Skillful teachers are aware of the complexity of their job, and work to be conscious and deliberate about what they do. |
Effective teaching lies in choosing appropriately from among the options so as to match given students, situations, or curricula. |
The Skillful Teacher Framework: Map of Pedagogical Knowledge
The 18 tasks of skillful teaching can be grouped according to their overall function— management, instructional strategies, motivation, and curriculum—and their associated areas of performance, as illustrated in Figure 2.1. All together, these areas of performance delineate the range of generic pedagogy. Animating and often driving the commitment to accomplish these tasks are one’s beliefs which we place as the foundation of the pyramid.
In successful teaching, comprehensiveness, repertoire, and matching are what count.
The foundation of skillful teaching is the belief that all students can learn rigorous academic materials at high standards. |
How Do We Define a Skillful Teacher?
- Skillful teachers are aware of the complexity of their job, and work to be conscious and deliberate about what they do. They don’t do what they do just because that’s the way it has always been done or because that’s the cultural expectation of how it shall be done. They do what they do because they have thought about it and made choices from a repertoire of options that seem best.
- Skillful teachers want to control and regulate their teaching to have a positive effect on their students. They monitor what they do, receive feedback, and try different things. Skillful teachers are determined that their students will succeed. When that isn’t happening, they examine their practices.
- Skillful teachers are clear about what is to be learned, what achievement means, and what they are going to do to help their students attain it. If one thing doesn’t work, they make another plan that is also technically clear and well thought out.
- Skillful teachers are learners—always a student of teaching, as Joyce et al. (1981) said long ago. Skillful teachers constantly reach out to their colleagues with an assertive curiosity that says, “I don’t know it all. No one does or ever will, but I am always growing, adding to my knowledge and skills and effectiveness.” To skillful teachers, that openness and reaching out are important elements of professionalism.