Again and again I see teachers working harder than students. The teacher explains a concept – sometimes in depth, sometimes in several different ways, sometimes repeated three or four times … while the children passively wait until they are asked to do some work. Why? These students could be doing most of the talking.
This paper by Steven Reinhart resonates with my current thinking about teaching and learning: Never Say Anything A Kid Can Say.
I loved what Stephen says about his changing understanding of what makes effective teaching:
My definition of a good teacher has since changed from "one who explains things so well that students understand" to "one who gets students to explain things so well that they can be understood."