Daniela Meyer wants answers about effective teaching and learning! Here she reflects on Laura Patsko’s talk about what works.
When I read the title of Laura Patsko’s talk: “Effective teaching, effective learning: how do we know what works?” to be delivered at the Better Learning Conference, held last July in Cambridge, UK my first reaction was one of we. Wow, Laura Patsko is actually going to answer every teacher’s question about what works in the classroom, and what doesn’t. This is something that I can’t miss! Since my first days of teaching, when I was seventeen and a novice, I have been thinking about effectiveness. I have been trying to find out what works and what doesn’t, for which learners, when and why.
But, Laura did not have all the answers. In fact, right at the beginning of her talk, she said: “I’m not going to give you answers, I’m going to give you questions.” Luckily, Laura did give us many interesting questions to think about.
Laura also explained her role at Cambridge University Press, where she works as an applied linguist.
Here her team are seeking to answer some of the tough questions about what works. To do this, Laura described how they use 3 primary areas of research. Firstly, they consult existing research when the question they are working with has already been answered. Secondly, they commission new research if the existing literature does not quite answer the question. Finally, they conduct research on their own when the question is very specific and has not yet been dealt with.
The main objective of researching is to gain insights that will be directed to materials, teacher training, talks and workshops.
Some of the questions the group have just recently been working to answer are:
- What are the differences between reading from a printed page and a screen?
- Do these different methods affect learning? If so, how?
- How do stories help Young Learners acquire a Second Language?
- Do stories help Young Learners acquire a Second Language?
- How is technology used in teaching and learning in Brazil?
- Do Brazilian teachers have the necessary conditions and training to use technology aptly?
At the beginning of her talk, Laura asked: “what combination is best, in terms of effective pedagogy?” The answer: “It depends”. We know that effective teaching and perhaps even more importantly, effective learning, depends on many aspects. Learning and teaching are highly context-specific. Perhaps instead of searching for answers we should try to live the questions now and we will “gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.” Perhaps, but it depends. What we do know for sure though is that along the way innumerable lessons will be learned…
Watch Laura’s talk in full: