Postgraduate Certificate
in Education (International)
PGCEi
Valencia
April 2011
Approaches to
Teaching
An introduction to Module 3
Aim
To develop understanding of key ideas in
Module 3
Objectives




To review understanding of the lesson
planning process
To understand the nature and purpose of
lesson aims, objectives and learning
outcomes
To examine the importance of questioning
To identify the purposes of assessment
Module 3: Approaches to
teaching





Planning for learning
Collaborative learning
Issues in assessment
Managing classroom
behaviour
Learners as
individuals
PGCE (INTERNATIONAL)
COURSE GUIDE
2011
Effective teaching
“Our lesson observations revealed that
in classes run by effective teachers,
pupils are clear about what they are
doing and why they are doing it. They
can see links with their earlier learning
and have some ideas about
how it could be developed further”
Hay McBer, 2000: para 1.2.4
What makes a good lesson?
Lesson planning should…








be based on evaluations of previous
lessons with the group
locate lessons in their wider context
be focused on pupils’ learning
identify learning outcomes for pupils
be divided into episodes (phases)
plan for pupils’ experience of the lesson
and their role in it
consider teaching strategies/ organisation
consider how to assess outcomes
Planning teaching for learning

Context for lesson sequence
 schemes of work
 learners’ prior knowledge
 teachers’ knowledge of pupils

Define the aims, objectives and
outcomes
 in terms of knowledge, understanding,
skills, attitudes, values
Planning teaching for learning

Structure the lesson phases
 select teaching and learning
strategies
 organise each lesson phase

Plan for the lesson ending
 plenary and review of learning (AfL)
 homework
Aims, objectives and learning
outcomes
What are the differences?
AIMS…






Long term
Difficult to quantify
Expressed in general terms
Global in scope
Tend not to be differentiated
Cover a whole unit of work
OBJECTIVES….






Short term
More easily quantifiable
Expressed in precise terms
Lead to precise learning outcomes
Differentiated according to learner need
Normally shared with learners
LEARNING OUTCOMES…

Expressed as what you want the students to
have achieved by the end of the lesson:
By the end of the lesson
All students must........
In addition, most students should........
Some students might.........


These outcomes are differentiated
Examples of aims




To prepare students for life in a changing
world
To develop skills in creative writing
To understand feeding relationships in an
ecosystem
To present the topic of food and drink in
French-speaking countries
Examples of objectives




To consider the advantages and
disadvantages of social networking sites
To examine how two writers evoke
childhood in a short story
To consider two links in the food chain:
insect - bird - fox
To compare meals in France with those in
Algeria
Examples of student learning
outcomes
By the end of the lesson …..
All students must........(understand the
differences between meals in France and
Algeria)
In addition, most students
should.......(be able to say in French the
names of the main meals and some dishes)
Some students might.........(devise a menu
in French for a restaurant in France or Algeria)
Bloom’s taxonomy- The cognitive
domain
'Taxonomy Of Educational Objectives: Handbook 1, The Cognitive Domain'
(Bloom, Engelhart, Furst, Hill, Krathwohl, 1956)
Defining objectives in the
cognitive domain
Taxonomic Category
Useful action verbs
KNOWLEDGE
Identify, name, list,
describe…
COMPREHENSION
Classify, explain, convert,
predict…
APPLICATION
Demonstrate, arrange, solve,
relate…
ANALYSIS
Order, separate, estimate,…
SYNTHESIS
Combine, create, design,
compose, make…
EVALUATION
Compare, judge, conclude,
justify, support…
“It is crucial for people to have skills in
questioning, analysing, comparing,
contrasting and evaluating so that they will
not become addicted to being told what to
think and do….”
(Freseman, 1990)
Evaluation
“Whether or not you learn is down to
me. If you don’t learn, I’ll go home and
revise what I am doing and try to teach
you differently”
[Jonathan Solity, (Educational Psychologist), Guardian 02.09.08]
Evaluation

How will you know whether your learning
objectives have been met?

How will you know whether your pupils have
achieved the learning outcomes?

