A critical review on what effective teaching and learning are

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Marie Swain -9500152402J                    EPS Formal Assignment                                       Roland Machin

Keele University

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Name:        Marie Swain                                                EPS Tutor: Roland Machin

Date:   16/04/2007        

Course Task Title:  EPS Formal Assignment

        

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EPS Formal Assignment

A critical review on what effective teaching and learning are.

by

Marie Swain

EPS Tutor: Roland Machin

Word Count: 3291


Table of Contents

     


EPS Formal Assignment

A critical review on what effective teaching and learning are.

  1. Introduction

This report will critically, review, evaluate and reflect on what effective teaching and learning are. In order to complete the report research was carried out in the form of intensive reading, observations of practice within my placement schools, and from discussions with other teachers in secondary schools.

After the research, I will conclude my findings in the report that follows, under the following headings:

  • What is effective teaching?        
  • What is effective learning?        
  • Research into the theory of effective teaching and learning                
  • Implications of the research on future teaching practice        


  1. What is effective teaching?

To define what one means by effective teaching is a difficult task, firstly because of the difficulty of measuring it, recognising it, and that you could end up with an endless list. There are so many definitions and views from educators, mostly of which are activities or behaviours by teachers which are deemed “effective teaching”. One definition by Shanoski and Hranitz (1992) summaries that an effective teacher has:

“enthusiasm in their work, take care of the students and work cooperatively with parents. In terms of professional development, the effective teacher usually is interested in following the education journals and books, attending and presenting in conferences, and workshops in their field. Effective teachers are interested in participating on most committees in the school and in the community around the school, able to know the students needs and supporting the individual differences, possessing high expectation, encourages the students to be optimistic about their ability, able to increase students’ motivation, use different teaching strategies, have good communication skills, loves their students and knowledgeable knowledge about their subject and subject matter”. (Shanoski & Hranitz, 1992)

This definition was used because unlike other definitions, it considers that to be effective you must include parents and the schools community, professional development, keeping up-to-date, as well as interaction with the students. Whereas, most other definitions look at how successful the quality of teaching is for the learner. This is the approach that Ofsted takes, according to an Ofsted  inspectors report (2000) effective teaching is to be “judged in terms of its impact on pupils' learning and what makes it successful or not” and “how well pupils learn and make progress” (ibid).  The Ofsted opinion only takes into consideration the impact on pupils and is very limited in terms of what the teacher has to do to be effective, although learning is linked to effective teaching.


  1. What is effective learning?

Effective learning is clearer to measure or define than teaching, because with learning there is something that can be assessed at the end, to see if pupils have learnt, and how effective the learning has been. According to Biggs and Moore (1993) effective learning “actively involves the student in meta-cognitive processes of planning, monitoring and reflecting”. This emphasises that the student has to be actively involved, and that whatever has been learnt should not just be a case of receiving the information, that the student must monitor and reflect for the learning to be effective.

 

A more detailed definition by Ofsted (2000), that Inspectors consider effective learning to the extent to which pupils:

  • acquire new knowledge or skills, develop ideas and increase their understanding;
  • apply intellectual, physical or creative effort in their work; are productive and work at a good pace;
  • show interest in their work, are able to sustain concentration and think and learn for themselves;
  • understand what they are doing, how well they have done and how they can improve.

This definition from Ofsted is very clear to what they expect from pupils if learning is to be effective. It is also valuable to teachers to remember to ensure that pupils’ learn effectively. This definition takes account of all aspects of learning, how the pupils engages in the learning, how they can improve, and incorporates all the elements of the previous definition, but in more detail. The Ofsted definition links to how to be an effective teacher, because it helps us to identify the processes, qualities and contexts that can enable teachers to have positive relationships with their pupils, and consequently be effective teachers.

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  1. Research into the theory of effective teaching and learning

I will now present evidence to what is effective teaching and learning, and how they link, as in the Ofsted definitions. I will suggest how you can become an effective teacher and how to ensure effective learning. Throughout I will make links with my placement school and my own experiences.

In order to pursue what we mean by effective it is helpful to firstly have a definition. Emery (2007) defines effective as “having an effect; able to bring about the result intended”. This definition helps us ...

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