From Good To Great

During a recent faculty discussion of Ken Bain’s book What The Best College Teachers Do, the question arose of what differentiates good teaching from great teaching. What occurred to me during the discussion is that good teachers have a passion for their subject and employ good teaching techniques. Great teachers, however, go beyond possessing passion for their subject. Great teachers also care passionately about their students. Great teachers are energized by teaching their field of expertise because they understand how that knowledge will serve the students. What drives great teachers is not their passion for their subject but their compassion for their students. Great teachers understand how the knowledge they hold can benefit their students. Students respond to great teachers because the students feel cared about. What moves teachers from being good to being great is moving from caring primarily for the subject to caring more about the students.

What struck me in reading the examples of exceptional teaching described in Bain’s book is that there is no set formula. Different approaches are employed by different teachers with equal success. What really matters, in my view, is the connection between teacher and student. The great teacher answers the key question in students’ minds—“Why do I need to know this?” Great teaching makes the subject matter relevant to students’ lives now and for the future.

Great teaching, then, fulfills the call to serve. It is not an academic discipline or knowledge or truth that we as teachers are called to serve. We serve human beings. If what we teach does not serve who we teach, then it does not matter how good our teaching techniques. It is when our students experience what is in our hearts as well our heads that we will move from good teaching to teaching that is great.