How do we teach? There is so much more to teaching than basic facts and knowledge. As mention in my previous post, understanding is key. And here I'd like to add that puzzling students is golden.
    What do I mean by puzzling students? I'm talking about asking questions students will be puzzling over and revisiting, re-answering, and re-evaluating beyond one school year, let alone one class period. Teachers are responsible for more than instilling facts to be recited into tests and essays. They elicit deeper questions from the students and instill such curiosity within them, that they are searching for better understanding beyond primary schooling.
    But this is so difficult when students sit in the class staring at their teacher, blank-eyed, uninterested, or--worse!--storing up every word said without argument, assessment, nor application. In order to surpass memorization, students require what Understand by Design states to be connection with meaningful, real-world problems. We all remember sitting in at least one class, scribbling every word tumbling from the teachers mouth, and questioning how on earth this could ever be applied to "my life." And that is where teachers need to evaluate how they are presenting their lessons.
    Students need to know upfront why the information is important and how it can be applied in life situations. In order to effectively instill the lessons in their students, teachers should be engaging and thought provoking; their information should encourage debate, reconsideration, analysis of support and contradicting information. As touched on in Ariel Sacks article "Did it Sink in Right Away?" (provided at the end of this post) teachers are providing students with questions and techniques that will continue rounding them for years to come. When asking students questions, there should be no immediate single answer. Immediate response prove a question to be pointless and ineffective in furthering student understanding. Teachers need to provoke their students into asking their own questions, intriguing learners to utilize the skills being taught and apply knowledge beyond assessment questions.
    But how do teachers do this? Understanding by Design and Essential Question provide many suggestions in drawing in the learner. In many cases where teachers reflected on effective lessons in their own childhood, they came to the conclusion that hands-on activities, personalized assignments, and encouraged debate were common tools for learning. When teachers presented students with options of assessment with clear goals and expectations, the students were more comfortable in challenging their understanding. When hooked with thought provoking introductions to new material, the students pushed themselves to uncover the mystery and understand the information. In activities involving Socratic discussion, perplexing open-ended questions, and personal evaluation intermittently throughout the lessons, students were comfortable and driven to learn.
    So teachers must puzzle their students. They must be sensitive to the questions of their students and encourage them to assess what they know, why they know it, and how it applies to their own life. The results of many lessons may not appear in one year. Indeed, teachers are constantly building upon prior knowledge and understanding, refining, and encouraging students to pursue autonomous learning.

http://www.teachingquality.org/content/did-it-sink-right-away