This book offers a challenge to traditional approaches to classroom teaching and pedagogy. The SPRinG (Social Pedagogic Research into Groupwork) project, part of a larger research programme on teaching and learning funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), was developed to enhance the learning potential of pupils working in classroom groups by actively involving teachers in a programme designed to raise levels of group work during typical classroom learning activities.
This collection of fresh analyses aims to map the links between educational theory and research, and the geographical and physical spaces in which teaching is practiced and discussed. The authors combine historical and philosophical perspectives in examining the differing institutional loci of education research, and also assess the potential and the limitations of each. The contributors trace the effects of ‘space’ on educational practice in the classroom, in the broader institutions, and in the academic discipline of education—doing so for a range of international contexts.
My First English Adventure makes learning English a memorable, magical experience. By using familiar Disney characters that children know and love, My First English Adventure re-creates a fantastic world of discovery and adventure in the classroom that truly motivates and encourages pupils to learn.
Production-oriented and Comprehension-based Grammar Teaching in the Foreign Language Classroom
The book addresses one of the key controversies in teaching foreign language grammar, which is the utility of production-oriented instruction, as exemplified in the PPP sequence, and comprehension-based teaching, as implemented in interpretation tasks and processing instruction. It provides a thorough overview of issues related to learning and teaching grammar, with a particular focus on input-oriented approaches, and reports the findings of four studies which sought to compare their effects with instruction based on different forms of output practice. The findings serve as a basis for guidelines on how the two options can be successfully combined in the classroom.
Technology has expanded the meaning of “classroom” to include any physical or virtual space for formal learning. For educators and designers trained and experienced with the physical classroom, however, virtual classrooms can be daunting. How do you engage students you can’t see? What if someone’s network or Internet connection drops or is slow? How do you select the appropriate virtual-classroom (or virtual-world) platform?
