Mosston's teaching styles

Mosston and Ashworth's spectrum: eleven styles, from command to self-teaching, according to who makes the decisions.

The outline, topic by topic

Each topic is weighted the way the exam weighs it.

Spectrum of teaching styles: what is it?
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Eleven styles ranked by the share of decisions pupils make before, during and after the task.
No style is better: each serves a goal.
Mosston's reproduction styles: which step comes after "Command"?
- Practice
- Reciprocal
- Self-check
- Inclusion
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Practice
From A to E, pupils make more and more decisions.
Command (A): what is it?
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The teacher decides everything; pupils perform on signal.
Useful for safety and synchronisation.
In gymnastics, the teacher sets three vaulting boxes of different heights and pupils pick one. Which style?
- Command
- Inclusion
- Reciprocal
- Guided discovery
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Inclusion
Several levels, pupil's choice: inclusion.
Reciprocal (C): what is it?
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Pupils work in pairs: one acts, the other observes and gives feedback against criteria.
It builds observation and communication.
Why use command style for spotting in gymnastics?
- It lets each pupil invent their own way to spot
- It leads pupils to the spotting technique through questions
- It hands correction of the action to a classmate
- Safety requires an exact action, done on signal
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Safety requires an exact action, done on signal
The style is chosen to fit the goal: when a mistake endangers a classmate, the teacher keeps the decisions.