Abstract
This paper explores the complexity of matching approaches to teaching to the preferred learning styles of learners. Differentiation among learners can be undertaken in a growing number of ways and the range of approaches to teaching is expanding. The act of matching cannot have a simple rationale because learners in any one class may be sufficiently diverse that it requires awareness and subtlety to meet their many and various needs. Nor can there be an easy approach to the alignment of curricular goals to learning outcomes: Any one approach to teaching can meet a range of goals and generate numerous outcomes. The need is for an orchestrated approach, which involves knowing and understanding particular groups of learners and appreciating the spectrum of congruent approaches to supporting their learning. The metaphor of the orchestrating learning and teaching is explored for its range of convenience.
Résumé
Dans cet article, nous analysons les problèmes que présente l’harmonisation des méthodes d’enseignement et des styles d’apprentissage des étudiants. Les enseignants qui ont une grande expérience connaissent et utilisent toute une série d’activités pédagogiques capables de favoriser l’apprentissage dans le cadre des cours de sciences. La question soulevée ici est celle des décisions qu’il est nécessaire de prendre dans la planification de l’enseignement lorsqu’on se trouve devant une grande variété d’apprenants et de styles d’apprentissage. Il existe de plus en plus de façons de différencier les apprenants, et les approches pédagogiques sont en constante évolution. L’harmonisation de l’enseignement et de l’apprentissage ne saurait être le résultat d’une simple adéquation, car dans toute classe les élèves présentent suffisamment de différences entre eux pour que la variété de leurs besoins requière une bonne part de sensibilité et de subtilité de la part des enseignants. Il n’y a pas non plus de méthode simple qui soit en mesure d’aligner de façon constructive les objectifs des programmes sur les résultats de l’apprentissage, puisque toute approche pédagogique est susceptible d’atteindre de nombreux objectifs différents et de donner toutes sortes de résultats. L’article analyse certaines recherches sur les styles d’apprentissage et se penche sur la nécessité pour les apprenants de se sentir à l’aise dans le cadre des processus d’apprentissage. Nous en concluons qu’il est nécessaire d’orchestrer l’enseignement en adoptant une approche qui se fonde d’une part sur la connaissance et la compréhension de certains groupes d’apprenants, et d’autre part sur une analyse rigoureuse d’un éventail de méthodes pédagogiques susceptibles de favoriser l’apprentissage. Nous explorons plus avant les possibilités qu’offre l’image de l’orchestration des pratiques d’enseignement et d’apprentissage. Comme c’est le cas de toutes les analogies, celle-ci a ses limites, mais à l’intérieur de ces limites, elle est fort utile lorsqu’il s’agit de souligner, grâce à des exemples tirés de la didactique, certains développements dans le domaine de l’enseignement et de l’apprentissage.
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Watts, M. The Orchestration of Learning and Teaching Methods in Science Education. Can J Sci Math Techn 3, 451–464 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1080/14926150309556582
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14926150309556582