Inductive vs. Deductive

As an English teacher with students who are several grade levels behind in reading and writing, I feel an almost desperate sense that no time can be wasted within the walls of my classroom. For this reason, I rely much more heavily on deductive instruction rather than inductive.

The strength of deductive instruction is that it allows the instructor to explain materials at a more rapid rate. This gives me the opportunity to share knowledge with the students rather than waiting for them to find the answer. The con is that some studies have shown that inductive reasoning is more effective when it comes to retention rates: but so far, in my classroom, deductive instruction has proven effective based on scores from various assignments.

Inductive instruction works great, but I feel it it more beneficial to science and math teachers. With inductive instruction, students find the rule after going through several examples. They make arguments based on observation rather than rules. Science experiments and mathematical theorems lend well to this style of instruction. English maxims in some cases also can be taught in this way: for instance, I did use inductive reasoning to teach the five parts of a sentence. In general, though, I find deductive to be a quicker, smoother, and simpler mode of instruction.