You can think of your approach to teaching as a description of how you go about teaching your students. This description explains what you do when you teach.

Typically you might describe:

• The sorts of teaching and learning activities that you have planned (lecture, tutorial, self-directed learning, case study, workshop, workplace learning);
• Ways in which you try to engage students with the subject matter (provide students with basic facts, relate new knowledge to what students already know, build in interaction, be passionate, be enthusiastic);
• The ways in which you support your students (encourage questions, set formative assessments, provide constructive feedback). 

A description of your approach to teaching includes:

• The mode or manner of teaching (lecture, tutorial, bedside teaching, laboratory work);
• Some understanding of how people learn (learning theory);
• Some understanding of how to facilitate learning (qualities of the teacher such as passion, principles for good teaching practice such as providing timely and constructive feedback, putting educational theory into practice).

There is no "best teaching approach". However, there are some recognised teaching methods together with a range of learning theories and some principles for good practice in undergraduate and postgraduate education.

Being a reflective teacher and striving for excellence in teaching means considering each aspect of your teaching approach to ensure that you are doing your best to facilitate student learning.

Roger Booth puts himself in the student's shoes:Click to view the video (Requires Flash Player).

We are not going to detail the various learning theories in this resource. There are other websites such as Learning Theories that do this well. Our purpose is just to provide you with a brief summary of three of the main theories. Note also that one can hold more than one theory at the same time. In fact, it is possible to subscribe to all three views, depending on the subject matter being taught to students.

1. Objectivists conceive of learning as a process in which learners passively receive an objective body of knowledge that is transmitted to them. Teaching should be structured to transmit the required knowledge to the learner.

2. Cognitivists view learning as a process of in which learners add new components to their cognitive structure - the structure through which humans process and store information - and/or in which learners re-organise their cognitive structure. Teaching strategies should help students to reorganise their existing cognitive structures/acquire new elements in their cognitive structure.

3. Constructivists believe that learners construct their own reality or at least that learners interpret reality based upon their interpretations of their experiences. This entails that an individual's acquisition of knowledge is a function of their prior experiences, mental structures, and the beliefs that are used to interpret objects and events. Teaching should be structured to help students to relate new knowledge to existing knowledge so that what is learned is meaningful for the learner. When this happens, recall and application of knowledge improves.

7 principles for good practice in undergraduate education have been established on the basis of a review of over fifty years of educational research. Good practice in undergraduate education:

1. Encourages contacts between students and faculty.
2. Develops reciprocity and cooperation among students.
3. Uses active learning techniques.
4. Gives prompt feedback.
5. Emphasises time on task.
6. Communicates high expectations.
7. Respects diverse talents and ways of learning.

Your "approach" to teaching undergraduate students might make use of these principles.

Malcolm Knowles established 7 principles to help adults learn. The term adult covers a wide age range and level of maturity; however, the common denominator is that we expect to see a greater degree of independence and self-direction in adult learners. Our job as a teacher is to facilitate this. Knowles suggested that this can be achieved by:

1. Establishing an effective learning climate, where learners feel safe and comfortable expressing themselves;
2. Involving learners in mutual planning of relevant methods and curricular content;
3. Involving learners in diagnosing their own needs - this will help to trigger internal motivation;
4. Encouraging learners to formulate their own learning objectives - this gives them more control of their learning;
5. Encouraging learners to identify resources and devise strategies for using the resources to achieve their objectives;
6. Supporting learners in carrying out their learning plans; and
7. Involving learners in evaluating their own learning - this can develop their skills of critical reflection.

Your approach to teaching adult students might be based on these 7 principles.

Helen Roberts on good practice for engaging students in the online environment:

Click to view the video.

	If you need to log in: FMHS staff - log in with NetID/UPI. Registration is not required. Affiliated members, e.g. clinical teachers who don't have NetID, can register for an account after clicking 'Login'. What is myEportfolio? Questions regarding access

What is the best teaching approach?

“A teaching philosophy can help you to reflect on how and why you teach. If you don’t have a teaching philosophy, you might want to consider writing one. You can take a look at What makes a good teacher? to get started. If you already have a teaching philosophy, you might want to reflect on how the work that you are doing here fits with that philosophy”.