What Teachers Need to Know About Teaching Methods

A teaching method is characterised by a set of principles, procedures or strategies to be implemented by teachers to achieve desired learning in students. These principles and procedures are determined partly by the nature of the subject matter to be taught, and partly by our beliefs or theories about how students learn. The period from the 1970s to 2000 saw a sudden growth in educational research exploring the effects of different approaches to teaching. Simultaneously, research in the field of psychology was continuing its investigations into how humans learn - how they acquire knowledge, how they process information, how they develop skills and strategies, how they think and reason. Gradually, evidence from these two separate fields of research has started to coalesce. Now, the appropriateness and efficacy of a particular teaching method can he considered in relation to the type of learning it is supposed to bring about, and in relation to characteristics of the learners. Research into methods is, of course, continuing: and debates arising from different theories of learning and how these impact upon methods are still occupying the pages of many educational psychology journals. This text aims to bring the current evidence and the debates into the hands of all teachers. [pp.v-vi, ed]. What Teachers Need to Know About Teaching Methods explains the different theories of teaching and learning, together with their underlying principles and methods. It defines the role of a teacher in the learning process and looks at the latest research on what contributes to effective practice. Teaching Methods deals with important key issues and provides a wealth of references for further study and exploration in the subject. What Teachers Need to Know about Teaching Methods explains the different theories of teaching and learning, together with their underlying principles and methods. The book defines the role of a teacher in the learning process and looks at the latest research on what contributes toward effective practice. It deals with important key issues and provides a wealth of references for further study and exploration in the subject. "'Teaching Methods' explains the different theories of teaching and learning, together with their underlying principles and methods. It defines the role of a teacher in the learning process and looks at the latest research on what contributes to effective practice. 'Teaching Methods' deals with important key issues and provides a wealth of references for further study and exploration in the subject." - back cover 9780864319128 Contents 4 Preface 6 1 Conceptualising learning and teaching 8 2 Direct teaching methods 23 3 Student-centred methods 33 4 Teaching methods 46 5 Effective teaching 63 6 Assessment of learning 78 7 The gap between research and practice 89 References 96 Index 108