Top of the Class: Overview : SBS Insight

Overview

What makes a great teacher?

Currently 195 comments

We test two young teachers in front of a class to see if they have what it takes.

The results are fascinating.

Currently across Australia, experiments are underway to target and build better teachers. In New South Wales, the first group of super teachers have started in schools. These “highly accomplished teachers” - paid more than $100,000 a year – have the task of raising teaching standards in some of the state’s most disadvantaged schools.

In Victoria, a new program called ‘TEACH FOR AUSTRALIA’ is recruiting university graduates from a range of backgrounds to teaching for two years in the state’s most challenging schools.

Some argue that student test scores should be taken into account in assessing the teacher. But teacher unions are dead against using student test scores – like the NAPLAN test they’ve decide to boycott – as a marker of teacher performance. The union argument is that merit pay for teachers ruins the collegiality of the profession.

But what are great teachers doing differently? And can it be taught?

Meet the Guests

Ben Jensen

Ben spent 5 years working at the OECD Education Directorate where he looked at the most effective education policies and programs used by OECD countries. Ben's research found that after family background, teachers have the biggest impact on student performance.

Glenn Sargeant

Glenn is the former Principal of Plumpton High School in Sydney's Western suburbs. Glenn fought community resistance to set up a class for teenage mums so they could continue their education. His efforts won him an Order of Australia Award in 2004. Glen thinks that great teachers have to like kids and be extremely hardworking.

Baby Marquez

Baby is a former student of Plumpton High School where she enrolled at the age of 14 as a young mum. She now has two children who are aged 9 and 3 and is at university studying to become a primary school teacher. Baby thinks that passion is what makes a great teacher.

Doug Lemov

Doug is a US education expert who doesn't believe that there's any one personality type that is best suited to teaching. He does think however that measuring teaching quality is absolutely crucial to a high performing education system and that great teaching can be taught.

Emma Magick

Emma is in her first semester of a Masters in Education course at the University of Western Sydney. She is training to be science teacher and will be filmed taking her first ever class.

Field Rickards

Field is the Dean of Education at Melbourne University. He has recently developed a teacher training program at the University with an emphasis on practical, classroom-based training which he thinks is often lacking in new teacher graduates.

Luisa Bosco

Luisa has been recognised by the Department of Education as one of NSW's Highly Accomplished Teachers. She thinks that being patient and guiding students to learn for themselves are some of the hallmarks of great teaching.