How best to teach; how best to learn

When it comes to teaching not all methods are equally effective. The same is true of learning. But which methods are best?

Recently the focus in terms of methods of teaching has been on the technology used to deliver the lesson.

And yet there is a huge amount of evidence to suggest that it is not the technology that makes one method of teaching better than another.

Rather, it is the method of teaching itself. Technology can make a difference, but it is not the prime difference.

What’s more, while a change in the method of teaching used to teach any specific subject or topic can have a benefit – that benefit won’t be maximised unless the students also get some help in understanding the best methods of learning that they ought to be using.

To put this another way, it is possible to deliver a lecture to a class using your voice on its own or your voice plus a diagram drawn on a chalkboard, displays on a whiteboard, a video, or anything else.

But the fact remains that whatever technical additions are used it is still a lecture.

Which is fine as long as the lecture is the best method of teaching the subject that you have in mind. If it isn’t, then the effectiveness of the lesson will still be dependent on the effectiveness of the lecture as a method of teaching.

Now, of course, most of the time we don’t lecture in class because we all know that lectures are fairly ineffective ways of teaching. But that still raises the question: what are the most effective ways of teaching?

And as we ask that question, we also have to ask, what implication does this have for the various methods of learning that the students then adopt?

These are the questions posed and answered by “Methods of Teaching”. The book has articles which can be shared with teaching colleagues, policy statements on methods of teaching, a review of methods of learning, and 22 articles on methods of learning that can, over time, be provided to students to help them organise their own learning.

There are also eight active learning assignments for the students plus a series of articles on memory which will explain how teaching and learning can be organised in such a way that the topics and issues under consideration will be retained in the memory for years to come.

The latest edition of “Methods of Teaching” is probably the most powerful book on teaching and learning available today. It is available both as a photocopy master and on CD (so that it can be put on the school’s learning platform or printed out from the disk).

Cat No: 978 1 86083 830 9 Order code: T1784emn – please quote with order.

Sample pages can be viewed at http://www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/education/T1784.pdf

  • Photocopiable book, £29.95 plus £3.95 delivery
  • CD with school-wide rights: £29.95 plus £3.95 delivery
  • Both the book and the CD £36.94 plus £3.95 delivery
  • Prices include VAT.

You can purchase the report…

Assertiveness For Young Adults

What is the best way to teach your students how to express themselves firmly without becoming aggressive?

A course in assertiveness training for students, aged 15 plus.

The ability to be assertive, to express themselves and their rights without violating the rights of others, will enhance your students confidence in themselves and their conduct in everyday situations, and improve their relationships with both peers and adults.

This course will give your students an understanding of assertion and the benefits it can bring. The skills they acquire will stand them in good stead in home, school, social and professional situations and will make them more likely to be successful candidates for jobs and/or university places.

The course consists of fourteen lessons each of which requires some class discussion and role play. Topics covered include: communicating feelings, resolving conflict, self-esteem, your rights, giving and receiving criticism, body language and saying ‘no’.

Sample pages are available here http://pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/pshe/T1294.pdf

Publisher’s reference: T1294EMN ISBN: 978 1 86083 381 6

Prices

  • Photocopiable report in a ring binder, £15.95 plus £3.95 delivery
  • CD with school-wide rights: £15.95 plus £3.95 delivery
  • Both the Ring Binder and the CD £22.94 plus £3.95 delivery

Prices include VAT.

You can purchase the report… please quote the order ref: T1294EMN