The Art of Teaching: Practices Every Educator Should Know

Teaching is at once craft and science. It’s an interpersonal art—built on rapport, clarity, and empathy—and a practice increasingly informed by rigorous research. Whether you’re a new teacher, a university lecturer, or a seasoned educator looking to refresh your approach, this guide distills the latest evidence into classroom-ready principles and concrete techniques you can use tomorrow.

Why “Teaching” matters now

High-quality teaching shapes academic outcomes, narrows achievement gaps, and builds students’ confidence to learn independently. Recent meta-analyses show that teacher professional development and deliberate instructional choices produce measurable gains in student performance—especially when PD is sustained and focused on classroom practices. (ResearchGate)

Five research-backed pillars of great teaching

Below are the core strategies that current research identifies as most impactful for learning. Each pillar includes what it means in practice and quick classroom actions.

1. Active learning: engage students in thinking, not just listening

Active learning replaces passive lecturing with activities that make students apply, analyze, or explain content. Across hundreds of studies—especially in STEM—active learning produces higher exam scores and lower failure rates compared with traditional lecture. This isn’t a fad: decades of replication point to stronger conceptual understanding and retention when students are doing cognitive work during class. (PubMed)

Try this in class: use think-pair-share, short problem sets during lecture, peer instruction with clickers (or polling), and brief case studies that require a one-minute written response.

2. Retrieval practice & spacing: make forgetting work for you

Retrieval practice (quizzing, low-stakes tests, asking students to recall rather than re-read) strengthens memory more than additional study time. When combined with spaced practice—revisiting material after intervals—learning becomes durable and transferable. Recent controlled studies continue to show strong effects for retrieval practice on long-term retention. (PMC)

Try this in class: begin with a 5-minute retrieval quiz on prior material, assign cumulative low-stakes quizzes across weeks, and design homework that requires students to retrieve earlier units.

3. High-quality feedback & formative assessment: guide next steps

Feedback that provides clear information about how to improve (rather than just a grade or praise) has moderate-to-large effects on achievement. Formative assessment—regularly checking understanding and adjusting instruction—helps teachers identify misconceptions early and tailor instruction to student needs. Meta-analytic work shows that formative approaches and actionable feedback increase learning outcomes across contexts. (Frontiers)

Try this in class: give targeted written comments on one or two specific improvement points, use exit tickets to capture misunderstandings, and reteach using small groups based on formative data.

4. Clear instruction & cognitive load management

Clarity—explicit learning goals, scaffolded steps, worked examples—reduces unnecessary cognitive load so students can focus on new schemas. Direct instruction and explicit teaching remain powerful for building foundational skills, especially when working with learners who need structure or when introducing complex procedures. Recent implementation projects have reported strong gains where explicit instruction was systematically adopted. (The Australian)

Try this in class: model problem solving step-by-step, provide worked examples before unguided practice, and chunk complex tasks into smaller subtasks.

5. Teacher development & professional learning communities (PLCs)

Teaching improves when teachers engage in ongoing, collaborative professional development that focuses on practice (observations, coaching, iterative lesson improvement). Newer meta-analyses show PD that is sustained, content-focused, and includes classroom follow-up tends to improve both teacher practice and student achievement. (ResearchGate)

Try this in school: set up peer observation cycles, lesson study groups, or coaching that includes modeling and feedback.

Designing a lesson around evidence: a short blueprint

Learning objective (3–5 min) — Display and explain a clear, measurable objective.
Activate prior knowledge (5 min) — Quick retrieval question or short recap quiz.
Model & explain (10–15 min) — Present worked examples, think-alouds, and explicit steps.
Guided practice (15 min) — Students try problems with scaffolded support and peer discussion.
Formative check (5–10 min) — Exit ticket or quick quiz to assess misconceptions.
Independent practice + spacing (homework) — Assign retrieval tasks that revisit the skill later.
Feedback loop (ongoing) — Provide actionable comments and use data to plan the next lesson.

Equity & inclusion in teaching

Effective teaching narrows gaps when techniques are deliberately applied to support diverse learners: structured routines help students from varied backgrounds; retrieval practice and explicit instruction particularly benefit students with less prior exposure; and formative assessment pinpoints where scaffolding is needed. The research also emphasizes culturally responsive pedagogy—adapting content and examples to students’ lives—to increase engagement and belonging. (See PD and retrieval practice studies cited above for examples of differential benefits.) (ResearchGate)

Common myths and the research response

Myth: Lectures are always ineffective.
Reality: Well-designed direct instruction and clear modeling are powerful—especially for novices. The key is active engagement and frequent checks for understanding. (The Australian)
Myth: Testing harms learning by stressing students.
Reality: Low-stakes retrieval tests enhance learning if used as practice; they need not be high-pressure summative events. (PMC)

Technology: a tool, not a solution

EdTech can amplify good teaching (e.g., adaptive quizzes for retrieval practice, classroom response systems for live checks), but technology alone doesn’t change outcomes without a pedagogy behind it. Prioritize tools that help implement the five pillars: active learning platforms, retrieval practice apps, and formative assessment dashboards.

Practical tips for busy teachers

Start small: add a 3-minute retrieval quiz to the start of one lesson each week.
Use rubrics to make feedback faster and more specific.
Schedule PD time for one focused technique per term (e.g., formative assessment).
Collaborate: swap a lesson with a colleague and provide constructive feedback.

Closing: teaching as continual refinement

The art of teaching blends evidence with context and humanity. Use the research as a guide—not a script—and iterate: try one change, collect quick formative data, and refine. Small, sustained improvements in practice (retrieval, feedback, clarity, active tasks, and collaborative PD) compound into major gains for learners.