Mr. Bowling's OpusAfter watching Robin Williams challenge his class to think for themselves in the Dead Poets Society, I was left thinking about what defines good teaching.  A few days later, I watched the State of the Union and listened while President Obama noted that a good teacher can increase the lifetime earnings of a class by $250,000.  So, what is good teaching?

A post last year on one of our sister blogs, Sociology Lens, addresses part of this question by asserting that good teaching is about knowing students as people.  In the post, Margaret Austin Smith draws upon sociological research to explain what she thinks good teaching is all about.  Check it out here.  But, we’d also love to hear from you—what makes a good teacher?