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Teaching requires careful planning based on the needs of stu-

dents, but it is inuenced by many other components as well.

At a whole-school level, curriculum planning determines the

focus taken in particular subjects; consideration is also given to

the number of hours allocated to teaching specic content. This

is then translated into units of work, with each unit broken down

further into lessons and activities, within which there are specic teaching and

learning strategies that will be used to develop students’ knowledge and under-

standing of particular concepts, rules, facts or generalisations.

The planning for successful teaching and learning encompasses four major

areas:

• content

• environment

• products

• processes.

Content is what is to be taught, determined by the mandates of Departments of

Education, the school’s requirements and the needs of students. The content

used to structure a lesson may be selected by teachers, as it forms part of the

curriculum within the syllabus documents of a particular education authority.

Teachers often have choices about the areas they want to develop, and can

select from a range of content. There are also mandatory areas of investigation

for students at particular year levels that must be covered. Content that closely

relates to a particular school may also be selected for learning and teaching

activities, so that a unit of work can be developed to facilitate students’ under-

standing of that area. There may be a closer focus on some content because

it relates to the students’ interests, and therefore will keep them motivated

tolearn.

Introduction

Education is the ability to listen

to almost anything without

losing your temper or your

self-condence.

– Robert Frost (1960)

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2 Teaching and Learning Strategies

The environment is where teaching and learning takes place, but it is important to

note that it includes both the physical and psychological environments. The physical

environment is the one we can see – the desks, chairs, wall displays and the light in

the room. The physical space can easily be modi ed to make it more appealing and

suitable for the different ages and stages of the students. The psychological environment

is sometimes less evident. It relates to the ways in which the students interact in the

classroom, their level of security, and the personal feelings they have in relation to their

peers and being a member of the classroom. The strategy of grouping is part of the

learning environment, and groups are set up by the teacher and students in the class.

Products are a demonstration by the students of the content that has been

learned over a period of time and the learning strategies that were used. Products

require a range of skills, and are classi ed as written, visual, oral, kinaesthetic or a

combination of one or more types (see Figure 0.1 ). When planning, a teacher may

determine the  nal product or, in consultation with the students, they may select

how they would like to demonstrate the understanding that has been gained.

Processes develop the ways in which the teaching and learning occur. These

teaching and learning strategies bring together the three other components of the

lesson (content, environment and products) to ensure that understanding takes

place (see Figure 0.2 ).

Creative productivity

Kinaesthetic

Products

Visual

Poster

Photograph

Graphic

Image

Oral

Public speaking

Poetry reading

Monologue

Dialogue

Radio play

Written

Poem

Prose

Speech

Article

Viewpoint

Model

Diorama

Sculpture

Puppet

Figure 0.1 Types of products

SYNONYMS FOR THE WORD ‘TEACH’

• advise

• coach

• demonstrate

• develop

• explain

• educate

• instruct

• lecture

• prepare

• show

• train

• tutor

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Introduction 3

As lessons are developed to meet the needs of the students by determining

the most suitable content, processes, products and learning environment, a com-

prehensive knowledge and understanding of teaching and learning strategies

are essential to ensure all lessons are effective and lead to successful outcomes.

Teaching and learning strategies can be used individually or in combination in

every lesson or activity that has been planned. Once a decision has been made

about the content and objectives of a lesson, the most appropriate strategies

should be selected.

The strategies discussed in this book relate to the processes that both the

teacher and students will use to cover particular content, and to assist in the cre-

ation of products that will help students demonstrate their understanding through

the development of a suitable learning environment. For successful teaching and

learning to occur, it is imperative that both the students and the teacher are famil-

iar with each of the strategies used. In this book, details are given about each strat-

egy on three levels, as illustrated in Figure 0.3.

Processes

Content Environment Products

Mandatory

School

based

Syllabus

documents

Interest

based

Physical

Psycho-

logical

Oral Visual Written

Kinaesthetic

Figure 0.2 The links between content, products, environment and processes

teacher uses the

strategy within a

teaching activity

•

with

teacher engages

students in how

to use the

strategy

about

• teacher asks the

students to use

the strategy

for

•

Figure 0.3 The links between with, about and for levels in

using teaching and learning strategies

Teaching with, about and for strategies

The chapters in this book are presented in a way that will enable you to work

through the activities and learn about each strategy by engaging in it, then con-

sidering how you could use the strategy in your teaching and learning. You are

encouraged to add your own ideas as you use each strategy, and to record the

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4 Teaching and Learning Strategies

ways students work with the various strategies. This information forms the about

components of teaching and learning strategy planning, but it also highlights the

with and for aspects. The strategies are not presented in a hierarchical manner;

however, the strategy of observation covered in Chapter 1 is the foundation upon

which all the other strategies must be built. It is also important to note that the

strategies should not be implemented one at a time, but rather woven into the

overall planning of the curriculum. We will now examine each of these three com-

ponents (illustrated in Figure 0.3 ) in more detail.

