New Approaches to Teaching and Learning:

The Next Frontier

1. Hip-Hop Education (HipHopEd)
HipHopEd is an approach to teaching and learning that focuses on the use of hip-hop culture and its
elements in teaching and learning both within and outside of traditional schools. #HipHopEd is also a
Twitter chat where educators convene every Tuesday night at 9 p.m. EST to discuss this approach to
teaching. HipHopEd involves the use of hip-hop music, art and culture to create philosophies for teaching.
It also uses hip-hop to develop and implement teaching tools and helps to create contexts for teaching and
learning that youth are comfortable in. In its simplest form, HipHopEd involves the use of rap lyrics as
text to be used in the classroom. In a more complex form, it involves raps created by students as classroom
assignments that are used to measure knowledge. In its most advanced form, it uses the elements of hip-
hop (b-boying/girling, graffiti, deejaying and MC-ing) as ways to describe/explain content, develop
classroom activities, and create tools for empowering youth.
Most recently, the use of hip-hop in education has included elements of hip-hop culture like the rap battle
to enhance learning and create competitions that spur on learning. This approach has been used to
increase student attendance, motivation and content knowledge.
2. Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Lessons (POGIL)
Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Lessons are part of a learning strategy that has both a constructivist and
social component. In other words, it focuses on using the real life experiences of the learner to create
knowledge and considers how students relates to the environment where they are taught.
When engaging in POGIL's, the teacher assigns text to students, and then poses a set of questions that
they can only answer by exploring the text that was given. In this process, the teacher has to fight the urge
to give students any answers or facts to memorize. Their main role is to pose questions that provoke the
students to look more deeply at the text they are given. In a POGIL classroom, students develop
conclusions about the text they are interrogating that will increase their knowledge. As students answer
questions, teachers "guide the inquiry" by asking supplemental questions that will eventually move the
students towards thinking deeply and drawing more complex conclusions. This approach has resulted in
increased student interest in the subject being taught and increased mastery of content in the science
classes where it is mostly used.
3. Project Based Learning (PBL)
Project-based learning is an approach to teaching that focuses primarily on having students engage in
explorations of real-world problems and challenges. Through these explorations, they develop their
content knowledge, but also develop solutions to problems. This approach to teaching functions to engage
students that may be disinterested in traditional content because it allows them to identify problems in
their community or the world at large that they want to solve. It also provides teachers and students with
opportunities to be creative. In schools that commit to project based learning, students can engage in a
project, and learn all subjects as they complete their project. In this process, the teacher looks for ways to
connect the subject to the project. In turn, students look to the teacher for content knowledge so they can
complete their project.
4. Reality Pedagogy
Reality Pedagogy is an approach to teaching and learning that focuses on teachers gaining an
understanding of student realities, and then using this information as the starting point for instruction. It
begins with the fundamental premise that students are the experts on how to teach, and students are the
experts on content. Reality pedagogues/teachers believe that, for teaching and learning to happen, there
has to be an exchange of expertise between students and teacher. For this exchange to happen, teachers
need a set of tools called the "5 C's" to gain insight into student realities, and allow students to express
their true selves in the classroom. These tools are:
1. Cogenerative dialogues: Where teachers and students discuss the classroom and both suggest ways to
improve it.
2. Coteaching: Where students get opportunities to learn content and then teach the class.
3. Cosmopolitanism: Where students have a role in how the class operates and in what is taught.
4. Context: Where the neighborhood and community of the school is seen as part of the classroom.
5. Content: Where the teacher has to acknowledge the limitations of his/her content knowledge and work
to build his/her content expertise with students

