Essential Teaching Skills Chris Kyriacou Incorporates the new QTS standards for 2007 Third Edition Essential Teaching Skills Third Edition Chris Kyriacou Text © Chris Kyriacou 2007 Illustrations © Nelson Thornes Ltd 1991, 1998, 2007 The right of Chris Kyriacou to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher or under licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency Limited, of Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First published in 1991 by Basil Blackwell Ltd Reprinted in 1992 by Simon and Schuster Education Reprinted in 1995 by Stanley Thornes (Publishers) Ltd Second edition 1998 Reprinted in 2001 by Nelson Thornes Ltd Third edition published in 2007 by: Nelson Thornes Ltd Delta Place 27 Bath Road CHELTENHAM GL53 7TH United Kingdom 091011/1098765432 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978 0 7487 8161 4 Illustrations by Clinton Banbury Page make-up by Florence Production Ltd, Stoodleigh, Devon Printed and bound in China by 1010 Printing International Ltd. Contents Preface v 1 Developing your teaching skills 1 The nature of teaching skills 1 • Studies of teaching skills 2 • Defining essential teaching skills 4 • The development of teaching skills 11 • Further reading 17 2 Planning and preparation 19 The elements of planning and preparation 19 • The purposes and functions of planning 21 • Lesson planning 24 • Lesson preparation 29 • Further reading 33 • Key questions about your planning and preparation 34 3 Lesson presentation 35 The teacher’s manner 35 • Teacher talk activities 36 • Academic tasks 41 • Teaching styles and learning styles 45 • Matching work to pupil ability and needs 47 • Using resources and materials 51 • Further reading 53 • Key questions about your lesson presentation 53 4 Lesson management 54 Beginnings, transitions and endings 54 • Maintaining pupils’ involvement 57 • Handling the logistics of classroom life 62 • Managing pupil movement and noise 64 • Further reading 67 • Key questions about your lesson management 67 5 Classroom climate 68 Establishing a positive classroom climate 68 • Motivating pupils 72 • Your relationships with pupils 74 • Enhancing pupils’ self-esteem 76 • Classroom appearance and composition 79 • Further reading 82 • Key questions about your classroom climate 82 6 Discipline 83 The nature of pupil misbehaviour 83 • Establishing your authority 86 • Pre-empting pupil misbehaviour 90 • Investigating and counselling 92 • Using reprimands 93 • Using punishments 96 • Dealing with confrontations 100 • Other strategies 101 • Further reading 103 • Key questions about your use of discipline 104 7 Assessing pupils’ progress 105 The purposes of assessment 105 • Types of assessment 107 • Assessment activities in the classroom 111 • Carrying out assessment activities 114 • Marking, recording and reporting 116 • Further reading 120 • Key questions about your assessment of pupils’ progress 120 1111 21 31 4 51 61 7 8 9 10 1 1112 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 40 1 2 3 4 5 46 471111 8 Reflection and evaluation 121 Self-evaluation 122 • Collecting data about your current practice 126 • Teacher appraisal 130 • Managing your time 132 • Dealing with stress 134 • Further reading 138 • Key questions about your reflection and evaluation 138 Bibliography 140 Author index 146 Subject index 149 IV C ONTENTS Preface In this book I outline the teaching skills which are involved in effective teaching. The book is designed to meet the needs of student teachers and experienced teachers wishing to explore and develop their own practice. It will also be of use to those involved in helping others to develop teaching skills or with an interest in this topic generally. I have been very gratified by the immense popularity of this book since it first appeared. This new (third) edition has been revised to take account of important developments in education policy classroom practice, the introduction of new professional standards for beginning and experienced teachers, and the move towards evidence-based teaching. This revised text incorporates developments in personalised learning, assessment for learning, whole-class interactive teaching, ICT, inclusion, initial teacher training, continuing professional development, and the Every Child Matters agenda. 1111 21 31 4 51 61 7 8 9 10 1 1112 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 40 1 2 3 4 5 46 471111 [...]