Despite the long history of research on teaching, this subject is still regarded as a poorly understood area. On one hand, a set of characteristics distinguishing effective teaching across classrooms have been identified (Muijs & Reynolds, 2005). On the other hand, teacher effectiveness does not seem to be a static, invariant characteristic of a teacher, but varies in a number of dimensions of differentiation, namely, time stability, subject consistency, differentiation by people, differentiation by working environment, and teacher’ expected roles (Campbell et al., 2003). The evidence indicates that the complexity of studying teacher effectiveness partly lies in the range of individual differences and characteristics of settings.
Different approaches in studying teaching effectiveness have shortcomings. School effectiveness research shows that teacher effectiveness is often the largest variable after the various student factors are considered, but it contributes little to the understanding of classroom processes, and its overreliance on standardized tests to capture learning growth is often criticized (Sammons, 1999). Meta-analysis on teaching has identified some classroom processes that have a larger effect than others (Hatti, 2009), but is often based on small-scale research that investigates classroom processes in isolation, with little relevance to the dynamics in the classroom. The classroom observation approach is the most informative on the classroom processes, but is resource-intensive and subject to raters’ prejudices (Wragg, 1999). Although classroom observation protocols cannot capture all processes in the classroom, studies are also rarely replicated with the same instruments or their instruments were validated internationally, making the accumulation of knowledge difficult (Teddlie et al., 2006).
Local research on teaching practices in Hong Kong is rare, but exceptions are informative on expertise teaching (Tsui, 2003), washback effect on teaching (Cheng, 1999), paradigm shift teaching practices (Cheng & Mok, 2008), and consistency in teacher effectiveness (Ko, 2010). A study on teaching, however, would be more meaningful if it can be linked with student learning, such that classroom processes can be seen as purposeful interactions between the teacher and the students. To address the above-mentioned limitations, the current study aims at the objectives stated below and frames teaching and learning against a background where the examination has become the ethos of education and teacher effectiveness covers a variety of competencies beyond the classroom (Cheng & Tsui, 1996):
1. To examine how teacher effectiveness can be maintained or vary across classrooms where students and situations differ.
2. To understand how classroom practices may affect learning processes and goal orientation of students.
3. To investigate how goal orientation and self-regulated learning can facilitate teaching and learning over time.

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