Teach Effectively!

I spent a little time browsing the Web site of the Center for Teaching Quality and came away unencouraged. The organization has a lot to say about the people involved in teaching, but little to say about how to do it. Apparently, these folks think teaching effectively is mostly about the conditions surrounding teaching rather than the actions of teaching. Here’s the organization’s vision statement:

The Center for Teaching Quality improves student learning through developing teacher leadership, conducting practical research and engaging various communities. To accomplish this mission, the Center for Teaching Quality strives to shape policies that ensure:

Students, no matter what their background or where they go to school, are ready to learn; with

Teachers who are caring, qualified, and competent with vast content knowledge and the ability, through quality preparation and ongoing development and support, to ensure that all children can learn; in

Classrooms that have adequate resources and provide environments conducive to student learning; in

Schools that are designed to provide teachers with sufficient time to learn and work together in collaboration with a principal who respects and understands teaching; in

Districts that have policies and programs that support the recruitment, retention and development of high quality teachers in every school; in

States that have well-funded systems that include rigorous preparation and licensing with evaluation tools that ensure performance based standards are met; in a

Region that works collaboratively, using common teaching quality definitions, sharing data, and working across state lines to recruit, retain and support high quality teachers; in a

Nation that views teaching as a true profession and values teachers as one of its most important resources.

Nice words and niftily arranged…now, what about what those teachers in those classrooms in those schools in those districts in those states in those regions do?

Link to the Center for Teaching Quality Web site.