An overview is presented of what research studies have revealed about: instruction in school subjects; general elements of teaching (such as organization and conduct of lessons); prevention and control of misconduct; interpretation of test results; diagnosis of learning difficulties; and the conditions and procedures of learning and development. Teacher performance common to instruction in all subjects (generic performances) have been identified as positively correlated with student outcomes. Researchers have identified, described, and tested the effectiveness of a large number of generic elements in teaching. Concepts of effective teaching have been assembled and classified into six instructional domains: planning, management of student conduct, instructional organization and development, presentation of subject matter, communication, and testing. Another area of research has dealt with content-specific teaching performances and techniques used for instruction in different subject matters. A third component of pedagogical education is theoretical pedagogy, which consists of concepts and principles about human development, conditions of learning, and the relations among social variables. Each of these components is described with summaries of relevant research findings. (JD)