Content area
Issue Title: Special Issue: Learning Needs and Life Skills for Youth
Int Rev Educ (2014) 60:299301
DOI 10.1007/s11159-014-9417-1
BOOK REVIEW
By Jim Gould. Learning Matters (An imprint of SAGE Publications Ltd.), London, 2012 (2nd edition), 168 pp. ISBN 978-0-85725-877-9 (hbk),ISBN 978-0-85725-817-5 (pbk)
Susan E. Elliott-Johns
Published online: 15 May 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht and UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning 2014
The introduction to this engaging book opens with an expression of the likelihood that the reader is currently teaching, or perhaps intending to teach, in the lifelong learning sector. Given the title, that would certainly appear to be a good enough reason for picking up Jim Goulds volume, especially considering the authors own extensive experience as an educator in schools, and in adult education/further education contexts. The text emphasises that one of the central aims of lifelong learning is to provide a different atmosphere from that encountered in the school environment, particularly if learners see it as their second chance (p. 39). Many of the insights for adult educators shared throughout the content and organisation of this book highlight the essential role of theory and practice in creating environments where effective teaching and learning take place. Those in the lifelong learning sector seeking review, clarication, and/or increased understandings of the essential relationship between theory and practice will nd it very useful and informative. However, there is also much in this text to benet individuals who teach in grade schools, teacher education programmes, and/or across the wide range of disciplines in higher education in general.
Currently, my own role as a teacher educator preparing teachers who, for the most part, aspire to teach in public school systems, involves assisting prospective teachers in understanding how and why a sound knowledge of theory can richly inform their development of effective practice and, in turn, offer, a more informed view of what you do (p. 3). As previously noted, this book has relevance for all teacher educators and not only those in the lifelong learning sector for the following reasons: First and foremost, the text offers very practical assistance in navigating the oft-heard argument, But practice, not theory, is how you learn to teach. Gould builds the case for informed practice, illustrated by succinct analyses of theory and numerous examples of related practice in each chapter, all the time
S. E. Elliott-Johns (&)
Nipissing University, North Bay, ON, Canada e-mail: [email protected]
Learning theory and classroom practice in the lifelong learning sector
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explaining that while teaching is a skill like any other acquired by practice, the importance of theory and how theory should inform that practice should not be underestimated. Second, the text consistently supports the ultimate purpose of enabling all students to think critically and arrive at their own eclectic theory of learning, one that works for them and informs their practice. In this regard, on the very rst page, Gould makes clear to his readers, The intention of this book is to help you to look at learning theory as a useful tool which can help you analyse and improve your current practice (p. 1).
The clarity and accessibility of the writing, the inclusion of relevant, helpful visual organisers, and the numerous practical examples are signicant features found throughout this book. The author covers a great deal of territory in a modest volume, presenting key learning theories and theoretical orientations, all grounded in the eld of psychology, without diminishing the inherent complexities of each. Gould also explores the implications for practice of each approach in pragmatic language, accompanied by authentic examples. The importance of understanding how and why the relationship between theory and practice can inform and enhance classroom practice is systematically emphasised throughout the text with opportunities for reection and the further development of reective practice (e.g. via the inclusion of a series of Reective Tasks in each of the chapters).
The structure and organisation of the ten succinct chapters offers a coherent treatment of the kind of information which often appears to overwhelm students of teaching when presented with differing views of learning and learning processes. Another welcome feature of this book is that it was evidently written with the practitioner in mind possibly one who is already in the role of teacher , and not students of psychology per se. For example, each chapter includes: 1) an advance organiser providing a chapter overview and objectives; 2) links to specic values and areas of professional knowledge taken from the professional standards for teachers, tutors, and trainers, developed by Lifelong Learning, UK1; 3) reective tasks; 4) a summary of key points; and 5) references/further readings which make this a versatile and useful text for a wide range of possible audiences (for example, in self-directed study and/or as a course text). The glossary of terms, an addition to this second edition, also provides key terms which will be of particular interest to novice educators.
Following the Introduction, Chapter 2 outlines behaviourism, the perspective that made the rst major impact on the way in which teaching and learning are conducted (p. 5), and Chapter 3 then describes the implications of this perspective for practice, specically within the lifelong learning sector, and with particular reference to fundamentals like planning, methods, assessment, and classroom management. This structure is repeated in Chapters 4 and 5, with an informative consideration of cognitive perspectives and their related implications for practice. The text is rounded out by comprehensive discussions of each of the following in Chapters 68: The humanistic approach (Chapter 6); Andragogy [Chapter 7; a vital
1 These standards demonstrate alignment of professional knowledge and understanding and professional practice, and are available at http://et-foundation.co.uk/vision/docs/external-documents/68-new-overarching-professional-standards/file.html
Web End =http://et-foundation.co.uk/vision/docs/external-documents/68-new http://et-foundation.co.uk/vision/docs/external-documents/68-new-overarching-professional-standards/file.html
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backgrounder on the concept of andragogy, essentially, the art and science of helping adults learn (Knowles 1990, p. 54)]; and Social learning theory (Chapter 8; also an addition to this 2nd edition of the text), along with the authors characteristic implications for practice, reective tasks, helpful visuals and summaries of key points and further readings. Chapters 9 and 10 return to cognitive psychology with close examination and discussion of learning processes, specically attention, perception and memory, along with further considerations of implications of each of these for practice.
Early in the text, the author states the aim of this book to be, to provide a relatively easily digestible overview of learning theory, and the references and further reading at the end of each chapter will allow you to engage in more in-depth study of areas that are of particular interest (p. 6). This, and considerably more, has been achieved in a well-crafted resource for both teachers and students in the lifelong learning sector (and beyond), one they will nd informative and engaging in terms of truly understanding how effective teaching practices are informed and enhanced by learning theories.
Reference
Knowles, M. (1990). The adult learner: A neglected species (4th ed.). Houston: Gulf Publishing.
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Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht and UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning 2014