Principle 1: Care about helping your kids to do the best that they can
Effective teachers are passionate about helping their students to learn. They form warm and caring relationships with their students. However, they also set high expectations, and they demand that their students meet them. This leads to a situation where the teacher and the students are working together towards a common goal – helping every child to learn as much as they can.
Principle 2: Understand but don’t excuse your students
Effective teachers seek to understand their students, but so do most teachers. The difference is that effective teachers still expect each of their students to behave and to achieve well. Effective teachers use their understanding to adjust their approach to teaching, but they did not use it to excuse misbehaviour, poor effort or a lack of real academic progress.
Principle 3: Be clear about what you want your students to learn
Effective teachers are clear about what they want their students to learn and they share this with their students. Everyone understands what success entails. Effective teachers also know where students are currently at in this area. They then work towards developing the understanding and skills their students need to demonstrate that they have mastered the material.
Principle 4: Disseminate surface knowledge and promote deep learning
Effective teachers want their students to be able to think critically and to develop a deep understanding of the material being taught in class. However, they recognise developing this deep understanding requires sharing a foundational set of knowledge and skills. Armed with this foundation, teachers can help students to develop a deep understanding of the topic at hand.
Principle 5: Gradually release responsibility for learning
Effective teachers do not ask their students to perform tasks that they have not shown their students how to do. Rather, they start by modelling what students need to do. They then ask their students to have a go themselves, while being available to help as needed. Only when students are ready, do they ask their students to perform the tasks on their own. Finally, they offer ongoing cumulative practice, spaced out over time, to help students retain what they have learned.