Stop using classroom gimmicks and educate children properly, Michael Gove tells teachers Mr Gove added: "Another teacher records a lesson for A-Level English students in which they were asked to depict literary characters on a paper plate - drawing a face on the plate - and then asked to use stickers to define the character's principal traits - pinning the stickers on their clothes and mingling with other students, while they introduce themselves "in character." Mr Gove said: "Allied to these teaching methods which have nothing to do with passing on knowledge there has also been an emphasis on teachers having to put their own learning aside so that work is 'relevant" to the students. This has resulted in the dumbing of educational material down to the level of the child - with GCSE English papers that ask students about Tinie Tempah, or Simon Cowell - rather than encouraging the child to thirst after the knowledge of the teacher. Mr Gove said that he wanted schools "to move away from these approaches to education ... towards an education system which believes, right from the early years, in The Importance of Teaching. Because schools are - above all - academic institutions, we need teachers to actively pass on knowledge, organised in academic disciplines such as Physics and History - to introduce children to precisely those areas of human thought and achievement which they are most unlikely to discover or understand on their own. Part of the problem was a "belief that education should not be an activity in which the teacher imparts knowledge to the child but a pursuit - by the child - of what it finds interesting," he said. Mr Gove added: "Great teaching can and does make a huge difference to children's performance. Great teaching involves empathy and energy, authority and resilience; detailed planning; constant self-improvement. "A great teacher has the ability to "read" a classroom and understand its dynamics, instantly; shows inspirational leadership, exciting and motivating pupils to help them achieve their full potential." Earlier this year Mr Gove set out plans for new GCSEs which will feature more British history, a range of classic literature and an increased focus on spelling and grammar to restore public confidence. Qualifications in the core subjects will be overhauled to place renewed emphasis on traditional subject knowledge and prepare pupils for the demands of A-levels and university.