Knowing What to Do When You Don't Know What to Do: Becoming an Expert Teacher
Chair, researchED Canada · Teacher Educator & Researcher, OISE, University of Toronto · Academica University of Applied Sciences
Teaching is a profession defined by uncertainty that no amount of training can prepare you for. The most effective teachers are those who know what to do when they don't immediately know what to do — the hallmark of expert teaching. How do teachers develop this kind of expertise? Some rely on classroom experience, others on continuous professional development; a third pathway — deliberate practice — focuses on consciously and systematically improving specific aspects of instruction. Dr. Sachdeva explores how these routes shape teacher development, and why deliberate practice may offer a particularly powerful way of strengthening instructional decision-making over time.