What is great teaching?

In this two minute video, designed to support education reporters trying to do a better job of representing teaching in the media, a number of teachers talk about great teaching. 

Among their thoughts, they mentioned that great teachers…

-- are reflective and question themselves...constantly ask why.
-- have a purpose...and the students know what it is
-- are knowledgeable. There’s a lot of valuable, rich content.
-- have a buzz in the classroom.  Students are engaged and talking about their learning
-- are never satisfied with what doesn’t work.

One says, “Mediocre teachers instruct, good teachers model, great teachers inspire”

How do you define great teaching?

(If you’re interested, the site has a number of other videos about what to look for in a classroom.  These are intended for journalists, but I can’t help but wonder who else should be viewing them, too.  Politicians, perhaps?)

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