Overview

• ‘Education now occurs as an increasingly global environment and classrooms have learners and educators from all around the world, coming together and reshaping the face of higher education, and these multicultural classrooms of the 21st century obligate fresh pedagogical considerations and approaches that ensure the success of the culturally diverse classroom, both on the level of pedagogical theory and practice, and which underscores the success of education in the 21st century’ (Schwieger, Gros and Barberan, 2010). 
• The culture of learning, or the set of learning-teaching norms and practices is community may be fairly community specific (Mallia, 2016). This has to be distinguished from the culture in learning, also community specific, refers to that in the backdrop of anecdotes, scenarios, personalities and examples used to embed and facilitate learning (Ibid, 2016). 
• The teaching-learning process involves many aspects, some defined an some nuanced and generally influenced by ‘the culture of learning’ i.e. social expectations. For example, the way in which ideas, concepts, information and experiences are initially presented and developed may vary and can follow an inductive or a deductive approach.
• Sik (2014) defines inductive instruction as an approach where learners are first given educational challenges and through these specific principles are evolved. 
• In deductive instruction the teacher introduces a topic by using teacher-fronted and led exposition of information and therefore deductive instruction uses ideologies to facilitate the development of learner- understanding, opportunities to practice in follow up activities, and allow learners to autonomously self-evaluate their abilities during analogous assessments (Machila et al., 2018). 

This work "teens in a circle " by Jean Pierre Vaillancourt Cassar is licensed under All rights reserved

Background and over-arching objectives

I am an education specialist in the fields of language, pedagogy and tourism with the Institute of Tourism Studies and therefore extended my services by coordinating, developing materials and delivering theses mobilities.

• The Institute of Tourism Studies [ITS, E10075516], Malta [its.edu.mt] sent me as part of its process of internationalisation via KA171 mobilities for seven days in May 2024 to Ilia State University, [ISU] Tbilisi, Georgia [E10208135] [https://iliauni.edu.ge/en/], and seven days in October 2023 to Tafila Technical University [TTU], Tafila, Jordan [E10157092] [https://www.ttu.edu.jo/en/], The main aim of these staff  training mobilities was to explore how organizing teaching materials and pedagogical practices based on the deductive-inductive paradigm may influence the teaching-learning process.
• ISU is in Tbilisi, Georgia in the Caucasus region, and was formerly part of the Soviet Union. While English as a useful international language has made good inroads, more progress would further facilitate the academic environment of universities and the prospects of their graduates. Georgia is well known internationally for its wine, and together with its cuisine, rich religious heritage and monuments, stunning landscapes and welcoming people, has all the ingredients of an up-and-coming tourism destination. In addition, it is incredibly good value for money incredibly friendly people and a delicious cuisine await visitors. It is also safe and affordable.
• TTU is in the Tafila, the centre of Jordan, and generally out of the tourist circuit with the exception of it being a convenient entry point f Jordan is a well-established tourist destination, with Petra being arguably the Middle East’s most recognizable tourist site. Of late the waxing and waning political instability of the region has made it somewhat less popular. Over-tourism in the better-known sites has also spoilt much of the charm and fascination of the very places that put Jordan on the tourist trail. Overdevelopment and desertification have also lessened the general charm of the landscape, in addition to making life in rural areas considerably more challenging.
• Needs analysis discussed between IST and ITS, and TTU and ITS initially identified the need for creating bespoke learner-centered models of pedagogy to assure that learners with ‘additional-needs’ [distinct from special-needs learners] have equal opportunities in the classroom and may reach their full potential [ISU, TTU]
• ‘Inductive and deductive approaches apply to the way ideas are organized, generally during reasoning, but also specifically while teaching’ (Glaser, 2013).Hence this approach is also a rationale behind organizing pedagogical strategies. 
• From your experience, could this strategy be efficacious when teaching a mixed-profile class of learners?
• Learner-centeredness being increasingly prioritized in teaching world-wide, but being able to categorise learners into ‘inductive’ or ‘deductive’, while still considering their habitual ‘culture of learning’ has both theoretical and practical advantages. The deductive approach may appear to be teacher-centered and not interactive, may appear to  not encourage creativity, and also possibly to not facilitate free-thinking. 
• Will the inductive approach therefore automatically be the better option in most or all situations ?
• In the teaching-learning process, downstream, it could also provide a framework of how ideas are organized into answers by the learner.
• Has this been your experience when interacting in your higher education institutions?