5. Flipped Classroom
One of the most popular new approaches to teaching is the flipped classroom. This approach involves a
process where the typical lecture that happens in the classroom occurs at home. Students watch lectures
on video, and then return to school to engage in the exercises they would traditionally have for homework,
and to ask questions based on the lecture they watched on their own at home. When students watch videos
at home, they can stop and go and at their own pace, and take notes a their leisure. When they return to
school, they can work in groups to discuss what they watched, and/or have their questions answered by
the teacher. In this process, students create, collaborate and learn at their own pace, and apply what they
have learned at home in the classroom.
In all of these approaches, the most powerful thing to recognize is that they focus explicitly on engaging
both the student and the teacher. When teachers are treated like the intelligent professionals that they are,
and given the flexibility to engage in approaches to teaching and learning that go beyond archaic models
that they are often bound to, students respond differently, and education is improved.
Teaching & Learning Initiative
Six Approaches to Co-Teaching
In their book, Interactions: Collaboration Skills for School Professionals, Marilyn Friend and
Lynne Cook identify "co-teaching as a specific service delivery option that is based on
collaboration." As a service delivery option, co-teaching is designed to meet the educational needs
of students with diverse learning options. Students at all academic levels benefit from alternative
assignments and greater teacher attention in small-group activities that co-teaching makes possible.
Co-teaching allows for more intense and individualized instruction in the general education setting
increasing access to the general education curriculum while decreasing stigma for students with
special needs. Students have an opportunity to increase their understanding and respect for students
with special needs. Students with special needs have a greater opportunity for continuity of
instruction as the teachers benefit from the professional support and exchange of teaching practices
as they work collaboratively.

Co-teaching involves two or more certified professionals who contract to share instructional
responsibility for a single group of students primarily in a single classroom or workspace for
specific content or objectives with mutual ownership, pooled resources and joint accountability.
(Friend & Cook 2000)
Six Approaches to Co-Teaching

1. One Teach, One Observe. One of the advantages in co-teaching is that more detailed
observation of students engaged in the learning process can occur. With this approach, for example,
co-teachers can decide in advance what types of specific observational information to gather during
instruction and can agree on a system for gathering the data. Afterward, the teachers should analyze
the information together.
2. One Teach, One Assist. In a second approach to co-teaching, one person would keep primary
responsibility for teaching while the other professional circulated through the room providing
unobtrusive assistance to students as needed.


3. Parallel Teaching. On occasion, student learning would be greatly facilitated if they just had
more supervision by the teacher or more opportunity to respond. In parallel teaching, the teachers
are both covering the same information, but they divide the class into two groups and teach
simultaneously.


4. Station Teaching. In this co-teaching approach, teachers divide content and students. Each
teacher then teaches the content to one group and subsequently repeats the instruction for the other
group. If appropriate, a third station could give students an opportunity to work independently.


5. Alternative Teaching: In most class groups, occasions arise in which several students need
specialized attention. In alternative teaching, one teacher takes responsibility for the large group
while the other works with a smaller group.


