Volume 30, Number 5

J. T. Dillon , 'Using diverse styles of teaching',

The following comments have been made on J. T. Dillon's 'Using diverse styles of teaching', by students on the MA in Professional Studies in Education at Nene College, Northampton, UK.

Is it more important to be able to teach in theory, or in practice? Dillon is disparaging of Joyce and Weil as 'non-theorist' and sneers at only 13/500 of their document as being on theory -- the rest practice. Later Dillon refers to a 'non-theoretical stance' (p. 511). It is held by people who do not view education as a moral enterprise. I think that they see education as a theoretical enterprise.

For the small school community, or in the primary/elementary sector, the intransigence of teaching style could mean that a child never gets a varied diet and may not be able to stomach the one that is given.

Teachers need to be aware that pupils have a range of preferred learning styles; therefore, it is necessary for teachers to adapt their teaching styles to meet the needs of all pupils. Teachers are not a homogeneous group, nor are pupils.

The interpretation of the MA students must be that Dillon's views are 'tongue in cheek' as they are so extreme. This has given us much food for thought; we concur with the notion of the difficulties in teaching using a range of styles.

Our conclusion is that Dillon has much to inform us on the diversity of teaching styles. However our main concerns centre around the way in which Dillon examines teaching in apparent isolation from the diverse learning needs of pupils.