The Tetrahedral Model of Teaching and Learning
Taking a Broad Look at What Affects a Teacher's Effectiveness
The Tetrahedral Model of teaching and learning combines learner characteristics, learner actions, instructional events and criterial tasks. These four parts work together and interrelate on every point, effecting both the teacher, the student and the amount of learning that takes place in the classroom.
Learner Characteristics
The teacher cannot change some learner characteristics such as students’ age, gender, whether or not they have a disability, and what prior knowledge they have procured. On the other hand, the teacher can change the student’s motivation towards learning, which is another characteristic of the learner. These learner characteristics tie into their actions in the classroom.
Learner Actions
Learner actions are those things that the student has the ability to do. This includes paying attention, engaging in learning activities and how meaningfully they process new information presented to them. One example of a learner action is note-taking. This shows that they are paying attention to the information and processing it in a meaningful way. The learner actions students choose in your classroom will directly affect the instructional events that take place.
Instructional Events
Instructional events refer to the environment in which learning takes place. This environment includes the instructional materials used, whether or not the student feels safe and the emotional and physical climate of the classroom. Teachers should ensure that they not only use appropriate materials in their lessons, but also take steps to make each student feel safe and welcome in their classroom.
The interaction between the teacher and students is another huge part of instructional events. The teacher can make or break the classroom environment and the experience that the children have. Excitement is contagious and the more interested the teacher is, the more engaged the students will become. The types of instructional events chosen by the teacher directly impacts the type of criterial tasks that are used.
Criterial Tasks
The criterial task is the assessment or lack of assessment of material learned in the classroom. This can include a test, a demonstration of a new skill, or any other type of assessment of information learned. The lack of assessment is also included here as no assessment at all can make a difference in the overall learning experience of a child.
The four pieces of the tetrahedral model of teaching interrelate with each other. For example, students’ characteristics play into what they will learn, how they react to instructional events in the classroom, and their response to different types of assessment. Learner characteristics, learner actions, instructional events and criterial tasks play a part in the learning of each student in classrooms all over the world. Understanding this will help teachers become more effective in their jobs.
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Learning from the Tetrahedral Model
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