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What qualities characterize an effective teacher
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Assessing teachers'effectiveness
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Everyone knows that when it comes to making a difference in a child’s academic and life achievements, their teachers play a large role. A teacher’s ability to relate to their students, and teach them to achieve both socially and academically contributes to how effective they are. What does it mean to be an effective teacher? Overall there seems to be an emphasis on teacher effectiveness related to how well their students are performing on standardized testing. As teachers we know there is more to being an effective teacher then just teaching our students based on tests. This paper will identify different definitions of an effective teacher along with how to assess teachers on being effective.
Teacher Effectiveness: Characteristics and Skills of an Effective Teacher
Teacher effectiveness has generated different definitions depending on how it had been viewed. Jupp and Education (2009) define effectiveness as “the practical outputs of teachers”. These outputs take place in two different forms, quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative means it can be measured or expressed in numerical form. Qualitative is related to the character of something. Test scores and assessments of students are quantitative and teacher observations of their students are qualitative. In their article, Jupp and Education (2009) strongly feel teacher effectiveness cannot be looked at based on one point in time; instead students learning should be evaluated from the beginning of a school year to the end looking at what students know before and what they know exiting.
In a book written by Farr (2010) book, Teacher as Leadership: the Highly Effective Teachers Guide to Closing the Achievement Gap, effective teachers are ...
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... After all, when we discuss and aspire for teacher effectiveness the progress of our students comes first, so it is our responsibility to make sure we provide that chance for everyone.
References
Farr, S. (2010). Teacher as leadership: The highly effective teachers guide to closing the
achievement gap. San Francisco, CA: A Wiley Imprint.
Goe, L., Bell, C., and Little O. (2008). Approaches to evaluating teacher effectiveness: A
Research synthesis. Washington, DC: National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality.
Hinchey, P. H., & University of Colorado at Boulder, N. (2010). Getting teacher assessment
right: What policymakers can learn from research. National Education Policy Center. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Jupp, B., & Education, T. (2009). What states can do to improve teacher effectiveness. K-12
policy. Education Trust. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
In 2010, Charlotte Danielson wrote an article, “Evaluations That Help Teachers”, for the magazine The Effective Educator. The purpose of this article was to explain how a teacher evaluation system, such as her own Framework for Teaching, should and can actually foster teacher learning rather than just measure teacher competence, which is what most other teacher evaluation systems do. This topic is especially critical to decision-making school leaders. Many of the popular teacher evaluation systems fail to help schools link teacher performance with meaningful opportunities for the teachers to reflect on and learn from in order to grow professionally. With the increased attention on the need for more rigorous student standards, this then is an enormous opportunity missed. Students can only achieve such rigorous expectations if their teachers can effectively teach them, and research has shown that teachers who are evaluated by systems that hold them to accountability and provide them for continuous support and growth will actually teach more effectively.
Charlotte Danielson, an internationally recognized expert in the area of teacher effectiveness, created The Framework for Teaching, which is comprised of four domains of teaching responsibility (Danielson, 1996). Danielson specializes in the design of teacher evaluation to ensure teacher quality and to promote professional learning. Danielson’s framework is based on large amounts of research, including the Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) project, supported by the Gates Foundation (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, 2013). Danielson’s framework also aligns with the Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC), which outlines what a beginner teacher should possess in skills. In addition, it is the underlying set of ideas
Outstanding educators are caring. While most educators possess this quality, it is the notable teacher that is able to transcend his or her feelings into concrete and measurable ways that demonstrate an investment in the individual student. The outstanding educator asks and continues to ask; what can I do for this child? What does this child need? How will I deliver? What resources are available? The student’s progress and goals are constantly assessed and evaluated. Outstanding educators care about the whole child- academically and socially.
Besharov, Douglas. "Teachers Performance: A Review ." Journal of Policy Analyis and Management (2006): 1-41.
Kyriacou, C. (2001) Effective Teaching in Schools: Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. Nelson Thornes Ltd.
