Approaches and Conceptions of Teaching and Learning: Towards the School of Excellence

Abstract

From the literature review emerges the premise that, to foster quality teaching, teachers must be aware of their approaches and conceptions of teaching and learning, as well as their pedagogical practices and corresponding outcomes. This awareness allows teachers to critically reflect on their practices, identify strengths and areas for improvement, and adapt their teaching strategies to better meet the individual and collective needs of students. This reflective text aims to highlight the importance of teachers’ teaching approaches and conceptions, as well as the impact they have on students’ learning approaches. In this holistic approach, it is proposed that teachers opt for more comprehensive and inclusive teaching approaches, capable of triggering deeper learning approaches in students. The importance of understanding students’ conceptions of their learning situations and acting to enhance teaching contexts where they experience deep learning approaches has also been emphasized, necessarily implying a student-centered approach. Awareness of teaching and learning approaches and conceptions is a fundamental pillar to ensure quality teaching and provide meaningful and enriching educational experiences for students. This research is justified by the need to promote excellence in teaching and learning through processes in which the successive transmission and acquisition of cognitive content occur in a sharing environment in the teacher-student relationship, fostering academic success and students’ concentration on more qualitative and meaningful learning. Some suggestions for educational practice are indicated.

Keywords

• education and learning
• approaches and concepts
• educational practices
• teaching
• schools