What Makes Great Teaching – Five Golden Nuggets

🎙 Episode Summary

In this Research Bites deep dive, we unpack one of the most influential education research reports of the last decade: What Makes Great Teaching (Coe et al., 2014). Focusing on the Bangladeshi classroom context, we highlight five golden nuggets of evidence that define effective teaching and show how they can be translated into practical, low-cost strategies. From understanding misconceptions to building positive classroom climates, embracing “desirable difficulties,” and sustaining professional growth, this episode offers both inspiration and concrete tools for teachers and leaders working with large classes and limited resources.

We’ve also written a blog to accompany this podcast and research – The Making of a Great Teacher: Lessons from Research and the Classroom

• 📌 Key Takeaways

  1. Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) – Knowing how students think about subject matter is as important as knowing the subject itself. Anticipating misconceptions can unlock over a month of extra learning per year.

  2. Quality of Instruction – Structure lessons step by step, use frequent checks for understanding, and lean on evidence-based frameworks like Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction.

  3. Classroom Climate & Teacher Beliefs – High expectations, effort-based praise, and a growth mindset culture boost motivation and resilience.

  4. Desirable Difficulties – Strategies like spacing, interleaving, and retrieval practice feel harder but drive long-term retention.

  5. Professional Growth & Collaboration – Teacher learning mirrors student learning. Supportive school cultures with feedback, reflection, and peer collaboration ensure continuous improvement.

Research Notes and Links

• • Core Report: Coe, R., Aloisi, C., Higgins, S., & Major, L.E. (2014). What makes great teaching? Sutton Trust Report PDF

  • Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK): Shulman, L. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher, 15(2), 4–14. DOI:10.3102/0013189X015002004

  • Classroom Instruction: Rosenshine, B. (2012). Principles of Instruction. PDF summary

  • Teacher Beliefs & Expectations: ASKE Numeracy Study (2007).

  • Desirable Difficulties: Bjork, R. A., & Bjork, E. L. (2011). Making things hard on yourself, but in a good way. Psychology and the Real World, 2, 59–68.

  • Professional Growth: Kraft, M. A., & Papay, J. P. (2014). Can professional environments in schools promote teacher development? Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 36(4), 476–500. DOI:10.3102/0162373713519496

Related EBTD blogs to explore:

• • 7 Steps to Make Learning Stick

  • Cold Calling That Works

  • Making Maths Meaningful Every Day

  • The Making of a Great Teacher: Lessons from Research and the Classroom

Have you ever paused in a classroom, maybe watching a colleague, a truly incredible teacher, just effortlessly connect with students? You see them guide kids through a really complex idea and you just think, “Wow, how do they do that? What’s their secret?” That’s a feeling so many teachers have, isn’t it? Especially when you’re facing challenges like maybe limited resources or big classes. Absolutely. And that quest for, you know, genuine effectiveness for making a real difference. It’s something we see in dedicated educators every single day.

It really is. It’s that unspoken question in the staff room. That desire to know not just what great teaching looks like, but how to actually get there consistently. Exactly. And that’s the exciting challenge we’re here to dive into today. Welcome to the deep dive, your quick way into exploring big ideas. We’re part of the research bites series. Think of it as your shortcut. Really, chewing over complex research and pulling out those practical insights. Small bites of big evidence. That’s the goal.

And our mission today, it’s all about understanding what truly makes great teaching. We’re going deep into a really significant piece of education research, the what makes great teaching report by Coe and colleagues from 2014. And specifically for you, our listeners, particularly teachers and leaders working hard in Bangladesh, we want to pull out five crucial research-backed ideas. Think of them like golden nuggets of evidence. We aim to offer practical steps, things you can actually implement that genuinely acknowledge your local realities. We know about limited resources, varying teacher experience, those large classes.

We know you’re constantly innovating. We just want to fuel that with some solid evidence. This isn’t just theory. It’s about giving you tools you can hopefully use straight away, spark new thinking, maybe enhance learning outcomes, and honestly save you some precious time. And the report starts us off with a very clear sort of no-nonsense definition. Great teaching is defined as that which leads to improved student progress. Simple as that. So it’s not about popularity or, you know, just trying hard. Exactly. It really puts student outcomes, student progress as the ultimate yardstick. It’s all about the impact.

