50 templates for improving teaching and learning
Author
Nigel Fisher
Author dedication
Thanks to Jakki
Design and editorial
Peter Langley
ISBN
9780955703003
The publishers grant permission for multiple copies of any material from this book to be made
within the place of purchase for use solely within that institution.
British Library in Publication Data
A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library.
Connect Publications Ltd.
Cooksbridge House
Cooksbridge
Lewes BN8 4SR
01273 401714
www.connectpublications.co.uk
Introduction
Most recent developments in educational theory and recommendations for best practice are based
on what is often referred to as a constructivist view of learning: the idea that learners construct
meanings by processing information, sorting it and looking for connections.
Many teachers would like to incorporate ideas associated with this approach into their lessons,
ideas such as brain-compatible learning, accelerated learning, and formative assessment, but
where to start? There are lots of good books containing lots of interesting theory, evidence and
ideas (and the bibliography refers to many of these), but how do you begin to apply these
concepts?
Our intention is to bridge the gap between ideas and application. For example, if you want to see
how your current work matches up to best practice, use the checklists for reflective teachers. If you
want to improve the effectiveness of group work, use the group work resources. And so on.
Each resource is preceded by a brief rationale which refers to the relevant theory or concepts on
which it is based. This is followed by a simple explanation or suggestion of how to use the resource
and, where appropriate, a completed example for illustration.
How to use these resources
We have created what we hope are accessible, useable, changeable documents: documents
which have a clear purpose for teachers and which can be easily adapted to suit individual, subject
and institutional contexts.
We have tried to make these resources as user-friendly as possible. They have been created using
some of the most common fonts in Microsoft Word and formatted in a way that most teachers will
find easy to alter.
We imagine that in many institutions the digital copy will be loaded onto the staff area of the Virtual
Learning Environment or Intranet so that everyone who wants to can access the files. In some
institutions the preference will be for photocopying the resources and using them as they are.
However you use them, we hope they prove to be effective.
\u00a9 Connect Publications 2007
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This is great! I can't wait to use it this new school year. Thanks for sharing.