Teaching styles and methods have changed over the years, that is for certain. But no matter how much methods change, teachers will always have their own approaches to the way they teach.

Students will also continue to have preferences about which teaching methods work for them.

Mr. Randy Perkins, who teaches English and history, said that as a student, “I remember sitting at a desk filling out worksheets.”

As a teacher, he says he does things differently. “I try to have guys more involved,” he said. “I try to build in a fair amount of choice.”

Perkins strives to include all students. He said, “I started out with the idea I wanted learning to be more social.”

Ms. Missy Clay, a Trinity English teacher, also uses an approach different from the way she was taught, a method she described as “uninspiring. They just assigned work and picked it up.”

She said, “I like to use discussion. I like it when the students and I are interacting.”   

This appeals to many students, among them junior Gregory Lamb, who said what works for him is “PowerPoints and interacting with classmates. PowerPoints you can go over and highlight points.”

Clay said her style has evolved “because I’ve gotten better. I’ve learned so much from my students, I think it makes me a better teacher.”

Trinity history teacher Mr. Jay Cobb combines taking notes, lecture and an emphasis on technology.

While teachers have methods they prefer, making changes is sometimes necessary. Science teacher Mr. Patrick Heintz  “keeps an open mind for kids. If I have to, I’ll go away from my style.”

Heintz uses lectures, but tries to get the students involved. He said, “Direct instruction is best for kids.” He started this 16 years ago when he started teaching biotech, nanotech and chemistry.

Of his experiences as a student, Trinity English teacher Mr. John Kahl said teachers lectured more, classes were more content driven, and things had to be accomplished before students could move on to something else. Kahl described his teachers as his “role models. I model myself after how they handled themselves in the classroom.”

Kahl said learning to teach requires experience in the classroom. He said, “Teacher training tells you how to do forms. They don’t tell you how to teach.”

Kahl said being willing to adapt and make education relevant are important aspects to teaching. He said students need to see a purpose and a reason to the classroom.

Students expressed preferences in the way they are taught. Trinity Junior Nick Craven said, “I’m a visual learner. When (art teacher) Mr. (Shayne) Hull does a demonstration with the art work, I feel I have a better perspective.”

Asked how he thinks his teachers could improve the use of PowerPoints, he said, “A lot of my teachers use  PowerPoints, and sometimes I don’t fully understand. I just feel like there’s a missing element.” One suggestion he had was to “make a worksheet to go along with it, with lines from the PowerPoint.”

Junior Jacob Steele said “a class that’s balanced between homework and tests” 40 percent to 60 percent works best for him. Steele said that instead of teachers saying a class is hard they should teach students “how to make it easy.”

Steele said he thinks about this often because “I want to be a teacher. I think of different ways of explaining things.”

Check out this video by Hunter Mulloy. Mr. Randy Perkins, who teaches English and history, talks about his teaching style.