Okay, that’s a powerful starting point. So let’s get into it. What’s the first big piece of the puzzle according to the research, the foundation? So the first, and arguably the one with the strongest evidence behind it, is something called pedagogical content knowledge. We often shorten it to PCK. And what does that involve? Is it just knowing your subject inside out? Well, that’s part of it, but it’s much more nuanced. It’s not just knowing all the facts or formulas. It’s really about understanding how students learn that specific content, how they typically think about it, what journey they go on, and crucially, what common misconceptions or sticking points they might have before you even start teaching.

That’s a huge distinction, isn’t it? Moving beyond just knowing the material to understanding the student’s perspective on it. But I wonder how well do teachers typically do at predicting those misconceptions? That’s a great question. The research is, well, kind of eye-opening. One study looked at middle school science teachers. And even those with strong subject knowledge, their ability to identify common student misconceptions was barely better than random guessing. Wow. Really? That’s surprising. It is. You can know your stuff perfectly but still completely miss where your students are likely to get confused or what intuitive ideas might lead them astray. So there’s a potential gap there that we might not even be aware of.

Precisely. And it matters. Research on maths teachers found that those with strong PCK, they called it CKT, content knowledge for teaching, could lead to over a month’s worth of additional learning for their students in just one year. A whole extra month of learning. That’s significant. It really is. The report stresses that if a teacher’s PCK falls below a certain threshold, it becomes a real barrier to student learning. It’s not just what you teach, but how the student receives and processes it.

So for you listening as a teacher in Bangladesh, this means going beyond just knowing the curriculum pages. It’s about understanding the unique path your students take through that content, anticipating the bumps, the tricky bits, being a guide who really knows the terrain. Exactly. So how can we build this PCK, especially with limited resources and maybe large classes? We’ve got three practical ideas. Okay, first up, peer-led concept clinics. Think short, regular chats with colleagues, maybe 15, 20 minutes once a week. Okay, manageable. Focus on just one tricky curriculum concept that students often struggle with. Teachers share their best explanations, analogies maybe, and importantly, the common pitfalls they’ve seen. So, you’re building collective wisdom, pooling that PCK, and minimal resources needed. Exactly. Low-cost, high-impact potential.

Second idea, misconception spotting. When you start a new topic, just spend five minutes asking students what they think they know or what they predict. Actively try to surface those common misunderstandings. So drawing them out right at the start. Yeah, you might be surprised. And those insights let you tailor your teaching immediately, addressing the gaps right away. Zero cost. That’s very direct. And the third, visual concept maps. Create simple large diagrams for key topics. Use the chalkboard, chart, paper, whatever you have. Visually show the connections between ideas and explicitly point out the areas where students often get stuck. It makes the learning journey visible. Helping them see the big picture and the potential hurdles. Great. So, we’ve got PCK as the foundation. Where does the research point next?

Okay. Building on that deep understanding, the next critical area is about how you actually structure the learning in the classroom. Clear steps, constant checks. So, moving from what you know to how you deliver it. Structure learning with clear steps and constant checks. That’s it. And the research is really strong here, too. How you deliver instruction piece by piece fundamentally impacts student learning. The report calls this quality of instruction. It includes things like effective questioning, how you use assessment day-to-day, and it’s closely linked to classroom management, which has moderate evidence.

So, management sets the stage. Exactly. The report sees it as essential for creating the conditions for good learning, even if it’s not the learning itself. Necessary, but maybe not sufficient on its own. Makes sense. You need that smooth running classroom for anything else to happen, like ensuring the river flows smoothly so the boats can move perhaps. Nice analogy. Oh, and the report points to Rosenshine’s principles in instruction as a really practical framework for this quality instruction piece. Ah, Rosenshine, many teachers will have heard of those. Indeed. Think of them as a kind of evidence-backed checklist for effective lessons. Things like start with a quick review of prior learning. Activate that memory. Present new material in small steps with student practice after each step, not overwhelming them. Ask lots of questions, check responses from all students, not just the keen ones. Provide models, worked examples, and on the management side, it’s about using time efficiently, having clear rules, applying them consistently. It all creates that essential environment.

So for you listening, these are your daily tools really, especially vital in larger classes where every moment counts. How can we make these principles work practically? Okay, first, daily “do now” reviews. Start lessons with just two or three quick questions, spoken or written, reviewing yesterday’s or last week’s topic. Gets their brains back in gear immediately. Exactly. Reinforces memory. No fancy resources needed. Second, a model practice cycle. Show, then do. Pretty much introduce a new skill. Clearly model one example yourself. Then immediately get students to try a similar one. Repeat that cycle. Don’t explain everything up front. Build understanding step by step. Yes.

