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Chapter 13 Notes for further reading PDF Print E-mail

Notes for further reading

 

Overview

 

There have been huge changes in teaching in recent years, and this is likely to continue. We have passed, it is said, beyond an extended period of professional autonomy in relation to the selection of teaching methods, to ever increasing degrees of centralised prescription through 'strategies' for literacy and numeracy and the inspection of performance. However, we may now be entering a period in which the necessity of professional expertise and judgement are better appreciated.

 

In the books below, Galton and his colleagues provide a comparison of how things were in classrooms of the late 1970's and how they had become 20 years later. In a complementary way, Osborn et al document how teachers responded to the challenges of the introduction of the National Curriculum. Doddington and Hilton draw on the history of the progressive tradition and its relevance in education today to demonstrate that, inspite of the standards agenda, teahcers can reclaim some autonomy and teach creatively. 

 

Galton, M., Hargreaves, L., Comber, C., Wall, D. with Pell, A. (1999) Inside the Primary Classroom: 20 Years On, London: Routledge.

 

Osborn, M., McNess, E. and Broadfoot, P., with Pollard, A., and Triggs, P. (2000) What Teachers Do: Changing Policy and Practice in Primary Education, London: Continuum.
Doddington, C. and Hilton, M. (2007) Child-centred Education: reviving the creative tradition, London: SAGE.

 

And yet, things are moving on once more. In 2004, we have a Primary Strategy based on the concept of 'Excellence and Enjoyment'.

 

DfES (2003) Excellence and Enjoyment: A Strategy for Primary Schools, London: DfES. 

 

 

Indeed, it is worth bearing in mind that it is possible for teachers (in some parts of the world) to really engage with books such as:

     

Loomans, D., Kolberg, K and Weston, M. (2002) The Laughing Classroom: Everyone's Guide to Teaching with Humour and Play, New York: H. J. Kramer.

 

 

Practically, beyond the chapters of Reflective Teaching itself, Ginnis offers a highly successful 'tool-kit' on contemporary teaching, Wragg provides both a tried-and-tested series and reflects on longstanding and recent trends in teaching and learning, Kyriacou's book is one of the best general analyses of teaching skills, and Mujis and Reynolds debate the evidence on different professional activities which contribute to teacher effectiveness.

 

Ginnis, P. (2002) The Teacher's Toolkit: Raise Classroom Achievement with Activities for Every Learner, Bancyfelin: Crown House Publishing.
 

Wragg, E. C. (various dates) Successful Teaching Series (Questioning, Explaining, Class Management and Assessment), London: RoutledgeFalmer.

Wragg, E.C. (2004) The RoutledgeFalmer Reader in Teaching and Learning, London: RoutledgeFalmer.

Kyriacou, C. (1997) Effective Teaching in Schools: Theory and Practice, Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes.

Muijis, D. and Reynolds, D. (2005) Effective Teaching: evidence and practice (2nd edition), London: Sage.

 

 Such books should help enormously in developing the initial competencies on which reflective practices confidently build. This kind of development is underpinned by Collins, Insley and Soler's volume below which explores current thinking on pedagogy drawing on the voices of teachers, parents, children, advisors and inspectors, and encourages teachers to apply this thinking to their individual contexts. For a discussion of an understanding of the mind and the impact on teaching and learning including ideas about the construction of knowledge and new forms of communication see Leach and Moon. A more controversial exploration of what is meant by pedagogy, and recent shifts in thinking is provided by Mortimore.

 

Collins, J., Insley, K. and Soler, J. (2004) Developing Pedagogy, London: Sage.
 
Leach, J. and Moon, B. (2008) The Power of Pedagogy, London: Sage.
 
Mortimore, P. (2004) Understanding Pedagogy, London: Sage.

  

 

From a psychological perspective, Whitebread provides an excellent review of recent work, covers current controversies regarding the effective teaching of reading and numeracy, and how to deal with emotional and behavioural difficulties. Fenden and Vogel look at the application of recent findings by cognitive scientists to their classroom practice. Desforges draws together some classic psychological papers.

        

Whitebread, D. (2000) The Psychology of Teaching and Learning in the Primary School, London: RoutledgeFalmer.
 
Fenden, P.D., and Vogel, R.M. (2002) Methods of Teaching: Applying Cognitive Science to Promote Student Learning with PowerWeb, Maidenhead: Open University Press.
 
