Start at Square One

On the first night of one of my graduate classes at The College of New Jersey, our professor broke us into small groups and asked us to name one particularly effective learning experience from our school days. As we sat there and tried to find commonalities between our memories, many of us were surprised at the difficulty of the task. Some people recalled teachers who stressed memorization using effective mnemonic devices. Others of us recalled classes in which we were asked to construct knowledge while completing hands-on activities. I wish I could say that we were able to distill some essential knowledge from our conversations; however effective teaching is a multidimensional task that cannot be teased out through anecdotes alone.
While the HPL book makes it clear that there is not one set of general teaching strategies that apply to all subject areas, there are some general characteristics of all good teaching (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000). First, all teaching must have a goal. While this may seem self evident, it is far from trivial. Consider the following childhood anecdote told by a teacher considering the nature of understanding, “I felt then that my brain was a way station for material going in one ear and (after the test) out the other. I could memorize very easily and so became valedictorian, but I was embarrassed even then that I understood much less than some other students who cared less about grades (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005).” As a student, did she meet the goals of her teachers? It would be difficult to argue that the valedictorian of any school did not meet the goals of his/her teachers. Yet, how could a student reach the top tier of academic achievement with only limited understanding? The following problem was presented to 8th graders as part of a national math assessment test.

"How many buses does the army need to transport 1,128 soldiers if each bus holds 36 soldiers?"

Nearly one third of students answered, “31 remainder 12 (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005).” If understanding is a goal of the teacher, it must be identified, taught for and assessed. However, it is important to note that teaching for in-depth understanding is not the goal of all teaching. For example learning the alphabet, acquiring some technical skills, and developing the basics of foreign language do not require in-depth understanding(Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). Effective teaching requires that appropriate goals are selected for the learner and appropriate instructional strategies are being utilized to help learner meet those goals.
Another tenant of all effective teaching is assessment. Assessment is not only end-of-teaching tests or culminating performance tasks. According to Wiggans and McTighe assessment is the deliberate use of many methods to gather evidence to indicate that students are meeting goals (2005). Indeed, Wiggans and McTighe even assert that multiple methods of assessment alone can develop and evoke understanding among students (2005). While we do not have the opportunity in this article to explore the multitude of available assessment techniques, it is critical to understand that assessment is not merely grading it is an integral part of the instructional process.
We have only scratched the surface of effective teaching. Yet, it is important to build all your practices as a teacher on a good foundation. Selecting appropriate goals and quality assessment that measure those goals is a great footing from which to begin.

Bransford, J., Brown, A., & Cocking, R. (Eds.). (2000). How people learn : brain, mind, experience, and school. (Expanded ed.). Washington, D.C: National Academy Press.

Wiggins, G. P. & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design (Expanded 2nd ed ed.). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.