And third, super important in big classes, check for all strategies. How do you check for all in a class of say 60? Use non-verbal cues. Thumbs up/down for understanding. Show me on your fingers. Answer 1, two, or three. Coral responses work too. Or even just scrap paper held up as mini whiteboards. Anything to get a quick snapshot from many students, not just the usual suspects. It helps you spot who needs help early. That’s crucial. Spotting who needs help before they get left behind. And that leads nicely into our third key message, doesn’t it? Because creating an environment where students feel okay asking for help or trying again. That’s vital.

Absolutely. This is about the whole atmosphere, cultivating a positive, effort-driven classroom. Okay. This ties directly into classroom climate. Moderate evidence here, focusing on the quality of teacher-student interactions and crucially teacher expectations. And it links to teacher beliefs too. The why behind the what. Exactly, that has some evidence supporting it. The report notes that the purpose behind a teacher’s actions is often as important as the action itself. So, it’s not just what you do, but the underlying belief driving it. The report mentions creating a classroom that’s constantly demanding more, but still recognizing students’ self-worth.

Yeah, that’s a key phrase. It’s about attributing success to effort, not innate ability, valuing resilience, grit, the willingness to try again after failing. That’s a big mindset shift for some. It can be. Think about that ASKE study on numeracy teachers. The highly effective ones genuinely believed nearly all pupils could succeed. They saw challenge as the way students develop strategy. Whereas less effective teachers, they often held beliefs about fixed abilities. Some kids are just good at math, some aren’t. That belief, even unspoken, can really limit potential.

So your beliefs, the atmosphere you foster, they fundamentally shape engagement, motivation, that willingness to learn. How can we make this tangible in the classroom? Okay, three practical steps again. First, effort-based praise instead of, “You’re so smart.” Exactly. Shift to praising the effort or the strategy. “I can see you worked really hard on this problem,” or, “That was a clever way you approached that calculation.” It builds a growth mindset. Focus on the process, not just the person or the outcome.

Second, visible expectations. Get students involved. Create just two or three positive classroom expectations together. “We listen respectfully. We try our best. We help each other.” And display them. Yeah. Make them visible. Refer to them consistently. Builds that shared culture, gives students ownership. Nice. And third, focus on success, especially for struggling students. Break tasks down into smaller, genuinely achievable steps. Let them experience success. Ah, so success builds confidence, not the other way around.

That’s what the report suggests. It says start getting them to succeed and their motivation and confidence should increase. It challenges that idea of fixing confidence before tackling the content. Small wins build momentum. That’s a really powerful, almost counterintuitive idea, and it leads perfectly into our fourth message, which delves into cognitive psychology. This one might challenge some long-held habits. Oh, definitely. This is about embracing desirable difficulties for lasting learning.

Desirable difficulties sounds like an oxymoron. Why would we want learning to be difficult? Exactly. It runs counter to intuition, doesn’t it? And this section of the report does some serious myth busting around common practices. Well, first, praising lavishly. Turns out over-the-top praise can sometimes signal low expectations, like you’re surprised they managed it. What else? Allowing learners to discover key ideas entirely for themselves. While inquiry is valuable later for brand new knowledge, direct instruction is often much more effective for building that initial foundation. Right. Avoid letting them flounder unnecessarily.

Then there’s the big one. Encouraging rereading and highlighting to memorize things. Guilty. I definitely did that. It feels so productive, right? You look at the highlighted page, you reread it, you think, “Yep, got it.” But the research suggests it often creates a false sense of fluency. You recognize it, but you can’t necessarily recall it easily later. It doesn’t stick long term. So, it’s like decorating the cake without properly baking it.

Great analogy. And the last myth, presenting information in preferred learning styles, VAK, visual, auditory, kinesthetic. The evidence just isn’t there, no proof it actually improves learning outcomes. Our brains are more flexible. Okay, so if those common things aren’t that effective, what is? What are these desirable difficulties? There are strategies that, yes, make learning feel a bit harder in the moment, maybe less satisfying immediately, but that extra cognitive effort is precisely what leads to better, stronger, long-term retention.

