Twelve Principles of Effective Teaching and Learning (1)

1. Teachers’ knowledge of the subject matter is essential to the implementations of important teaching tasks

Teachers who know their subject matter thoroughly can be more effective and efficient at organizing the subject matter, connecting the subject with the students’ previous knowledge, finding useful analogies and examples, presenting current thinking on the subject, and establishing appropriate emphases.

2. Active involvement of the learner enhances learning

Learning is an active process which requires that the learner work with and apply new material to past knowledge and to everyday life. Some of the methods that encourage active learning in the classroom are discussion, practice sessions, structured exercises, team projects, and research projects. In the of William James :

Teaching without an accompanying experience is like filling a lamp with water. Something has been poured in, but the result is not illuminating.

3. Interaction between teachers and students is the most important factor in student motivation and involvement

Interaction between students and faculty, particularly informal interactions, is one of the most important factors in student motivation for learning. The opportunity to know a few faculty well often enhances students’ intellectual commitment and provides valuable rolemodeling.

4. Students benefit from taking responsibility for their learning

 

Students are more motivated when they take control of their own learning. This is the belief which has stimulated active interest in self-directed learning.

5. There are many roads to learning

Students learn in different ways and vary in their abilities to perform certain tasks. Understanding that each student has unique strengths and weaknesses related to ways in which they approach learning is an important component of effective education. Providing a variety of learning activities for a class enables individual students to choose the activity which is the most effective for them at the moment.

6. Expert more and you will achieve more

Simply stated, if an educator conveys to students that he or she believes in their abilty to succeed learning is enhanced.

Tiberius & Taipping

University of Toronto, 1990