Qualities of Exemplary Teachers Principals and School District Human Resource Directors seek excellence in the staff they hire, the professional development they facilitate, and in the learning outcomes of their schools and school systems. Administrators, students, and fellow teachers tend to know great teachers when they see one, but quite difficult to define (Lowman, 1996; Markley, 2004; Robertson, 2006; Stronge, 2007). Hiring and developing exemplary teachers are two of Human Resources primary goals, but is it clear what an exemplary teacher is like? Teachers enter and stay in this career field in spite of the fact that it has been viewed as a lower priority to other career choices (Manski, 1987) and political pressures for more accountability …show more content…
To achieve greatness in staff hiring, placement, and development, we must first define it from the perspectives of the most knowledgeable stakeholders. Student perspectives were used to help determine the most effective and exemplary teachers (Gentry et al., 2011; Walker, 2008) and the teachers’ perspectives themselves were also used to give substance to the data (Gentry et al., …show more content…
They believed that their own desire for excellence was important and that it translated into continuous improvement as teachers and weighty expectations on students. These teachers also revealed their own expectations were often intense as they demanded and pushed for better quality and competitive results. Being strict and demanding was a collective trait of these teachers, but so was helping students to meet the challenges they presented. Marsh’s work on the effects of grading leniency and workload on college student evaluations of teacher reveal the same idea. “In contrast to popular myths, the most effective ways for teachers to get high [student evaluation of teaching ratings] are to provide demanding and challenging materials, to facilitate student efforts to master the materials, and to encourage them to value their learning” (2000, p. 29). Students’ expected grades, in Marsh’s study, explained only 3.9% of the variance in overall teacher ratings (2000, p. 22). Exemplary teachers on all levels were not shy about doing more than what was expected in helping students meet the high expectations and they saw payoffs in student learning and the personal connections made with their
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.
166-173). Linda Darling-Hammond (2000) discusses how teacher education has changed and how it has affected our education system (p. 166). The author also notes how even the most intelligent people found it hard to prosper in the field without the right skills and preparation (Darling-Hammond, 2000, p. 166-173). In the article, she presents how post baccalaureate programs are carefully structured, versus alternative routes which can be no more than backup employment options. Darling-Hammond (2000) also addresses how it becomes difficult for aspiring teachers to learn both subject matter and pedagogy (p.
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
An outstanding educator possesses unique qualities that set him or her apart from others in the field. Ask any student about a favorite teacher and listen intently as he or she describes that person with a smile. Ask a parent of a child who will enter first grade in the fall about the teacher choice for their child. The parent would describe the outstanding educator in their desire for that special teacher. The qualities of an outstanding educator are easily recognized by those whose lives they touch, shape, and change on a daily basis. It is in this writing piece that they will be described and discussed.
The author's purpose is supported by explaining key issues of showering students with As. I believe that institutions should return to valuing the grading system so that those graduating can effectively utilize their earned degrees. Also, Staples asserts, "Individual professors inflate grades after consumer-conscious administrators hound them into it. Professors at every level inflate to escape negative evaluations by students, whose opinions now figure in tenure and promotion decisions" (Pg. 1065). At this point in the text, Staples talks the vulnerability of the teachers showcase to please students in order to satisfy their own needs. I find it quite ironic how teachers endure many years of schooling, only to prepare the future educators, nurses, and doctors to value their own salary and career opportunities. Additionally, with the student's opinions now being factored in toward promotion decisions, professors are now more lenient than ever to relinquish passing grades to all
Research carried out by Brent Staples suggests that the latter can be defined as the change in the grade pattern from lower to higher grades to allow for students ‘retention and maintaining at the same time enrollment so that students on campus will remain at the same institution. Likewise, the higher the students ‘grades are, the better their evaluations of teaching will be. Another evidence put forward by Brent Staples underlying this phenomenon is the professors ‘subjective as well as emotional assessment methods that take into consideration other factors such as college attendance, students ‘progress, or just the effort made to perfect achievement. All of these might be considered for an overall evaluation of a student rather than regarding student’s merit in a given evaluation. There is also ample support according to Brent Staples for the claim that grade policies and practices are also undergoing constant changes permitting thereby a generous grading system that does not accept the right to or even the probability of failure.