... attempted to highlight the key skills involved in teaching and to explore how mentors can best foster such skills amongst beginning teachers Defining essential teaching skills Teaching skills can be defined as discrete and coherent activities by teachers which foster pupil learning In the light of our consideration of teaching skills so far in this chapter, three important elements of skills are discernible:... level of these skills DEVELOPING YOUR TEACHING SKILLS 1111 21 31 4 51 61 7 8 9 10 1 1112 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 40 1 2 3 4 5 46 471111 11 A list of essential teaching skills Overall, the essential teaching skills involved in contributing to successful classroom practice can be identified and described as follows: ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Planning and preparation: the skills involved... development of teaching skills In defining teaching skills earlier, three elements were highlighted: knowledge, decision-making and action Almost all beginning teachers will have had much experience of being taught as pupils themselves in a school Without doubt, this will be the single most important influence on their knowledge about teaching and the models 12 ESSENTIAL TEACHING SKILLS Table 1 Essential teaching. .. argument?’ Teaching skills are also concerned with the long-term problems of effective teaching, such as ‘Which textbook series best meets the needs of my pupils?’, ‘How best can I update my subject knowledge?’, ‘How do I best prepare pupils for the work they will be doing in future years?’ Identifying essential teaching skills One of the major problems in trying to identify a list of essential teaching skills. .. teacher effectiveness and how teaching skills need to take account of different contexts 18 ESSENTIAL TEACHING SKILLS Day, C (2004) A Passion for Teaching London: RoutledgeFalmer An insightful analysis of the work involved in being a successful teacher, which informs our understanding of teaching skills Kerry, T and Wilding, M (2004) Effective Classroom Teacher: Developing the Skills You Need in Today’s...4 ESSENTIAL TEACHING SKILLS For Shulman, teaching skills are bound up with teachers’ thinking which draws upon their knowledge base as a basis for judgement and action This notion that as much emphasis in considering teaching skills must be given to the knowledge base as to the decision-making process, may seem odd, since clearly all decision-making must draw on teachers’ knowledge about teaching. .. is the sense that teaching skills continually need development to improve one’s own practice and to meet new demands that makes teaching such a challenging profession DEVELOPING YOUR TEACHING SKILLS 1111 21 31 4 51 61 7 8 9 10 1 1112 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 40 1 2 3 4 5 46 471111 15 Stages of development Perrott (1982), in her analysis of how teaching skills are acquired... develop their teaching skills and to develop new approaches to their teaching in the educational interests of their pupils DEVELOPING YOUR TEACHING SKILLS 1111 21 31 4 51 61 7 8 9 10 1 1112 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 40 1 2 3 4 5 46 471111 17 Your professional development It is also important to note that the responsibility to develop and extend your teaching skills is not... essential teaching skills is that teaching skills vary from very broad and general skills, such as the planning of lessons, to very specific skills, such as the appropriate length of time to wait for a pupil to answer a question in a particular type of situation Overall, in considering teaching skills, it seems to be most useful to focus on fairly broad and general skills which are meaningful to teachers... self-confidence and attainment can be realised This, of course, places demands on you to develop your ICT skills to support your teaching This is recognised by the 28 ESSENTIAL TEACHING SKILLS inclusion of ICT skills development for student teachers in the TDA (2007) QTS standards to support their teaching and wider professional activities Monitoring and assessing pupils’ progress Once the lesson has . v 1 Developing your teaching skills 1 The nature of teaching skills 1 • Studies of teaching skills 2 • Defining essential teaching skills 4 • The development of teaching skills 11 • Further reading. years?’. Identifying essential teaching skills One of the major problems in trying to identify a list of essential teaching skills is that teaching skills vary from very broad and general skills, such. highlight the key skills involved in teaching and to explore how mentors can best foster such skills amongst beginning teachers. Defining essential teaching skills Teaching skills can be defined