What assessment strategies can you plan
for?
Some Facts about Questions
• Teachers ask a lot of questions
• They are mainly ‘low level’
questions
• Average response time allowed is
less than 1 second
• Only a limited number of pupils
respond
• Teachers do not use pupils’
responses well
Why do teachers ask
questions?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
warm up activity
organise and manage pupils and
resources
review prior learning
recall facts and collect observations
check understanding
elicit feelings or emotions or
opinions
develop pupils’ thinking skills
Types of Questions
•
Organisation and management questions
•
Open and closed questions
•
Questions to elicit emotions and feelings
•
Questions to make pupils think
Types of questions:
One classification - Bloom’s
•
•
•
•
•
•
Knowledge (Remembering)
Comprehension (Understanding)
Application (Solving)
Analysis (Reasoning)
Synthesis (Creating)
Evaluation (Judging)
Use Bloom’s taxonomy to classify
these questions






Given all the conflicting arguments, where
would you build the refinery?
Which words do you already know in this
sentence?
What repeating pattern can you see in this
sequence?
How many different ways can you find to
draw a triangle?
What does each of these symbols represent?
What do you think is the main point the writer
is making in the second paragraph?






Which words do you already know in this
sentence?
What does each of these symbols represent?
How many different ways can you find to
draw a triangle?
What repeating pattern can you see in this
sequence?
What do you think is the main point the writer
is making in the second paragraph?
Given all the conflicting arguments, where
would you build the refinery?
Questioning Skills and Strategies
 Ground rules for speaking
 Planned sequence of key questions
 Distribute questions round the group
 Phrase the question, WAIT, place with the
named pupil
Planning for Questioning
(Adapted from E C Wragg)
Identify the key questions in relation to the
learning intentions for the lesson
Decide on the level, order and timing of
questions
Extend the questioning - thinking of
subsidiary questions to ask
Analyse anticipated answers and responses
you might give
Questioning Skills and Strategies
• Use appropriate language: rephrase,
prompt, reinforce
• Keep pace going: praise, encourage
• Use body language, eye contact, visual aids
to motivate
• Develop a supportive environment
• Use differentiated questions for different
pupils
• Encourage pupils to frame their own
questions
Questioning Skills and Strategies
• Think, pair, share
• Numbered heads
• No hands up rule
• Pupils asking each other
Points to ponder!
 Fewer Questions
 Better Questions
 Time to Think
To conceive an educative question
requires thought;
To formulate it requires labour;
To pose it, tact.
None of this is mysterious
And all of it is within our reach.
(Dillon, 1983:8)
Assessment

Question: Assessment of learning or
assessment for learning?

What is the difference?
Assessment of learning
TENDS TO:
BE SUMMATIVE IN NATURE
JUDGE PUPIL PERFORMANCE AGAINST NATIONAL
STANDARDS
EXAMPLES:
FACT CHECKING OR VOCABULARY TESTS
KEY STAGE 3 TESTS
GCSE EXAMINATIONS
LEAGUE TABLES
Assessment for learning

“Fundamental to AfL is that pupils have a
clear understanding of what they are trying to
learn (learning objectives), how they can
recognise achievement (learning
outcomes), what ‘good’ looks like (success
criteria) and why they are learning this in
the first place (that is, the big picture,
sometimes linked to personal curricular
targets). “
AfL, Secondary National Strategies (2007)
Assessment for learning

Shares learning goals

Uses effective questioning techniques

Uses marking and feedback strategies

Makes use of peer and self-assessment
10 Principles of Formative
assessment










is part of effective planning
focuses on how students learn
is central to classroom practice
is a key professional skill
is sensitive and constructive
fosters motivation
promotes understanding of goals and criteria
helps learners know how to improve
develops the capacity for self assessment
recognises all educational achievement
after Black and Wiliam (1998)
Module 3 assignment:
reviewing a lesson sequence
Think critically about the relationship
between planning and teaching:
1. proposed lesson sequence;
2. critical evaluation of your lesson
sequence;
3. developing the lesson sequence;
4. reflective commentary.
PGCE (INTERNATIONAL)
COURSE GUIDE
2011