New book hopes to improve teaching, learning experiences

A collection on teaching teachers, called 'Signature Pedagogies of Teacher Education in Pakistan', has been launched on World Teachers' Day by the Aga Khan University's Institute for Educational Development.

The international day for teachers is observed annually on October 5 (today).

The teaching profession depends on research, on a foundation of evidence-based efforts to understand the effectiveness of student learning, teaching and academic practice.

The book provides insights into planning and applying new repertoires of teaching in classrooms with adult learners, while demonstrating how these pedagogies meet international standards of teaching within the local context.

It aims to prepare teachers and teacher educators as future leaders of change in their respective schools and communities. It hopes these teachers will become change makers who empower their students through interactive and independent modes of teaching.

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"Each chapter in the book addresses the significance and applicability of selected pedagogy, its impact on student learning as well as its influence on policy in the current scenario of education in Pakistan," says Dr Ayesha Bashiruddin, co-editor and former AKU faculty.

"Through this book, we hope to share the 'localised' models adopted and implemented by IED faculty over the past three decades, with the wider higher education community in Pakistan and the developing world." She added that the appropriate pedagogies ensure that teachers use teaching techniques, instructional materials and learning strategies in a manner that contributes significantly to improved student learning outcomes.

"We hope this book will promote communal discourse in teacher education to foster better ways of learning and teaching," says Dr Nusrat Rizvi, co-editor and assistant professor at AKU.