– add together all factor scores
for a Total
Factor
Mean
Standard
Deviation
1
38
8.3
2
31
6.8
3
21
4.9
4
14
3.6
5
16
3.0
6
13
3.5
7
13
3.9
TOTAL
146
20
Your Score
PALS
TOTAL score results
Teacher-Centered
0
1
0
extreme 5
very strong
1
2
5 increased
Learner-Centered
1
1
2
6
8
2
1
increased 5
6 extreme 0
4
very strong
5
Learner-Centered
or Teacher-Centered
Teaching Style -- qualities & behaviors displayed
consistent regardless of curriculum content (Conti, 1984)
Learner-Centered:
 responsive, problem-centered, democratic
 employs a collaborative learning environment
(Dupin-Bryant, 2004)
Teacher-Centered:
 formal, controlled
 teacher is primary knowledge provider
(Conti, 2004)
PALS
Factor Totals vs. Means
Your Score
Factor
Mean
Standard Deviation
1
38
8.3
2
31
6.8
3
21
4.9
4
14
3.6
5
16
3.0
6
13
3.5
7
13
3.9
TOTAL
146
20
1 Learner-Centered --------------------------2 Personalizing Instruction-----------------3 Relating to Experience -------------------4 Assessing Student Needs ----------------5 Climate Building ---------------------------6 Participation in the Learning Process ---------7 Flexibility for Personal Development ------------
Factor 1 Teaching Style
(mean 38)
12 items contrasting to Learner –Centered
teaching principles
High scores reflect support for
• collaborative mode
• more learner-centered approach
•involves the learners in planning,
administering and evaluating lessons.
Low scores indicate
• more teacher-centered style
• supports teacher determination of
objectives, common learning styles, and
use standard tests to compare learners.
Factor 2 Personalizing Instruction
(mean 31)
• 9 items concerning individual motives
and abilities
– Self-pacing of learning
– Variety of materials & assignments
– Varity of methods & objectives
A high score indicates that the teacher
does a variety of things to meet the
individual needs of each student
A low score indicates an emphasis on the
majority’s completion of goals and less
emphasis on the student’s individual needs.
Factor 3 Relating to Experience
6 items
(mean 21)
A high score reflects
instructor takes into account
• student’s prior
experiences
• encourages students to
relate new learning to
those experiences
• make learning relevant
by offering problems that
may be encountered in
every day life.
A low score indicates
• focus on adhering
to a predetermined
set of objectives
• may not make
allowance for
experience or
independent growth
•structured assignments
with little room for
independent variations
Factor 4 Assessing Student Needs
4 items
(mean 14)
A high score indicates
• students included in the process of
identifying their needs
• accomplished by using informal
conferences and counseling
A low score indicates little
• student involvement in identifying needs
and/or planning
• relies less on individual conferences /informal
counseling to direct the instruction
Factor 5 Climate Building
4 items
(mean 16)
A high score indicates
• preference for establishing a
warm and informal environment
• Interaction with other students
encouraged
• build on the abilities of the
• student helps to eliminate
barriers
• Accept errors as a natural part
of learning
• Risk-taking and dialogue are
encouraged
A low score indicates
• more task oriented
environment
• risk-taking and dialogue
are not encouraged
• more formal, structured
environment
Factor 6
Participation in the Learning Process
(mean 13)
4 items
A high score indicates students involved in
• evaluating own performance
• determining topics & types of materials
used
• identifying problems
A low score indicates
• instructor prefers sticking with a set
curriculum and form of evaluation
• Students not involved in selecting
problems to solve
Factor 7
Flexibility for Personal Development
(mean 13)
5 items – degree of personal flexibility
A high score indicates
• teacher’s flexibility to meet the needs of the
learner
•Role of a facilitator instead of the source of
all knowledge.
A low score indicates
• teacher prefers to be primary knowledge
provider (expert) rather than a facilitator
• Avoid value issues
• High regard for classroom discipline
No right
No wrong
results
~~~~~~~~~~
Higher is not superior
Lower is not lesser
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Only how you matched up to
your own perception of
your teaching
Is
What you do…..
the same as
What you say you do ?!.....
Or
Are you in a
Mad Hatter Tea
Party?
PALS Dr. Gary Conti
Valid and Reliable instrument
– Construct Validity established through a
national jury of adult education professors.
– Content Validity established through field tests with
adult basic education practitioners
– Reliability was established through test-retest
method with a reliability coefficient of .92
(Conti, 1982, 2004)
References
Conti, G. J. (1982). Principles of adult Learning Scale. Adult Literacy and Basic Education, 6 (3),
135-150.
Conti, G.J. (1984). Does teaching style make a difference in adult education? Proceedings of the
25th Annual Adult Education Research Conference (pp. 44-49). Raleigh: North Carolina State
University
Conti, G. J. (2004). Identifying your teaching style. In M.W. Galbraith (Ed.), Adult learning methods
(3rd ed.).Malabra, FL: Kreiger Publishing.
Dupin-Bryant, P.A. (2004). Teaching styles of interactive television instructors: A descriptive study.
The American Journal of Distance Education (18)(1), 39-50.