On-site bottom-up feedback

• Dialogue with learners, educators and management at ISU immediately placed emphasis on the importance of publications in English to help internationalize the profile of the university. This is in keeping with the rationale of the university targeting journals that use English as their language of communication, as opposed to their previous quasi-exclusive focus on Russian journals.  
• Conversely, dialogue with learners, educators and management at TTU underscored the importance  Business English and English for special purposes [Tourism English];
• Facilitation of bilateral exchange of educators and learners was also important for both ISU and TTU.

My personal mobility-objectives while teaching and training on field-dependent learners and field-independent learners.

• Classroom observation that allowed me to better understand the teaching-learning process taking place in two highly different socio-cultural realities was one of my main personal objectives to be achieved during these mobilities. Observing if the inductive or the deductive approaches tended to predominate, or where and how they did would allow me to give back valuable feedback on the possible introduction of pedagogical strategies based on this paradigm [ISU AND TTU].
• Have you considered these specific pedagogical practices anywhere in the world and how successful do you feel developing this type of understanding was in the classroom?
• In Georgia I also wanted to explore local views on the potential of developing and diversifying tourism in a manner that it could use different resources and parts of the country, in addition to sharing the benefits more uniformly across the country [ISU]. 
• In Jordan I was mainly interested in finding a grassroots reaction to over-tourism in the country, particularly in the ‘tourism hot-spots. I also wanted to explore how rampant development [housing, industry etc] was having an effect on tourism and the general standard of living for ordinary Jordanians [TTU]. 
• A fourth objective was the challenge of exploring the possibility of ensuring that English language professors had the necessary knowledge skills and competencies to ensure that their tourism and hospitality [business and economics] students received the best possible training on how to write academically in English [ISU and TTU]. 

Modus operandi and over-arching impressions during this mobility

The way in which our mobilities having education with a pedagogical perspective were carried-out, in as much as possible, was fairly standardized to facilitate cross-comparisons and analogies. Specifically, the following paradigms were being explored with   various KA171 mobility partners: inductive-deductive, explicit-implicit and field independent-field dependent.

Therefore, the use of inductive-deductive strategies involved, at both ISU and TTU, a mix of lectures, presentations, and interactive workshops with professors from various departments and their graduate students. The broad range of activities ensured getting the broadest range of experiences in limited time. 

Additionally, I also job-shadowed undergraduate and postgraduate classes for students being conducted by in-house professors to help understand the pedagogical reality and also the level of English. This was done prior to offering the following workshops and master-classes to in-house professors: 

[1] Interactive workshops on experimenting on the acceptability of different approaches to presenting information via inductive or deductive approaches and the effect on learner-inclusion, and learning in general were conducted. 

Classroom observation also helped understand the teaching-learning process taking place in two different societies and how the inductive or the deductive approaches tended to predominate. Indeed, deductive instruction and organization of teaching materials was the norm for both ISU and TTU. 

Feedback to teaching staff, followed by my demonstration lessons guides on how to make deductive approach lessons more interactive and encourage critical thinking. In addition, inductive strategies were also demonstrated following presentations and workshops held [ISU and TTU].

• What has your experience been in observing [or practicing] inductive -deductive approaches in the classroom?

[2] Presentations, interactive workshops and field visits allowed for the  exploration in Georgia of the potential of developing and diversifying tourism in a manner that it could use different resources and parts of the country and make a broad social impact [ISU]. 

• What has your experience been in developing sustainable tourism and niche tourism?

[3] Presentations and interactive workshops also explored over-tourism in Jordan, and how this was affecting the quality of life for the average Jordanian, such as greater expenses for food, housing etc, and the effects due to over-development and its effect on tourism was also discussed and the need for sustainable and restorative types of tourism were explored [TTU]. 

• What has your experience been in over-tourism and the views towards limiting tourism?

[4] Master classes on how to write a paper for publication [ISU] and English for  tourism business [TTU] were conducted, followed by feeding sessions focusing on both the content, and the pedagogical style.

• How has your experience teaching academic English or ESP varied according to the cultural mix of your learners?

[5] Feedback and interactive workshops explored the challenges encountered by educators in their continued professional development opportunities for improving their academic English. In addition to providing some immediate solutions, strategies on how to prepare future mobilities with these priorities were outlined to ensure that hospitality [business and economics] educators received the best possible training on how to write academically in English [ISU and TTU]. 

