The Study
Classroom teaching is difficult to study for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it takes place in a complex and evolving interpersonal context. However, in this article University Distinguished Professor Jere Brophy surveys the research on effective teaching and the relationship between classroom processes (what the teacher and students do in the classroom) and student outcomes (changes in students' knowledge, skills, and dispositions that represent progress toward instructional goals).

The Findings
Brophy finds that research on teaching has begun to "establish a knowledge base capable of informing teachers' planning and decision making." Brophy focuses on teacher effects research, which gained prominence in the 1970s. According to Brophy, this research has established, among other things, the essential fact that teachers matter. In other words, some teachers elicit greater gains than others because of differences in how they teach. These teachers believe that their students are capable of learning and that they (the teachers) are capable of teaching them successfully. Other characteristics of effective teachers include such things as the fact that they minimize the time spent on getting organized, making transitions, or dealing with behavior problems, and maximize the degree to which students are engaged in ongoing academic activities. The research has also shown that rather than depending solely on curriculum materials, these teachers interpret and elaborate the content for students and stimulate them to react to it during interactive discourse. Brophy also notes that teacher effects research has moved beyond these more generic findings to qualitative aspects of classroom processes. This research has verified such things as the importance of maximizing the clarity and "user friendliness" of lectures and presentations, as well as highlighted the value of such things as presenting new information with reference to what students already know about the topic and eliciting student responses regularly to stimulate active learning. Brophy concludes the article by discussing the latest teacher effects research that emphasizes teaching for understanding and use of knowledge. This kind of research focuses on particular curriculum units or even individual lessons, taking into account the teacher's instructional goals and assessing student learning accordingly. Some of the principles the research on teaching school subjects for understanding has yielded include: the curriculum balances breadth with depth by addressing limited content but developing the content enough to foster conceptual understanding; the content is organized around a limited set of powerful ideas; the teacher's role is not just to present information but to scaffold and respond to students' learning efforts; and the students' role is not just to absorb or copy input but also to actively make sense and construct meaning.

What It Means to You
What is most relevant to the K-12 teacher or administrator in this article is the wealth of research-based information on effective teaching that Brophy highlights in a clear and readable way. The article could serve as a starting point for teachers' investigations into more detailed research on classroom processes that lead to higher student achievement.

More Information
Brophy, J. (2000). Teacher behavior and student outcomes. In N. Smelser & P. Baltes (Eds.) International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences. New York: Pergamon.

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