Benjamin Franklin apparently said tell me and I forget teach me and I remember involve me and I learn but what do we really know about effective learning hundreds of years later many respected economists and educators from the world's leading universities researched this topic.
They discovered that many things don't matter such as classroom size new technology or fancy uniforms their evidence suggests that the secret to thriving students is amazing teachers.
Here's what they have learned first.
We have to acknowledge that teaching is a highly complex skill.
It involves a deep understanding of the subject matter and the ability to explain complex issues in simple ways.
But it also requires an understanding of psychology pedagogy as well as a wide range of management skills in order to get the students first quiet and then excited robco professor at Durham University reported that many widely used methods don't work for example, grouping students by ability giving unearned praise or the idea that students can discover complex concepts by themselves instead master instructors have high expectations and maximize the lesson time but most importantly they combine high quality instruction with pedagogical content knowledge.
They don't teach a subject they teach their students how to learn it for themselves in order to get it right.
We have to treat and train teachers like brain surgeons after all they operate on human brains, like aspiring doctors.
They are best trained in the field where they receive professional feedback when they make mistakes effective schools of Education therefore train teaching like a craft rather than an abstract science at Sposato a Graduate School of Education known for creating effective teachers students spend a lot of their time tutoring or assisting for teachers who were already in the classroom need regular professional feedback on the job avast study by Roland fryer from Harvard found that teachers who received precise instructions together with specific regular feedback from a lead teacher will improve the most other good ideas to improve teachers are to ask the students for feedback or to record lessons on video and let the teachers watch themselves Doug Lomov founder of uncommon schools and author of teach like a champion identified many methods that great teachers use they greet each student at the door.
So students feel welcomed and acknowledged of their existence later.
