ABSTRACT
Learning and teaching is complex because the infinite variety of teachers and learners make it difficult to generalise about the best way to teach. In practice, most classroom teachers are trying to meet the very different needs of the individuals who form the groups, however class-based the teaching may be. Learning at school, especially for the less able, not only needs to start by considering the child's experience. It also needs to provide opportunities for using and so practising what is learned in situations which have significance for pupils. There are a number of different approaches to learning and any special needs teacher should be familiar with and use a range of different ways of teaching to match both the pupil and the learning in hand. Learning approaches can range from the tightly structured patterns of precision teaching to very unstructured and open-ended approaches.
