1st Edition
How Teaching Happens Seminal Works in Teaching and Teacher Effectiveness and What They Mean in Practice
Building on their bestselling book How Learning Happens, Paul A. Kirschner and Carl Hendrick are joined by Jim Heal to explore how teaching happens. The book seeks to closely examine what makes for effective teaching in the classroom and how research on expert teaching can be used in practice.
Introducing 30 seminal works from the field of education psychology research, the learning sciences, and teaching effectiveness studies, each chapter takes an important work and illustrates clearly and concisely what the research means and how it can be used in daily practice. Divided into six sections the book covers:
• Teacher Effectiveness, Development, and Growth
• Curriculum Development / Instructional Design
• Teaching Techniques
• Pedagogical Content Knowledge
• In the Classroom
• Assessment
The book ends with a final chapter on "What’s Missing?" in how teachers learn to teach.
Written by three leading experts in the field with illustrations by Oliver Cavigioli, How Teaching Happens provides a clear roadmap for classroom teachers, school leaders, and teacher trainers/trainees on what effective teaching looks like in practice.
Preface Section 1: Teacher effectiveness, development, and growth 1. An Experienced Teacher ≠ An Expert Teacher 2. Those Who Understand, Teach 3. Teachers Are Made, Not Born 4. Teachers Are Made, Not Born 5. I Think, Therefore I Teach 6. When Thinking and Acting Become One Section 2: Curriculum development / Instructional design 7. It’s all about alignment 8. Pebble in the Pond 9. How to tell the Story of an Idea 10. If you don’t know where you’re going, you might wind up someplace else Section 3: Teaching Techniques 11. There’s No Such Thing as a Child Who Can’t Be Taught 12. Burning the Strawman 13. Make Something of what You’ve Learnt 14. Learning: No Pain, No Gain 15. Step for Step Section 4: Pedagogical content knowledge 16. Why You Can’t Teach What You Don’t Know 17. Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching 18. The Science of Science Teaching 19. Three Chords and the Truth 20. How Should we Teach Reading? 21. Why Technology Should be the Servant not the Master? Section 5: In the classroom 22. "To Thine Own Self Be True": The Authentic Teacher 23. Relationally Speaking 24. Why Relationships Matter 25. Teachers as Intelligent Consumers Section 6: Assessment 26. The Many Faces and Uses of Assessment 27. When Testing Kills Learning 28. Don’t Ask Questions That Don’t Require Understanding to Answer 29. Why Teaching to the Test is So Bad 30. Hocus-Pocus Teacher Education End notes Glossary Index
Biography
Paul A. Kirschner is Emeritus Professor Educational Psychology at the Open University of the Netherlands, Guest Professor at the Thomas More University of Applied Science in Belgium and owner of kirschner-ED.
Carl Hendrick holds a PhD in education from King’s College London and has taught for several years in both the state and independent sectors. He currently teaches at Wellington College, UK.
Jim Heal works at Deans for Impact, a US-based non-profit organization committed to the transformation of educator preparation. He holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education.
"Evidence-informed education does not sit still; it is a discussion constantly taking place. Findings are never fixed; they are renewed and invigorated by subsequent exploration. This book is a vital part of the revolution happening in classrooms around the world and marks a new frontier in its evolution."
Tom Bennett OBE, Founder of researchED
"This is a terrific collection of some of thought-provoking and actionable articles about classroom teaching. The selections are sure to inform and challenge readers, and certainly will help them understand teaching better. It is also not farfetched to imagine that critical thinking about these articles will lead to better teaching."
David C. Berliner, Regents’ Professor Emeritus, Arizona State University, US
"This is another great summary of the education research evidence. If you've ever wondered about the importance of subject knowledge, whether teachers are born or made, or what it means to be an authentic teacher, this is the book for you."
Daisy Christodoulou, Director of Education, No More Marking
"Brilliant! How many educators, cowed by the volume and complexity of the technical literature on teaching, wished for a group of experts to hand-pick the most important articles to read? And while they are at it, to explain their importance and what they mean for practice? How Teaching Happens distills decades of complexity into an easy-to-read volume that dispenses practical wisdom. Anyone connected with education must read it!"
Daniel T. Willingham, Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia, and author of Why Don’t Students Like School?
"It is REALLY a great book and I hope there is more of them. How Teaching Happens mines research gold and will sit with How Learning Happens as bookends of the perfect library for all educators. The 29 seminal articles about effectiveness, curricula, design, techniques, content knowledge, and assessment are minimal reading and they open a depth of findings, ways of thinking, and the foundation of pedagogy reality as opposed to the delusions that often are spouted about teaching. How Learning Happens was my top pick for 2021, and How Teaching Happens is my top pick for 2022."
John Hattie, Emeritus Professor of Education and author of Visible Learning
"How Teaching Happens is an exceptional piece of work; a worthy follow-up to How Learning Happens. As someone who works with hundreds of school leaders engaged in the business of teacher development, I can see this book being an immense support in a wide range of contexts, making seminal research accessible and actionable, informing the many important debates people across the profession are engaged in. The selection of papers is excellent, skilfully chosen to span the broad scope of everyday teaching issues - classroom practice, curriculum design, assessment and the all-important pedagogical content knowledge. Each paper is summarised and explored in depth with great clarity and enthusiasm, always with a focus on the implications for working teachers. It's a great read for anyone with an intellectual interest in the research base around how teachers function but, more importantly, this book is packed with insights that teachers and leaders can act on to improve their practice. It's a magnificent book that should find a place in every school staffroom or CPD library."
Tom Sherrington, Education Consultant and Author of Teaching Walkthrus
"Kirschner, Hendrick, and Heal’s book is elegant, scholarly and accessible. They gracefully connect the often mysterious insights of research on teaching with principles and strategies of practice. An important contribution to repairing the painful isolation of wise practice from the work of scholars. Combining their careers both in the United States and in Europe, they also offer readers a valuable international perspective."
Lee S. Shulman, Emeritus Professor of Education, Stanford Graduate School of Education / President Emeritus, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
"Summarising all of the important ideas that have influenced our profession is a tall order indeed, and the book represents a valiant effort... It’s a must-read for everyone in the profession.
Robbie Burns, Schools Week
"This book belongs in every school professional development section... one of the best teacher training books available."
The School Libarian
"An excellent resource for educators who are looking to improve their teaching practices. It manages to deliver meaningful, scholarly content in an accessible and enjoyable way that is easy to read. I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in teaching."
Charles B. Hodges, TechTrends
