Aspects of teaching and learning

What do we know about teaching and learning?

1. Learning is a process of interaction between what is known and what is to be learned
   We need to ensure that learners have sufficient previous knowledge/understanding to enable them to learn new things, and to help them make explicit these links between what they already know and what they are learning
2. Learning is a social process
   We need to make provision for pair and group interaction and discussion as teaching strategies, both in small, teacher-less groups and in groups working alongside experts.
3. Learning is a situated process
   We need to ensure meaningful contexts for learning, particularly in basic literacy skills. What is a meaningful context for teachers cannot be assumed automatically to be a meaningful context for learners.
4. Learning is a metacognitive process
   We need to promote learners' knowledge and awareness of their own thinking and learning. This might be done by, for example, encouraging them to think aloud as they perform particular cognitive tasks.