Notes for further reading

Overview

We cannot understand children’s learning, without considering their more general development. As indicated in the Reflective Teaching textbook, two excellent books on children’s development, and the ways in which it influences learning are:

Smith, P. K., Cowie, H. and Blades, M. (1998) Understanding Children’s Development, Oxford: Blackwell.

Meadows, S. (1992) Children's Cognitive Development: The Development and Acquisition of Cognition in Childhood, London: Routledge.

On learning itself, there are many introductory textbooks from an educational perspective. Of those below, Jordan et al offer an overview of major approaches and addresses the implications for policy and practice; Howe offers a splendid account of psychological research and the ways in which it affects school life. Wood is very highly regarded as a clear, research-based account of different psychological perspectives and Whitebread’s collection provides expert coverage of a wide range of topics in relation to primary education specifically. Daniels and Edwards reflect current trends in the relationship between psychology and education, while Collins and Cook offer a multidisciplinary approach to the many different strands which make an education. The concept of personalised learning has become prevalent in recent policy documents, for an overview see TLRP below.

Jordan, A., Carlile, O. and Stack, A. (2008) Approaches to

Learning: a guide for teachers, Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Howe, M. J. (1999) A Teacher’s Guide to the Psychology of Learning, Oxford: Blackwell.

Wood, D. (1988) How Children Think and Learn, Oxford: Blackwell.

Whitebread, D. (ed)(2000) The Psychology of Teaching and Learning in the Primary School, London: Routledge Falmer.

Daniels, H. and Edwards, A. (2004) Reader in Psychology of Education, London: RoutledgeFalmer.

Collins, J. and Cook, D. (2001) Understanding Learning: Influences and Outcomes, London: Paul Chapman.  

Teaching and Learning Research Programme (2004) Personalised Learning, London: TLRP

We should not forget though, that the educational literature on teaching and learning is complemented by a vast array of psychological and social-psychological resources, only a small proportion of which are indicated below.

Reflective Teaching offers an account of three major approaches to study and understanding of children’s learning – behaviourism, constructivism and social cognition. These ideas are also covered in most of the introductory texts suggested above and are reinforced though the edited articles in Readings. However, direct study of original texts is always worthwhile and some suggestions are offered below:

For some classic behaviourist work see:

Skinner, B. F. (1953) Science and Human Behaviour, New York: Macmillan. (Reading 6.1)

Gagné, R. M. (1965) The Conditions of Learning, New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Piaget, J. (1926) The Language and Thought of the Child, New York: Basic Books.

Piaget, J. (1950) The Psychology of Intelligence, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

Ginsberg, H. and Opper, S. (1969) Piaget's Theory of Intellectual Development, New York: Prentice Hall.

Donaldson, M. (1978) Children's Minds, London: Fontana.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1962) Thought and Language, Massachusetts: Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978) Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.

Rogoff, B. (1990) Apprenticeship in Thinking, New York: Oxford University Press.

Wenger, E. (1998) Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning and Identity, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Wells, G. and Claxton, G. (Eds) (2002) Learning for Life in the 21st Century: socio-cultural perspectives on the future of education, Oxford: Blackwell. 

New thinking in this area is introduced by Ireson, who writes about recent developments in cognitive and socio-cultural perspectives on learning in relation to increased motivation and self-regulation, and by Murphy et al who offer insights into the socially constructed nature of learning and implications for learning and assessment.   

Ireson, J. (2008) Learners, Learning and Educational Activity, London: Routledge.

Murphy, P. and Hall, K. (Eds.) (2008) Learning and Practice: agency and identities, London: SAGE.

Section 2: Children as learners

The health and physical development of children are closely linked to their performance in classrooms. Two texts which offer an overview of policies and practices aimed at promoting well being and of the impact of a range of factors on children's health and well being are:

Maude explores differential rates of development in relation to the demands of curriculum and assessment procedures; Gold takes a look at the consequences of exercise, diet, and environmental issues in modern lifestyles and Mayall gives an interesting account of children’s thoughts about their own health and health care at home and at school. Several cross governmental schemes have been introduced to tackle the perceived problems with the health of young children today, these can be found at the 'Teachernet' weblink below.

