A TRILOGY OF EFFECTIVE

TEACHING

By: LATREIA E. ESTABILLOMAED-GenEd, MSU Grad. School

EDUC 201 PROF. A. PULIDO

The illiterate of the twenty-first century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. ––Alvin

Toffler

"Effective teaching produces beneficial and purposeful student learning through

the use of appropriate procedures" (Diamond; 1987).

ATTRIBUTES TOWARDS THE LEARNING PROCESS

According to the book by Wotruba and Wright (1975) about teaching attributes:

• Quality teachers socialize with students.

T. Dix (1993) defines the socialization process as communicating and reinforcing positive expectations, behavior, and attributes.

• Quality teachers model positive social behavior

Teachers must demonstrate for students the thinking and decision-making processes that work toward a common

social good. They must also model respectful social skills and workable coping strategies.

• Quality teachers project and reward positive expectations.

Teachers must expect students to act morally and responsibly. Additionally, successful teachers reward and

reinforce positive behavior and pro-social traits.

• Quality teachers project authoritative teaching

Successful teachers are leaders who exercise sound decision-making without being despotic or suppressive. Students must understand clearly the reasons behind a teacher's demands. Authoritative teachers minimize power struggles, check for understanding, secure student commitment to change, help

students cope with difficult situations, and encourage students to solve problems and regulate themselves

• Quality teachers are effective counselors.

Successful teachers help students adjust and develop skills in personal relationships, academics, conflicts, personal control,

meaningful listening, self-reflection, and personal responsibility.

The teacher needs to be empathic to teach effectively, that is, he should see the pupils he teaches from pupils' points of

view, not from his own point of view.

Such empathetic approach will make the teacher relate more humanly with the pupils, understand their problems and

teach more effectively than the teacher who does not understand the learner and his problems.

Since empathy improves the teacher's understanding of pupils, there is better teacher-pupil interaction and this will

leads to effective teaching. 

• Quality teachers are patient. Successful teachers will persistently work with students to achieve realistic

goals.Attitudes affect teacher's performance level. Adeyanju A. et al (2004) opine that a teacher who has a positive attitude

towards teaching and towards his pupils will obviously teach more effectively than the teacher who has developed

negative attitudes towards the learners he has to deal with. 

Quadri et al (2004) contribute that a good teacher must be caring, kind and firm in dealing with pupils. Firmness means

the ability to ensure fair play and gives equal treatment to all students in his class. 

• Quality teachers know their content. Not only are successful teachers knowledgeable, they convey a true

love of learning, the excitement of discovery, and a natural inquisitiveness.

According to Dunhill (2000), a good teacher must first possess a wide general knowledge and within the confines of this general

knowledge, a sound understanding of the subject he is to teach in the classroom.

Quadri K. et al (2004) corroborate that a good teacher must be well knowledge versed in his area of specialization, must know which to

teach, when to teach and how to teach.

• Quality teachers have fun with their students.

Their classrooms are cheerful, where both the teacher and the students can express a sense of humor. There is an

understanding that learning is a joyful endeavor.

Teachers are expected to have good human relationship, highly tolerant and emotionally balanced. A good personality trait of an effective teacher is perseverance. Perseverance as an attribute assists the teacher to achieve his instructional goals even when he faces opposition from other teachers in

the school (Farrant 1999). 

• Quality teachers embrace diversity.

They understand that students come from different backgrounds and have different values and beliefs.

Teacher must have profound knowledge of the learner (Dunhill 2000). He must always remember that the learners are product of different home environments and they have

different potentials and opportunity to develop their learning interests. 

• Quality teachers have strong egos.

Teachers maintain a sense of calm, self-assuredness, and equilibrium throughout the conflicts that inevitably arise in

working with young people. They don't take student behavior personally, rather they work to solve problems and adjust

behavior.

By: Patrick F. Bassett , Based on a 1996 ISACS poll, Published: June 25, 2004

New Teacher (0-5 years of experience, age 20-29)

Needs To find support/mentors

ExperienceUnderstanding breadth of role

Lesson-planning skillsSkills for working with parents

To have a life outside of /willingness to learn school; to learn how to say "No."

Positive Attributes:EnthusiasmCreativityEnergy

Knowledge of current thinkingIdealism

Openness, optimism

Positive Attributes:Experience, expertise

ConfidenceBridge between old and new, continuity

Loyalty, stability, role-modeling, ability to take on new assignments

Mid-career Teacher (6-20 years of experience, age 30-39)

Needs:Leadership, mentoring opportunitiesUnderstanding their complex lives

RecognitionMoney

Positive Attributes:Wisdom (about kids, families, school)

Stability (psychological, personal)Sense of tradition, history of school

MentoringLink to outside community

Veteran Teacher (21+ years of experience, age 40-69+)

Needs:Training for challenges of change

UnderstandingSecurity

Debriefing Points To Ponder:1. New teachers are expected to bring vitality; scholarly qualities

are not the primary issue.2. Heads recognize that new teachers need help; new teachers

should not be afraid to ask for it.3. Mid-career teachers run the show; pay attention to what they

say and how they operate (and on a bad day, stay clear, because often life is tough for them).

4. Veteran teachers are an invaluable resource; don't discount them.

Five Attitudes of Effective Teachers

Bonni Gourneau, University of North Dakota

• Demonstrating Caring and KindnessResearch by Larson and Silverman (2000) and Noddings (1984) has emphasized the importance of developing a caring and respectful relationship between teachers and

students.

• Sharing Responsibility

Carlson and Hastie (1997) believe teachers’ and students’ agendas need to overlap and be in support of each other,

and the end result would be a positive learning environment.

