I have seen dozens of checklists, evaluation grids, and scoring rubrics over the years. All were static rather than dynamic, often composed of categories such as Poor, Fair, Good, and Excellent. Each implied a once-and-for-all categorization, whereas real people move up and down the charts, constantly fluctuating.

I questioned how anyone could be effective in all areas at all times; I knew I wasn't. As teachers, we often see ourselves improving in some areas and not changing much in others. Inservice training and conferences provide practical ideas for many aspects of our teaching, though such information comes to us piecemeal and may be hard to sort into a meaningful, considered approach to better teaching.

I wondered what thoughts or behaviors could move me, or any teacher, from fair to good or from good to excellent. When I asked for suggestions, I often received platitudes: "You're doing fine." "I have no complaints." "Keep up the good work." Despite the reassurances, I sensed that changes in my teaching were needed. I didn't know what new approaches to use, however, and helpful mentoring was rarely available.

Because teaching is incredibly complex, it cannot be described by a simplistic checklist of discrete behaviors (Bond et al., 2000, p. 35). Every feature of the classroom context affects all others. This complexity is part of the reason why we often cannot imagine what to do differently in the classroom to improve instruction.

In working on this book and reviewing the four levels of teaching identified in the NBPTS validity study (Bond et al., 2000, Appendix F.1), I spent months thinking about how to name the different levels of teaching performance; I wanted to illustrate the gradual, developmental nature of self-improvement. In most rubrics the lowest level describes a deficiency in knowledge, yet the teacher, often a beginner, is not willfully poor at a task; rather, he is ignorant, blind to what experienced practitioners see. For this reason, I named the first level "unaware." This stage precedes everything found on Bloom's famous taxonomy (Bloom, 1984). Before we know or comprehend anything, we are unaware that the information exists.

Teachers leave their unaware state when they are introduced to new information and begin to comprehend it. The process is labored and awkward at first. Whether learning how to check for understanding or organize successful group activities, the first attempts are mere approximations of the desired behavior. This second level I call "aware."

After we become aware and have practiced for a while, performance can improve. Teachers learn to do a competent job if they thoroughly prepare and concentrate as they work. They remember to include key points and impart information clearly, if not always, at least often. This is the normal level of experienced practitioners, provided they continue to make a serious effort to perform well. I call this stage "capable."

Teachers can go further, though not all do. Some continue to seek new information and implement it throughout their careers. They learn to anticipate student reactions, and they fine-tune every lesson to ameliorate problems they expect will arise. They take inspiration from everything and, in turn, inspire their students and colleagues. Whether quiet or effusive, they have a profound effect on student learning. These teachers perform at a level that I call "inspired."

Being an inspired teacher is not "dancing solo on the ceiling," a phrase from Marge Piercy describing a flamboyant individuality without appropriate and necessary interaction with other individuals or a community. Inspired teachers notice and absorb what students, colleagues, or contexts offer and use the data as their raw material. They process the information and then act responsively—animating, influencing, or stimulating others to creative effort.

Inspired teaching has two important characteristics. First, inspired teachers have absorbed and developed a large body of knowledge about their subject and about teaching well. They have mastered this information and use it effectively with ease. Second, they take inspiration from their students; every student reaction is a subtle signal used to mold more effective instruction. Inspired teachers read students and environments so well that their teaching appears intuitive. If asked why they chose a particular instructional method, they will describe reasons based on pedagogical wisdom, not whim. Because so many decisions are instantaneous, however, they discover the reasons as they explain them. Only later, when time permits, do they unpack all their thinking.

Identifying highly effective teachers can be challenging, in part because they are often quite different from one another. Using credentials or years of experience to determine who might be placed in the top category is tempting. This shortcut is unsatisfactory, however, because teaching is a complex activity. Some teachers are excellent at one part of teaching, and others excel at a different aspect. Can a person be partly excellent? Does that qualify her for inclusion in the inspired category?

No teacher is likely to excel at every aspect of teaching. By using a model of excellent teaching—and identifying various aspects of it—we can create a clear picture of outstanding instruction and identify how various teachers approximate it (Sternberg & Horvath as cited in Bond et al., 2000, p. 36). Thus, one teacher may be highly proficient at planning lessons, managing the classroom, and monitoring learning, while another possesses an expert grasp of the subject matter and spontaneously uses helpful analogies to answer student questions. We can identify both teachers as excellent if their behaviors are a good match for our prototype of inspired teaching.

But how does one progress from unaware to aware to capable to inspired? Mostly, teachers learn to think differently. Experts recall pertinent information in chunks and disregard information that they judge is not relevant (Chase, 1983; Chase & Simon, 1973; Reitman, 1976). What experts attend to and ignore is markedly different from what beginners notice. The growth continuum ranges from initial ignorance (unaware) to comprehension (aware) to competent application (capable) to great expertise (inspired). The Appendix beginning on page 233, adapted from the NBPTS study rubrics (Bond et al., 2000, Appendix F.1), summarizes a growth path for each of the 13 skills.

