ABSTRACT
The most important thing about teaching is being in the classroom with the pupils; after all, that is where the introduction to learning is taking place. Hopefully, the previous chapters have emphasised how important for the success of that process it is that you understand the learning process itself, provide a supportive learning environment, understand and know subject matter, and plan and prepare. However, there is yet another process to consider if it is true that 'formative assessment... is at the heart of effective teaching' (Black and Wiliam 1998:2). The classroom process is where teacher and learner meet, but it is only part of a continual and complex cycle of activity. A simple diagrammatic version of this was in a previous book (Watkinson 2003) (see Figure 9.1).
