Quality Teaching and Learning

There is no question that successful learning depends on receiving a high-quality education.

Furthermore, a country's competitiveness is boosted by high-quality schooling. In response to this understanding, the government has implemented a number of systems for ensuring high-quality education from pre-kindergarten through university. In this digital age where competition has hit its peak, it is crucial to ensure and improve the quality of teaching and learning. Thus, raising standards in schools and addressing the problems of underperformances depend critically on high-quality instruction and learning. Since literacy and numeracy are the backbone of the nation, research on effective instruction and learning is essential. In the context of the sustainable growth and diversification of education systems, the government and the civil society are becoming increasingly concerned about the quality of programs that the students are receiving in the course of their education. As a result, there is an increasing demand for assessment of the standards offered as compared to others nations, not only in higher education but as far from kindergarten. O'Reilly and Morgan argue that “calls for continuing improvement in the quality of teaching and training…has focused attention on the relationship between teaching and assessment” (1). However, there is no specific standard of evaluation that has proved to offer the specific education demands of the students mainly because the current methods over emphasize on research as a yardstick of institutional values. More needs to be done if the nation is to solve the complexity of learning and teaching. The quality of teaching and learning demands the application of the solution and recommendations deliberated by previous studies. Furthermore, the changing dynamics of the learning demands must be addressed to ensure that the curriculum is up to date with the demands of the learners and those of the instructors.

What Constitutes Great Teaching

Teachers play a significant role in the education system. They are mandated to pass knowledge to students through structured instructions based on the curriculum. But far more than that, teachers offers more than just teaching skills to students. They spend more time with the learners and instill them with morals and accepted social conducts. Teachers become the custodians and the guardians of the students during the learning. Thus, teachers are an important part of the educational community. In this light, it is important to explore what constitutes the right or the good teaching that is not just meant to pass the knowledge through what is written in the textbooks but also based on the good will and the success of the students in future.

According to Coe, Aloisi, Higgins and Major, great teaching is that guides students to achieve the success of their learning through using outcomes that matter to their future (2).

Emerson also notes that “man has metamorphosed” (5); thus, his knowledge must be improved to meet his new demands. In this light, studies indicate that the progress of a student is the major determinant of great teaching. But it is also critical to remember that not all students will show improvement even when teachers are doing tremendous work in offering the best support to facilitate their learning. Thus, great teaching cannot be evaluated with just the progress of the student but also through the environment of the learning. The environment for teaching and learning should be improved to meet the demands of the teacher so that progress can be used as the yardstick for measuring the quality of teaching against the progress made by students. Furthermore, students should be facilitated with the learning requirements to support the work of the teachers.

High-quality learning cannot be achieved without high-quality teaching. To reflect on high-quality learning, quality teaching should provide carefully structured activities that match the student demands. As required by the State, schools use different frameworks that describe the core standards of the right teaching. These core standards were proposed by the government to ensure that students who are getting to college are ready meets the high demands of the learning environment and future careers. But good quality extends beyond lower grades and high school to college which must reflect the quality of teachers. Despite the independence of colleges and higher institutions of learning, the education system should meet the demands of the students in future. Thus, quality education should reflect and meet the demands of the student by having structured way of passing relevant skills to students.

Moreover, a high-quality teaching entails content knowledge that is depicted by the teacher's mastery of the content. The teacher should show the high ability to pass that knowledge to the student. It is evident that when teachers mastery of content falls bellow certain levels, it becomes a significant impediment to student’s learning. As much as a teacher should give students the responsibility for their work, teachers must understand that poor content mastery disrupts the concentration of the student and mostly the student loses interest. As such, when teachers are planning their lessons they must research deeply on the topic so that they can maintain high levels of interest and interaction during the class time.

Additionally, quality teaching should entail quality instructions such as effective questioning and use of assessment by teachers (Ellis, O'Reilly, and Debreceny 91). Teachers are expected to review previously learned materials and give students an opportunity to respond as a way of showing that they understood the content previously taught. Teachers are expected to maintain high levels of engagement with students to create an interactive atmosphere. In such an environment students can question things and seek clarification. This further improves the knowledge mastery of student as it becomes reflected in their learning progress.

Moreover, quality teaching ensures appropriate pace, variety, and challenge for students. As part of learning, teachers are expected to accommodate both the fast learners and the slow learners in the class. In this light, the teacher should develop the best pace that will ensure that the goals and the objectives of the learning are met on time and at the same time all the learners are taken care of. Besides the pace, the teacher is expected to offer a variety of content to ensure that learners do not lose interest in the learning period. For example, the teacher should occasionally diverge from the topic to bring something from outside, but it should be relevant to the learning.

Again for quality teaching to be achieved, the teacher should use homework effectively to reinforce and extend the content learned during the class time (O'Reilley 87). In addition to providing content in the classroom, the student is expected to extend the knowledge through further research and reviewing of the course content. Thus, a teacher is expected to offer necessary facilitation to this process through giving out homework to students so that they can further read upon topics covered in the classroom. Additionally, the teacher should take a keen interest in the homework because it reflects the understanding of the student and the support offered to the learner by the family and the guardians.

Constitution of High-Quality Learning

In assessing quality teaching, high-quality learning outcomes are measured (Biggs 56). These are specific responses that are exhibited by students in their learning process. One such response is that students are motivated to learn. When a teacher is passing the right information in the right way, the students get motivated to learn. Through this motivation, they get to comprehend the course content, and it becomes clear in their performance. Thus, quality learning is reflected by the level of motivation that students express in their learning process.

Additionally, high-quality learning is exhibited through concentration, confidence, and independence built on the students (Rust, Price, and O'donovan 148). Students demonstrate mastery of content and a high confidence when explaining concepts. Furthermore, students are able to pay attention because the teacher is providing relevant material for learning and delivering the content in a nice way. Furthermore, the student develops a high level of independence because they have confidence that they have understood the course content. For example, students who have not mastered the content will not be as confident as those who have the knowledge when answering examination questions. Furthermore, those who are the least confident exhibit high likelihood of being caught cheating in exams.

In conclusion, high-quality learning and teaching are fundamental to the progress of the students. Furthermore, it facilitates the growth of a country. That is why government and other stakeholders in the education sector strive to achieve high quality and to learn for students to ensure that students are ready for future demands. These quality learning and teaching are demonstrated by the progress of the students at different levels. Thus, teachers are expected to facilitate constructive learning that supports the demands of the learners. However, it is also important to ensure that the teaching environment is conducive for both the teacher and the student.

Works Cited

Biggs, John B. Teaching for quality learning at university: What the student does. McGraw-Hill Education (UK), 2011.

Coe Robert, Aloisi Cesare, Higgins Steve and Major Elliot Lee. “What makes great teaching?

Ellis, Allan, Meg O'Reilly, and Roger Debreceny. "Staff development responses to the demand for online teaching and learning." (1998): 191.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "Selected Essays." Masterpieces of American Romantic Literature (2006): 5-29.

Morgan, Chris, and Meg O'reilly. Assessing open and distance learners. Psychology Press, 1999.

O'Reilley, Mary Rose. Radical presence: teaching as contemplative practice. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, 1998. Print.

Review of the underpinning research.” Center for Evaluation and Monitoring. Durham University. October 2014. Print.

Rust, Chris, Margaret Price, and Berry O'donovan. "Improving students' learning by developing their understanding of assessment criteria and processes." Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education 28.2 (2003): 147-164.