Breakthrough Teaching

Breakthrough Teaching
cover image of A Reflective Teacher’s Guide to Planning for Learning

Good teachers use effective teaching strategies in their classrooms while great ones, the breakthrough-level teachers whose students make significant growth each year, know when and why to use specific instructional strategies to meet their students' needs. McREL's Breakthrough Teaching series of quick guides provides teachers with evidence-based insights and guidance on how to design and deliver instruction and activities that capture student interest and engage them in deep, memorable, applicable learning. Each guide in the series draws from the science of learning and cognition, expertise on teacher self-reflection and meta-cognition, and research on positive, productive student-teacher relationships.

Series information

cover image of A Reflective Teacher’s Guide to Planning for Learning Breakthrough Teaching: Planning for Learning

If you find yourself (or your team) just “going through the motions” of instructional planning, or if you feel like you’re working harder than ever but some of your students still struggle with learning, then this Breakthrough Teaching™ quick reference guide is for you.

When good teachers learn to make the shift from planning for teaching to planning for learning, great things begin to happen with student engagement and learning success.

To help you make this breakthrough in your practice, this guide offers teachers lots of quick, practical tips and insights drawn from the following areas:

  • The science of teaching/instruction to help you develop and draw on a broad repertoire of teaching strategies to adapt and respond to student learning needs.
  • The science of cognition/learning, an essential understanding for designing units and lessons that challenge and engage students.
  • Research and expertise on teacher meta-cognition—how teachers’ thinking during professional reflection, coaching, and collaboration contribute to breakthrough teaching.
  • Research on student–teacher relationships, trauma-informed practice, and conditions that support student readiness to learn.
cover image of Assessing for Learning quick guide Breakthrough Teaching: Assessing for Learning

The first guide in this series, A Reflective Teacher’s Guide to Planning for Learning, focused on how effective “breakthrough” level teachers plan their units and lessons to ensure their students will be engaged in active learning and have ample opportunities to practice and deepen their learning. This guide focuses on what breakthrough teachers do as they teach, adjusting their instructional strategies and classroom activities in the moment to meet their students’ learning needs, and what they do after they teach, reflecting at the end of a unit or lesson on what went well and what needs to change next time. 

Breakthrough Teaching insights to help you:

  • Notice when things are going well, so you can build on your successes.
  • “Read” your classroom in the moment, and pivot when things aren’t going well.
  • Look objectively at student learning, comparing their progress against your goals.
  • Link your actions to the outcomes you see in your students.
  • Identify adjustments—from small tweaks to dramatic overhauls—you can make to further support your students’ success.

Good teachers use effective teaching strategies in their classrooms while great ones, the breakthrough-level teachers whose students make significant growth each year, know when and why to use specific instructional strategies to meet their students' needs. McREL's Breakthrough Teaching series of quick guides provides teachers with evidence-based insights and guidance on how to design and deliver instruction and activities that capture student interest and engage them in deep, memorable, applicable learning. Each guide in the series draws from the science of learning and cognition, expertise on teacher self-reflection and meta-cognition, and research on positive, productive student-teacher relationships.

Details Books
Bryan Goodwin

Bryan Goodwin is president and CEO of McREL International. During his more than two decades at McREL, he has translated research into practice, scanning the world for new insights and best practices on teaching and leading, and has helped educators across the United States and around the world adapt them to address their own local contexts, goals, and needs. A frequent conference presenter, he is the author of numerous books, papers, and articles on research-based practices for effective instruction and school/system leadership, and the power of curiosity for students and adults. Before joining McREL in 1998, Bryan was a college instructor, a high school teacher, and a business journalist. He and his family live in Denver, Colorado. Visit mcrel.org to learn more.

 Balanced Leadership for Powerful Learning, Breakthrough Teaching: Assessing for Learning, Breakthrough Teaching: Planning for Learning, Building a Curious School, Curiosity Works, Instructional Models, Learning That Sticks, Research-Based Instructional Strategies That Work, The 12 Touchstones of Good Teaching, The New Classroom Instruction That Works, Tools for Classroom Instruction That Works, Tools for Igniting Curiosity, Using Brain Science to Make Learning Stick, Pursuing Greatness, Unstuck
Pete Hall

Pete Hall is a former award-winning school principal and the author of 12 books designed to build individual and leadership capacity. He speaks and consults internationally; when he’s not on the road, he and his family live in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, with their three rambunctious dogs.

 A Teacher's Reflective Impact Journal, Breakthrough Teaching: Assessing for Learning, Breakthrough Teaching: Planning for Learning, Pursuing Greatness