In many ways, I have experienced the Tyler Rationale in my own schooling. The classes that first come to mind though are math. The way math classes were always structured were that we learned a concept, wrote a test on it, then moved onto the next concept. My teachers taught it one way only, the same way every lesson, regardless if it worked for the class or not. Being a student who was never the strongest at picking up math, I would have appreciated it if the teacher tried a different approach when the approach they were currently doing wasn’t working for me. It wasn’t till grade 9 when a teacher broke away from the Tyler Rationale and tried different approaches to teaching these concepts, and it was then math finally ‘clicked’ for me.

Unfortunately when using the Tyler Rationale there are some major limitations. First of all, it does not take into account any outside factors that might affect students learning. For example, if students have a different learning style or needs, those are not taken into account. It is also creating a more transmission based classroom where facts are presented, students are expected to know them, and then be able to regurgitate it on an exam. This limits students from be able to think critically, explore their own thoughts and ideas, and reflect which is also a large part in assessing students.

The Tyler Rationale also brings forward some potential benefits. The first one being that is has been used for a long time and has been proven to work. It provides an easy template for teachers where they know what needs to be taught, teach it, and then test it. However, even though this means less work for the teacher, taking the easier way is not beneficial. In my opinion, the limitations of the Tyler Rationale trump the benefits.