Maude, P. (2001) Physical Children, Active Teaching: Investigating Physical Literacy, Buckingham: Open University Press.

Gold, K. (2000) The Food Deserts, Times Educational Supplement, London: TES.

Mayall, B. (1994) Negotiating Health: Children at Home and Primary School, London: Cassell.

Mayall, B. (1996) Children's Health in Primary Schools, London: Falmer.

Mayall, B. (1996) Children, Health and the Social Order, Buckingham: Open University Press.

http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/obesity/

Increasing evidence is emerging about how, neurologically, children learn although neuroscience is making headway. The Faculty of Education at Cambridge University hosts a Centre for Neuroscience in Education: http://www.educ.cam.ac.uk/centres/neuroscience/

Both McNeil and Claxton offer overviews, at different points on time, of developments in this area. 

McNeil, F. (2009) Learning with the Brain in Mind, London: SAGE.

Claxton, G. (1997) Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind, London: Fourth Estate. 

Sylwester investigates the significance of brain function and how the brain works and learns, and both Geake and Sousa offers insights into the implications of neuroscience research for classroom practice.

Sylwester, R. (2005) How to Explain a Brain, London: Paul Chapman.

Geake, J.G. (2009) The Brain at School: Educational Neuroscience in the Classroom, Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Sousa, D. A. (2006) How the Brain Learns. 3^rd edition, London: Paul Chapman.

Richardson, K. (1991) Understanding Intelligence, Buckingham: Open University Press.

Hart, S., Dixon, A., Drummond, MJ. And McIntyre, D. (2004) Learning Without Limits. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Howe, M. J. A. (1990) The Origins of Acceptable Abilities, Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

Howe, M. J. A. (1990) The Origins of Acceptable Abilities, Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

Kline, P. (1991) Intelligence: The Psychometric View, London: Routledge.

Gardner, H. (1985) Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, London: Paladin Books.

Gardner, H. (2006) The Developement and Education of the Mind: the selected works of Howard Gardner, London: Routledge.

Goleman, D. (1996) Emotional Intelligence: Why it can Matter More than IQ, London: Bloomsbury.

Claxton, G. (1999) Wise Up: The Challenge of Lifelong Learning, London: Bloomsbury.

Shayer, M. and Adey, P. (eds) Learning Intelligence: cognitive acceleration across the curriculum from 5 to 15 years, Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Richards, M. and Light, P. (1986) Children of Social Worlds, Cambrige: Polity Press.

Dunn, J. (1988) The Beginnings of Social Understanding, Oxford: Blackwell.

Pollard, A. with Filer, A. (1996) The Social World of Children’s Learning, London: Cassell.

Grant, D. (1989) Learning Relations, London: Routledge.

Athey, C. (1990) Extending Thought in Young Children: A Parent—Teacher Relationship, London: Paul Chapman.

Tizard, B. and Hughes, M. (1989) Young Children Learning, London: Fontana.

Brooker, L. (2002)Starting School. Young Children Learning Cultures, Buckingham: Open University Press.

Crozier, G. (2000) Parents and Schools: Partners or Protagonists?, Stoke‑on‑Trent: Trentham.

Crozier, G. and Reay, D. (2005) Activating Participation: Parents and Teachers Working Towards Partnership, Stoke on Trent: Trentham. 

Hampson, S.E. (1988) The Construction of Personality: An Introduction, London: Routledge.

Wolff, S. (1989) Childhood and Human Nature: The Development of Personality, London: Routledge.

Dweck, C. (1986) Motivational Processes Affecting Learning, American Psychology, 41, 1040-8.

Holt, J. (1967) How Children Learn, London: Penguin.

