Teacher instruction is an art form requiring the application of human creative skill and imagination. Classroom instruction requires a professional knowledge base of lesson design, pedagogy, child and brain development, relationship building skills and more. Much like a master painter chooses from a selection of paintbrushes to create a masterpiece, so to must teachers use their creative license to design lessons and utilise methods of instruction that best suit their circumstance. Teacher instructional practice should not be treated as a sport. Educators should not be encouraged to pick sides and barrack like a one-eyed supporter for the home team.
Sometimes, in education circles, we get caught up in the debate about Explicit Direct Instruction, Inquiry Based Learning and Play Based Learning. Educators tend to pick teams and barrack profusely for one side. Instruction is not a sport. Educators should be drawing on all of these methods of instruction which, under the correct circumstances and with the correct delivery, can be extremely powerful. Professor John Hattie’s research shows “instructional quality” has an effect size of 1.0. This highlights the importance for teachers to "get this right". What educators should not do, is waste time and energy trying to dispel the other “teams”. Instructional practice must be identified as an art form that requires teachers to draw on their extensive knowledge and expertise in order to adapt their teaching to their current context.
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