The “How” of Teaching

This chapter provides teachers with the foundational, theoretical background for how excellent teaching is described in Chapters 3 and 4 . This is done for several reasons. First, teachers should have an understanding of the deep research on teaching and instruction and understand where those ideas have come from. Second, teachers should identify the pedagogies that seem to have worked best for teachers over time. Third, teachers should identify specific methodologies and practices that align with their broader pedagogical principles. Part of this discussion is to provide clear descriptions for the differences between pedagogy, methodology, and instructional strategies. In order to resist the worst tendencies of the educational system, teachers should be able to make clear, specific, principled arguments for the decisions they make in their classrooms. This chapter empowers them with the background knowledge.