STLinSTL 2024

Do teachers make a difference in how much and how well students learn? For anyone who has ever had an outstanding teacher, you know, emphatically, that the answer is yes. What we’ve known intuitively all along, we now know empirically: there is a direct, measurable link between teacher effectiveness and student success. In recent years, an empirical base has been developed which clearly indicates that the quality of teaching is a major determinant of gains in student learning. Teacher quality matters if we hope to improve our schools and increase student learning. The question we should ask is: What do effective teachers do and how do we identify those qualities most desired in the best teachers? This presentation will feature the latest research-to-practice finding detailed in Stronge’s book, Qualities of Effective Teachers (ASCD, 2018).