Teaching Is Complex. Professional Learning Should Reflect That.
Nearly fifty years ago, Jon Saphier came to an important realization: despite years of experience, there was still so much about teaching he did not fully understand.
That realization launched a decades-long effort to study teaching deeply, identify research-based practices that support student learning, and make the craft of teaching more visible and learnable.
More from founder, Jon Saphier here.
From Common Challenges to Lasting Change
Professional learning designed for the real complexity of teaching — grounded in practice, shared language, collaboration, and continuous growth.
One of the few professional development experiences that truly changed my practice. |
High School Teacher, 10+ Years Experience |
Find Your Path Start with the Foundation - SST
Most educators begin with Studying Skillful Teaching (SST) — our foundational course for understanding the knowledge base of teaching and developing a common language for practice.
From there, choose the next course that best fits your goals.
"This course makes you a better teacher and gives you strategies that you can use in your classroom the very next day." |
Elementary Teacher, 6–10 Years of Experience |
Where Better Teaching Begins
Great teaching isn't a collection of isolated strategies—it's a coherent body of professional knowledge. Build the shared language, practical skills, and instructional expertise that become the foundation for everything that follows.
96% of SST participants would recommend the course to a colleague, and 94% reported immediate classroom application. 95% reported stronger strategies for supporting all learners, and 93% reported a stronger shared language for instruction.
See the full impact data
Build on the Foundations of Skillful Teaching
After SST, educators can continue their professional learning journey through courses that deepen expertise in specific areas of teaching while building on the shared language, frameworks, and foundations introduced in Studying Skillful Teaching.
Supporting Beginning Teachers
RBT also offers FIT for Beginning Teachers, a foundational program available exclusively to districts already offering Studying Skillful Teaching (SST). FIT helps new educators build the practical skills, instructional habits, and classroom foundations needed for success early in their careers, giving districts an entry point for beginning teachers within their existing SST pipeline before those teachers move into SST itself.
The Knowledge Base On Teaching
Here’s the good news: there is a common core of research-based professional knowledge about every dimension of good teaching.
That knowledge base is accessible and practical. It is not a list of behaviors or do’s and don’ts on best practices. Rather, the knowledge base defines areas of performance – all those functions teachers carry out – and offers a rich repertoire of strategies and moves for each area. The art of teaching is in continuously expanding one’s repertoire and skillfully matching which tool or strategy best fits a given situation.
The Map of Pedagogical Knowledge is about Repertoire and Matching
RBT's Other Areas of Expertise
RBT partners with schools, districts, and educational organizations to strengthen instructional leadership, professional culture, and the systems that support high-expertise teaching and learning.
We also provide customized consulting and long-term partnership support tailored to district and organizational goals — including leadership development, teacher evaluation systems, instructional coaching, professional learning design, and district-wide instructional improvement initiatives.