Approaches to Teaching in Colleges of Higher Education

Abstract

The article outlines, and then discusses the implications of, student reaction to different approaches to teaching and instruction in former colleges of education. The research, commissioned by the Combined Colleges Research Group, presents a series of snapshots clustered around subject groupings, courses and teaching techniques.

With increasing pressure on staff student ratios, higher education, and the colleges in particular, have been forced to place greater emphasis on lecture based teaching. For the former colleges of education this is especially unfortunate at a time when so many of their BEd and BA graduates wilt teach in schools and would benefit from good models. In addition, there is an urgent need for the colleges to offer their students new approaches to learning as part of the attempt to develop a more distinctive profile.