6. Team Teaching: In team teaching, both teachers are delivering the same instruction at the same
time. Some teachers refer to this as having one brain in two bodies. Others call it tag team teaching.
Most co-teachers consider this approach the most complex but satisfying way to co-teach, but the
approach that is most dependent on teachers' styles.
The Responsive Classroom Approach
The Responsive Classroom approach is an innovative way of teaching developed
by the Northeast Foundation for Children (NEFC). Since the 1990s it has emerged as a nationally renowned method of
teaching. The NEFC is a nonprofit organization founded in 1981 by a group of public school educators seeking to share
the knowledge, skills, and philosophies they had acquired through years of teaching. The result of their combined
experiences is the Responsive Classroom approach, which emphasizes the social, emotional, and academic growth of
elementary school students in a strong and safe learning environment. The Responsive Classroom approach incorporates
the students social and emotional growth into their academic learning, stemming from the notion that children learn best
through social interaction and when they are explicitly taught social and emotional skills along with their academic
lessons. The goal is to enable optimal student learning, and through the implementation and refining of classroom and
school-wide practices, the Responsive Classroom approach has been shown to increase academic achievement in
elementary school students, decrease problem behaviors, improve social skills, and raise the quality of instruction.
INSIDE THE RESPONSIVE CLASSROOM APPROACH
What does the Responsive Classroom approach look like? Across the country, this method of teaching is being
incorporated into classrooms. Any elementary school can incorporate these principles and practices into their curriculum,
thus reaching the widest range of students and transforming already existing classrooms into spaces of optimal learning.
The Responsive Classroom approach builds social and emotional growth into an academic curriculum so that students
education becomes truly well rounded--shaping every aspect of their lives.
Teachers incorporate practices designed to make the classroom more stimulating, challenging, safer, and happier. Some
of these practices directly foster a sense of community, such as Morning Meetings to start the day, or increased
communication with parents to involve the entire family in their childs education. The classroom is also often physically
rearranged to fit where children are developmentally and also to be conducive to safe, challenging, and joyful learning.
Teachers incorporate practices designed to make the classroom more stimulating, challenging,
safer, and happier.
Elements of this approach also offer students a level of autonomy that involves them more in their own learning and helps
them feel better about their classroom and their place in it. Students partake in shaping the rules of the classroom, and
teachers engage children in discussions that help them understand what will happen when they forget or choose not to
follow classroom rules. No matter which of several techniques teachers choose when responding to a childs misbehavior,
their goal is always to protect the childs dignity while quickly stopping the misbehavior and restoring positive behavior so
that all the children can continue learning.
To increase motivation and help get students excited about learning, teachers also give them some structured,
developmentally appropriate choices about what and how they will learn. For example, for an insect study, third graders
may be invited to choose which insect they want to study and whether they will represent what they learn by making a
clay model or a poster.
A classroom where the teacher follows the Responsive Classroom approach is a positive space where students voices
are heard and where they play an active role in their education. The teacher also becomes a facilitator, and through
listening to the students and helping them work together, the values of cooperation, independence, responsibility, and
accountability are further instilled.
IMPLEMENTING THE RESPONSIVE CLASSROOM APPROACH
Who uses the Responsive Classroom approach? How can you learn the Responsive Classroom approach? Schools
across the nation from every sort of environment have experienced its benefits. The quality of education, the increased
engagement and performance of their students, and the decline in disciplinary problems all attest to the fact that this
approach works. The NEFC, together with its Midwest affiliate, Origins, trains over 7,000 teachers each year. There are
Responsive Classroom consultants working in over half of all states in the country. Through the Responsive Classroom
Newsletter, a plethora of books and DVDs, and other amazing resources, many more people each year are learning more
about it.
For schools and school districts interested in implementing the Responsive Classroom approach, NEFC offers avariety of
services. Teachers (and administrators) can attend one-day workshops that introduce them to the approach or focus on
particular aspects of it. They can also attend weeklong institutes that enable them to interactively explore Responsive
Classroom principles and practices in depth. NEFC also offers contractual professional development services that can be
adapted to a schools or districts needs, assistance in developing Responsive Classroomteacher leaders, a national
conference, and resources for site-based study.
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE RESPONSIVE CLASSROOM APPROACH
So how well does it work? The Responsive Classroom approach has been researched by the University of Virginias
Curry School of Education, and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 considers the Universitys findings from its first study
to meet its rigorous standards for evaluation. Dr. Sara E. Rimm-Kaufman, who led the Social and Emotional Learning
Study, or SALS, found that the Responsive Classroom approach had a noticeable impact on the academic and social
skills of students. Specifically, she found that children in classrooms where teachers were using the approach had higher
test scores in reading and math, better social skills, and a more positive outlook on school. Teachers also benefited. They
felt better about themselves and more positive about teaching because of the effect they had on their students, and they
collaborated with each other more. Both of these outcomes resulted in teachers delivering more high-quality instruction
that ultimately benefited both students and teachers.
Dr. Rimm-Kaufman is currently conducting the Responsive Classroom Efficacy Study (RCES), a multi-year, $2.9 million
randomized controlled trial involving 24 elementary schools, with special emphasis on math teaching and learning.
TEACHING STRATEGIES
Institutions of higher learning across the nation are responding to political, economic, social and
technological pressures to be more responsive to students' needs and more concerned about how
well students are prepared to assume future societal roles. Faculty are already feeling the pressure
to lecture less, to make learning environments more interactive, to integrate technology into the
learning experience, and to use collaborative learning strategies when appropriate.
Some of the more prominent strategies are outlined below. For more information about the use of
these and other pedagogical approaches, contact the Program in Support of Teaching and Learning.
Lecture. For many years, the lecture method was the most widely used instructional strategy in
college classrooms. Nearly 80% of all U.S. college classrooms in the late 1970s reported using
some form of the lecture method to teach students (Cashin, 1990). Although the usefulness of other
teaching strategies is being widely examined today, the lecture still remains an important way to
communicate information.
Used in conjunction with active learning teaching strategies, the traditional lecture can be an
effective way to achieve instructional goals. The advantages of the lecture approach are that it
