WEBVTT 00:00:01.549 --> 00:00:07.202 (ESTV - The Best Teachers in the World Clip 1) 00:00:07.202 --> 00:00:14.388 [Jeff Selingo] In chapter 1 (?) in the book, between recruiting better teachers 00:00:14.388 --> 00:00:18.136 and better students to become teachers and training of teachers, 00:00:18.136 --> 00:00:22.188 and talking about quality instructors, what's more important? 00:00:22.188 --> 00:00:30.139 Is it recruiting the best person upfront or does training matter just as much or even more, 00:00:30.139 --> 00:00:32.804 in terms of that, in terms of that would-be teacher? 00:00:33.219 --> 00:00:40.717 [John Chubb] Well, the evidence - the evidence on what drives teachers' quality 00:00:40.717 --> 00:00:46.081 is essentially - and this is the first great part - is essentially 00:00:46.081 --> 00:00:56.072 that most of the skills that teachers demonstrate in the classroom tend to be learned in the classroom, right? 00:00:56.072 --> 00:01:06.969 So - so, selection matters, aptitude matters, certain affective predisposition, 00:01:06.969 --> 00:01:10.969 emotional affective attributes matter. 00:01:10.969 --> 00:01:17.763 And there has been a lot of research on this, and there are screening tools 00:01:17.763 --> 00:01:23.580 that school districts can use to identify people who have a higher probability of success. 00:01:23.580 --> 00:01:30.914 But in the end, the dominant explanation of success is what teachers learn on the job, right? 00:01:30.914 --> 00:01:35.736 So - so training is critical - training is critical. 00:01:35.736 --> 00:01:41.922 Most of it right now is done pre-service and what's done in-service leaves a lot to be desired. 00:01:41.922 --> 00:01:45.210 And there's a tremendous amount of research on professional development, 00:01:45.210 --> 00:01:48.372 which I review in the book, and it's overwhelmingly negative. 00:01:48.372 --> 00:01:56.138 And in school districts, people who are responsible for professional development understand this, 00:01:56.138 --> 00:01:58.184 but there hasn't been a lot of improvement. 00:01:58.184 --> 00:02:03.580 But the evidence suggests that teachers do learn on the job, they learn differentially. 00:02:03.580 --> 00:02:08.874 So not - by the time teachers are four years on the job, some of them are unbelievably great 00:02:08.874 --> 00:02:10.055 and some of them really haven't made it. So - 00:02:10.055 --> 00:02:13.324 [Selingo] So then, why do we need training programs at all, 00:02:13.324 --> 00:02:15.515 why don't we just pick the best students from 00:02:15.515 --> 00:02:18.826 - in some ways, like Teach For America, pick the best students, 00:02:18.826 --> 00:02:22.002 put them through a short training program ..... to learn more on the job? 00:02:22.002 --> 00:02:26.236 [Chubb] Because what - well, what matters is how the experience - 00:02:26.236 --> 00:02:29.587 whether the experience on the job is structured or not, right? 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 So, and I - sorry - one of the chapters in the book and one of the main recommendations 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 is to take a look at leadership, right? 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 I don't want to get ahead of the questioning 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 but there is a huge variation in teacher improvement on the job. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And it's very strongly associated with the kind of context 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that the school leaders provide for teachers who are on it (?). 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 So, does the school principal create a culture in which - a culture and structure 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 in which teachers have an opportunity to work with one another, to learn with one another, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 is a reform of mentoring structure set up, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 is there a structure of teams ...... teachers that's effective, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 does the principal himself or herself really know what good instruction looks like, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 so that the principal can identify the right people to be the mentors, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 the right people, the right people to structure that, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 does the principal know what kind of training is really needed? 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 It's not that external training and professional development is inherently bad. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 That's not - that's not it. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 It's that if it's applied across the board without sensitivity to what teachers need, when they need it, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 how it's going to be followed up upon, then it is a waste, you know, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 it's the so-called "drive by" professional development. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Somebody comes in, does a workshop in the cafeteria, leaves, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and then it's supposed to make a difference. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Well how, you know, how could it? 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (This has been a production of EducationSector Independant Analysis. Innovative Ideas www.educationsector.org)