Gilbert, I. (2002) Essential Motivation in the Classroom, London: RoutledgeFalmer.

Covington, M.V. (1998) The Will to Learn: a guide for motivating young people, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

To explore children’s capacity for self-awareness regarding their own mental powers take a look at Reading 7.4 Nisbet and Shucksmith, and Robinson. Lucas et al offer a practical approach to discovering and developing thinking skills and problem solving, while McGregor suggests practical ways of developing thinking skills. Claxton and Deakin Crick concentrate on how to enable children to develop their 'learning power'.

Nisbet, J. and Shucksmith, J. (1986) Learning Strategies, London: Routledge.

Robinson, E. (1983) Meta-cognitive Development, in S. Meadows (ed.) Developing Thinking, London: Methuen.

Lucas, B., Maker, J. and Cave, D. (2004) Thinking Skills and Problem-Solving - An Inclusive Approach,    London: David Fulton.

McGregor, D.(2007) Developing Thinking; Developing Learning: a guide to thinking skills in education, Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Claxton, G. (2003) Building Learning Power, Bristol: TLO.  

Deakin Crick, R. (2006) Learning Power in Practice, London: Paul Chapman. 

James et al have developed a great set of in-service resources, based on their research, for formative assessment, assessment for learning and classroom conditions for promoting learning how to learn, while Marshall et al provide an evidence base from which teachers can draw in teaching children how to learn.

James, M., Carmichael, P., Frost, D., MacBeath, J., Pedder, D., Proctor, R., Swaffield, S.,  ... [et al.] (2006)Learning How to Learn: tools for schools, London: Routledge.

School learning is of limited use to learners unless they can apply the knowledge and skills that have been learned in class to their lives in the `real world’ outside school. Reading 7.10, by Hughes et al, documents the gaps between the abstract, formal knowledge of primary National Curriculum mathematics, and the `real world’ contexts in which it might have been applied. Rich et al focus on the concept of 'what matters to children' in their two books which intergrate theory and practice in the interests of supporting real world learning. Similarly Gregory, through her exploration of the teaching of reading, looks at the different funds of knowledge that are sustained in the social practices of families and minority communities. An interesting book by Armstrong explores how children in classrooms can appropriate the form of activities for the purpose of representing and expressing their personal funds of knowledge. Solomon provides a detailed overview of self-education in informal learning situations, and Schuller et al interviewed adults of all ages in order to look at the impact of formal and informal learning on people's lives.

Rich, D., Casanova, D., Dixon, A., Drummond M J., Durrant, A. and Myer, C. (2005) First hand experience: what matters to children, Ipswich: Rich Learning Opportunities.

Rich, D., Drummond, M J. and Myer, C. (2008) Learning: what matters to children, Ipswich: Rich Learning Opportunities. 

Gregory, E. (1994) Sweet and Sour: Learning to Read in a British and Chinese School, English in Education, 27 (3), 53-59.

Armstrong, M. (1980) Closely Observed Children, London: Writers and Readers.

Solomon, J. (2003) The Passion to Learn, London: RoutledgeFalmer.

Schuller, T., Hammond, C., Bassett-Grundy, A., Preston, J. and Bynner, J. (2004) The Benefits of Learning, London: RoutledgeFalmer.

Drummond, M-J. (1996) Play, Learning and the National Curriculum: Some Possibilities, in T. Cox (ed.), The National Curriculum and the Early Years: Challenges and Opportunities, London: Falmer.

Isaacs, S. (1932) The Children We Teach, London: University of London Press.

Dewey, J. (ed) (1990) The School and Society and the Child and the Curriculum, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Collins, J., Harkin, J. and Nind M. (2002) Manifesto for Learning, London: Continuum.

Abbott, J. and Ryan, T. (2000) The Unfinished Revolution, Stafford: Network Educational Press.

Mayall, B. (2002) Towards a Sociology for Childhood: thinking from children's lives, Buckingham: Open University Press.