Teaching strategies in Maltese primary schools

Abstract

The present work reports a study of the possible teaching strategies that can be used within the primary classroom. This is followed by investigation of what happens in our local primary schools, together with a video to illustrate the practical work in class. Observations were carried out in different schools and a considerably clear idea of how Maltese primary school teachers adopt strategies was obtained. Teachers try to deliver motivating lessons, whenever there is an observer, and perhaps even on their own. They can have problems like all student teachers do. Some know how to use the right strategies at the right moment, others don't. Questionnaires were distributed so that a broader picture of how local primary school teachers use strategies in their work could be provided. The results obtained are more idealistic than those concluded from the observations. Graphs are included in the analysis of the questionnaire to give a clearer insight in the distributions. A video is also presented together with the dissertation. This serves as a witness of what really happens in local primary classes. The presence of the video camera does not provide the maximum naturality from both teacher and children's side. From the results obtained it is concluded that there are no correct or wrong teaching strategies, as long as they are used at the right moment. Teaching strategies offer a teacher the key to success in the career and the amount of them is so vast that it offers the teacher the possibility to choose according to one's demands.