Is Subject Matter Expertise Enough for Successful Teaching? is the title of a recent Walt Gardner post at Ed Week.

It covers similar ground — with newer information — to a post I wrote earlier this year that provoked a lot of comments — How Much “Content” Knowledge Do You Really Need To Be An Effective Teacher?

I don’t think it’s an either/or issue — clearly, a teacher has to have a certain degree of competence in the subjects they are teaching. But, as Mr. Gardner suggests, “pedagogical competence” is the real key.