Learning to Teach in a New Era

No two teachers go about teaching in the same way, which is to say that each teacher’s way of teaching is unique. The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) require that teachers not only know the content and how to teach it, but also know their students and how they learn. This chapter introduces the concept of pedagogy and the centrality of relationships between teacher, student and content, as a defining feature of one’s pedagogy. Pedagogy is the most outward expression of how a teacher considers that teaching and learning best take place. Teachers should always base their decisions on ‘how’ to teach on their understanding of how their students learn best. This will involve considerations such as their stage of development (physical, cognitive and social) as well as their individual interests and preferred ways of learning. A number of different pedagogical frameworks are explored in the chapter, which concludes with a discussion of some of the key elements of exemplary teaching and how these are embedded in pedagogy. As you read this chapter it will be important to reflect upon the age of the students and the subjects that you will be teaching.