Prof Steve Dinham - Australian Institute for Teaching and School ...

Examples of ‘active teaching’ (reciprocal teaching;feedback; teaching self-verbalisation; metacognitionstrategies; direct instruction; masterylearning; testing) have large to moderate effects onstudent achievement. Effect sizes are negligible or small for ‘facilitoryteaching’ (simulations and games; inquiry-basedteaching; individualised instruction; problembasedlearning; differentiated teaching for boysand girls; web-based learning; whole languagereading; inductive teaching). Strategies to promote and remediate literacy figureprominently. Literacy is the foundation of studentachievement.7

SES and family background do have moderate/largeeffect sizes SES is about:◦ Foundations/advantage◦ Opportunity◦ Support◦ Role models and encouragement SES is not about:◦ Innate ability◦ Social-biological determinism◦ Potential8

ReadingScore800PISA 2000PISA (Australia)700600500400300200-2.5 -2.0 -1.5 -1.0 -0.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5SES10

“ … school improvement by itself has potential tomake an enormous difference in the lives ofchildren even if broader social change is slow incoming. The children who depend most on goodschooling for academic growth are the least likelyto receive it. If school improvement begins early inlife and if sustained, the most disadvantagedchildren stand to benefit most. This reasoningsuggests that increasing the amount and thequality of schooling to which these children haveaccess would reduce inequality in academicachievement.”12

“Teaching is more complex than setting tests andassignments, marking books, and telling students whatto do. It is demanding, complex, dynamic and highlydependent on personal relationships and professionaljudgement. Teaching takes time to master and teacherpre-service education can only provide a foundation forthe myriad of contexts and challenges to which teacherscan be exposed. … no two days are the same and thereis no certainty of what will eventuate in the next lessonor what one is likely to encounter around the nextcorner of the school.”◦ Dinham, S. (2006). ‘Teaching and Teacher Education: SomeObservations, Reflections and Possible Solutions’, ED Ventures, 2,pp. 3-20.14

Experts notice features and meaningfulpatterns of information that are not noticedby novices. Experts have acquired a great deal ofcontent knowledge that is organised inways that reflect a deep understanding oftheir subject matter. Experts’ knowledge cannot be reduced tosets of isolated facts or propositions but,instead, reflects contexts of applicability. Experts are able to flexibly retrieveimportant aspects of their knowledge withlittle attentional effort.15

May appear ‘arational’, intuitive, nonanalytic Understand and solve problems at a deeperlevel ‘Know’ their students; students ‘know’ them Though experts know their disciplinesthoroughly, this does not guarantee thatthey are able to teach others. Both teacher and students have highexpectations Experience gained over time important Expert teachers can’t (easily) articulate theirpractice16

Teachers genuinely expert in theirsubject area(s), and enjoyed teaching Three sorts of knowledge essential:◦ Subject content knowledge (what subjectcontent to teach)◦ Subject pedagogic knowledge (how to teachparticular subject content)◦ Subject course knowledge (subjectcurriculum, assessment, exam knowledge)17

Lessons were student centred and teacherdirected. Teachers were highly responsive tostudents and highly demanding, i.e.authoritative, rather than uninvolved,permissive or authoritarian. Mutual respect, confidence and highexpectations. The faculty was more significant thanexpected.18

Although wide range of strategies used, keycommon factor was emphasis on havingstudents think, solve problems and applyknowledge. Understanding built in layers, connections. Frequent assessment and feedback. Teachers saw their role as challengingstudents beyond demands of the HSC.19

Assisted note building, ownership of notemaking Group work, community learning morecommon than might be expected Good relationships and positive classroomclimate essential20

Faculty-based professional learning; Sharing programs, resources, teaching ideas; Setting high expectations and creating a facultyclimate for all members; Whole-faculty approaches, consistency and jointinitiatives; Developing a faculty identity within the school; Faculty HSC success breeding success throughattracting talented students, becoming a dominantculture within the school, and Setting up success in Years 7-10 through teachingthe ‘basics’ well and enthusing students about thesubject(s) taught by the faculty.21

QUALITYTEACHINGFOCUS ON THESTUDENT(Learner, Person)LEADERSHIPPROFESSIONALLEARNING22

Overall, the quality of the teacher and the quality ofteaching (large effect sizes) are much moreimportant than structural or working conditions(negligible or small effect sizes), demonstrating thefutility and waste of ‘fiddling around the edges’ ofschooling without sufficiently addressing thequality of teachers and the quality of teachingwithin schools and classrooms. Quality teaching matters and it’s time we startedacting like it. Recognising and rewarding teachers needs toreflect the realities of teaching.23