Conclusions from this mobility: ‘inductive’ and ‘deductive’ pedagogical models observations and characteristics

[1] the inductive-deductive paradigm was novel to educators in both ISU and  TTU;

[2] Deductive strategies appeared more intuitive and indeed were those in practice; this is not surprising as the context of learning in both Georgia and Jordan align closely to this;

[3] Ways to make learning  more student-centered during deductive sessions were explored. There is a lot needed in this area to ensure creativity, critical thinking skills an learner-learner discursive and social skills;

[4] The novel use if inductive approaches was enjoyed greatly by leaners and also by educators, thought the issue of digression and time-management were raised;

[5] The use of meaningful context, in these cases tourism and hospitality challenges and opportunities in Georgia [ISU] and Jordan [TTU], respectively, encouraged genuine educator-learner and learner-learner interaction;

[6] Regular monitoring of learner-groups ensured they were on-track particularly during inductive sessions; post-task feedback from learners was useful for me to regulate upcoming tasks during the same lesson and future ones; 

[7] As done in previous mobilities based on exploring pedagogy, I regularly used concept-checking questions to ensure all learners were on-track, and by arranging theory/practice/feedback in suitable inductive or deductive patters; this helped novel concepts and skills effectively be transferred to learners’ cognitive structures - I was tapping into cognitive-theory learning;

[8] In point [7] above, cognitivism elements were presented via the use of cues (prompts), and practicing, which ensured a strong stimulus-response association. 

Future focus

A second Erasmus+ mobility [KA171-HED-60709EED] to other universities in both Georgia and Jordan ensured, among other mobility priorities, that experiences and knowledge generated by these mobilities would be shared. 

In addition to other Erasmus+ mobilities have been planned [KA171-HED-E7B2858C] will facilitate ITS to conduct mobilities with partner countries in Cape Verde, Ghana, Kenya and Tunisia] to disseminate and achieve impact via the exploration of the success and limitations of various pedagogical strategies, including inductive and deductive strategies, in various learning communities worldwide. 

Educators and higher education institutions with an interest in these educational experiences are therefore solicited to interact via this platform.  

In addition to the above, ITS also will gain additional knowledge on tackling the teaching of these subjects through inductive and deductive strategies, implicit- explicit, and field dependent -field independent based methods should, in tandem help generate a teaching-learning environment that should be cutting-edge when it comes to learner equity.

About the author

I am an education specialist focusing on the challenges and opportunities of the teaching-learning process of adults coming from different socio-cultural and discourse communities worldwide. My PhD explored differences in learning strategies based on ethnicity and culture in Egypt and Nubia.

I have organized and delivered projects worldwide, and in addition to completed and ongoing mobilities and projects in Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, Togo, Sudan, Jordan, Mauritius, Georgia, Armenia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, have ongoing projects in various countries across Europe, Africa and Asia. We would be delighted to share experiences and viewpoints or organize new ones with you.

Additional reading

Atta, M.A., Ayaz, M. & Kamaruddin, AY. (2020). The effectiveness of experiential learning.  Experiential learning from academic and industry perspectives. Journal of critical reviews 7 [12]

Erlam, R. (2003). The Effects of Deductive and Inductive Instruction on the Acquisition of Direct Object Pronouns in French as a Second Language. The Modern Language Journal,87 (2), 242-260. https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-4781.00188. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1540-4781.00188

Glaser, K. (2013). The neglected combination: a case for explicit-inductive instruction in teaching pragmatics in ESL. TESL Canada Journal 30 [7]

Kumar, R. (2006). Students’ experiences of home–school dissonance: The role of school academic culture and perceptions of classroom goal structures. Contemporary Educational Psychology.31(3), 253-279

Mallia, J.G. (2014). Inductive and Deductive Approaches to teaching English Grammar. Arab World English Journal, 5(2), 221 -235. Available at: http://www.awej.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=495:joseph-george-mallia&catid=49&Itemid=152

Mallia, J. G. (2016). Teaching Grammar in non-Western Educational Settings: An Enquiry on Evidenced-Based Teaching Approaches. Arab World English Journal, 7(2). DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol7no2.2

Machila, N., Sompa, M. & Muleya, G (2018). Teachers’ Understanding and Attitudes Towards Inductive and Deductive Approaches to Teaching Social Sciences. Multidisciplinary Journal of Language and Social Sciences Education, 1(2). Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333982556_Teachers_Understanding_and_Attitudes_Towards_Inductive_and_Deductive_Approaches_to_Teaching_Social_Sciences

Yilmaz, F. (2016). Multiculturalism and multicultural education: A case study of teacher candidates’ perceptions. Journal of Cogent Education, 3(1)