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July 3, 2025
Teaching for Understanding at University: Deep Approaches and Distinctive Ways of Thinking
- Author
- Noel Entwistle
- Publisher
- Palgrave Macmillan, New York
- ISBN
- 9780333962985
- Table of Contents
-
List of Figures and Tables
Series Editors' Preface
Author's Preface
Acknowledgements for Tables and Figures
ch. 1 Teaching for Understanding in a Complex World
Some initial propositions
The relationship between teaching and learning
The nature of educational research
The structure of the book
Part 1 How Students Learn
Bridge into Chapter 2 Educational Psychology and Student Learning
ch. 2 Learning and the Influences on It
Fundamental processes of learning
Practice and feedback
Attention and memory
Conceptual development
Rote and meaningful learning
Learning processes in studying
Influences on learning
Previous knowledge and experience
Abilities and learning styles
Personality and motivation
Thinking dispositions
An alternative research paradigm
Concluding summary
Bridge into Chapter 3 The Impact of Approaches to Learning
ch. 3 How Students Learn and Study
Concepts describing student learning
Identity and self-confidence
Personal and vocational aspirations
Conceptions of knowledge and learning
Approaches to learning
Organized effort
Cultural differences in learning and studying
Students with disabilities
Concluding summary
Part 2 What is Learned
Bridge into Chapter 4 Understanding Understanding - Or Do We?
ch.4 The Nature of Academic Understanding
Personal understanding
Experience of developing and reaching an understanding
The disposition to understand for oneself
The construction and use of knowledge objects
Making understanding visible through concepts maps
Integrative personal understandings
Target understanding across the disciplines
Electronic engineering
Biological sciences
Economics
History
Media and communication studies
Threshold concepts
Concluding summary
Part 3 How Academics Teach
Bridge into Chapter 5 Evolving Approaches to Teaching
ch. 5 Ideas about Teaching and Learning
Understanding pedagogy
Contrasting beliefs and approaches
The role of the university teacher
What makes a good university teacher?
Coping with contrasting roles and working within constraints
Students' experiences of teaching
Perceptions of lecturing
Perceptions of discussion classes
Perceptions of set work and assessment
National reviews of teaching quality
Concluding summary
Bridge into Chapter 6 Teaching for Personal Understanding
ch. 6 Research into Teaching for Understanding
The inner logic of the subject and its pedagogy
Examples of subject-specific teaching focused on understanding
Encouraging a deep approach to problem solving in electronic engineering
Establishing the critical features of a concept in computer studies
Helping students to understand threshold concepts in economics
Using concept maps to develop integrative understanding in history
The teaching-learning environment as a whole
Congruence within a teaching-learning environment
Examples of whole teaching-learning environments supporting understanding
Teaching for understanding
Powerful learning environments
Designing a whole curriculum to encourage deep approaches
Concluding summary
Part 4 Providing Teaching and Assessment to Support Learning
Bridge into Chapter 7 A Heuristic Model of Teaching and Learning
ch. 7 Research Guiding Teaching
Student characteristics influencing learning
Subject content and how it is taught
Planning a course
Beliefs about the role of the teacher
Thinking about the subject and its pedagogy
Target understanding and throughlines
Selection and organization of course content
Teaching that encourages thinking and understanding
Giving an overview and monitoring delivery
Arousing interest, explaining terms and encouraging understanding
Exemplifying ways of thinking and practising
Emphasizing critical features and patterns of variation
Encouraging individual reflection and group discussion
Being alert while teaching and showing empathy with students
Technological aids, e-learning and blended learning
Concluding summary
Bridge into Chapter 8 Assessment the driver, but in which Direction?
ch. 8 Influences of the Learning Environment
Institutional and departmental influences
Teaching and learning cultures within course teams
Course structure, organization and management
Allocation of set work and feedback on it
Formative and summative assessment
Varieties of assessment
Effects of assessment of study strategies
Support for individual learning and studying
Concluding summary
Part 5 Monitoring the Effectiveness of Teaching
Bridge into Chapter 9 Measuring Students' Approaches and Perceptions
ch. 9 Monitoring and Developing Teaching
An evaluation questionnaire to monitor teaching
Interviews to explore student learning
Investigating the effectiveness of teaching
Encouraging teaching development
The scholarship of teaching
Appendices
Index
University Teaching and Student Learning draws on a wide range of research findings to provide an up-to-date guide to the main principles of teaching and the devlopment of students' understanding. (From the Publisher)