Characteristics of Effective Teachers

What is the difference

Between the good teacher and

the effective teacher?

One is a philosophical question, the other

empirical.

The big picture:

Teacher as a reflective decision-maker

Teachers make hundreds, even thousands of decisions each day

Lesson Planning

Lesson planning is not just what goes into the “checkerboard squares” book.

It goes on all day and sporadically into the night

Lesson implementing

Lesson implementing is what people usually think of as teaching

That’s actually less than half the teacher’s day!

Evaluating

Evaluating does more than just give feedback to students; it helps the teacher, too

After evaluation, the teacher is ready to plan again.

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Four areas of essential competence for teachers

Attitudes that foster learning and genuine human relationships

Knowledge of the subject matter Theoretical knowledge of learning

and human behavior Skills of teaching {presentation}

Teacher attitudes

Toward self. “Know thyself.” Towards children. Preferences for

some, dislike for others. Self fulfilling prophecies

Peers & parents. Authority/collaboration, competition/cooperation

Attitudes toward subject matter. Enthusiasm helps!

Subject matter knowledge

Pure content knowledge Pedagogical content knowledge

What theoretical knowledge is needed?

Theory versus hypothesis. Educational theory. What is most

likely to happen in a given situation?

Theoretical knowledge is used to (1) interpret situations and (2) solve problems

What teaching (presentation) skills are

needed? Ability to ask different kinds of

questions Ability to reinforce certain kinds of

student behaviors Ability to diagnose student needs Ability to vary the learning

situation to assure involvement