PEDAGOGY

PEDAGOGY

What is pedagogy?

Although pedagogy is sometimes seen as a nebulous concept, it is essentially a combination of knowledge and skills required for effective teaching. The more traditional definitions describe pedagogy as either the science/theory or art/practice of teaching that makes a difference in the intellectual and social development of students.

More specifically, new research is defining pedagogy as “a highly complex blend of theoretical understanding and practical skill” (Lovat, ACDE, p.11 2003). This research is highlighting the vast complexity of teachers’ work and specifying just what the nature of that work truly is. As Lovat further emphasises: a teacher is “a highly developed autonomous professional, with a requisite professional knowledge base and practitioner skills which could stand alongside the equivalent in medicine, law and engineering” (ACDE, p.11).

Different research and theories may underpin different models of pedagogy but it is the contention of Freebody and Luke that within a certain range of procedures, differing teaching approaches work differentially with different communities of students; and effective teachers know that” (A Map of Possible Practices, Luke & Freebody, June, 1999).

Effective teachers “have a rich understanding of the subjects they teach and appreciate how knowledge in their subject is created, organised, linked to other disciplines and applied to real-world settings. While faithfully representing the collective wisdom of our culture and upholding the value of disciplinary knowledge, they also develop the critical and analytical capacities of their students” (NBPTS 1999, 3-4 in Lovat, ACDE p12).

In other words, good pedagogy requires a broad repertoire of strategies and sustained attention to what produces student learning in a specific content domain, with a given group of students and a particular teacher. Teachers need to rely on quality educational research for different pedagogical models and strategies; at the same time they have to practise the art and science of teaching themselves, refining it as they go according to their own needs and resources and particularly those of their students.

Fortunately, research has dispelled two myths about teaching: (Shulman in Lovat, p12)

These two myths are that:

1. Good teaching follows naturally from subject mastery

2. A good teacher can teach anything at all.

Thus, accomplished teaching “emanates neither from sheer knowledge of a subject nor from sheer teaching craft….” The notions of ‘authentic pedagogy’ (Newmann, 1996), ‘quality pedagogy’ (Hammond, 1997) and ‘productive pedagogies’ (QSRLS 1999) have all arisen in the last few years out of the need to identify that essential blend of knowledge and skills required for effective teaching.

Within such a context, this module on pedagogy provides a brief overview of various pedagogical frameworks and strategies to give teachers a reference point for the succeeding modules on the integration of ICT into classroom practice.