In What the Best College Teachers Do, Ken Bain uses data gained from extensive and carefully crafted studies to conclude that college teachers considered to be among the best in their field share a number of traits and habits that allow them to forge such strong and close connections with their students. The most important points he makes are that students’ mental models are slow to change and that the classroom is best implemented in a collaborative model, suggesting that good teaching is a result of an instructor’s ability to adapt to their students’ needs and to focus more on a deep understanding of the topic rather than mere memorization of facts.

Bain’s commentary on changing student mental models attempts to answer the problem of whether or not students should learn the facts before their views are challenged or if both should occur simultaneously. He writes that this first approach simply encouraged rote memorization and that these teachers focused more on the “delivery of information to the exclusion of all other teaching activities” and that their examinations tended to focus on recall or identification (surface learning) rather than on deep learning. In contrast, teaching facts in a greater context of questions, problems, and controversies emphasizes a deep understanding of the topic and helps build a student’s knowledge.

Additionally, the construction of a safe, experimental environment that encourages failure as a means of development is crucial to successful outcomes as well. Students’ pre-existing models must be challenged in a meaningful way to grasp their attention and in a way that avoids trauma as much as possible (though some is unavoidable). The best teachers ask questions and give feedback instead of just telling students they are wrong and correcting them. The idea of the classroom as a place of interaction and exchange as opposed to one of memorization and repetition is a core part of the methodology of the best teachers, helping to foster a collaborative rather than hierarchical environment. Teachers who fail to ask questions, teach to a style or discipline without regard to student needs, and present facts without context risk alienating or boring students. Their lectures become monologues, leaving students without an opportunity to work through the material with feedback from others. The exclusion or minimization of discussion makes it difficult for students to think critically and challenge their own assumptions and beliefs. 

The best teachers foster an environment of creativity and cooperation, understanding that dialogue is a key part of learning. They teach to their students, rejecting a “one-size fits all” model of instruction that may not work for everyone. They encourage their students to challenge their own beliefs and develop new models from their own processing of the material. They are passionate about their subject, infecting students with their enthusiasm. The best teachers understand that teaching cannot happen without learning, and that students can only learn when they are given agency and treated like equals.

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