What is the Quality Teaching Model?

The Quality Teaching Academy uses the widely recognised Quality Teaching Model as the basis of its research, and for the development and implementation of its professional services. The Model was developed in 2003 by Associate Professor James Ladwig with Laureate Professor Jenny Gore, the founder of the Quality Teaching Academy. 

Defining and understanding ‘quality’

How many times have you heard, or taken part in, discussions on the ‘quality’ of teaching?

Evidence shows that quality teaching is the most important in-school factor affecting student outcomes, while media and public discussions often focus on teachers rather than the quality of teaching.

But what do we mean when we say ‘quality teaching’? What are its main characteristics and what do we know about its impact on student outcomes?

The Quality Teaching Model clearly articulates teaching that makes a difference for students. It comprehensively attends to matters of curriculum, student engagement, and equity within classroom and assessment practice. The Model enables teachers to better understand and refine their teaching practice, ultimately improving the outcomes of their students.

When using the Quality Teaching Model to observe, analyse and discuss their practice, teachers focus on three specific dimensions:  

1. Intellectual Quality
   pedagogy focused on deep understanding of important ideas 
2. Quality Learning Environment
   pedagogy that creates productive classrooms focused on learning  
3. Significance
   pedagogy that helps students see value in what they are learning  

The Quality Teaching Classroom Practice Guide supports teachers and leaders by elaborating each dimension and the 18 elements of the model. The elaboration includes descriptors of each element, a coding scale, notes and suggestions that clarify what it means to teach well. The Quality Teaching Model supports teacher professional learning through reflection and analysis of classroom practice. It produces powerful effects for teachers and students when used in Quality Teaching Rounds (QTR).

In QTR, teachers code lessons using the 1-5 scale with associated descriptors for all of the elements. This process is designed to promote productive, critical conversations and assist teachers to undertake a fine-grained analysis of pedagogy, informed by classroom evidence. The Quality Teaching Model provides a shared set of concepts and language for discussing the quality of teaching. Quality Teaching Academy members receive access to our online coding system that translates codes to a personalised radar graph to visualise their teaching in relation to average codes derived from two decades of research. 

The Quality Teaching Classroom Practice Guide is provided in print for anyone participating in a Quality Teaching Rounds workshop. All members receive access to the online guide and additional hard copies can be purchased for your school.