The role of teacher leader has been defined as “teachers who aspire to stretch beyond their classrooms to engage in leadership roles that take many shapes and forms, both “informal and formal”. (ECS, 2010). Teacher leadership has also been described as “the process by which teachers, individually and collectively, influence their colleagues, principals, and other members of the school community to improve learning practices with the aim of increased student learning and achievement.” (ECS, 2010). In years past, a majority of teacher leadership roles took the form of department chair, committee chair, grade level chair, etc. It was more of a representative role versus a leadership role. Their responsibility primarily involved dispersing information from administration to their counterparts and taking information back to administration from the group. Their position lacked decision-making power and true leadership that brings about “real” change. These tasks are still viewed as opportunities for teacher leadership; however, recently, the
Columnist, Guest. "Test Scores and Teacher Competency." The Oregonian. Oregonlive.com, 4 Feb. 2010. Web. 18 Jan. 2014.
Successful teachers develop the whole child by making integrated efforts to promote their student’s academic, social and emotional learning. Children need to be aware of themselves and others; make responsible decisions, and be ethical and respectful of the people around them.
The teacher was rated using a rubric with specific criteria in four domains including planning and preparation, the classroom environment, instruction, and professional responsibilities (Hillsborough County Public Schools, 2012). Within each of these domains are components which are the performance factors that are relevant to classroom teachers. In domain one the components include: demonstrating knowledge of content and pedagogy, demonstrating knowledge of students, setting instructional outcomes, demonstrating knowledge of resources and technology, designing coherent instruction, and designing student assessments. The components for domain two include: creating an environment of respect and rapport, establishing a culture for learning, managing classroom procedures, managing student behavior, organizing physical space. In domain three the components included are: communicating with students, using questioning and discussion, engaging students in learning, using assessment in instruction, and demonstrating flexibility and responsiveness. There is only one component that was rated for domain four which is reflecting on teaching.
I never had a teacher that I clicked with. Changing from school to school was hard and anytime I would get close to someone, I would end up changing schools. I never knew what it meant to have a teacher care about a student so much. That all changed when I moved to Delafield, Wisconsin in 2007. I started a new school in the fourth quarter and everything felt the same. All of a sudden, when seventh grade came around, I felt like a whole new person. This is the year that I met the teacher who became a part of my life. Mrs. Wroblewski has positively inspired me to follow my dreams and be who I want to be. Mrs. Wroblewski is an inspiration to me and a role model because she defended me when I was bullied, gave me great opportunities, a great listener, and is always there for me not matter what.
There are many things which make a teacher great and they all can`t be defined.However i`ve always considered several of them essential.In my opinion a good teacher is someonewho first of all creates interest in studying,doesn`t underestimate the children,has equal expectations of siccess from everyone and last but not least likes his job.
In order for learning to take place in the classroom the teacher has to put in place an effective teaching and learning strategy. Being an effective teacher is not something that can be achieved instantaneously but rather something that has to be continuously developed and improved upon over time. Petty mentions how good teachers are not born but rather make themselves and that effective teaching comes from learning from your mistakes and successes. Petty, p. 516, 2009. This process involves teacher reflection and assessment of the effectiveness of different teaching strategies used in the classroom. It is only then that teachers can learn and advance themselves.
With the proper guidance and support, teachers can achieve academic excellence in the classroom. They follow their principal’s vision and share their goals. Teachers also serve as leaders in their classroom. They share their vision and goals with their students promoting positive attitudes in the classroom. Just like it is important for principals to respect and understand what their teachers need, students also need the support, understanding, respect and empathy from their teachers. When teachers demonstrate commitment in the classroom and set high expectations they raise the level of learning in the classroom. Teachers that work with the students and their parents to understand and meet their needs will achieve positive academic outcomes. Students engage in learning with positive attitudes and strive for high achievements. Teachers work together with their leaders to improve their teaching
York-Barr, J. & K. Duke (2004) what do we know about teacher leadership? Findings from two decades of scholarship. Review of educational research 74(3), 255-316.
Many schools have different frameworks which outline what makes for effective teaching and learning in a classroom, these follow quite closely with the teacher’s standards.