EBEA - Economics, Business and Enterprise Association

Generic issues for new teachers - Approaches to teaching and learning

New teachers will already be familiar with many of the concepts raised in the materials which can be downloaded from this page, but those reviewing their classroom approach may find it useful to review the list of approaches given in Activity 2 and visit the weblinks given in the documents for Activity 1 and Activities 3 and 4.

Trainee teachers often begin their PGCE year with a limited view of the approaches that they can use to teach. They often consider that teaching is about telling and reading, perhaps reflecting their own schooling, and not considering their effectiveness upon learning; nor the different ways that pupils prefer to learn. This unit is a three-hour session which asks trainee teachers to consider how pupils learn, to identify a range of methods that could be used to teach, to consider how effective they might be and when different methods may be employed.

At the end of this unit trainee teachers will:

• appreciate the range of possible approaches to teaching and learning
• consider how their teaching can address different preferred learning styles
• know how and when they can use particular approaches (through examples)
• consider the advantages and disadvantages of these different approaches