ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the principles involved in accomplishing three basic components of active teaching: presenting information, developing understandings through interactive discourse, and structuring activities and assignments. Effective teachers instruct actively by demonstrating skills, explaining concepts and assignments, conducting participatory activities, and reviewing when necessary. Research can inform teachers about the relationships between teacher behavior and some student outcomes, but teachers must decide what outcomes they wish to promote and in what order of priority. The outcome measures are usually adjusted gain scores on standardized achievement tests. The process measures usually include school-level measures and classroom-level measures. Process–outcome research at the classroom level has been done in more grades, in more subjects, and with a broader range of students than school effects research, although it also has concentrated on basic skills instruction. When learning processes and skills, students need not only verbal explanations but also physical demonstrations.
