The Thoughtful Classroom Program（深思熟虑的课堂计划）.pdf

The Thoughtful Classroom Program Becoming a Strategic Teacher: Better Instruction, Deeper Learning, Higher Achievement One of the greatest challenges facing today’s school leaders is the challenge of raising the expertise of their teachers. We hear more calls for teacher effectiveness than ever before, and we are seeing that teacher effectiveness is becoming a significant part of the national discussion on education. Everybody agrees that what teachers do in the classroom matters deeply. A recent investigation into the practices of the world’s top 25 school systems put it this way: “The quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers” (Barber Mourshed, 2007). In fact, a wide body of research shows that the single greatest factor affecting student achievement is classroom instruction. In one study, Mortimore Sammons (1987) found that classroom instruction has more impact on student learning than any other factor—more important than the next six factors they studied combined. As McKinsey Company concluded in their study of the world’s best schools, “The only way to improve outcomes is to improve instruction.” Obviously, we all wish for our teachers to be more thoughtful and effective in designing and delivering instruction that raises student achievement. In The Thoughtful Classroom, we call these teachers strategic teachers, and for three reasons: 1. Strategic teachers have a repertoire of research-based instructional strategies at their disposal. 2. Strategic teachers understand how and when to use particular strategies in their classrooms. They can select strategies that support their objectives and adapt strategies to meet particular learning goals. In other words, their overall approach to instruction is strategic. 3. Strategic teachers understand that their fellow educators are their greatest resource. That’s why strate