The 9×4

A framework for developing the characteristics of exceptional teachers

Meta studies of the characteristics of exceptional teaching point to a number of key qualities that these teachers possess. Our own research on the impact of teaching on student outcomes, from 2005-2012 using the 4Matrix system, supports these findings and we have now extended these conclusions into an actionable framework.

How does it work?

There are 9 broad characteristics of exceptional teaching, each representing either something teachers believe or something they do. In order to develop these characteristics, you concentrate on just one aspect at a time, on a weekly basis until you have covered all 9. This takes 9 weeks. At that point, you repeat the cycle and continue to repeat it until you have completed the cycle 4 times. This takes 36 weeks which corresponds with the length of the academic year, hence The 9x4.

The idea of ‘One thing at a time’ as a developmental tool is not new. It was first turned into a system by Benjamin Franklin who used it to master the skills he required to develop his character. It has often been referred to as the Franklin 13, or Franklin’s Thirteen virtues, since he was working on the full 52 weeks in a year and 13x4 = 52.

Why these particular characteristics? Why not others such as subject knowledge, behaviour management etc?

These characteristics have been deduced by looking at the results of a number of extensive research studies, by looking at our own results from the hundreds of schools we work in and through engaging in deep dialogue with a variety of teachers who have consistently delivered exceptional outcomes over an extended period.

These characteristics are perhaps less tangible than expected. There’s a reason for that - many experts are often unaware of what it is that they are doing when they are at peak performance, as it comes so naturally to them. Many of the characteristics are at the level of identity and belief, rather than at the level of skill. It transpires that qualities like being plugged in to something bigger than the self, being on purpose, having a very clear idea of your value to society and your contribution tend to have a greater impact on student outcomes than having a tidy classroom.

We’re not talking about good teaching or even outstanding teaching. We’re not really talking about the rather transactional definition of outstanding teaching in the 2012 OFSTED inspection framework. We’re talking about teachers who facilitate such extraordinary distance travelled by students along the learning journey that phenomenal outcomes are consistently achieved by all learners. We’re talking about students remembering the impact of these teachers for the rest of their lives.

N.B. All the OFSTED outstanding teaching requirements are met by exceptional teachers in the single 9x4 focus point: ‘Do the basics well’.

Why does it work so well?

There are five reasons the 9x4 framework works so well: it’s a framework for taking action; it’s a continuous process of development; it works at the level of focus; it’s a low floor, high ceiling approach; and it involves minimum administration.

Taking action

What we aim to do with this document is provide a compelling reason why teachers should adopt this system as a framework for continuing professional development. It has been designed for teachers who are currently being graded consistently at the satisfactory or good level in the 2012 OFSTED inspection criteria. It’s important to realise that you don’t become an outstanding teacher in a day and you also don’t become an outstanding teacher through delivering outstanding ‘snapshot’ lessons upon observation. Being an outstanding teacher is about consistently applying the principles of great teaching and learning on a daily basis. This framework has been designed with that purpose: to inculcate the qualities of the outstanding teacher in the simplest way possible.

A continuous process

The process has no end goal. You do not become an outstanding teacher once you achieve a certain level of competence. You develop the characteristics increasingly and work on these aspects on a lifelong basis. This is not the checklist approach to landing a rocket on the moon, rather it is the continuous approach of creative growth, possibility, development of potential. It is evolution.

The level of focus

Many people are suspicious of initiatives because they think they will involve more work. Their subconscious mind is already saying:

‘Hey, I’m working hard enough already - the LAST thing I need is some new initiative that makes me have to work harder. Get out of here with your fancy new ideas!!!’

This programme supports that perspective implicitly. Throwing more time and more effort at a problem is a legacy of the industrial age. When productivity needed to be increased, the mandate was clear: work harder and work longer.

Today’s economy has brushed this notion into the dust, yet many of us are still living by this approach and trying to fit in with a world that has outgrown this thinking.

The simplest way to look at it is this: If your job was to generate electricity, then you could run like a hamster on a wheel and use your physical resources, or you could use your ingenuity and skill to design something to harness the energy of the sun, the wind, the waves, or indeed the evident running ability of legions of hamsters!

If you choose to operate at the level of physical resources then indeed working longer hours and running faster would generate more output. However, at best it is not sustainable and at worst it does not utilise the talents of human creativity that we are working so hard to develop in students.

This programme works at the level of focus, requiring no more work than you are currently doing. It simply requires you to focus on a particular characteristic when you are planning your lessons, when you are delivering your material in the classroom, and when you are evaluating your efforts.

Low floor, high ceiling

Think of the piano, not the violin. The piano is the easiest instrument on which to generate a decent sound. Any child of 5 can hit the piano and it sounds ok. This is called a low floor - it is accessible to virtually anyone. Contrast this with a stringed instrument such as the violin. You need considerable skill, time and effort to produce even a half-decent sound on a violin. Of course, a piano having a low floor doesn’t mean that it’s any easier to master than the violin. Indeed the piano could be played every day for eight hours by the most talented pianist in the world and they would never suggest for a second that there was nothing else they could learn or improve upon.

We call this a high ceiling and this is what we look for in any ‘change leadership’ frameworks such as these. The journey has to begin with ease yet remain open-ended enough to extend even the most able, indefinitely.

By creating a framework that initially requires nothing more than a level of focus on a particular characteristic, we have created the ultimate low floor system of development. Each time a particular characteristic is focused on, it will lead to improvement in this aspect. Yet, there is little doubt that anyone would ever consider themselves at the summit of all capacity in any of these domains. Hence, the system’s high ceiling, with infinite extensibility.

Minimum administration

The last thing an organisation wants is a system that is burdensome to administrate. Anything that isn’t incredibly easy to administer will limp along for a few weeks, perhaps months and then collapse, to founder with all the other noble-intentioned initiatives.

‘The road to hell is paved with good intentions’ - Anon

This again causes a problem for the management of the organisation who often lose credibility as a result.

The genius of this framework is its simplicity. There are no 10 steps to success, or ‘do these 5 things every day and you will achieve great results’. No, it is far more simple than that: there is only ever one thing to focus on at a time. While this can appear too simple for some people, the wisest minds know well that focusing on more than one thing will result in failure. ‘If you chase two rabbits, you will lose them both.’

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By Tom Cassidy & Charles Cassidy.