• With. Each day, in your teaching, you are using different strategies to present

information to the students, to make your lessons interesting and to moti-

vate them to learn. You might use storytelling, ask questions, share ideas and

demonstrate. When using one of these strategies, you don’t stop to explain

how you will use it – you just go ahead and do it. For this to work, it is necessary

to have an in-depth knowledge of the procedure that needs to be followed so

that you can provide an excellent demonstration or explanation. So the  rst

step in your learning is to know all about every possible teaching and learning

strategy so that you can effectively implement the most appropriate strategy

in any given learning situation.

• About. This level is concerned with knowing about the actual teaching

and learning strategy. It involves understanding the components of the

strategy, what the important aspects are and, in some cases, who uses

the strategy. Once you have a comprehensive knowledge of the strategy,

you can use it in your teaching and engage students by showing them

how to use it in their learning. This involves identifying speci c attributes

of the strategy and ways to develop them. The students therefore need

to be taught the stages of each strategy in order to effectively utilise it,

and should develop a similar understanding of the strategy to that of the

teacher. The about level is the most important, and it should come  rst in

a teacher’s understanding of teaching and learning strategies. It is vital to

know as much as possible about the strategy before using it in teaching,

to enable you to subsequently set up an effective learning situation for

students.

• For. When a particular strategy is selected, the teacher then plans lessons

that will ensure the students use the strategy in learning within a range of

curriculum areas and types of activities. In the  rst instance, the strategy

would be used with content that was familiar to the students, so they would

be scaffolded in their learning before progressing to new and novel content.

A central challenge for the education system is to  nd ways of embedding

learning in a range of meaningful contexts, where students can use their

knowledge and skills creatively to make an impact on the world around them.

(Seltzer & Bentley 1999 , p.viii)

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Introduction 5

Many people are involved in the process of planning teaching and learning, and it

is carried out over different periods of time and for different purposes. As a result,

a variety of learning experiences arise:

• non-educational : experiences that are simply undergone and have no signi -

cant effect on the individual in one way or another

• mis-educational : experiences that thwart or hamper the ability to have further

experiences

• educational : experiences that contribute to the individual’s growth – an extension

of human intelligence (Eisner 1994 , p.37). We must aim to make the experiences

educational at all times to encourage development of students’ intelligence.

Basics underpinning good teaching

All teaching has three areas that need to be considered:

• the presentation of the teaching

• the resources used, and

• how these are related to the knowledge of the content and processes (discussed

in this book).

These components are illustrated in Figure 0.4 .

The presentation relates to the sort of person

you are in the classroom – your teaching person-

ality. This encompasses your style, your voice, eye

contact and body language – all of which contrib-

ute to how effective you are as a teacher. From

your own experience in learning, you will recall

some of your teachers easily for their particu-

lar attributes. Perhaps they were stern and kept

a strict classroom, or they had a good sense of

humour. These attributes contributed to the type

of teacher they were and how well they taught

so you could learn. Be aware of your capabilities

THE STRATEGIES

• observation

• narration

• discussion

• explanation

• questioning

• demonstration

• application

• experimenting

• discovery

• gaining feedback

• graphic organisers

• grouping

• checklists

• rubrics

Resources Presentation

Knowledge

Figure 0.4 The basics underpin-

ning good teaching

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Teaching and Learning Strategies

in teaching and know how you can use your ‘teacher’ personality

to ensure your students are fully engaged in the learning process.

The types of resources you choose to use are also part of your per-

sonality. What do you feel comfortable using? Are you at home with

new information technologies, or do you prefer face-to-face discus-

sion with your students? Would you work with groups using differ-

ent resources at different times, or utilise them simultaneously?

The availability of resources may also inuence what happens in your classroom.

The third component is the knowledge you have of the content, processes, prod-

ucts and learning environment that will be used in the teaching and learning. The

rmer your foundation of knowledge from which to plan and prepare for the stu-

dents, the better. Also paramount is the pre-existing knowledge of each student in

your class, so you can meet their educational needs in each discipline area. You

need to be able to challenge them individually as well as challeng-

ing the whole class. Knowledge informs the effective planning,

implementation and evaluation of teaching and learning, as illus-

trated in Figure 0.5.

References and further reading

Eisner, E. (1994). The educational imagination. New York: Macmillan.

Frost, R. (1960). Untitled article in Readers Digest, April.

Seltzer, K. & Bentley, T. (1999). The creative age: Knowledge and skills for the new

economy. London: Demos.

Knowledge

Planning

Implementation

Evaluation

Figure 0.5 Knowledge informing the planning, implementation

and evaluation of teaching

You can’t teach people every-

thing they need to know. The

best you can do is position

them where they can nd what

they need to know when they

need to know it.

