The test of a good teacher is not how many questions he can ask his pupils that they will answer readily, but how many questions he inspires them to ask him which he finds it hard to answer.
-Alice Wellington Rollins

Park Tudor's tag line is elegantly simple: "Exceptional educators. Extraordinary opportunities."

But our slogan begs several fundamental questions: what makes a great teacher? And, even more critically, how can an institution continue to deliver on its promise of an outstanding education?

Interestingly, the June 11 cover story of The Economist addresses just these questions. Their conclusion, one that Park Tudor has long understood, is that the quality of a student's education is directly tied to the quality of instruction. As they note, "The secret to stellar grades and thriving students is teachers. One American study found that in a single year's teaching the top 10% of teachers impart three times as much learning to their pupils as the worst 10% do."

Importantly, The Economist goes on to identify those aspects of great teaching that can be developed. Debunking the notion that great teachers are "born, not made," it argues that many of the long-held notions of education are simply incorrect:

"In 2014 Rob Coe of Durham University, in England, noted in a report on what makes great teaching that many commonly used classroom techniques do not work. Unearned praise, grouping by ability and accepting or encouraging children's different 'learning styles' are widely espoused but bad ideas. So too is the notion that pupils can discover complex ideas all by themselves. Teachers must impart knowledge and critical thinking."

Instead, research shows that certain qualities of teaching lead to strong performance among students. These aspects include the extent to which educators collaborate with their colleagues on best practices and effective methodology; using instruction time wisely and having high expectations for one's students; and, most importantly, having a strong understanding of both content and the craft of teaching.

As Charles Chew, a master teacher in Singapore, explains, "I don't teach physics; I teach my pupils how to learn physics."

An important distinction indeed.

So how does Park Tudor work to develop our teachers—and, by extension, our students? The ways are numerous:

Professional Development

Over the past five years, Park Tudor has doubled our professional development (PD) budget to ensure that our teachers are constantly honing their craft. From continuing education to attending national conferences to bringing in expert instructors, our approach to PD is to provide our teachers the tools they need to become master teachers. The results are impressive. As a member of the Global Online Academy (GOA) consortium, Park Tudor offers its students the chance to take classes online from instructors throughout the globe. We are proud to say that we are among the consortium's leaders in having our own faculty serve as instructors. In fact, this past year three Park Tudor instructors placed among the ten most highly-rated GOA teachers. Moreover, Park Tudor teacher Jamey Everett has served as one of GOA's principal instructors for online education.

A Schedule that Encourages Deep Diving and Personal Development

In addition, our new schedule allows both faculty and students to follow their passions and to develop areas of particular interest. The new Wednesday schedule, in particular, will provide 70-minute blocks of time for students to dive deeply into the material. While this will stretch our faculty and will require some pedagogical adjustments, research shows that differing lengths of class time leads to higher student achievement and more creative teaching. Moreover, the newly-created iBlock, which will meet Wednesdays from 2:50 – 3:50 in the Middle and Upper Schools, will create a venue for innovation. There, faculty and other members of the Park Tudor community (including parents and alumni) have the opportunity to create "experiences" that allow students to try something outside the normal academic realm. Already, teachers, parents and alums have created iBlock experiences on the following: designing and building motorcycle engines; personal finance; Design Thinking; marketing; Monarch Butterfly restoration; graphic novels; and cartography and mathematics.

Careful Mentoring and Evaluation

Park Tudor understands that teachers are forever in the "process of becoming." To that end, Department Chairs and School Directors spend a great deal of time visiting teachers' classes and providing feedback to instructors. This feedback includes both formative and summative comments. That is, administrators dialogue with teachers both about how they can improve in the future and how they have done to-date. These observations take multiple forms, including brief "walk throughs" and more extensive evaluations every four years.

Student Feedback

Starting in the 2016-17 academic year, students' input will also be a critical part of teacher growth. Commenting on everything from clarity of instruction to the specificity of teacher feedback, students will have an important voice in helping our teachers further hone their craft. Here again, research shows that student feedback tools, when designed and used appropriately, lead to significant gains in teachers' achievement.

Coaching and Collegiality

As part of our focus on Innovation and Community Engaged Learning (CEL), we have dedicated significant resources to coaching and mentoring our faculty. Those teachers who are interested in including project-based learning will be able to work with Luana Nissan, our newly appointed Director of Community Engaged Learning. Moreover, Middle School faculty member Adrian Pumphrey and like-minded colleagues will implement Faculty Forums, in which faculty interested in implementing innovative approaches will meet monthly to discuss their ideas.

An Emphasis on Visiting Colleagues

Finally, we will emphasize "collegial visits" during 2016-17 and beyond. As part of this program, all of our faculty will visit fellow teachers, both within their discipline and beyond, to harness the talents of their colleagues. As The Economist notes, this practice is among the most important, and least utilized, of all types of PD. "Today 40% of teachers in the OECD have never taught alongside another teacher, observed another or given feedback."

Great teaching is not easy, and it requires constant reflection and honing of one's skills. At Park Tudor, we are dedicated to the difficult work of developing—and maintaining—great classroom teaching...all the while continuing to provide for our students the types of opportunities that make Park Tudor unique.

As always, I welcome your comments and feedback.