An introduction to teaching : a handbook for primary and secondary school teachers PDF
Preview An introduction to teaching : a handbook for primary and secondary school teachers
Introduction to Teaching The expectations of what it is to be a teacher are as high as ever. An Introduction to Teaching, which is the second edition of the well-established textbook Learning to Teach, provides a fully up-to-date introduction to the process and practice of teaching, and the personal and professional skills that successful teaching requires. This comprehensive update of the first edition is written in accordance with Teacher Training Association and DfES guidelines, and provides in-depth coverage of all the modules included in the teacher training programme. Taking into account recent developments in policy and practice, contributors have incorporated new material covering teaching and classroom management, new approaches to planning, targeting effective learning, introduction to professional requirements and continuing professional development. The book includes comprehensive chapters on the following: • The National Curriculum; • Children’s learning; • The use of IT; • Planning and preparation; • Teaching and classroom management; • Special educational needs; • Working with parents. An Introduction to Teaching will be an indispensable textbook and resource for all students training to be teachers and NQTs whether at primary or secondary level. It is the generic textbook of the Teaching series, which features a range of subject-based and issues-based textbooks. Professor Gill Nicholls has taught in secondary schools for a number of years and is now Director of King’s Institute of Learning and Teaching at King’s College London. An Introduction to Teaching Second Edition A handbook for primary and secondary school teachers Edited by Gill Nicholls LONDON AND NEW YORK First published 1999 by Kogan Page Ltd 120 Pentonville Road London N1 9JN Second edition published 2004 by RoutledgeFalmer 11 New Fetter Lane London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by RoutledgeFalmer 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 RoutledgeFalmer is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to http://www.ebookstore.tandf.co.uk/.” © 1999 Gill Nicholls © 2004 Gill Nicholls for editorial material and selection and the contributors for individual chapters All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN 0-203-41637-6 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-43965-1 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN 0-415-33531-0 (Print Edition) Contents Introduction 1 Gill Nicholls, King’s College, University of London 1 An Introduction to Teaching 3 James Williams, School of Education, Sussex University 2 The National Curriculum—15 years of reform 19 Steve Alsop, School of Education, York University, Canada, Graham Dock, Faculty of Education, Roehampton Institute, University of Surrey, and Lyn Leversa, Guildford 6th Form College 3 Children’s Learning 38 Margaret Cox, School of Education, King’s College, University of London 4 Using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for Pupils’ 57 Learning Margaret Cox, School of Education, King’s College, University of London 5 Planning, Expectations and Targets for Effective Learning and Teaching 84 Mike Waring, School of Education, Loughborough University 6 Teaching and Class Management 103 Mike Waring, School of Education, Loughborough University 7 Assessment 117 Rita Headington, Reading University 8 Special Needs in the ‘Mainstream’ 135 Steve Alsop, School of Education, York University, Canada and Robin Luth, Faculty of Education, Roehampton Institute, University of Surrey 9 The Inspection Process 153 Gill Nicholls, King’s College, University of London 10 Working with Parents 164 Tricia David, Faculty of Education, Canterbury; Christ Church University College 11 Professional Values and Practice 177 Gill Nicholls, King’s College, University of London 12 Continuing Professional Development 187 Carol Morgan, Bath University and Peter Neil, Cardiff University 13 Induction for Newly Qualified Teachers 198 James Williams, School of Education, Sussex University Glossary 210 Index 212 Introduction Gill Nicholls Teacher training continues to go through significant changes, the most recent of which has been the response to Qualifying to Teach: Professional standards for Qualified Teacher Status and requirements for initial teacher training [TTA 2002]. This document has increased the expectations of what it is to be a teacher, and have also set the standards by which future teachers are to be assessed. School-based training has not changed: trainees are still expected to spend the majority of their training time in schools with their mentors. However, the TTA 2002 document gives clear categories and standards under which trainees have to demonstrate their abilities; these include: • knowledge and understanding; • planning, teaching and class management; • monitoring, assessment, reporting and accountability; • other professional requirements. This book aims to help guide the trainee through each category, with the anticipated help of their mentor. The underlying principle of the book is that teaching is an art as well as a science. Teaching is one of the most creative and satisfying professions to be involved in. Yet as in any profession there are key elements, skills, practices and standards that have to be achieved, if effective and efficient practitioners are to be developed. This book addresses all the key areas of the TTA 2002. In some chapters this is made more explicit than others; however, throughout it is assumed that trainees will have their own copy of the circular and gain, with the help of the book, a good working knowledge and understanding of the standards required to gain qualified teacher status (QTS). The book through its tasks and overall design is aimed at helping trainees develop their skills, knowledge and pedagogic practice so that they not only meet the demands of TTA 2002 but also develop and nurture their own philosophy of teaching. Every teacher-training c ourse starts trainees on their way. Learning the art and craft of teaching is a process, one that lasts a career—from trainee to newly qualified teacher (NQT) to very experienced teacher. The book attempts to address this learning process by involving the mentor in the trainee’s learning. It also shows in later chapters the need to understand what it is to be professional and be involved in continual professional development. The final chapter is specifically aimed at the NQT—taking the trainee from ‘trainee’ to ‘newly qualified teacher’. It allows the NQT to have confidence in what they can do as well as prepare them for the challenges ahead. An introduction to teaching 2 Structure of the book The book is specifically designed to direct trainees at each stage of their learning. Each chapter is designated to a specific task aimed at focusing the trainee on key areas of development. The book is generic in its approach, but all areas and phases of education are catered for through the tasks. Trainees are expected to use the text as a means of facilitating their learning, within their chosen phase of training. The text highlights key development areas and issues that need to be addressed in order to gain QTS. As such the book can be used as a whole, working through from start to finish, or as a resource that can be dipped in and out of as appropriate to the trainee’s learning and development needs. The objectives set in each chapter reflect the demands set in TTA 2002 as a means of achieving QTS. The various authors of this text feel that the way the book has been devised allows creativity, motivation and self-development to thrive, while also meeting the highly defined legislative standards required of those wishing to join the teaching profession. 1 An Introduction to Teaching James Williams Education…is the greatest work of all those which lie ready to a man’s hand just at present. (T H Huxley, ‘A liberal education and where to find it’, address to the South London Working Men’s College, 4 January 1869) Your vision of what it is like to be a teacher is probably a composite one made up of memories of your own teachers and the media representation of teachers, with a little bit of you thrown in. What it takes to be a teacher is dedication, professionalism, intelligence, commitment, energy and above all else intuition: knowing what is the right thing to do in any given situation. This chapter is an overview of teaching and introduces you to the concepts related to effective teaching and learning. In reaching Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) you will need to demonstrate various skills and attributes, over and above those listed above. The Teacher Training Agency (TTA) specifies the standards that all trainees must reach in order to be awarded QTS. They are set out in Qualifying to Teach: Professional standards for Qualified Teacher Status and requirements for initial teacher training (TTA, 2002a). These standards came into effect on 1 September 2002. Your training is designed to enable you to reach those standards; this book is intended to help to achieve this. Objectives By the end of this chapter you should be able to: • understand the historical context of education in England and Wales; • identify the key areas you are required to meet to gain QTS; • understand the relationship between the statutory requirements and your personal development as a teacher; • identify the characteristics of good teaching and of effective teachers. A brief historical context of education in England and Wales The 1870 Elementary Education Act, recognized as the first Act to regulate schools and teachers, resulted from a realization that teachers and teaching can only be successful if carefully structured and regulated. The Act prescribed what should be done in those institutions designated as ‘schools’. A main feature of the Act was the establishment of the first education authorities, referred to as school boards, and it set up a countrywide
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