Teachers' learning experiences parallel those of their students. Believing that teaching is simple and straightforward often leads to frustration, discouragement, and self-loathing. Practitioners may think the problem is personal, that they are unintelligent or inferior; the truth is that teaching is difficult and cannot be mastered quickly. Warning beginning teachers that they will only gradually achieve mastery can prepare them for the challenges they face.

We ask beginning teachers to master pedagogy; this is the traditional name for the teaching of the young. We are learners at all ages, however, and no learner is a blank slate; we bring experiences and personal goals that influence the experience of learning. Perhaps if we refer to the art and science of teaching as andragogy—the teaching of humankind, not merely the young (Knowles, 1980)—our minds will be open to essential similarities between ourselves and our students. I find the term a useful aid to my thinking, leading me to ask how each classroom event might have affected me had I been in the role of learner. The idea of andragogy also allowed me to cull information about adult learners for inspiration as I tried to reach students of all ages.

All learners begin by simply becoming aware of information, naming and describing things or ideas. Next they learn to use and dissect the information through application and analysis. The most complex thinking involves assessing and recombining the information through evaluation and synthesis. Underlying the whole of Bloom's taxonomy is one unstated assumption: learners start out unaware. Whether we are referring to students, future teachers, or veteran instructors, we all begin in relative ignorance—a simple not knowing.

The growth pattern for teachers parallels Bloom's taxonomy, as shown in Figure 1.1 on the following page. Lack of awareness occurs before Bloom's categories. The awareness stage is a fair match for Bloom's stage of knowledge and understanding. Teachers at the capable stage use application and analysis well. Educators who reach the inspired stage have become skilled at synthesis and evaluation in regard to their thinking about teaching and learning.

Figure 1.1. Teacher as Learner

Bloom described the six progressively more sophisticated thought processes that learners can reach. Most educators assume that the majority of students will require some assistance from teachers to reach the higher levels. A question arises: Who helps educators develop?

In the past, teachers pulled themselves up by their own mental bootstraps. Some teachers succeed in self-development of their knowledge. When they do, their development becomes a spiraling improvement, similar to a helix, repeated over and over again (Shulman, 1987). This endless process of self-transformation creates the best teachers.

Many research projects have pointed out significant differences among novices, advanced beginners, and highly skilled teachers. Great teachers demonstrate differences in both thought and behavior. As I've come to understand, based on the NBPTS validity study (Bond et al., 2000), inspired teachers demonstrate a level of mastery over 13 different skill areas that is significantly more effective than that typically shown by beginners. Below is an overview of the 13 skills and the NBPTS study research, which I will discuss in detail in the chapters that follow using the measures identified in the NBPTS study (Bond et al., 2000, Appendix F.1). The 13 skills are distinct aspects of teaching behavior, yet they are often used simultaneously; we separate them here to make sense of the complex job of teaching. Although contemplating each skill individually can be helpful, the 13 skills are interdependent and interrelated and probably cannot be separately mastered. They surround us as we teach, yet we usually have only one or two at a time in our conscious awareness. For each skill, I will explore how individuals may gradually move from a lack of awareness to an impressive expertise that we can confidently label as inspired.

Knowing the Subject. We cannot teach what we do not know, so knowledge of subject matter is essential. In general, subject-matter knowledge increases with experience. Unlike their less skilled peers, inspired teachers have a rich understanding of the subject and are able to organize and reorganize their knowledge to be accessible to learners. Teachers think about what they know and then the idea must be "shaped or tailored until it can in turn be grasped by students" (Shulman, 1987, p. 13).

Using Knowledge of Teaching and Learning. This skill is more than simple awareness of pedagogy, or andragogy, and technique. The greatest teachers merge information about learning in general with teaching approaches and then adapt their plan to fit a specific class, as well as the groups and individuals within that class. Experts in this area are selective in their awareness, remembering information mostly related to planning and instruction rather than the random behaviors or physical characteristics of their pupils (Carter, Sabers, Cushing, Pinegar, & Berliner as cited in Bond et al., 2000, p. 19).

Solving Instructional Problems. Solutions to problems that relate to curriculum and instruction are a constant concern of expert teachers. Unlike novices or less expert colleagues, inspired teachers solve problems all the time—before teaching, while teaching, and after teaching. They are better able to imagine the learning task from the student perspective and to adapt lessons in advance because of their awareness of a larger number of instructional goals. These teachers notice student behavior during the lesson, which provides clues to the lesson's effectiveness, and they may adapt their plan based on these observations. After teaching, they reflect on whether they have achieved their goals and met students' needs and then make further modifications if necessary in future presentations (Westerman, 1991).

