ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors focus on various aspects of effective teaching in schools and conducts numerous research studies on classroom practice since the 1980s. They provide their thoughts on how best to make sense of this ongoing debate that shows no signs of coming to an end. In the review of mathematics teaching in primary schools, the review group took the view that it was not possible to identify a single 'most effective' approach, but it could sensibly attempt to identify key features of teaching activities that, when taken together, constitute best practice. The authors argue that the debate concerning traditional and progressive teaching methods is really about 'education' rather than teaching methods. They discuss a reframing of the initial question in terms of what characteristics of a teaching method need to be in place for effective learning to occur.