provides a way to communicate a large amount of information to many listeners, maximizes
instructor control and is non-threatening to students. The disadvantages are that lecturing
minimizes feedback from students, assumes an unrealistic level of student understanding and
comprehension, and often disengages students from the learning process causing information to be
quickly forgotten.
The following recommendations can help make the lecture approach more effective (Cashin, 1990):
1. Fit the lecture to the audience
2. Focus your topic - remember you cannot cover everything in one lecture
3. Prepare an outline that includes 5-9 major points you want to cover in one lecture
4. Organize your points for clarity
5. Select appropriate examples or illustrations
6. Present more than one side of an issue and be sensitive to other perspectives
7. Repeat points when necessary
8. Be aware of your audience - notice their feedback
9. Be enthusiastic - you dont have to be an entertainer but you should be excited by your
topic.
(from Cashin, 1990, pp. 60-61)
Case Method. Providing an opportunity for students to apply what they learn in the
classroom to real-life experiences has proven to be an effective way of both disseminating
and integrating knowledge. The case method is an instructional strategy that engages
students in active discussion about issues and problems inherent in practical application. It
can highlight fundamental dilemmas or critical issues and provide a format for role playing
ambiguous or controversial scenarios.
Course content cases can come from a variety of sources. Many faculty have transformed
current events or problems reported through print or broadcast media into critical learning
experiences that illuminate the complexity of finding solutions to critical social problems.
The case study approach works well in cooperative learning or role playing environments to
stimulate critical thinking and awareness of multiple perspectives.
Discussion. There are a variety of ways to stimulate discussion. For example, some faculty
begin a lesson with a whole group discussion to refresh students memories about the
assigned reading(s). Other faculty find it helpful to have students list critical points or
emerging issues, or generate a set of questions stemming from the assigned reading(s). These
strategies can also be used to help focus large and small group discussions.
Obviously, a successful class discussion involves planning on the part of the instructor and
preparation on the part of the students. Instructors should communicate this commitment to
the students on the first day of class by clearly articulating course expectations. Just as the
instructor carefully plans the learning experience, the students must comprehend the
assigned reading and show up for class on time, ready to learn.
Active Learning. Meyers and Jones (1993) define active learning as learning environments
that allow students to talk and listen, read, write, and reflect as they approach course
content through problem-solving exercises, informal small groups, simulations, case studies,
role playing, and other activities -- all of which require students to apply what they are
learning (p. xi). Many studies show that learning is enhanced when students become
actively involved in the learning process. Instructional strategies that engage students in the
learning process stimulate critical thinking and a greater awareness of other perspectives.
Although there are times when lecturing is the most appropriate method for disseminating
information, current thinking in college teaching and learning suggests that the use of a
variety of instructional strategies can positively enhance student learning. Obviously,
teaching strategies should be carefully matched to the teaching objectives of a particular
lesson. For more information about teaching strategies, see the list of college teaching
references in Appendix N.
Assessing or grading students' contributions in active learning environments is somewhat
problematic. It is extremely important that the course syllabus explicitly outlines the
evaluation criteria for each assignment whether individual or group. Students need and want
to know what is expected of them. For more information about grading, see the Evaluating
Student Work section contained in this Guide.
Cooperative Learning. Cooperative Learning is a systematic pedagogical strategy that
encourages small groups of students to work together for the achievement of a common goal.
The term 'Collaborative Learning' is often used as a synonym for cooperative learning when,
in fact, it is a separate strategy that encompasses a broader range of group interactions such
as developing learning communities, stimulating student/faculty discussions, and
encouraging electronic exchanges (Bruffee, 1993). Both approaches stress the importance of
faculty and student involvement in the learning process.
When integrating cooperative or collaborative learning strategies into a course, careful
planning and preparation are essential. Understanding how to form groups, ensure positive
interdependence, maintain individual accountability, resolve group conflict, develop
appropriate assignments and grading criteria, and manage active learning environments are
critical to the achievement of a successful cooperative learning experience. Before you
begin, you may want to consult several helpful resources which are contained in Appendix
N. In addition, the Program in Support of Teaching and Learning can provide faculty with
supplementary information and helpful techniques for using cooperative learning or
collaborative learning in college classrooms.
Integrating Technology. Today, educators realize that computer literacy is an important
part of a student's education. Integrating technology into a course curriculum when
appropriate is proving to be valuable for enhancing and extending the learning experience
for faculty and students. Many faculty have found electronic mail to be a useful way to
promote student/student or faculty/student communication between class meetings. Others
use listserves or on-line notes to extend topic discussions and explore critical issues with
students and colleagues, or discipline- specific software to increase student understanding of
difficult concepts.
Currently, our students come to us with varying degrees of computer literacy. Faculty who
use technology regularly often find it necessary to provide some basic skill level instruction
during the first week of class. In the future, we expect that need to decline. For help in
integrating technology into a course curriculum contact the Program in Support of Teaching
and Learning or the Instructional Development Office (IDO) at 703-993-3141. In addition,
watch for information throughout the year about workshops and faculty conversations on the
integration of technology, teaching and learning.
Distance Learning. Distance learning is not a new concept. We have all experienced
learning outside of a structured classroom setting through television, correspondence
courses, etc. Distance learning or distance education as a teaching pedagogy, however, is an
important topic of discussion on college campuses today. Distance learning is defined as 'any
form of teaching and learning in which the teacher and learner are not in the same place at
the same time' (Gilbert, 1995).
Obviously, information technology has broadened our concept of the learning environment.
It has made it possible for learning experiences to be extended beyond the confines of the
traditional classroom. Distance learning technologies take many forms such as computer
simulations, interactive collaboration/discussion, and the creation of virtual learning
environments connecting regions or nations. Components of distance learning such as email,
listserves, and interactive software have also been useful additions to the educational setting.
For more information about distance learning contact the Instructional Development Office
at 703-993-3141 (Fairfax Campus) and watch for workshops and faculty discussions on the
topic throughout the year.

