FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• Are the teaching styles different from other teaching methods or approaches?
• Are there only eleven Teaching Styles?
• Can you use more than one teaching style during a lesson?
• Is the Spectrum only applicable to Physical Education?

Yes and no. All teaching methods or approaches attempt to support an educational intent that benefits learning.  However, the Spectrum is unique in its "decision making" framework. This framework makes possible the delineation of eleven landmark teaching-learning styles, the identification of the specific learning objectives in each teaching option, and the detailed application procedures for implementation of each teaching-learning option.  The Spectrum is a system that embraces a range of teaching-learning options.  No one behavior is more valued than another—each contributes a portion to the mission and goals of education.

The Spectrum provides a unique and unified framework for studying and codifying teaching and learning.  The Spectrum’s framework of decision making can be applied to any teaching-learning situation or theory.  

No, there are an infinite number of teaching styles along the Spectrum, each with its own "Anatomy" and its own "O-T-L-O" (set of objectives, specific decision making expectations for the teacher and learners, and outcomes). The eleven identified teaching styles are referred to as "Landmark Styles" along what is a continuum from teacher making all decisions to learner making all decisions. Because each Landmark Style is significantly different from the other teaching styles in decisions and objectives, they perform a learning demarcation function. Within each style’s decision structure and between each style an infinite array of varied and deliberate teaching-learning options exist. The decision structure provides teachers with the opportunity to deliberately design learning experiences to accomplish desired learning outcomes.

A lesson is a period of time which is typically defined by the school.  Within a lesson, Spectrum teachers will break the lesson time into one or more "episodes". Each episode is designed to highlight different learning objectives. Spectrum teachers will typically prepare a series of episodes for a lesson designed to achieve a specific set of learning objectives. As Spectrum teachers become more skilled and confident, they may have several episodes operating concurrently.

No, the Spectrum of Teaching Styles can be used with any subject matter, grade, or ability designation. It was originally discovered and developed by Muska Mosston in Physical Education, his first field.  Physical education offered Muska a visual laboratory to observe thinking and learning.  In 1973-1980 Mosston and Ashworth received a Federal grant that provided them the opportunity to expand and implement the Spectrum in all subject matter fields and grades in the public school classrooms in New Jersey.  Many classroom teachers have successfully implemented the Spectrum in their classrooms.  The universal and comprehensive decision making framework of the Spectrum is applicable to all content areas, grades, and learner designation.  The Spectrum has received world-wide recognition since its discovery in 1966.  The Spectrum ideas have been translated into Greek, Spanish, French, Korean, Finnish, and Japanese.