7 Things Outstanding Teachers Do Differently

By Dr Joseph Tyler

There is a persistent belief in education that outstanding teaching is largely a matter of performance, clarity of explanation, pace, energy, and presence. While these elements are not unimportant, they are insufficient. The central problem of teaching is that learning is invisible, and therefore the quality of teaching cannot be judged solely by what the teacher does, but by its impact on what students come to know, understand, and be able to do.

In this sense, outstanding teaching is not defined by activity, but by responsiveness to evidence of learning. What follows are seven ways in which outstanding teachers tend to differ, not in how they appear, but in how they think about teaching and learning.

1. They Plan Backwards from Learning, Not Activities

A common feature of less effective teaching is the conflation of activity with learning. Lessons are often designed around tasks, group work, discussions, and worksheets, without sufficient clarity about the learning they are intended to produce. In contrast, outstanding teachers begin with a clear articulation of intended learning outcomes and, crucially, how those outcomes will be evidenced.

This approach aligns with principles of backward design, where the starting point is not “What will students do?” but “What will students learn, and how will we know?” (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). Activities are then selected or designed as means to that end, rather than ends in themselves.

This distinction matters because students can complete tasks without meaningful learning taking place. Without clarity of purpose, engagement risks becoming superficial. Outstanding teachers, therefore, maintain a disciplined focus on learning intentions and success criteria, ensuring alignment between objectives, instruction, and assessment.

2. They Engineer Questions to Elicit Thinking

Questioning is often positioned as a core teaching skill, yet its effectiveness depends less on frequency and more on intent and design. In many classrooms, questioning functions as a form of evaluation, checking whether students can produce correct answers. This often privileges a small subset of confident learners.

Outstanding teachers, by contrast, use questioning to cause thinking, not simply to reveal it. They design questions that probe understanding, surface misconceptions, and require all students to engage cognitively. This reflects the view that teaching should be understood as the engineering of effective learning environments (Dylan Wiliam, 2011).

Such teachers also employ strategies that ensure broad participation, cold calling, think-pair-share, and hinge questions, so that questioning becomes a tool for formative assessment rather than performance. The goal is not to hear correct answers, but to understand the range and nature of student thinking in the room.

3. They Treat Mistakes as Diagnostic Information

In many educational contexts, errors are treated as indicators of failure. This can lead students to avoid risk-taking and teachers to prioritise correctness over understanding. However, from a learning perspective, mistakes are not only inevitable but essential.

Outstanding teachers treat errors as diagnostic data. They actively seek out misconceptions because these provide insight into students’ underlying thinking. As Lev Vygotsky (1978) suggests, learning occurs within the zone of proximal development, where learners are operating at the edge of their current understanding. Mistakes are therefore a natural by-product of meaningful challenge.

Creating a classroom culture where errors are normalised requires more than encouragement; it requires consistent instructional practices that respond constructively to mistakes. This includes probing incorrect answers, asking students to explain their reasoning, and using misconceptions as teaching opportunities rather than moments of correction alone.

4. They Make Learning Visible Through Formative Assessment

Because learning cannot be observed directly, teachers must rely on evidence. The challenge is that much of this evidence is often delayed—end-of-unit tests, assignments, or examinations. By the time misconceptions are identified, the opportunity to address them may have passed.

Outstanding teachers address this by embedding formative assessment within everyday classroom practice. As argued by the Education Endowment Foundation (2021), effective formative assessment involves eliciting evidence of student understanding, interpreting that evidence, and responding in ways that move learning forward.

This may involve techniques such as mini whiteboards, exit tickets, hinge questions, or structured peer discussion. The key principle is that teaching is continually adjusted in response to evidence. In this sense, formative assessment is not an add-on, but central to effective instruction.

5. They Conceptualise Feedback as a Process

Feedback is widely regarded as one of the most powerful influences on learning, yet its effectiveness is highly variable. Meta-analyses, such as that conducted by John Hattie and Helen Timperley (2007), demonstrate that feedback can have both positive and negative effects depending on how it is implemented.

A common misconception is that feedback is something teachers give. In practice, feedback only becomes effective when it is used by learners. Outstanding teachers, therefore, design feedback processes that require action, revision, redrafting, and application, rather than passive reception.

This aligns with the notion of “feedforward,” where feedback is oriented towards future improvement rather than past performance. It also resonates with models such as the Developmental Priority Model, which emphasises actionable next steps, dialogue, and opportunities for enactment.

6. They Prioritise Cognitive Engagement Over Task Completion

There is often pressure within classrooms to ensure that students produce visible work. However, the quantity of output is not a reliable indicator of learning. As Daniel T. Willingham (2009) argues, learning is dependent on thinking—specifically, the extent to which students engage meaningfully with content.

Outstanding teachers, therefore, prioritise tasks that require cognitive effort, even if this results in less visible output. They design learning experiences that involve explanation, reasoning, and problem-solving, rather than mere completion.

This may mean slowing down the pace of a lesson, allowing time for struggle, or revisiting concepts to deepen understanding. The focus shifts from “getting through content” to ensuring that content is understood.

7. They View Teaching as Responsive and Adaptive

Perhaps the most significant distinction is that outstanding teachers do not see teaching as the delivery of a pre-determined plan. Instead, they view it as an adaptive process, responsive to the needs of learners in real time.

This perspective reflects the complexity of classroom environments, where students’ prior knowledge, misconceptions, and engagement levels vary continuously. As such, teaching requires ongoing interpretation and adjustment.

This is consistent with the work of Lee S. Shulman (1987), who emphasised the importance of pedagogical content knowledge, the ability to represent subject matter in ways that are responsive to learners’ understanding.

Outstanding teachers, therefore, treat lesson plans as hypotheses rather than scripts. They are prepared to deviate, reteach, or extend based on what they observe, recognising that effective teaching is contingent rather than fixed.

Final Reflection

What unites these practices is a shift in orientation, from teaching as performance to teaching as responsive, evidence-informed practice.

Outstanding teachers are not distinguished by doing more, but by focusing on what matters most: the relationship between teaching and learning. They plan with clarity, question with purpose, interpret evidence carefully, and respond thoughtfully.

In doing so, they recognise a fundamental truth:

The success of teaching is not measured by what has been taught, but by what has been learned.

References

Education Endowment Foundation (2021). Teaching and Learning Toolkit: Feedback. London: EEF.

Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81–112.

Shulman, L. S. (1987). Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of the new reform. Harvard Educational Review, 57(1), 1–22.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Wiliam, D. (2011). Embedded Formative Assessment. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Willingham, D. T. (2009). Why Don’t Students Like School? San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.