Teaching Approaches and Strategies
Until recently, research into learning and teaching in universities has focused on what the teacher does rather than on
what the learner does. However, recent research into student learning indicates what your students do in order to learn is
of the greatest importance. Following on from this research, educators have developed "learner-centred" or "Student-
Centred" pedagogy that has significantly influenced our understanding of university learning and teaching.
As Thomas Shuell has said, student-centred teaching is built on the assumption that "what the student does is actually
more important in determining what is learned than what the teacher does" (T.J. Shuell, "Cognitive Conceptions of
Learning" (1986), 429 ). Therefore, as an important part of our learning and teaching approach, UNSW emphasises
student-centred and active learning approaches to engage students in their learning.
If you want your student-centred learning activities to be effective, communicate the objectives, benefits and expectations
to students so that they feel prepared and supported in their learning. In particular, students who are used to more
traditional (teacher-centred) teaching will need this support.
Teaching strategies
The following kinds of activities can be used to facilitate student-centred learning and teaching. Use these strategies to
give students a chance to actively engage with the content and to provide variety within the lecture or tutorial:
Brainstorming
Case Studies
Debates
Discussion
Flipped Classroom
Group Work
Questioning
Simulations
Orientation
What do we mean by a teaching approach?
What learning theories could guide my teaching practice?
How can I apply principles of good practice to my own teaching?
Teaching Approaches
You can think of your approach to teaching as a description of how you go about teaching your students. This
description explains what you do when you teach.
Typically you might describe:
The sorts of teaching and learning activities that you have planned (lecture, tutorial, self-directed
learning, case study, workshop, workplace learning);
Ways in which you try to engage students with the subject matter (provide students with basic facts,
relate new knowledge to what students already know, build in interaction, be passionate, be
enthusiastic);
The ways in which you support your students (encourage questions, set formative assessments, provide
constructive feedback).
A description of your approach to teaching includes:
The mode or manner of teaching (lecture, tutorial, bedside teaching, laboratory work);
Some understanding of how people learn (learning theory);
Some understanding of how to facilitate learning (qualities of the teacher such as passion, principles for
good teaching practice such as providing timely and constructive feedback, putting educational theory
into practice).
There is no "best teaching approach". However, there are some recognised teaching methods together with a
range of learning theories and some principles for good practice in undergraduate and postgraduate education.
Being a reflective teacher and striving for excellence in teaching means considering each aspect of your
teaching approach to ensure that you are doing your best to facilitate student learning.
Roger Booth puts himself in the student's shoes: Click to view the video (Requires Flash Player).
Action
If you haven't already done so, take the time to complete the teaching perspective inventory to get an insight
into how you approach teaching.
The teaching perspective inventory is a 45-item instrument that yields dominant and back-up perspectives on
teaching. If you can identify your perspective/perspectives on teaching then you can reflect on your approach,
consider the merits and drawbacks of your approach and look at other teaching approaches that might enhance
your students' learning. This will help you if you decide to write a teaching philosophy (see below). It takes 10-
15 minutes to complete the inventory.

