What does Effective teaching and learning look like?
I believe that having our students and their individual needs at the centre of what we do leads to good practice. Every student’s learning style needs to be acknowledged and nurtured and it is the responsibility of all stakeholders to ensure that every child is learning.
For learning to take place as a result of teaching practices, I believe the following need to be in place:
Respectful relationships
For effective teaching and learning to take place there needs to be established relationships in the classroom. There should be an environment of mutual respect between teachers, who are encouraging, supporting and valuing their learners, and students who are in turn respectful of the learning environment, their peers and their own responsibility as part of the learning community.
Teachers should be taking on the role of the facilitators of learning, guiding and encouraging their students as they develop critical thinking skills, and learn by doing and through problem solving.
The learning environment
Classrooms need to be student centred, a place where students play an active role in their learning and are responsible for their own learning. Classrooms should be designed as a collaboration between students and teachers and aimed at putting the students’ interests first and focused on student’s needs, abilities and learning styles. Class behaviour expectations rules and procedures are developed and established through essential agreements and include student voice and ownership.
Active, responsible and collaborative learners
Classrooms should be active. If I walked into a classroom where good teaching and learning was taking place I would expect to see groups of children working together in a centre or solving a problem together. I would expect learning to be collaborative, cooperative and involve learning through doing. Research shows that students learn actively by talking and listening, writing, reading and reflecting. When students are encouraged to take an active interest in learning, they are more likely to retain the knowledge and skills that they’ve accumulated. Students participate in active learning by collaborating and cooperating. Learning through collaboration is one of the most effective forms of learning. Learning in groups enhances the scope of learning and develops critical thinking. Collaborative learning involves active learning and includes collaborative writing, group tasks, problem solving and discussion.
I would expect an inquiry model to be used which guides students towards their own inquiries to develop a conceptual understanding and the skills needed for learning. When learners construct their own understanding and are encouraged to actively participate in their own learning, they become responsible for their learning. Self-directed students not only encourage each other, but also work with their teacher to achieve academic and behavioral goals that they themselves have helped establish. I would expect to see a variety of strategies being used in the classroom to promote responsible decision-making and create self-reliant students.
Technology
For effective teaching and learning to be happening in the modern classroom, I would expect to see technology being used as a part of student learning, whether it be as a centre, or as a whole class, young learners should be learning about technology, through technology and with technology. Access to technology not only gives students the means to conduct online research and master the technology skills they need, but also gives teachers the opportunity to enhance their lessons and learning experiences and make the learning more engaging and effective. The ability to navigate technology is a critical 21st century skill.
Assessment and recording of student progress
For effective teaching and learning to take place there needs to be constant formative assessment taking place in the classroom. This assessment may be in the form of informal interviews, group discussions and teacher observations. To ensure all students are given the opportunity to share their understanding, assessment needs to be varied and tailored to the abilities and needs of the students.
Any assessment in the classroom should be the driver for all teaching and learning for both the teacher and for the students who are responsible for their own learning. I would expect to see teachers using a range of feedback models from which teachers and students can use the information to then drive their learning and take the next steps.
Being an advocate of the IB, any assessment should be performance based and be three-dimensional; measuring what the student knows; what they understand; and what they are able to do.
With assessment, teachers as part of the whole school should have systems in place for recording student responses and for tracking student progress. This data should be collected, recorded and reviewed to ensure that learning is happening over time and to address any anomalies and concerns that the data presents so that all students are catered to.
Learning outside of the classroom
For learning to happen, students need to be engaged, involved in their own learning and be able to make connections and transfer their understanding. Learning extends beyond the classroom or school walls and teachers should be encouraged to explore the opportunities that are available in the local community for experiential learning and learning within context.
For learning to take place as a result of teaching practices, I believe the following need to be in place:
Respectful relationships
For effective teaching and learning to take place there needs to be established relationships in the classroom. There should be an environment of mutual respect between teachers, who are encouraging, supporting and valuing their learners, and students who are in turn respectful of the learning environment, their peers and their own responsibility as part of the learning community.
Teachers should be taking on the role of the facilitators of learning, guiding and encouraging their students as they develop critical thinking skills, and learn by doing and through problem solving.
The learning environment
Classrooms need to be student centred, a place where students play an active role in their learning and are responsible for their own learning. Classrooms should be designed as a collaboration between students and teachers and aimed at putting the students’ interests first and focused on student’s needs, abilities and learning styles. Class behaviour expectations rules and procedures are developed and established through essential agreements and include student voice and ownership.
Active, responsible and collaborative learners
Classrooms should be active. If I walked into a classroom where good teaching and learning was taking place I would expect to see groups of children working together in a centre or solving a problem together. I would expect learning to be collaborative, cooperative and involve learning through doing. Research shows that students learn actively by talking and listening, writing, reading and reflecting. When students are encouraged to take an active interest in learning, they are more likely to retain the knowledge and skills that they’ve accumulated. Students participate in active learning by collaborating and cooperating. Learning through collaboration is one of the most effective forms of learning. Learning in groups enhances the scope of learning and develops critical thinking. Collaborative learning involves active learning and includes collaborative writing, group tasks, problem solving and discussion.
I would expect an inquiry model to be used which guides students towards their own inquiries to develop a conceptual understanding and the skills needed for learning. When learners construct their own understanding and are encouraged to actively participate in their own learning, they become responsible for their learning. Self-directed students not only encourage each other, but also work with their teacher to achieve academic and behavioral goals that they themselves have helped establish. I would expect to see a variety of strategies being used in the classroom to promote responsible decision-making and create self-reliant students.
Technology
For effective teaching and learning to be happening in the modern classroom, I would expect to see technology being used as a part of student learning, whether it be as a centre, or as a whole class, young learners should be learning about technology, through technology and with technology. Access to technology not only gives students the means to conduct online research and master the technology skills they need, but also gives teachers the opportunity to enhance their lessons and learning experiences and make the learning more engaging and effective. The ability to navigate technology is a critical 21st century skill.
Assessment and recording of student progress
For effective teaching and learning to take place there needs to be constant formative assessment taking place in the classroom. This assessment may be in the form of informal interviews, group discussions and teacher observations. To ensure all students are given the opportunity to share their understanding, assessment needs to be varied and tailored to the abilities and needs of the students.
Any assessment in the classroom should be the driver for all teaching and learning for both the teacher and for the students who are responsible for their own learning. I would expect to see teachers using a range of feedback models from which teachers and students can use the information to then drive their learning and take the next steps.
Being an advocate of the IB, any assessment should be performance based and be three-dimensional; measuring what the student knows; what they understand; and what they are able to do.
With assessment, teachers as part of the whole school should have systems in place for recording student responses and for tracking student progress. This data should be collected, recorded and reviewed to ensure that learning is happening over time and to address any anomalies and concerns that the data presents so that all students are catered to.
Learning outside of the classroom
For learning to happen, students need to be engaged, involved in their own learning and be able to make connections and transfer their understanding. Learning extends beyond the classroom or school walls and teachers should be encouraged to explore the opportunities that are available in the local community for experiential learning and learning within context.
