August 21st, 2013

What is good teaching?

Research at the Harvard School of Education, the National Academy of Sciences, and the University of Chicago, and reports by professional associations of educators in science, math, language arts, social studies, early childhood, and the National Board for Teaching Standards share common findings about teaching methods and learning theory. The research and reports distinguish good teaching from much of what happens in American schools. Good teaching fills classrooms with challenging, authentic, and collaborative work focused on deeper exploration of a smaller number of subjects. The characteristics of good teaching cluster in three categories:

 Good teaching is student centered. It starts with students’ interests and what they already know, offers them real challenges, choices and responsibilities, and features curriculum that connects, rather than fragmenting, ideas across subject areas.

 Good teaching is cognitive. Learning is the consequence of thinking and making work that demonstrates mastery of meaningful ideas and compelling problems. Good teaching employs the range of communicative media – including the arts – and makes student reflection a regular part of the learning experience.

 And good teaching is social. Students learn better together. The classroom is a community, and students are its citizens. Teachers nurture the community and provide intellectual, emotional, and social supports to students. (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000) (Perkins, 2010) (Zemelman, Daniels, & Hyde, 2005) (Smith, Lee, & Newman, 2001)