Learning Theories
We are not going to detail the various learning theories in this resource. There are other websites such
asLearning Theories that do this well. Our purpose is just to provide you with a brief summary of three of the
main theories. Note also that one can hold more than one theory at the same time. In fact, it is possible to
subscribe to all three views, depending on the subject matter being taught to students.
1. Objectivists conceive of learning as a process in which learners passively receive an objective body of
knowledge that is transmitted to them. Teaching should be structured to transmit the required knowledge
to the learner.
2. Cognitivists view learning as a process of in which learners add new components to their cognitive
structure - the structure through which humans process and store information - and/or in which learners
re-organise their cognitive structure. Teaching strategies should help students to reorganise their existing
cognitive structures/acquire new elements in their cognitive structure.
3. Constructivists believe that learners construct their own reality or at least that learners interpret reality
based upon their interpretations of their experiences. This entails that an individual's acquisition of
knowledge is a function of their prior experiences, mental structures, and the beliefs that are used to
interpret objects and events. Teaching should be structured to help students to relate new knowledge to
existing knowledge so that what is learned is meaningful for the learner. When this happens, recall and
application of knowledge improves.
Reflection
You might want to think about these learning theories in the context of what you need your students to know,
understand and be able to do by the end of your course(s).
Remember, students need to know basic facts (transmission and factual recall).
They also need to be able to relate new facts to what they already know so that connections can be made
between what has been learned and what is being learned (cognitivism and making sense).
Finally, learners need to be able to apply what they have learned in unique situations where the right course
of action will not be obvious (constructivism and interpretation).

Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education
7 principles for good practice in undergraduate education have been established on the basis of a review of
over fifty years of educational research. Good practice in undergraduate education:
1. Encourages contacts between students and faculty.
2. Develops reciprocity and cooperation among students.
3. Uses active learning techniques.
4. Gives prompt feedback.
5. Emphasises time on task.
6. Communicates high expectations.
7. Respects diverse talents and ways of learning.
Your "approach" to teaching undergraduate students might make use of these principles.
Reflection
How many of the 7 principles for good practice in undergraduate education are evident in your teaching?

Principles for Good Practice with Adult Learners
Malcolm Knowles established 7 principles to help adults learn. The term adult covers a wide age range and
level of maturity; however, the common denominator is that we expect to see a greater degree of independence
and self-direction in adult learners. Our job as a teacher is to facilitate this. Knowles suggested that this can be
achieved by:
1. Establishing an effective learning climate, where learners feel safe and comfortable expressing
themselves;
2. Involving learners in mutual planning of relevant methods and curricular content;
3. Involving learners in diagnosing their own needs - this will help to trigger internal motivation;
4. Encouraging learners to formulate their own learning objectives - this gives them more control of their
learning;
5. Encouraging learners to identify resources and devise strategies for using the resources to achieve their
objectives;
6. Supporting learners in carrying out their learning plans; and
7. Involving learners in evaluating their own learning - this can develop their skills of critical reflection.
Your approach to teaching adult students might be based on these 7 principles.
Helen Roberts on good practice for engaging students in the online environment:
Click to view the video.
Action
Showing that you have used an appropriate pedagogical framework in your teaching is
one way in which you might evidence merit in Delivery of Teaching to Facilitate
Learning. This page has provided you with theories and principles that might form the
foundation of your pedagogical framework.
If you feel ready, you might want to start a record in myEPORTFOLIO to reflect on
the framework that you use for teaching a particular course. Completing this
record will help you to document where you are and to evidence what you do to
apply appropriate pedagogical frameworks to improve your teaching.
Merit in the Delivery of Teaching to Facilitate Learning might be evidenced by innovating
through e.g. the use of technologies in teaching. Excellence in the Delivery of
Teaching to Facilitate Learning might be evidenced by a contribution to teaching at an
institutional level along with evidence of the scholarship of teaching to improve
learning outcomes. Distinction might be evidenced by an international standing in
the scholarship of teaching to improve teaching and learning.
Teaching Approaches
You can think of your approach to teaching as a description of how you go about
teaching your students. This description explains what you do when you teach.
Typically you might describe:
The sorts of teaching and learning activities that you have planned (lecture,
tutorial, self-directed learning, case study, workshop, workplace learning);
Ways in which you try to engage students with the subject matter (provide
students with basic facts, relate new knowledge to what students already know,
build in interaction, be passionate, be enthusiastic);
The ways in which you support your students (encourage questions, set formative
assessments, provide constructive feedback).
A description of your approach to teaching includes:
The mode or manner of teaching (lecture, tutorial, bedside teaching, laboratory
work);
Some understanding of how people learn (learning theory);
Some understanding of how to facilitate learning (qualities of the teacher such as
passion, principles for good teaching practice such as providing timely and
constructive feedback, putting educational theory into practice).
There is no "best teaching approach". However, there are some recognised teaching
methods together with a range of learning theories and some principles for good practice
in undergraduate and postgraduate education.
Being a reflective teacher and striving for excellence in teaching means considering each
aspect of your teaching approach to ensure that you are doing your best to facilitate
student learning.
Roger Booth puts himself in the student's shoes: Click to view the
video (Requires Flash Player).
Action
If you haven't already done so, take the time to complete the teaching perspective
inventory to get an insight into how you approach teaching.
The teaching perspective inventory is a 45-item instrument that yields dominant and
back-up perspectives on teaching. If you can identify your perspective/perspectives on
teaching then you can reflect on your approach, consider the merits and drawbacks of
your approach and look at other teaching approaches that might enhance your students'
learning. This will help you if you decide to write a teaching philosophy (see below). It
takes 10-15 minutes to complete the inventory.