Desforges, C. (Ed.) (1995) An Introduction to Teaching: Psychological Perspectives, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.

Class and individual dialogue

 

Structured talk is at the heart of the teaching-learning interchange, as major international studies such as that of Alexander have shown.

 

Alexander, R. (2000) Culture and Pedagogy, Oxford: Blackwell.

 

Whilst this is clearly not news, it is the case that taken-for-granted strategies of 'chalk and talk', 'show and tell', etc are being superseded by much more sophisticated teaching strategies. This development rests on improvements in our understanding of effective teaching which balance teacher exposition with pupil engagement and activity. For example, Muijs and Reynolds, Reading 13.4 explore some of the significant features and research underpinnings of direct instruction, which has had significant influence in recent years through the English national Literacy and Numeracy Strategies. For an exploration of strategies for effective teaching roles and questioning techniques for developing successful group work and whole class, interactive discourse see Cordon. Myhill et al offer an evidence-based exploration of classroom talk in whole class teaching which supports and extends learning. For a fascinating book based on video footage of teachers in action in the classroom, try Moyles et al. where the authors engaged with the teachers in 'reflective dialogues' to understand their teaching and used these to highlight issues that are essential to interactive teaching. Mercer and Littleton (2007) emphasise the importance of genuine dialogue to children's learning and development.

 

Cordon, R. (2000) Literacy and Learning through Talk: Strategies for the Primary Classroom, Buckingham: Open University Press.
Myhill, D., Jones, S. and Hopper, R. (2006) Talking, Listening, Learning: effective talk in the primary classroom, Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Moyles, J., Hargreaves, L., Merry, R., Paterson, F. and Esarte-Sarries, V. (2003) Interactive Teaching in the Primary School, Maidenhead: Open University Press.  
Mercer, N. and Littleton, K. (2007) Dialogue and the Development of Children’s Thinking: a sociocultural approach, London: Routledge.    

 

Another driver of new pedagogic developments lies in growing understanding of the social dynamics of classrooms. A classic study of this was provided by Edwards and Mercer (Reading 12.3). More widely though, socio-cultural theories provided a completely new way of thinking about teaching (see Readings Chapter 7, for a paper from Vygotsky and for several other socio-cultural selections). Daniels explores the pedagogic implications of a wide range of work which has been influenced by Vygotsky's theories of learning, and illustrates how Vygotskian theory can be applied in the classroom. Tharp and Gallimore (Reading 13.2) summarise the Vygotskian underpinning of much modern teaching with their concept of learning as 'assisted performance'. They set out a four-stage model of learning in which different types of assistance in performance are characteristic. Mercer uses examples of talk, recorded in classrooms and other places, to show how teachers and learners, or learners working together, succeed and fail in guiding learning and constructing knowledge. Fisher's is an interesting book about teaching children how to discuss matters of importance in ways that help develop their thinking, learning and literacy skills. For a framework of how to tailor teaching methods to individual needs see Galton.

 

Daniels, H. (2001) Vygostsky and Pedagogy, London: RoutledgeFalmer.
 
Mercer, N. (1995) The Guided Construction of Knowledge: Talk amongst Teachers and Learners, Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
 
Fisher, R. (2002) Teaching Thinking, London : Continuum.
Galton, M. (2007) Learning and Teaching in the Primary Classroom, London: Paul Chapman.

 

Group discussions in classrooms

Group work is a common feature of primary classroom practice, but why and how do we group children, and what impact does this have on their learning? Bennett and Dunne (Reading 13.7) advise on the structured management of group tasks, and Biott and Easen (Reading 13.8) analyse key issues which must be faced in promoting collaborative learning. In the book cited below, Hastings and Wood analyse the practice of group seating around tables, and offer evidence suggesting that this makes learning unnecessarily difficult for children.

 

Hastings , N. and Wood, K.C. (2002) Reorganizing Primary Classroom Learning, Maidenhead: Open University Press.

  

While it is common practice in primary classrooms to assign children to working in groups, how much help and what sorts of strategies do we give them to ensure that group working is effective? The papers below by Yarrow and Topping and Sutherland and Topping discuss a system of peer assisted or paired writing, which incorporates meta-cognitive prompting and scaffolding techniques, and look at the effects of paired writing on the quality of creative writing in 8 year olds. Gillies and Ashman cover learning in groups from pre-school to university and combine a theoretical view of group working with the practical aspects of group working in classrooms. Of relevance for primary educators are the findings of Project Zero which studied young children working in groups in the Municipality of Reggio Emilia in Italy with interesting findings about individual learning strategies within the group, as well as the learning of the group.