So making the brain work a bit harder actually cements the learning. That’s the core idea developed by Bjork and Bjork. The struggle helps it stick. Fascinating. What are some examples of these strategies? Key ones include spacing, spreading out study or practice over time with gaps in between instead of cramming. Makes sense. Don’t cram. Interleaving, mixing up different types of problems or topics within one practice session rather than doing blocks of the same thing. Forces you to think which method to use, not just repeat one.

Exactly. And retrieval practice, actively trying to pull information out of your memory. Think low stakes quizzing, testing yourselves even without feedback. The act of retrieval itself is a powerful learning event. So tests aren’t just for assessment, they’re for learning. Absolutely. These are incredibly powerful resource ways to boost long-term retention. This really could change things, couldn’t it? Especially since they don’t require fancy equipment. So practical steps for the classroom in Bangladesh.

Okay. First, low stakes retrieval practice. Integrate frequent short ungraded quizzes or exit tickets. Ask students to recall things from last lesson, last week. Even is asking orally. Yes. What are two things you remember from last week’s topic on X? Simple, fast, effective. Second, mix up practice. So, when assigning homework or practice, don’t just give 10 problems of type A then 10 of type B. Mix them up. Blend different concepts they’ve already learned. It forces them to discriminate and select the right strategy. Makes the practice more challenging but more effective. That’s the desirable difficulty.

And third, encourage a spaced review schedule. How can teachers manage that easily? It can be simple. Revisit topics not just the next day, but maybe a week later, a month later. Assign one review problem from a previous unit each day. Build it into warm-ups. Small, consistent revisiting. That’s a profound shift. Okay, we’re nearing the end. What’s our final key message from the report? The final message really brings it back to the teacher and the school environment. It’s about the ongoing journey. Commit to continuous personal and collective growth.

Ah, professional development and learning. Exactly. This covers professional behaviors which has some evidence for impact. It emphasizes reflecting on your practice, developing it, participating in PD. Makes sense. The report frames it as a knowledge building cycle for teachers, highlighting the crucial role of feedback for improvement. It actually says professional learning is fundamentally similar to student learning. So, we learn in similar ways to our students. And what about feedback for teachers?

The impact can be significant. It can have a sizable impact on student outcomes. And here’s a key finding they cite. Teachers working in schools with more supportive professional environments kept improving significantly even after 3 years. But those in less supportive schools, they actually declined over time. Wow. Declined. That really highlights the importance of the school culture, doesn’t it? Not just individual effort. Absolutely. It’s systemic. The report mentions principles for effective teacher feedback. Two focus on student outcomes, specific goals, the learning, not the person, building trust, promoting independence.

So for you listening, your professional growth is directly tied to student success and that supportive school environment is vital. What are the practical steps here? Okay, three final ideas. First, a one change reflection. After any PD or even just thinking about your lesson, commit to implementing one specific actionable change. Just one thing, just one. Try it out. Maybe jot down what happened. Did engagement change? Did understanding improve? It makes learning concrete for you, manageable and focused.

Second, reciprocal peer observation, low stakes. Pair up with a colleague you trust. Do brief focused observations, 10, 15 minutes. Agree on one thing to look for like questioning techniques. And the feedback? Constructive, non-judgmental, focused on the practice, not the person. It builds trust and creates a safe space to learn from each other. Great idea. And the third, aimed at school leaders perhaps. Yes, leadership as learning facilitators. Leaders can dedicate a regular short slot, maybe 30 minutes in a staff meeting just for teachers to share insights, challenges, what worked well, fostering that collective learning culture.

Exactly. Making professional growth a continuous collaborative thing within the school. Brilliant. So that brings us towards the end of this deep dive. We covered a lot of ground. Our mission was to give you, our listeners in Bangladesh, those tangible research-backed insights, those small bites of big evidence that you can hopefully use right away. And remembering that great teaching often isn’t about the big expensive initiatives, right? It’s about consistent evidence-informed practices and that commitment to keep learning both as individuals and together as a school community. You have these powerful tools available.

Absolutely. So, to leave you with a final thought to chew over. Considering those desirable difficulties we talked about, what’s one seemingly harder thing, maybe spacing, interleaving, retrieval, that you could integrate into your teaching this week? So, something that might unlock much deeper, more lasting learning for your students down the line. A great question to ponder. Thank you so much for joining us on the deep dive. We truly hope these insights spark new ideas and support you in the incredible work you do every day.