Primary Teaching: Learning and teaching in primary schools today

When learning to teach, practical experience in the classroom is as essential as learning from others and being able to reflect on your own learning and performance. Equally important is the ability to critically evaluate learning and teaching. This new, extensive, core text from Learning Matters tackles questions like:

• What drives schools and what challenges them? 
• What can we learn from other countries? 
• Does curriculum really matter? 
• How do teachers manage behaviour? 
• How do I prove that my children are learning? 
• What does mastery really look like? 

Discussing these and many more, it comprehensively covers professional studies modules and goes beyond to support trainees on placements and in their learning on the course.

Learning features throughout have been designed to help students develop their understanding, broaden their perspectives, think more critically and apply theory to practice. These include:

Case Studies to apply learning to real-life school contexts.

Key Readings to encourage wider reading, broaden perspectives and offer practical ideas for the classroom.

Key Theory features introduce and summarise big ideas, theories and research.

Critical Questions direct reflection, help students engage with what their reading and encourage critical responses.  

Classroom Links highlight good practice, provide practical ideas and show how to implement these in the classroom.

Assignment features offer helpful points to consider and practical advice for writing assignments on chapter topics, which act as great starting points.

Catherine Carden lecturers on the BA in Education Studies (Primary) at the Open University. Catherine is an Independent Education Consultant specialising in educational leadership and in particular people centred leadership, culture and wellbeing. Previous roles have included Director of Learning and Teaching in the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Education, Director of Primary Initial Teacher Education and a teacher educator at a large HEI. Prior to that, Catherine held teaching and leadership roles within secondary and further education. Catherine′s professional and scholarly interests are in teacher education and development, educational leadership, organisatonal culture, coaching and mentoring, and wellbeing and self-care.