Improvising. Insufficient background in a subject or lack of thorough preparation may cause presenters to mask personal limitations using a "highly didactic, teacher-controlled, swiftly paced combination of lecture and tightly-controlled recitation" (Grossman as cited in Shulman, 1987, p. 18). In contrast, inspired teachers can comfortably use the Socratic method or other highly interactive approaches because they can draw from their broad and deep understanding of subjects. These experts are able to field wide-ranging questions and quickly develop effective explanations or metaphors for unexpected queries.

Managing a Classroom. Inspired teachers prevent problems by "using their voices and body language along with well-practiced management strategies to motivate students and control their attention" (Westerman, 1991, p. 297). They sense the reasons behind students' behaviors and adjust their teaching to increase the likelihood that learning will occur. Part of their management skill lies in developing routines that make aspects of the classroom automatic, comfortable, and reliable for teacher and students alike.

Interpreting Events in Progress. Experts use more elaborate schemas and greater metacognitive skills. These abilities allow them to notice more of what is occurring in the classroom and to consciously make choices that change the direction of interaction and instruction. These are teachers who seem to have eyes in the back of their heads and who remain constantly aware despite numerous distractions and interruptions (Westerman, 1991).

Being Sensitive to Context. Inspired teaching "involves complex judgments of balance between ideal and possible practices" to determine the best option in a given situation using practical wisdom (Shulman, 1987, p. 13). The wisest teachers understand themselves, and they understand the personal, social, and cultural characteristics of their students. They make continual adjustments to balance the complexities that connect these factors, aware that one size never fits all.

Monitoring Learning. Expert teachers are flexible in how they move toward instructional goals. They constantly sample students' understanding to determine their comprehension level and also observe whether students are attentive moment by moment and adjust accordingly. These teachers usually present lessons in a highly interactive manner. In the classroom they show a "superior ability to see meaningful patterns in the stream of ongoing events" (Sternberg & Horvath, 1995, p. 13). They also give students useful feedback and often teach students to monitor their own learning.

Testing Hypotheses. Experts concentrate on identifying a problem before they advance hypotheses or attempt solutions. They are far more likely to consider and evaluate a number of alternative hypotheses, rather than use the first one that comes to mind. Inspired teachers continually learn through experience and welcome challenges as opportunities to expand their knowledge and competence (Swanson, O'Connor, & Cooney, 1990).

Demonstrating Respect. Inspired teachers believe in and work at "growing persons, perceived as persons, not as 'typical high school classes,' or 'the shy,' or 'the boisterous,' or for that matter, 'the gifted,' 'the disruptive,' or the 'slow learner'" (Sockett, 1987, p. 217). Respect contains an element of caring. Those who practice respect have, and constantly demonstrate, a concern for the best interests of each individual with whom they have contact.

Showing Passion for Teaching and Learning. Inspired teachers are committed both to teaching and to encouraging student learning; to them teaching is more a mission than a mere job or career. They demonstrate responsibility, a strong code of ethics, and a deep love of the subjects they teach. In addition, they express more emotion than nonexperts when discussing successes and failures in the classroom (Berliner as cited in Bond et al., 2000, p. 58).

Helping Students Reach Higher Levels of Achievement. Inspired teachers do more than guide students to complete assignments just for the sake of finishing or earning a grade; they help students find intrinsic satisfaction in learning. Thanks to the efforts of outstanding teachers, students see that their own efforts affect outcomes. As a result, students develop more confidence in themselves as learners. Inspired teachers show students how to try harder in order to help students learn more (Locke & Latham, 1990).

Helping Students Understand Complexity. While inspired teachers help students learn and store more facts in long-term memory, they also help students find a "new way of seeing" (Marton, Dall'Alba, & Beaty, 1993). This new type of understanding cannot be retrieved from memory but must be created. Students build a dense mental matrix representing entire systems, rather than discrete, unrelated facts. Thus, the best teaching allows students to mull over facts, synthesize their meaning, and form their own interpretations based on those facts.

Adapted from an NBPTS validity study (Bond et al., 2000) with permission from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

Inspired teachers develop an unmistakable inner strength. Even in a professional work environment considered inadequate by objective standards, expert teachers sustain outstanding performance. Keith Campbell (as cited in Bond et al., 2000, p. 23–25) describes eight qualities shared by expert teachers: a strong sense of mission, a desire to improve their teaching, a holistic sense of teaching to develop individuals as well as impart facts, a high degree of confidence in their own personal and professional views, a peer support system that reinforces their sense of mission, a form of support from significant others, a sense of professional autonomy, and a refusal to permit interference with their teaching mission.

Such personal success does not develop haphazardly. Teaching qualities grow over time, and building such competence can be a daunting task. The purpose of this book is to show that feeling lost or incompetent is not a permanent personal indictment. Discouragement is the disequilibrium that precedes growth; it can be a friend and motivator, however uncomfortable it feels. We can grow past unawareness to become aware and then capable. And finally, we can learn to be the inspired teachers we long to be.

For Information and Inspiration