Zimmerman (1990) and Claxton (1996) believe that the learning process should be organized in such a way that

students take responsibility for their own learning.

Richardson (1999) states student-directed learning and curricula have become focal points for all constructivist-

based teaching and learning practices.

• Sensitively Accepting DiversityNel (1992) stated that it would seem the trend toward

more pluralistic attitudes in teachers needs to be translated into a strong and clear commitment to

multicultural education, which ultimately could result in positive effects on specific classroom behaviors and

attitudes.

• Fostering Individualized InstructionStudents appreciated teachers who helped them succeed

with their learning experiences. Teachers who used intimidation in front of the class resulted in a reluctance

to volunteer.

• Encouraging Creativity

This attitude stresses the importance of stimulating the students’ creativity. The students appreciated and were personally motivated when teachers designed lessons

that considered their interests, skills, and needs.

There is potential in every student, and a teacher’s attitude and actions can leave lasting impressions. Teachers need to be risk

takers by being themselves and by trusting their students.

ELEMENTS OF TEACHING EFFECTIVENESS

Teaching effectiveness is important because effective teaching helps student learning. It has become even more important as the emphasis on quality in higher education

has increased.

The style view

Teaching actions

Student outcomes

• A common view of teaching effectiveness which focuses on how teachers teach.

• “Teaching effectiveness is determined by what the teacher does.”

Effective teachers…Personality characteristics

• display warmth

Teaching techniques

• provide an overview at the start of teaching something new

Teaching approaches

• minimise the amount of time they are teaching the whole class from the front (direct instruction)

The style view

Teaching actions

Student outcomes

FLAW 2 Debates

about research findings

FLAW 3 Complex context

FLAW 1 Looks in

wrong place

Flaw 1• Looks in the wrong place

• What the teacher demonstrates (against a predetermined list of qualities deemed to be “effective”) rather than what is happening for the students.

The style view

Flaw 2-Debates about research findings-It assumes that the research generalizations are unequivocal.-But consider the debates about:

• the use of rewards, • the role of questioning in discussion, • the use of storytelling and narrative in history• phonics and whole language.

Flaw 3-Complex context-The teaching – outcomes relationship is complicated by context:

• nature of the students• the subject being taught• the time of day• the nature of the teaching environment• the availability of resources• personal mood.

It is not what the teacher does that matters –

it is what is happening for the students.

The outcomes approach

Teaching actions

Student outcomes

Teaching effectiveness... is determined by what students achieve.

The effectiveness of teachers is best determined by:

• comparing the achievement of the students they teach.

• comparing the added value they contribute to the achievement of the students they teach.

Teaching actions

Student outcomes

FLAW 2 Diminishes

student contribution

FLAW 3 Measurement

of learning

FLAW 1 Prior

knowledge

The outcomes approach

Flaw 1•Prior knowledge is a powerful influence on achievement.

•Unfair to compare summative achievements of students and to attribute the difference to superior or inferior teaching.

Flaw 2•Linking achievement to teaching actions diminishes the role of the student’s:

• personal organisation, • interest, • motivation, • personal attributions of success or failure, • beliefs about and motivations for particular subjects and tasks.

•Influence rather than change.

Flaw 3The complexities of measurement:

• socio-economic factors• bias to the easily measured• external assistance• “black” box.

While the assessment of teaching effectiveness must attend to student

outcomes and a teacher’s role in developing these, outcomes do not determine

effectiveness.

The inquiry approach

• More than style and it is more than outcomes.

• Continual interrogation of the relationship between these two dimensions with the aim of enhancing student achievement.

• Quality of inquiry into the relationship between teaching actions and student learning.

The inquiry approach

Evidence 1

Question posing Data collection

and analysis

Teaching actions

Student outcomes

Inquiry 2 What are the possibilities?

Evidence 2

Craft knowledge Researcher

knowledge

The cycle of inquiry established by the processes of Inquiry 1 and Inquiry 2 enhances the opportunity for teachers to learn about their own practice, and students to increase their engagement and success.

Opportunity to Learn

Working hypothesis

Inquiry 1 What is happening?

Pre- InquiryWhat is worth

spending time on?

The inquiry approach

Inquiry 1 Impact of teaching actions on student outcomes

Posing questions about:• outcomes• alignment • engagement• success.

Collection of high quality evidence:• student achievement data• teacher documentation• classroom observation: student responses• student feedback.

Inquiry 2 Identifying possibilities for improvement

Sources:

• the experiences of other teachers (craft knowledge)

• researcher knowledge.

Seeking:

• strongest possible warrants

• evidence of impact on student learning.

Outcome:

• working hypotheses.

Attitudes1.Openness

• ordered, deliberate analysis

• ideas from all sources.

2.Fallibility

• conjectures not absolute truths

• hypotheses may fail but that it is important to keep searching

• searching for disconfirming evidence.

Knowledge and SkillsKnowledge and skills relate to such areas as:

-how to pose questions that capture the main dimensions of the relationship between teaching and learning-to collect valid and reliable information that helps answer the questions about the relationship between teaching and learning-how to analyse data to identify patterns and issues -how to observe and analyse the teaching of others in ways that identifies actions that impact positively on student learning-how to locate and evaluate research that provides strong evidence of impacts on student learning.

• Affective/Personality Factors• Attitude Towards the Profession

• Verbal Ability• Professional/Content Knowledge

• Instructional Effectiveness• Teaching Experience

• Intercultural Competence

SEVEN ESSENTIAL AREAS OF EFFECTIVE TEACHING

(Christine Coombe, Univ. Dubai)

“The art of teaching is the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds.”

Anatole France, French novelist and poet, 19th century