Founded on One Powerful Question
What do skillful teachers actually do that helps students learn?
That question became the foundation for The Skillful Teacher and Research for Better Teaching. Since then, we've partnered with educators to translate the knowledge base of effective teaching into practical frameworks, shared language, and professional learning that strengthen teaching, instructional leadership, and student learning.
Of all the things that are important to having good schools, nothing is as important as the teacher and what that person knows, believes, and can do. |
Jon SaphierRBT Founder |
Why We're Different
We Believe Teaching Expertise Can Be Developed.
Many organizations deliver professional development.
We help schools build professional expertise.
Everything we do is rooted in a belief that has guided RBT since its founding:
Teaching is not a talent people either have or don't have—it is professional expertise that can be learned, practiced, refined, and continuously improved.
That belief shapes our work with teachers, instructional coaches, principals, district leaders, and leadership teams.
Instead of isolated workshops, we help schools develop a shared instructional language, stronger coaching practices, collaborative professional cultures, and the internal capacity to sustain improvement long after our work together begins.
Jon Saphier, Founder of RBT
Why Educators Trust RBT
- A proven belief that teaching expertise can be developed
- Research-based frameworks refined through nearly 50 years of practice
- Professional learning that leads to immediate classroom application
- Partnerships that strengthen internal capacity for lasting improvement
Schools choose Research for Better Teaching because our work goes beyond delivering professional development. We help educators build the knowledge, skills, shared language, and professional culture needed to improve teaching over time.
What We Offer
RBT partners with teachers, leaders, and districts to build high-expertise teaching that lasts — not through disconnected workshops, but through a shared language and a coherent system for growth.
Every partnership is different, but every engagement is built around strengthening teaching expertise and creating lasting instructional improvement.
The Skillful Teacher wasn't just about how to teach. It gave us a common way of thinking and talking about teaching and learning and experiencing it together. |
Jerry WeastFormer Superintendent, Montgomery County Public Schools |
Continue Exploring
Explore the people, purpose, history, and partnerships that shape Research for Better Teaching.
Our Story
From One Question to a Movement
Discover how Jon Saphier's research became a framework that has shaped teaching and learning for nearly five decades.
Read Our Story →
Our Mission & Core Values
Why We Exist
Explore the beliefs, mission, and guiding principles that shape every partnership and every learning experience.
Explore Our Mission →
Our Team
Experienced Educators. Trusted Partners.
Meet the educators, leaders, consultants, and authors who work alongside schools to strengthen teaching and instructional leadership.
Meet Our Team →
Who We Work With
Supporting Educators Nationwide and Around the World
Partnering with schools, districts, universities, and educational organizations to strengthen teaching and learning.
Explore Our Partnerships →
More high-expertise teaching, for more children, in more classrooms, more of the time. |