– Seymour Papert

Teachers are never appreci-

ated by parents until it rains all

Saturday.

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CHAPTER 1

We are a visual community, and we rely on the use of sight to inform us in many

ways. Walk down any street and you see amazing images, both in nature and cre-

ated by humans. Some are there to help us stay safe – for example, traf c lights and

signs to tell us when it is safe to cross a road. Some are in buildings, on billboards or

in gardens. Then there are the actions of people around you and their behaviours

with each other. Being able to observe is crucial, and should be regarded as the  rst

learning strategy developed by both the teacher and their students. However, stu-

dents need to be taught how to observe and how to use this skill in their learning.

How to observe

Observation is second nature to most of us, but in a teaching and learning situation

both the teacher and students should develop a strategy of observation. The process

of undertaking effective observation needs to be taught, and requires some prelim-

inary knowledge from the observer. First, they need to know the purpose of the

observation and what attributes are to be examined – something

that requires prior knowledge. Students observing will then need

to have some way of recording the information that they acquire.

Observation

OBSERVING REQUIRES

• prior knowledge

• purpose

• knowledge of attributes to be observed

• a way to record information

Observation has to be taught

not caught. (Tilstone 2012 , p.2)

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Teachers observing

Teachers use observation to gather information about the students for whom they

are planning. Initially, the information provides details such as which hand stu-

dents write with, who they socialise with and what games they like to play – this

general information is gathered through observation of students at different times

of the day. It is valuable for ensuring that the teaching and learning strategies

selected are relevant to the needs of each student.

One way to ensure you cover each aspect of your learners is to create a chart

and complete details for each student (see Table 1.1). The notes should be brief and

to the point, and need to be updated throughout the year. This information can

inform you about the strengths and needs of the students in different curriculum

areas, and how you may group them for particular activities. Observational records

may be used for parent–teacher interviews and can also be used for recording stu-

dent achievements.

To be a good observer, you need a reason to observe, an objective for the

observation and a use for the information you have gained. The particular attri-

butes that you wish to observe need to be determined in advance, so that the

relevant data can be gathered. A knowledge of the content area would also be

helpful. In the above example, knowledge of the four areas being observed would

need to be understood. What do academic, social/emotional, physical and spiri-

tual attributes mean?

Table 1.1 Recording observations in the classroom

Name Academic Social/

emotional

Physical Spiritual

Figure 1.1 Image found in nature Figure 1.2 Image made by humans

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Chapter 1 Observation 9

Mason ( 2002 ) suggests that noticing is the most important attri-

bute of the caring professions, particularly teaching. He points out

that the difference between a novice teacher and an expert is that

the mark of an expert is that they are sensitised to notice things which

novices overlook. They have  ner discernment. They make things look

easy, because they have a re ned sensitivity to professional situations

and a rich collection of responses on which to draw. ( 2002 , p.1)

Perhaps his idea of noticing is akin to observation.

Ways to develop observation skills

Here are some planned practical classroom activities that can help students to

develop observation skills:

• Kim’s game . Set up 20 different objects on a tray and cover them. Explain to the

students that they will be given a brief amount of time to observe the items

and then list what they looked at. Or create a page of images and display

them to students. Ask them to examine them for a minute and then record

what they can remember (see Activity 1.1 ).

• Optical illusions . Gather a range of optical illusions and have students study

them carefully. Ask students to explain what they can see.

• Share picture books . Create a display of picture books and share different books

with the students. Draw their attention to the skills of the artist and the way

the elements of design have been used.

• Set up a jigsaw puzzle table . Jigsaw puzzles come in various levels of dif culty,

and can relate to a topic being studied. The students need to carefully exam-

ine the pieces in order to complete the puzzle.

• Create a games centre . Set up a corner in the classroom with numerous games –

cards, pick-up sticks, marbles and so on.

• Give students a camera . Ask students to use a digital camera to record their activ-

ities and then use the images to re ect upon their learning and achievements.

SYNONYMS FOR THE WORD ‘OBSERVE’

• study

• detect

• discern

• discover

• distinguish

• examine

• focus

• look at

• note

• notice

• perceive

• recognise

• see

• study

• view

• watch

For an opportunity to see one

of the many really excellent

visual representations of infor-

mation about the world, watch

the short  lm of 200 countries

over 200 years in four minutes

at < http://www.gapminder.

org/videos/200-years-that-

changed-the-world-bbc/#.

U1R7RChOFtw >.

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ACTIVITY 1.1 OBSERVATION POWERS

Test your powers of observation.

Look at this group of images for a minute and then cover it up.

Now, at the bottom of the page, list all the images that you can remember.

List aLL the images you can remember:

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

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