While U.S. educational policy emphasizes high-stakes testing and scripted lessons, the best teachers in the business are taking creative risks—often drawing from their own interests and hobbies—to help students learn, new research finds.
Examining the classroom practices of National Teacher of the Year winners and finalists, the study suggests successful educators aren’t afraid to push the boundaries by incorporating real world, cross-disciplinary themes into their lessons.
Consider the San Diego teacher who raps his algebra lessons. Or the Oregon science teacher whose students create advertisements to learn photosynthesis. Or the Iowa language arts teacher who uses musical concepts to teach Franz Kafka’s complex novella The Metamorphosis.
They're bringing together different subject matters and finding areas of connections so students can learn both in interesting ways.
, assistant professor of educational psychology and educational technology, Michigan State University
