Research into how teaching affects the quality of student learning at university is a rapidly changing field. University teachers are increasingly required to develop their own strategies for effective teaching, often with limited guidance from their institutions. Teaching for Understanding at University not only outlines a wide range of recent developments in the area, but shows how approaches can be brought together to help university teachers think more imaginatively about ways of encouraging students' learning. Written in a way designed to be interesting and accessible to university teachers across disciplines, the volume concentrates on how students reach a personal understanding of the subject they are studying. Covering academic understanding, approaches to teaching, assessment methods and evaluation of teaching, the book provides a comprehensive introduction to the latest ideas on teaching and learning. Avoiding unnecessary jargon and 'business speak', this is the ideal book for the newly qualified lecturer, as well as the more experienced academic who is keen to consider their teaching methods from a fresh perspective. Noel Entwistle is Professor Emeritus of Education at the University of Edinburgh. He was previously the editor of the British Journal of Educational Psychology and Higher Education, and has an international reputation for his work in the field of student learning in higher education.

First published in 2012. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The book discusses the complex nature of understanding and what it means to teach for understanding. The processes and strategies that can support teaching for understanding are then exemplified in the context of different areas of the primary / elementary (4-11 years) school curriculum.

"This book is an exceptional introduction to some difficult ideas. It is full of downright good advice for every academic who wants to do something practical to improve his or hers students’ learning." Paul Ramsden, Brisbane, Australia "Biggs and Tang present a unified view of university teaching that is both grounded in research and theory and replete with guidance for novice and expert instructors. The book will inspire, challenge, unsettle, and in places annoy and even infuriate its readers, but it will succeed in helping them think about how high quality teaching can contribute to high quality learning." John Kirby, Queens University, Ontario, Canada This best-selling book explains the concept of constructive alignment used in implementing outcomes-based education. Constructive alignment identifies the desired learning outcomes and helps teachers design the teaching and learning activities that will help students to achieve those outcomes, and to assess how well those outcomes have been achieved. Each chapter includes tasks that offer a 'how-to' manual to implement constructive alignment in your own teaching practices. This new edition draws on the authors' experience of consulting on the implementation of constructive alignment in Australia, Hong Kong, Ireland and Malaysia including a wider range of disciplines and teaching contexts. There is also a new section on the evaluation of constructive alignment, which is now used worldwide as a framework for good teaching and assessment, as it has been shown to: Assist university teachers who wish to improve the quality of their own teaching, their students' learning and their assessment of learning outcomes Aid staff developers in providing support for departments in line with institutional policies Provide a framework for administrators interested in quality assurance and enhancement of teaching across the whole university. The authors have also included useful web links to further material. Teaching for Quality Learning at University will be of particular interest to teachers, staff developers and administrators.

Teaching for Understanding with Technology shows how teachers can maximize the potential of new technologies to advance student learning and achievement. It uses the popular Teaching for Understanding framework that guides learners to think, analyze, solve problems, and make meaning of what they've learned. The book offers advice on tapping into a rich array of new technologies such as web information, online curricular information, and professional networks to research teaching topics, set learning goals, create innovative lesson plans, assess student understanding, and develop communities of learners.

This book explores the impact of eLearning on the quality of teaching in higher education, focusing on three main issues: university teachers’ perception of quality teaching, their strategies for achieving quality teaching in practice, and interventions that design and implement online collaborative activities in a large class. The book argues that if eLearning targets the real problems in practice and is appropriately designed and implemented, it can improve the teaching quality at universities. It also demonstrates the complexity of teachers’ perception of quality teaching and contextual factors that affect teaching practice and quality. Further, it explores university teachers’ perception of quality teaching in Italy, the UK and China – an aspect that is rarely addressed in the literature – and reveals why the impact of ICTs on university teaching is not as great as in other fields by explaining the issues that threaten the quality of day-to-day teaching. Lastly, it confirms that traditional lecturing, combined with online collaborative activities, improves the quality of teaching compared to traditional lecturing alone. As such, this book is a necessary and important resource for the research community.

This text looks at how university teachers can teach their students learning strategies. It describes how teachers can teach each strategy in their normal classes and encourage students to use the strategies in their own study time. It includes case studies.

"One feature of this book that sets it apart from others is the care that is taken to clarify the authors’ interpretation of the phrase 'teaching for understanding'. Each component of this interpretation – connections, representations, reasoning, communication and misconceptions – is then successfully incorporated as a theme in the subsequent chapters that develop important mathematical topics." Ian Thompson, Visiting Professor at Edge Hill University and Northumbria University, UK This important book aims to support and develop teachers' understanding of the key primary mathematics topics. It takes an innovative approach by defining exactly what is meant by 'understanding' and uses this model to examine and explain various mathematical topics. The authors emphasize the importance of the different representations that can be used for mathematical concepts and inform the reasoning process. By focusing on understanding, the book also draws attention to common misconceptions that teachers may encounter in the classroom. Key features: Specific focus on 'understanding' to offer new insights in to how to teach the topics Case studies to demonstrate how to communicate mathematical topics in the classroom End of chapter questions to stimulate discussion The authors integrate research and theory throughout, to highlight core issues. This theoretical background is also linked directly to classroom practice and informs suggestions for how topics can be communicated in the classroom. This offers valuable guidance to trainee teachers on how to teach the topics and presents experienced teachers with the opportunity to develop their subject and pedagogical knowledge.

Leading experts on teaching and policy research provide concrete illustrations of what teaching for understanding entails.