In a society where kids must go to school up to the collegiate level, teaching is an impactful career choice. Teachers help contour the minds of future leaders of the world. Furthermore, teachers play a crucial role in guiding students to the knowledge, skills, and abilities they need to succeed in life, and teachers lead students to make informed decisions on any topic the meet in the future. As a teacher, a person must relinquish their knowledge onto students. Finally, they must prepare their students for all the obstacles they will face later in life.
Duke, Daniel L., ed. Incentive Pay and Career Ladders For Today's Teachers. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1990. 42-241. Grand Rapids Community College Database . Web. 6 Apr. 2014. .
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.
It is important that education is properly enforced and easily accessed by all people. Poor teaching is implemented in the classroom today, such as boring lectures consisting of taking notes and regurgitating information. Because of this, people lack the motivation necessary to take advantage of their academic opportunities. In his essay “I Just Wanna Be Average,” Mike Rose writes about how during the majority of his academic career “[he] did what [he] had to do to get by, and [he] did it with half a mind” (154). Not only had Mike Rose done this, but other students follow in the same footsteps as if they are blind to how valuable education is and how it can empower a person. The type of an educator you are taught by can differentiate whether you will “do what you have to do to get by” or actually engage yourself while in the classroom. Mike Rose makes it obvious that school was not fascinating to him, but when he is introduced to a new teacher, Jack MacFarland he states that “[he] worked very hard, for MacFarland had hooked [him]; he tapped [his] old interest in reading and creating stories” (160). Professors like Jack MacFarland are what leave impacts on students and help them realize the importance of academics. Rose even states “MacFarland gave him a way to feel special by using his mind” (160). When educators can make students feel the way that MacFarland made Rose feel they can ascertain a great amount of
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.
The state’s new evaluation system was in response to administrators who produced, “superficial and capricious teacher evaluation systems that often don't even directly address the quality of instruction, much less measure students' learning” (Toch, 2008). Too often, the “good-ol-boy” attitude would insure mediocre educators would remain employed. Realizing this was often more the rule then the exception, the governor created educational mandates to focus, “on supporting and training effective teachers to drive student achievement” (Marzano Center, 2013). Initially, they expected the school districts and the teachers would have issues and experience growing pains, but in the end the goal was, “to improve teacher performance, year by year, with a corresponding rise in student achievement” (Marzano Center, 2013).
The role played by teachers’ expectations on students’ academic ability has been an important topic of educational research for over 30 years (Trouilloud et al). Given that the instructor sets the tone of the classroom, their expectations can weigh heavily on students. The concept is called teacher expectation effects (TEE) and it can occur when a teacher’s expectations of a student affect teacher–student interactions in a manner that leads the student to fulfill the teacher’s expectations (Trouilloud et al). It’s been on record from multiple studies that the way a student is perceived can may lead to the student attempting to behave consistently with that perception and prove that he/she are actually that type of person. That notion
Those who look to the profession as a career would need to nourish these perceptions in order to prevail over the negative aspects that surround the profession. The process of teaching goes far beyond the presentation of facts, it includes the dedication of both heart and time. While compensation and working conditions are the main downfalls in teaching, there are many other situations that cause individuals to turn away from the profession. Teaching is obviously a hard complex job and the individuals who answer the call, encounter many frustrations. They are required to first develop goals for classroom instruction and with these goals develop lesson plans, while implementing effective classroom management (appropriate discipline). They must also monitor and nourish the special needs of every child, and stay current on educational advancements and topic knowledge. Imagine trying to su...
One good quality a teacher should have is, respect for the students. Each person’s ideas and opinions should be valued and not judged. They should be able to express themselves without feeling insecure. Another good quality is, having high expectations for your students. Each student should be encouraged to do their best and achieve goals that they may have never met before. Another good quality is, I believe a teacher should have is good communication skills. They should keep not only the students informed on what is going on in the class, they should definitely keep the parents informed as well. Teachers need to know how to communicate with all their students because some are at different levels than others.