Learning Theories
We are not going to detail the various learning theories in this resource. There are other
websites such asLearning Theories that do this well. Our purpose is just to provide you
with a brief summary of three of the main theories. Note also that one can hold more
than one theory at the same time. In fact, it is possible to subscribe to all three views,
depending on the subject matter being taught to students.
1. Objectivists conceive of learning as a process in which learners passively
receive an objective body of knowledge that is transmitted to them. Teaching
should be structured to transmit the required knowledge to the learner.
2. Cognitivists view learning as a process of in which learners add new components
to their cognitive structure - the structure through which humans process and
store information - and/or in which learners re-organise their cognitive structure.
Teaching strategies should help students to reorganise their existing cognitive
structures/acquire new elements in their cognitive structure.
3. Constructivists believe that learners construct their own reality or at least that
learners interpret reality based upon their interpretations of their experiences. This
entails that an individual's acquisition of knowledge is a function of their prior
experiences, mental structures, and the beliefs that are used to interpret objects
and events. Teaching should be structured to help students to relate new
knowledge to existing knowledge so that what is learned is meaningful for the
learner. When this happens, recall and application of knowledge improves.
Reflection
You might want to think about these learning theories in the context of what you need
your students to know, understand and be able to do by the end of your course(s).
Remember, students need to know basic facts (transmission and factual recall).
They also need to be able to relate new facts to what they already know so that
connections can be made between what has been learned and what is being learned
(cognitivism and making sense).
Finally, learners need to be able to apply what they have learned in unique
situations where the right course of action will not be obvious (constructivism and
interpretation).

Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education
7 principles for good practice in undergraduate education have been established
on the basis of a review of over fifty years of educational research. Good practice in
undergraduate education:
1. Encourages contacts between students and faculty.
2. Develops reciprocity and cooperation among students.
3. Uses active learning techniques.
4. Gives prompt feedback.
5. Emphasises time on task.
6. Communicates high expectations.
7. Respects diverse talents and ways of learning.
Your "approach" to teaching undergraduate students might make use of these principles.
Reflection
How many of the 7 principles for good practice in undergraduate education are evident
in your teaching?

Principles for Good Practice with Adult Learners
Malcolm Knowles established 7 principles to help adults learn. The term adult covers a
wide age range and level of maturity; however, the common denominator is that we
expect to see a greater degree of independence and self-direction in adult learners. Our
job as a teacher is to facilitate this. Knowles suggested that this can be achieved by:
1. Establishing an effective learning climate, where learners feel safe and comfortable
expressing themselves;
2. Involving learners in mutual planning of relevant methods and curricular content;
3. Involving learners in diagnosing their own needs - this will help to trigger internal
motivation;
4. Encouraging learners to formulate their own learning objectives - this gives them
more control of their learning;
5. Encouraging learners to identify resources and devise strategies for using the
resources to achieve their objectives;
6. Supporting learners in carrying out their learning plans; and
7. Involving learners in evaluating their own learning - this can develop their skills of
critical reflection.
Your approach to teaching adult students might be based on these 7 principles.
Helen Roberts on good practice for engaging students in the online environment:
Click to view the video.
Action
Showing that you have used an appropriate pedagogical framework in your teaching is
one way in which you might evidence merit in Delivery of Teaching to Facilitate
Learning. This page has provided you with theories and principles that might form the
foundation of your pedagogical framework.
If you feel ready, you might want to start a record in myEPORTFOLIO to reflect on
the framework that you use for teaching a particular course. Completing this
record will help you to document where you are and to evidence what you do to
apply appropriate pedagogical frameworks to improve your teaching.
Merit in the Delivery of Teaching to Facilitate Learning might be evidenced by innovating
through e.g. the use of technologies in teaching. Excellence in the Delivery of
Teaching to Facilitate Learning might be evidenced by a contribution to teaching at an
institutional level along with evidence of the scholarship of teaching to improve
learning outcomes. Distinction might be evidenced by an international standing in
the scholarship of teaching to improve teaching and learning.