 

 

Yarrow, F. and Topping, K.J. (2001) 'Collaborative writing: the effects of meta-cognitive prompting and structured peer interaction.' British Journal of Educational Psychology 71 (2) 261-282.

Sutherland, J.A. and Topping, K.J. (1999) 'Collaborative creative writing in eight-year olds: comparing cross-ability fixed role and same ability reciprocal role pairing.' Journal of Research in Reading 22 (2) 154-179.

Gillies, R. and Ashman, A. (Eds) (2004) Cooperative Learning: The Social and Intellectual Outcomes of Learning in Groups, London: RoutledgeFalmer.

Project Zero and Reggio Children (2001) Making Learning Visible: Children as Individual and Group Learners, Reggio Emilia, Italy: Reggio Children.

   

Blatchford, Kutnick, Baines and Galton have been conducting research on group work over some years, looking variously at issues such as the range and use of group work in schools, developmental aspects of grouping children in classrooms, the impact of class size on grouping and practical approaches for facilitating group work. For an exploration of the impact of seating arrangements on learning see Hastings et al. Jaques and Salmondiscuss how to develop skills for learning in groups, while Gillies explores links between theory, practice and research in developing strategies to facilitate group work and challenge thinking

Baines, E., Blatchford, P., Kutnick, P., Chowne, A., Ota, C. and Berdondini, L. (2009) Promoting Effective Group Work in the Primary Classroom: a handbook for teachers and practitioners, London: Routledge.
Kutnick, P. and Blatchford, P. (2007) Promoting Effective Groupwork in Primary Classrooms, London: Routledge.

Hastings, N. and Chantrey Wood, K. (2002) Reorganizing Primary Classroom Learning, Buckingham: Open University Press.

Jaques, D. and Salmon, G. (2006) Learning in Groups: a handbook for face-to-face and online environments (4th edition), Abingdon: Routledge.

Gillies, R.M. (2007) Cooperative Learning: integrating theory and practice, London: SAGE.

 

  In addition ...

Issues about teaching techniques and strategies have been a considerable focus in recent years, particularly in relation to different subject areas or 'domains', as psychologists call them. Innovative work by practitioners and researchers in relation to specific aspects of literacy, mathematics, science, music, history, etc, is beginning to highlight both the common learning challenges that pupils face and some particularly effective teaching strategies. For some insights on this ongoing work, see the website and publications of the UK 's biggest ever educational research programme:

 

 
However, there is also a long tradition of thinking about teaching as a more creative and organic process. This approach emphasises how teaching must connect with the learner as a person and with their construction of meaning; and how the teacher should derive personal fulfilment as well as discharge their professional responsibility. The three books below touch on such issues. Woods and Jeffrey address the need for creative teaching which, the authors argue, is even greater as a result of the proliferation of policies, tensions and dilemmas which are associated with delivering the National Curriculum. In a book based on the classroom practice of teachers who have rejected the notion of fixed-ability, Hart et al explore the principle that children's futures as learners are not fixed or pre-determined, since teachers can act to remove the limits on learning created by ability-focused teaching. Brighouse and Woods celebrate the importance of teachers at a time when there is too much cynicism about the profession

 

Woods, P. and Jeffrey, B. (1996) Teachable Moments: The Art of Teaching in Primary Schools, Buckingham: Open University Press.
 
Hart, S., Dixon , A., Drummond, MJ.and McIntyre, D. (2004) Learning Without Limits, Maidenhead: Open University Press.
 
Brighouse, T. and Woods, D. (2002) The Joy of Teaching , London: RoutledgeFalmer. 

 

If it does all start to get you down, a supportive 'pick-me-up' might be:

   

Kyriacou, C. (2000) Stress-busting for Teachers, London: Nelson Thornes


Finally, for books which cover a repertoire of strategies, see Moyles and Robinson and Joyce et al. 

Moyles, J. and Robinson, G. (Eds) (2002) Beginning Teaching: Beginning Learning, 2nd Edition, Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Joyce, B., Calhoun, E. and Hopkins, D. (2002) Models of Learning - Tools for Teaching, Buckingham: Open University Press.

 

 

 

 
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