Comments on the PEEL book

I have had some requests from students asking where they can get a copy of the
book Teaching for quality learning: The voice of the teacher (Mitchell, Mitchell &
Lumb) of which Chapter 12 is a focus for week 2. The bookshop is getting some
in and should have them by Monday. I note here that I make no money from
sales they all go back into supporting the project.
I agree that I think you are likely to find this book a valuable resource as it
unpacks the wisdom of highly skilled teachers who set out to promote
metacognitive learning. The descriptive blurb on the PEEL website is:
This book is a comprehensive amalgam of PEEL practice and theory
developed over the 24 years of PEEL by practicing teachers and academics. It
is structured around 12 strategic principles for effective teaching. The many
ways each principle can be enacted are developed from rich anecdotes from
primary and secondary classrooms and reflections by teachers and academics
that identify a range of critical features of practice that stimulates learning
that is purposeful, reflective and intellectually active. It explores teacher and
student journeys in learning how to learn and what makes a successful
learning community.
Our principles of teaching for effective learning emerged over many years as
recurring themes in what teachers reported as working in promoting high quality
learning and developing quality learners. They are strategic in that each can be
enacted in many ways as part of a long term agenda. The list is below and the
table of contents for chapter 2 below shows how, as we did in chapter 12, we
unpack different ways of (in this case) getting students to work some things out
for themselves.
One feature of the book is the breakout boxes on aspects of learning and
teaching that are present in each case. The Aspects of quality learning I
presented in week 2 is the list we used for the breakout boxes about learning. In
the books index you can find all the cases where each of these aspects is
demonstrated and hence build rich meanings for how to promote them In the
same way all of the aspects of effective teaching such as building a supportive
learning environment or Drawing attention to big ideas can also be tracked
through the index. This second list could be regarded as a list of tactics used by
skilled teachers.

Principles of Teaching for Quality Learning

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Share intellectual control

Ask students to work out part of the content
Provide opportunities for choice and decision-making
Provide a diverse range of ways of experiencing success
Promote exploratory, tentative and hypothetical talk
Encourage learning from other students' comments
Build a classroom environment that supports risk-taking
Use a wide variety of intellectually challenging teaching procedures
Target specific aspects of quality learning

10. Develop students' awareness of the big picture

11. Raise awareness of different aspects of quality learning.
12. Promote assessment as part of the learning process.

Chapter 2: Look for occasions when students can work out part (or
all) of the content or instructions
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2.1 Working out the content or

instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Working out facts and applications
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Working out definition, rules or algorithms . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . .

Building meaning for themes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . .

Identifying issues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . .

Identifying key ideas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . .

Building
interpretations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.

Working out meanings for new words. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . .

Working out all or part of the instructions for a

task. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2 Working out what they dont know. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . .

2.3 Thinking approaches that teachers can teach students to use. . . .

. . . . . . . .

By Trial and error. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . .

Induction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . .

Deduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . .