This is a book about an attempt to change the way math was taught in a particular classroom. Its title plays on our everyday usage of the terms theory and practice. In education, these terms are conventionally treated oppositionally—we have theories about what we should do and we have what teachers actually do do. In this way, theory stands prior, logically and chronologically, to practice; practice inevitably becoming theory’s imperfect realization. We seek in this volume, however, to develop a different stance with regard to the relationship between the two. Taking the details of instructional practice as our principle object of study, we explore what role theories of learning might play in illuminating such practices. The book is about actual practices by which teaching is done and how contemporary theories of learning might help us understand those practices. It seeks to provide a foundation for future practice-based inquiry in education, by addressing the methodological question: How do we go about studying instructional practice in a principled way?

This tenth anniversary edition of Knud Illeris’s classic 2008 text is an updated and definitive collection of today’s most influential learning theorists, now containing additional chapters from John Hattie and Gregory Donoghue, Sharan Merriam, Gert Biesta and Carolyn Jackson. This book brings together world-renowned experts, who each present their understanding of what learning is and how human learning takes place, addressing the social, psychological and emotional contexts of learning. In this clear and coherent overview, Professor Knud Illeris has collated chapters that explain both the complex frameworks in which learning takes place and the specific facets of learning. Each international expert provides either a seminal text or an entirely new précis of the conceptual framework they have developed over a lifetime of study, such as adult learning theory, learning strategies, and the cultural and social nature of learning processes. Elucidating the key concepts of learning, Contemporary Theories of Learning provides both the perfect desk reference and an ideal introduction for students; it is an invaluable resource for all researchers and academics involved in the study of learning, and provides a detailed synthesis of current learning theories... all in the words of the theorists themselves.

This is a book about an attempt to change the way math was taught in a particular classroom. Its title plays on our everyday usage of the terms theory and practice. In education, these terms are conventionally treated oppositionally—we have theories about what we should do and we have what teachers actually do do. In this way, theory stands prior, logically and chronologically, to practice; practice inevitably becoming theory’s imperfect realization. We seek in this volume, however, to develop a different stance with regard to the relationship between the two. Taking the details of instructional practice as our principle object of study, we explore what role theories of learning might play in illuminating such practices. The book is about actual practices by which teaching is done and how contemporary theories of learning might help us understand those practices. It seeks to provide a foundation for future practice-based inquiry in education, by addressing the methodological question: How do we go about studying instructional practice in a principled way?

Learning is among the most basic of human activities. The study of learning, and research into learning is becoming a central part of educational studies. This is a comprehensive introduction to contemporary theories and modern practices of learning. Updated and expanded, this second edition should be of interest to teachers, facilitators, human resource developers and students of education. The contents cover: lifelong learning; the social background to learning; cognitivist theory; types of learning; learning using ICT; and philosophical reflections on learning.

An introduction to the techniques, contemporary theories and methods of teaching from facilitating problem-based learning to the role of the lecture, this book explores the issues that underpin interpersonal methods of teaching, and offers genuine insights. It will help teachers at all levels to understand the techniques that they can use in different situations, and willenable them to develop more effective teaching practice. This fully updated second edition contains new material on e-moderating (teaching online) and its implications for teaching theory, issues surrounding discipline and teaching and the ethical dimensions of teaching. Additional topics include: the nature of teaching the ethics of the teaching and learning relationship the relationship between learning theory and the theory of teaching teaching methods, including didactic, Socratic and experiential and monitoring the issues of assessment of learning. The Theory and Practice of Teaching will be of interest to anyone wanting to develop a deep understanding of the key themes and latest developments in teaching and is an ideal companion volume to The Theory and Practice of Learning.

Learning is a key issue in education. Being familiar with contemporary learning theory, therefore, is an essential prerequisite for education scholars and practitioners alike.