What the most successful teachers do

The fascinating story of Barak Rosenshine and his ten principles of instruction

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Have you ever asked yourself, “Why don’t educational researchers just sit in the classrooms of the most successful teachers, and try to figure out what they’re doing right?”

Well, it turns out they did. And the story is fascinating, although surprisingly few teachers know about it.

Back in the 1970s and 1980s, researchers carried out detailed classroom observations of master teachers — i.e., educators whose students consistently showed not just high test scores, but deep understanding and long-term retention. The researchers didn’t just drop in once or twice. They had sustained, in-depth visits, often over weeks or months, with the aim of uncovering what these teachers were doing that made such a difference.

They asked questions like: Were these teachers using similar techniques? How did they begin a lesson? How did they check for understanding? When did they step in to provide support?

What they discovered was remarkably consistent. The most effective teachers used a common set of strategies that turned out to be simple and replicable. Best of all, these practices were things that other teachers could be taught to do. When regular teachers learned and applied these strategies, their instruction improved, and so did their students’ learning.

Barak Rosenshine, an educational researcher at the University of Illinois, synthesized these findings into a clear, practical framework known as the Ten Principles of Instruction.

What made Rosenshine’s work especially powerful is that he didn’t stop at describing what great teachers did. He also explained why their approach worked, by drawing on decades of cognitive science research into memory, attention, and practice.

The result? One of the most research-informed, classroom-ready frameworks we have for effective teaching.

Below are Rosenshine’s Ten Principles, along with a short microlesson by Nidhi that explains each one. Be sure to also read Rosenshine’s article! We hope you find both these resources helpful and inspiring in your own practice.

The Ten Principles of Instruction

• Begin with a short review of prior learning

• Present new material in small steps

• Ask a large number of questions

• Provide models

• Guide student practice

• Check for understanding frequently

• Obtain a high success rate

• Provide scaffolds

• Require and monitor independent practice

• Engage students in weekly and monthly review

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The most successful teachers spent more time in guided practice, more time asking questions, more time checking for understanding and more time correcting errors.

-Barak Rosenshine

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References

Rosenshine, B. (2012). Principles of instruction: Research-based strategies that all teachers should know. American Educator, 36(1), 12–19.