2 – Work file 3: Selecting adequate forms of teaching and learning

In choosing a certain form of teaching you make decisions on how the sequences of teaching and the learning environment are to be created and organised. This raises the question which different forms of teaching, learning, and social interaction are to be included and combined with each other, which timing of learning steps and which selection of materials is appropriate. A list of questions supports the selecting process:

• What forms of teaching will support the intended processes of learning?
• What forms of social interaction do I choose?
• What structure and rhythm do I choose for the course?
• To what extent can the students participate in planning the lessons and the form of teaching?
• Given the existing framework of external conditions, which teaching approaches are feasible?
• Which methods and teaching style am I particularly good at?
• What else can I do to create a good learning atmosphere together with the students?
• Does the teaching approach do justice to both boys and girls?
• Do the lessons encourage co-operation in the class?
• Have free spaces (areas, corners) been left to which individual students or groups may withdraw?
• Is the classroom always the best place for learning? Must the classroom be altered or restructured? Are special-purpose rooms available? Might excursions or explorations be useful?
• How much liberty do I grant my students; how do I assess their abilities?
• Should all students learn according to one predetermined path? Is my teaching approach individu­alised and flexible enough to meet differing learning needs, speeds and abilities?
• Can the students be offered a choice of different procedures?
• Which piece of homework do I have in mind?
• Which forms of social interaction are appropriate, considering conditions, objectives, contents and learning processes (individual work, work in pairs, small or large groups)?