It's been just over two months since we arrived at our new international school in Tianjin. Living in China is a learning experience—not just in adapting to a new language and culture, but also in adjusting to the subtle differences that shape our daily life. On top of that, there's the challenge of learning a new school. Policies and procedures are straightforward enough but beneath them lies the heartbeat of any educational institution: what people believe, know, and do.
After returning from the ‘Golden Week’ Chinese National Holiday, we were greeted with the announcement of the return of Open Doors—a two-week period each semester when all classrooms are open for colleagues to visit and observe. I love this idea. Yes, it’s an opportunity to observe different teaching styles and gain fresh perspectives on learning but more than that it opens up a conversation, one about the how, the what and the why we teach. I think this makes us better teachers. So why on earth is it not a year-round practice?
I think this has to do with culture. In reflective cultures, people understand that sometimes teachers' egos get in the way. There’s often a defensive stance about ‘different’ teaching styles, which can hinder open collaboration. It would be interesting to explore as leaders how we foster a psychologically safe culture where an open-door policy is not just a two-week event but something embedded in practice all year long.
But to make this shift, we need to agree on what good learning is.
Of course, there’s no one-size-fits-all recipe for ‘good learning.’ It varies greatly from person to person, which is why I’m not a fan of the term ‘best practice.’ It implies there’s a single correct way to teach, when in reality, teaching is always evolving. What works in one context might not work in another. While there is no universal answer, I do believe in the value of ‘good practice’—approaches that are flexible, responsive, and informed by both research and experience. At the heart of good practice is one undeniable truth, which I think most teachers would agree on: an effective classroom is one where learning is happening.
So, when people walk into a ‘good’ classroom, that’s what they should see—learning in action.
However, if we acknowledge that learning looks different in different contexts, it raises a crucial question when educators visit another classroom: what exactly are they looking for? How do they measure learning, and more specifically, how do they gauge student engagement with learning?
I believe the starting point should always be the student experience. What do students experience in their learning journey? This morning, I sat down with an A3 sheet of paper and reflected on my own positive learning experiences. I began by asking myself: What does learning look, sound, and feel like?
What does effective learning ‘look’ like?
Effective learning should be visible. As educators, it’s essential that we create environments where learning is not only happening but can be seen in the ways students engage with the material, their peers, and the learning space. This means fostering opportunities for students to actively participate, reflect, and demonstrate their understanding in a variety of ways, allowing their learning to be observable and tangible. The Reggio Emilia approach to education introduces the idea of three teachers - the parent, the faculty and the environment. It’s well documented that our environments have a direct effect on our ability to work and learn effectively, reducing mental fatigue, ability to concentrate and boosting overall productivity (Veitch, 2018). Reggio Emilia believes if children spend their waking learning hours in disorganized and unappealing places it will influence how they behave, what they are learning, and who they become. (Ozuna, 2022). With this in mind, here’s my aspiration for how learning is visible in my classroom.
When people walk into my classroom I want them see:
Adaptive learning spaces - A range of learning activities. Students discussing ideas, sitting together in comfortable spaces, and working on tasks—engaged in both independent and collaborative learning. Allowing flexible setups, like group work or independent study, has been shown to boost student engagement and collaboration while reducing stress and discomfort. (Webber et al, 2020).
Walls that are more than decoration - If the environment is the third teacher, then our walls cannot be static. I want the walls of my classroom to actively showcase the learning process, feature student work, visual aids, and ever evolving. Displays can be a tangible representation of a student's learning journey. It's a dynamic space where learning is visible, interactive, and shared.
Students engaging with different materials - Students are actively engaging with a variety of materials, and just like the displays on the walls, these materials—whether whiteboard diagrams, drafts, concept maps, or notes—serve as visible representations of the learning. These resources showcase the evolution of their thinking, highlighting the process of exploration, revision, and deeper understanding as they work through concepts.
Responsive teaching - I want visitors to see me actively moving around the classroom, constantly engaging with students rather than being stuck behind my desk. I want them to see me working one-on-one with students, often sitting beside them or at their eye level, so we’re face to face.
What does effective learning ‘sound’ like?
Let’s start by not mistaking compliance with engagement. Does compliance tend to be a prerequisite for engagement? Absolutely. However, the idea that a compliant classroom is an engaged classroom is an assumption I think we need to question. So often we presume laughter, talking and ‘noise’ are indicators of an off-task class and in turn, that a silent class is one that is working diligently. This isn’t to say that it couldn’t be the case, or that a quieter classroom is necessarily a bad thing. In fact, sometimes we need a balance of both. The problem lies in using these as metrics for ‘engagement’.
When people walk into my classroom I want them hear:
Student-led discussions - In 2014, Chi and Wylde developed the ICAP Framework, which ranks learning activities by cognitive engagement. Interactive learning—where students discuss, explain ideas, and debate perspectives—leads to the deepest understanding, compared to passive listening or even active engagement alone. Therefore I’d want people to see conversations where students are asking questions, explaining concepts to one another or debating different perspectives. A space where phrases like “I think” “What if” and “Can you explain that” are common vocabulary.
Burstiness - This was a concept I came across while listening to a podcast with the Daily Show writers room. They discussed their creative process as one of burstiness, energetic bursts of collaboration are followed by quieter periods of independent reflection, where students can process and deepen their understanding. Research on team dynamics shows that this oscillation between high-energy collaboration and quieter reflection fosters creativity and problem-solving, which can be applied to the learning process in classrooms. (Bernstein et al, 2018). In a classroom, burstiness reflects the ebb and flow of learning—moments of high-energy followed by quieter periods. A classroom may sound different at times but there is always an underlying energy, one that is purposeful.
Teacher facilitated learning - That doesn’t mean you’re hearing me talk the whole time but rather being part of dialogic learning conversations. I’d want you to hear me asking guiding questions and probing for understanding, with questions like “What makes you think that?” or “Can you explain that in your own words?”. This allows me to assess student understanding in real time (Black & Wiliam, 1998) and instead of simply delivering information, I can support students to articulate their own understanding, leading to greater engagement and deeper comprehension (Alexander, 2008).
What does effective learning ‘feel’ like?
When I began writing this post, I struggled to describe what effective learning feels like. I asked my wife to recall a learning experience she enjoyed and why. She reminded me of a cooking class we took together in Vietnam. What she enjoyed was rather than simply watching someone cook, she was given ingredients and guided on how to use them, but the final dish was entirely her own creation. I think this encapsulates a learning dynamic I’ve written about before, passive consumption vs active creation. The feeling of effective learning comes from active engagement in a process and ownership of outcomes. Ultimately, effective learning feels challenging, rewarding, and deeply fulfilling, as students move from passive observers to active creators of knowledge.
When people walk into my classroom I want them feel:
Ultimately I want students to feel involved in the learning process. I think three things need to exist in the classroom for this to be the case. Ultimately each of these is a feeling but has visual and verbal indicators when in the classroom.
A Safe, Collaborative Atmosphere - I want the classroom to feel like a safe space where students are comfortable sharing ideas without fear of being wrong. Amy Edmondson (1999), a leading researcher on psychological safety, found that teams with a high level of psychological safety are more likely to engage in learning behaviors such as asking questions, admitting mistakes, and seeking feedback. In the classroom, you’d be able to sense openness in the way students respond to each other’s ideas, hopefully offering constructive feedback rather than dismissive comments. Earlier I mentioned that the environment is an educator, well it’s also an enabler. Psychological safety is influenced by the physical environment, which can either support or hinder how students feel about sharing their ideas. A well-designed, welcoming space—with flexible seating, accessible materials, and areas for both collaboration and quiet reflection—creates a sense of comfort and openness.
Curiosity and Intrigue - I want students feeling engaged and curious. Visual indicators of this might be seeing students leaning in, asking questions, or visibly reacting to new or surprising information. I want us to sense excitement when students make connections or have "aha" moments, where they suddenly understand a concept that was previously confusing. The information-gap theory of curiosity suggests that when learners recognize a gap between what they know and what they want to know, it creates an intrinsic motivation to seek out information and resolve the gap (Loewenstein, 1994). I want you to observe students actively reaching for information they don’t understand, not passively relying on teacher explanations.
A Sense of Purpose - Finally I want you to feel a sense of intentionality in the room. Students are working toward a clear goal, whether that’s solving a problem, completing a task, or arriving at a deeper understanding of a topic. The pace might be varied; everyone is moving forward, contributing to the collective learning experience.
So there’s my ‘checklist’ for what ‘good practice’ looks, sounds and feels like and for each, I want the student at center.
I want to be clear that this is aspirational. I’m far from achieving all of these goals myself, and I’ve yet to meet a teacher who has. This is more of a vision or set of guiding principles for effective learning. It’s what I hope my classroom reflects when you step inside. I encourage you to try the exercise of envisioning what good learning looks, sounds, and feels like for you. Better yet, involve your students in the process. As Hattie (2008) explains, "Visible learning means an enhanced role for teachers as they become evaluators of their own teaching. It is teachers seeing learning through the eyes of students, and students seeing teaching as the key to their ongoing learning."
References
Alexander, R. (2008). Towards Dialogic Teaching: Rethinking Classroom Talk.
Barrett, P., Zhang, Y., Moffat, J., & Kobbacy, K. (2015). A holistic, multi-level analysis identifying the impact of classroom design on pupils’ learning. Building and Environment, 89, 118-133.
Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Inside the Black Box: Raising Standards Through Classroom Assessment. Phi Delta Kappan, 80(2), 139-148.
Edmondson, A. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350-383.
Hattie, J. (2012). Visible Learning for Teachers: Maximizing Impact on Learning. London: Routledge.
Loewenstein, G. (1994). The psychology of curiosity: A review and reinterpretation. Psychological Bulletin, 116(1), 75-98.
Ozuna, S. (2022). Drawing inspiration from the Reggio Emilia approach https://www.communityplaythings.co.uk/learning-library/articles/drawing-from-the-reggio-emilia-approach srsltid=AfmBOopvU9pmMOlQIebAWbMERbK9sWEE7u2YLROXsXlnHfxenZ54u3GX
Scott-Webber, L., Strickland, A., & Kapitula, L. R. (2020). How classroom design affects student engagement. Journal of Learning Spaces, 9(1), 1-15.
Veitch, J. A. (2018). The environmental psychology of workspace: A review. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 60, 1-11.
Vischer, J. C. (2007). The effects of the physical environment on job performance: Towards a theoretical model of workspace stress. Stress and Health: Journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress, 23(3), 175-184.
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