1st Edition

Classroom Pedagogy and Primary Practice

    176 Pages
    by Routledge

    by Routledge

    In this provocative book, David McNamara argues that a `teacher-centred' approch to teaching in the primary school, especially in the later years is actually in the best interests of the children - that the teacher must be seen to have ultimate responsibility for what and how children learn. He attempts to define the distinctive professional expertise of the primary teacher - the application of subject knowledge within the special circumstances of the classroom - and to show how this expertise can be articulated to establish a body of educational knowledge which is both derived from practice and practically useful to others.
    At a time when increasing emphasis is being placed on the role of the practising teacher as a mentor in intitial teacher education, this book will help teachers at all levels to define their own role in the creation of educational knowledge.

    Contents Acknowledgements Introduction 1. On Teaching 2. On Learning 3. The Teacher's Responsibility for Learning 4. Relating Teaching to Pupils' Aptitudes 5. Organising Teaching to Promote Learning 6. Organising Subject matter for Learning 7. Pedagogy in Practice: the Case of Subtraction 8. Teachers' Pedagogic Expertise 9. The Professional Authority of the Teacher

    Biography

    David McNamara, Professor David Mcnamara

    `This book is a welcome and important contribution to the developing balance of emphasis in teaching which considers the relative roles of teachers and children in the classroom.' - Design and Technology Teaching