Effective Teaching and Learning in Practice

Don Skinner is Academic Coordinator for Education Courses at the University of Edinburgh. He is also a Senior Lecturer and Deputy Head of the Department of Educational Studies. He has held positions as a secondary (mathematics) teacher, research psychologist and comparative educationist before a long-standing involvement in initial teacher education, focused especially (but not exclusively) on preparing prospective primary and early years teachers.

An intelligent and accessible account of what we know today about the most effective practices of teaching for learning and the debates and research which inform this account. In this era of evidence-informed practice, this book should be essential reading for all teachers, whatever their career stage and level of practice. Skinner articulates the research evidence so that teachers might become reflective practitioners for the twenty-first century.

• Contents; Part 1: Introduction; 1. Perspectives on education and teaching; 2. Conceptions of effective teaching and learning; Part 2: The Four Modes of Teaching and Learning; 3. Direct teaching; 4. Teaching through dialogue and discussion; 5. Learning through action and experience; 6. Learning through enquiry; Part 3: Using These Modes in Practice - Wider Issues; 7. Whole class, group and individualised teaching; 8. Cross-disciplinary learning and thinking skills; 9. Information technology, teaching and learning; Part 4: Background Theory; 10. Understanding and developing pedagogy; 11. Brain science, cognitive psychology and teaching; Part 5: How to be Reflective; 12. Researching and developing teaching; Glossary; References; Index.