Video Presentation

Hello and welcome. The topic of this video presentation is teaching the whole
child using effective pedagogical practice for the primary school teacher.
My focus for today will be to look at the holistic approach of effective
pedagogical practice, linking with the educational theory of Lev Vygotsky, and
the factors that contribute to effective practice.
First of all, a definition: pedagogical practice can be described as many
things. It is objective, fluid and always changing.
Pedagogy is the art of teaching, it is how the teaching and learning occurs
(Johnstone, 2009). Effective pedagogy incorporates a range of teaching
strategies that support:
Intellectual engagement
Connection to the real world
A supportive classroom environment
Recognition of the diversity in students learning and background
Different strategies are used in different situations with different students and
some are better suits to teaching certain skills or knowledge and others are
better suited to certain student learning styles and abilities. This is why they
are objective and must be fluid. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to
effective pedagogical practice.
A holistic approach to teaching recognizes the connection of mind body spirit
as well as:
Recognizing the connections between students, families and the
community
Learning is seen as a social activity, and collaborate learning and
community participation are valued
Attention is paid to childrens physical, personal, social, emotional and
spiritual wellbeing (Raise learning, n.d.).
For Vygotsky, holistic learning means that the unit of study needs to be
meaningful to the student and is not just the smallest or the simplest unit.
Also, Vgotsky believed that teaching potentially meaningful material into small
skills or subskills is counterproductive (McInerney & McInerney, 2010). For
example, teaching mathematics to students is counter productive when
teaching them to focus on and memorise 10 simple additions, however
teaching them to learn about measurement by going out into a playground
with a measuring tape and physically measuring equipment would be a
holistic approach and more meaningful to the student.
Why do we have effective pedagogical practice?
It promotes the wellbeing of students, teachers and the school
community

It improves students and teachers confidence and gives a sense of

purpose to being at school
It builds community confidence in the quality of learning and teaching
(Johnstone, 2009).

Some key elements of effective pedagogical practice:

They are based on evidence!
o high quality resources or approaches are used that are built
around a strong evidence base
They are modeled by school leaders!
o Principals encourage the use of research based teaching
practices
o Teachers create classroom learning environments which
engage, challenge and support students to learn
o Teachers build students self-confidence
What do teachers need to do?
Understand the students learning needs
Define what students need to be able to do and understand
Ensure they have clear knowledge of what their students can
and cannot do
Understand when to use different methodologies to
accommodate different learning styles and pace of students
(Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation, n.d.).
Therefore, The practice of teaching the whole child includes:
student wellbeing and pastoral care
school environment and practices
classroom resources
All three factors occur both together and concurrently to achieve effective
pedagogical practice in teaching the whole child.
One example of the relationship between student wellbeing and effective
pedagogical practice is self-concept.
Self-concept is self-belief relating to perceived competence and physical and
personal attributes (McInerney & McInerney, 2010). Understanding selfconcept is crucial to effective pedagogical practice and student wellbeing as
self-beliefs influence behaviour. Therefore, the more positive self-beliefs are,
especially in academic beliefs, the more positive achievement will be.
Furthermore it can be argued that those with more self-belief would be more
motivated and achieve greater success that those with negative self-belief.
To develop positive self-concept in students, teachers should:
develop assessments with the freedom and encouragement for
students to choose a topic that is of particular interest to them
reduce social comparison and a competitive learning environment

provide students with feedback in relation to criteria and personal

improvement instead of comparisons with other students
emphasise to each student that they are able, and value the unique
accomplishments of each child
enhance students feelings of being connected to other students in the
classroom (McInerney & McInerney, 2010).

Teachers need to address each students individual needs and show an

interest in each student as an individual linking their learning to interests
and the real world as much as possible. Schools where students perceived
that their teachers cared for them and remained committed to them are
shown to produce high academic achievement and positive social behaviour
(Shann, 1999).
Engaged students are more successful at school (Wang & Holcombe,
2010) - slide. Furthermore,Wang & Holcombe (2010) conducted research
that examined the relationships between students perceptions of school
environment, engagement and academic achievement. School engagement
was found to include school participation, how students identified with the
school, and their self-belief and self-concept. They found that students
perceptions of school environment, combined with engagement, influenced
their academic achievement.
Teachers need to develop a RELATIONSHIP with their students and
recognize that each student is unique and learns differently; and take that into
consideration when teaching .
Teachers need to ask themselves two important questions:
What do I need to know about my individual students and they
learning?
What do I need to do to support their future learning?
These questions will assist the teachers to use effective pedagogical practices
with their students and to take a holistic approach to teaching the whole child
by incorporating student wellbeing, school environment and resources.

References
McInerney, D. M. & McInerney, V. (2010). Educational psychology:
Constructing learning (5th ed.). Frenchs Forest, Australia: Pearson
Australia.
Centre of Statistics and Evaluation (n.d.). Effective practices in literacy and
numeracy. Retrieved from
http://www.cese.nsw.gov.au/EffectivePractices/index.php/effectivepractices/effective-pedagogical-practices
Johnstone, N. (2009). Pedagogy: Teaching and learning strategies. Retrieved
from https://the-teacher.wikispaces.com/Pedagogy++Teaching+and+Learning+Strategies
Raise Learning. (n.d.). Exploring holistic approaches for early childhood
educators. Retrieved from
http://www.raiselearning.com.au/blogs/news/5818384-exploringholistic-approaches-for-early-childhood-educators
Shann, M.H. (1999). Academics and a culture of caring: The relationship
between school achievement and prosocial and antisocial behaviors
in four urban middle schools. School Effectiveness and School
Improvement, 10, 390-413. Retrieved from
http://www.tandfonline.com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/doi/abs/10.1076/s
esi.10.4.390.3490#.VA58X2SSyDo
Wang, M. & Holcombe, R. (2010). Adolescents perceptions of school
environment, engagement, and academic achievement in middle
school. American Educational Research Journal, 47(3), 633-662.
Retrieved from
http://aer.sagepub.com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/content/47/3/633