Teaching needs pedagogical skills, not just subject knowledge

In the movie 3 Idiots, Rancho (played by Aamir Khan) walks into a classroom and does something that irritates his professor: he shows how to teach. The professor knows engineering, but Rancho challenges him on how to make students understand. This memorable scene renders a distinctive message: knowing a subject and knowing how to teach it are not the same.

Every October 5, World Teachers’ Day reminds us to celebrate those who shape how children think, learn, and see the world. We call them nation-builders and guardians of the future. But perhaps the occasion also invites a fundamental question: Is being a good student enough to become a good teacher?

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Someone who has mastered a subject, performed well in examinations, and demonstrated discipline seems an obvious candidate to teach it. Yet the skills that make someone a successful learner are not the same as those that make someone an effective teacher. A good teacher must do more than show they know the answer. They must work out why a student does not know it.

Consider a simple math lesson. A teacher may know exactly how to solve an equation, but when a student cannot, the teacher has to diagnose the problem. Has the student misunderstood the concept? Missed something in an earlier lesson? Found the explanation too abstract? Lost confidence? The teacher must adapt the approach to suit the learner. This ability is called pedagogical knowledge. Growing evidence shows it matters.

A 2026 OECD Teacher Knowledge Survey, involving more than 20,000 lower-secondary teachers across eight countries, found that countries where teachers scored higher in general pedagogical knowledge also tended to have better mathematics results among 15-year-old students. The OECD says this knowledge helps teachers create effective learning environments and use classroom time more effectively.

The finding is consistent with an earlier OECD systematic review of international research involving more than 10,000 teachers and 850,000 students across 21 countries. Its meta-analysis found significant effects of general pedagogical knowledge on teaching quality and student outcomes. It concluded that teaching requires not only knowledge but also the skills and practical experience needed to translate that knowledge into classroom practice. This is why some education systems treat teaching as a profession requiring specialised preparation, rather than assuming that subject expertise will automatically translate into teaching ability.

Singapore provides one example. At the National Institute of Education, teacher preparation includes teaching practice under experienced teachers and university supervisors. Trainee teachers progressively develop lesson planning, delivery, classroom management and assessment skills. The practicum is not an optional add-on; it is integral to becoming a teacher.

Finland takes a different route but follows a similar principle. For a qualified class teacher, Finland generally requires a master’s-level education together with multidisciplinary studies and teachers’ pedagogical studies. Subject teachers also require a master’s degree, studies in the teaching subject and pedagogical studies. In other words, knowing the subject is one component of becoming qualified to teach it.

Neither country offers a model that Bangladesh can copy. Their education systems, resources, and social contexts differ. Yet both illustrate a principle worth considering: teaching ability must be developed, practised, and assessed.

Bangladesh can apply that principle without reinventing its education system. Academic qualifications should remain important in teacher recruitment, but they need not be the sole criterion of suitability. Demonstration classes, supervised teaching practice, and structured feedback could help assess whether a candidate can explain a concept, engage learners, and respond to diverse classroom situations.

Professional development matters just as much. Teachers need opportunities to reflect on their practice, learn new methods, and understand how different students learn. This matters even more in an age when information is instantly available. A student can now find an explanation, definition or formula on a phone within seconds. The teacher’s value increasingly lies not simply in possessing information, but in helping students understand, question, connect, and use it.

That is perhaps the lesson hidden in 3 Idiots. Rancho is not necessarily demonstrating that he knows more engineering than his professor. He is showing that knowing something and communicating it effectively are distinct abilities. The film makes the point dramatically; educational research gives it substance.

On World Teachers’ Day, the most meaningful way to honour teachers may be to take teaching seriously: select people not just for what they once achieved as students, prepare them to teach, give them opportunities to practise, and continue developing them throughout their careers. A good student knows how to learn; a good teacher must also know how to make learning happen for someone else.

Shafiq R Bhuiyan is vice-president and head of internal communication and CSR at BRAC Bank

Views expressed in this article are the author's own. 

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