Teaching strategies for effective learning (1)

Teaching strategies for effective learning (1)

1. to apply understanding of education to improving teaching practices issues must be adressed

   • defining goals and structure
   • using appropriate teaching strategies
   • assesing students
   • evaluating teaching
   • educational development & accountability

2. problems with current methods

   • good teaching encourages students to relate to subject matter in purposful way
     • encourage deep learning
       • hard
       • help students become aware of conceptions, highlight inconsistancies in learner conceptions, focus on the central issues most problematic to student, integrate knowing how with knowing what,
       • teacher must be able to reflect
     • discourage surface approach
       • often hard in context of institution
       • avoid excessive workload and time pressure, dont set assesement which test recall, give value to any attempt at understanding, avoid any cynical comments
   • good teaching
     • intensive student interaction with content, clear curriculum, engagement of interest, cooperative, responsible choice, lecturer concern for students, teachers commitment

3. teaching methods

   • involve students in actively finding knowledge, interpreting results and hypothesis testing

4. Problems with lectures

   • normally prominant teaching method
   • Argued that they transmit information at relatively low cost
   • get info into students short term memory, better when inc arousal
     • when knowing is seen as an inc in information
   • no more economical than some other methods
   • no more effective at conveying information
   • ground may be covered by lecturer but this doesnt mean it is by the student
   • students often complain about poor structuring, overloading and confusion
   • students usually passive
   • Why we continue to use them
     • unaware of alternatives
     • work with underdeveloped theories of teaching
     • enjoy sense of power
     • what students expect
   • shouldnt get rid of lectures but should do them well and less, combining with other methods

5. problems with small group

   • <30 student, participation expected
   • normally used to supplement lecturing
   • often delegated
   • difficulties
     • teacher gives another lecture and does not allow for dialogue
     • teacher talks too much
     • students wont talk enough
     • students not prepared
     • one student dominates
     • students want solutions given
   • seminar types
     • related directly to course of lecture
       • students embarassed to say they have not uncerstood
     • one student reads a paper
       • this student embarassed and others see it as not their problem

6. problems with computer and media

   • failure to articulate principles for designing teaching methods effectively yet
   • used in passive way
   • naive technological determinism
   • just present information for memorisation
     • rewards surface learning
   • should be used to create oppertunity for conversation
   • often reduces quality of learning
   • can be used well to allow students to work through in their own prefered way

7. problems with textbooks

   • normally focus on how student can read better but dont check quality of what they are reading
   • hard to distinguish what is important from not
     • excessive workload
     • adopt superficial approach to all
   • if selected then may not be clear to students why they have to read them
   • language used is often at wrong level making it hard to understand

8. Problems with practical and clinical work

   • aims
     • develop understanding of scientific enquiry
     • learn relevant skills
     • learn info
     • develop capacity for independant problem solving
     • connections between theory and practical
     • develop professional attitude
   • expensive
   • can be adressed in different ways
   • negitive attitues from students until their final years
   • take for granted that students will learn the things they do
   • a lot of the work has often already been done by the author