The term "best practice" is widely used throughout education despite lack of evidence or consensus concerning which practices are "best." The pervasive use of this term creates three problems. First, it promotes a plug-and-play approach, in which teachers are encouraged to adopt new methods and use them as much as possible but in the absence of meaningful professional development that might result in thoughtful changes in instruction. Second, by labeling a teaching method as "best," it stops the ongoing search for better approaches and prevents teachers and researchers from continually working to improve instructional methods Finally, it can prioritize activity over achievement. Rather than highlighting "best practices," teaching requires a research and development process for accumulating and sharing knowledge related to specific learning goals and particular students. Such improvement activity is more likely to foster advancements in teaching and learning than short-lived attempts to imitate loosely defined exemplars.