ABSTRACT
Growing concern about declining academic standards in several Western countries, as revealed for example in international and national surveys, has caused a number of experts to question the quality of teaching that occurs in many classrooms. There have been calls to increase the frequency and rigour with which classroom performance of teachers is evaluated, to ensure that the most effective teaching methods are being used. The adequacy of methodology courses for trainee teachers in pre-service teacher education institutions is also being queried, because the methods taught there are often not those that are regarded as ‘evidence based’ (Alper, 2014; Hammond, 2013; Leko et al., 2012; Moats, 2014; Seidenberg, 2012). For more than three decades, pre-service teacher education courses in the US, Britain, New Zealand and Australia have tended to advocate teaching approaches that are almost entirely student-centred and based on constructivist learning theory. At the same time, university lecturers in methodology have often presented the view that direct teaching (formal instruction) is old fashioned and to be despised. Remarking on this situation, Seidenberg (2012, p. 10) observed in relation to teaching literacy: ‘Prospective teachers are socialized into a set of outdated beliefs about children, learning, and reading. Some of these beliefs are flatly contradicted by systematic research.’ Similarly, teacher education has been described as ‘ranging from inadequate to appalling’ (Keller, 2013). There is therefore an urgent need to present trainee teachers with the research evidence concerning the most effective teaching methods. These methods not only raise achievement standards generally but also reduce failure rates by addressing the needs of students with learning difficulties. This chapter presents teachers with an overview of teaching methods. The chapter describes approaches ranging from those that are regarded as ‘teacher directed’ (or instructive) to those that are clearly more ‘learner oriented’ (or constructive). The strengths of each method are summarized, with reference to achieving particular types of learning objectives and their suitability for teaching students with learning difficulties or disabilities. But first it is relevant to describe a professional practice from Asia that is gradually being adopted in schools in the West – namely lesson study.
