In chapter two of Ryan Cooper’s textbook, Those Who Can, Teach, he lists eight characteristics of an effective school: “[1] high expectations for student performance, [2] communication among teachers, [3] a task orientation among the staff, [4] the ability to keep students on task, [5] the expenditure of little time on behavior management, [6] the principal’s instructional leadership, [7] the participation of parents, and [8] the school environment” (51). While all eight characteristics above greatly contribute to a school’s overall success, some characteristics have a greater ability to affect the success of a given school. Educators Wong and Wong point out that research consistently says effective teachers exhibit three characteristics: 1) they are good classroom managers, 2) they teach for learning and mastery, and 3) they have positive expectations (8-10). Because I believe the foundation of school effectiveness relies on teachers, I consider the characteristics with a focus on effective teacher-to-student interaction most important. Taken from the list above, those characteristics are (1) teachers who exhibit high expectations for student performance, (3) a task orientation among the teaching staff, and (4) the ability to keep students on task.
A teacher’s effect on students is significant because teachers have greater influence on student achievement than a school. Robert Marzano’s study separating a school’s effect on student achievement from a teacher’s effect on student achievement supports this notion. Marzano found that an ineffective teacher in an effective school environment has little to no effect on student achievement. To the contrary, an effective teacher in an ineffective school environment was found to have a ...
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...aff, such as paraprofessionals, counselors, librarians, specialists, and even janitors, comes to know and care about the strengths and weaknesses of students as much as teachers and administrators. More importantly, they help to provide solutions to overcoming low student achievement. A motivated support staff also contributes to the overall success of a school.
In summary, I believe an effective teacher has the most influence on an effective school. Because of this, I consider Cooper’s characteristics centered on effective teaching as most important. I do also believe that fostering effective teaching skills through effective professional development programs are essential to creating an effective school. Furthermore, I would not discount the roles of non-teachers in the school setting, as they contribute to a school’s overall effectiveness too.
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
It is about management, motivation, and instruction. Teachers need to know how to design their classroom so that the children are going to get the most efficient learning environment for them. For example, students who are visual learners or have attention problems, should sit near the front. Teachers must be experts in motivation. Students will be open to learning and want to learn if they are excited, happy, feel safe, and have confidence. Teachers must be instructional experts. Not all children learn the same way, teachers need to have the skill to give the same instruction in different ways so that all students
Sherman, J., Rasmussen, C., & Baydala, L. The impact of teacher factors on achievement and
And while each of the six elements are important perhaps none is as important as the first, “Teacher leaders convey conviction about a better world.” (Crowther, 2008) Perhaps the single greatest ill to plague educators today is the deficit thinking that strips them of hope for their students’ and their schools’ success. “My pupils live in ‘this’ district, and go to ‘this’ school so their ceiling for academic growth lies here.” “Well of course they are academically unacceptable, have you seen our socio-economic status?” While these quotes may not be attributed to anyone individual the sentiment that drives them are pervasive in our education system today, and in particularly the district to which we find ourselves employed. Deficit thinking that places external caps on student production, and teacher ingenuity, is the greatest barrier to achieving success. Crowther ends his discussion of element one by saying, “we have been struck by the clarity of the values aspects of these teacher’s lives, and also by their sense of confidence regarding the power of schools and the teaching profession to shape lives.” (Crowther, 2008, p. 13) For Crowther, the first step in creating a successful school is recruiting or nurturing teacher leaders to unfalteringly share the same vision. That vision must be that all students can succeed,
One aspect I believe all schools should have is the element of safety at school. A student cannot efficiently learn without first feeling safe. In Joan Lipsitz and Teri West’s What Makes a Good School? they say, “In high-performing schools, the adults work together to provide a web of emotional and social support for the students, not just in the services the school provides but in the attitudes and relationships the adults establish with students” (Lipsitz & West, 2006 p. 83). Schools should not only provide services such as counseling, or food to take home to support their mental and physical safety, but ensure that the teachers employed at the school are making meaningful relationships with the students so they feel safe within the classroom. Another common theme seemed to be the idea of teachers working together, which I think is a great idea as someone who is a future teacher. In the article Piece by Piece: How Schools Solved the Achievement Puzzle and Soared, Karin Chenoweth states, “The point of teacher collaboration is to improve instruction for students and to ensure that all students learn” (Chenoweth, 2009 p. 116). Other than all the schooling that teachers receive a major way of how they learn to teach is through their own experience. Sharing experiences with other teachers can help to modify lessons, or to share out ideas that will better prepare a teacher for their own class. Thus ensuring that students get an education that has been improved upon to become even more beneficial to
Another important quality of an outstanding educator is competence. Outstanding teachers are highly capable. They know how to do their job, and they do it very well. They are smart, well ed...
Besharov, Douglas. "Teachers Performance: A Review ." Journal of Policy Analyis and Management (2006): 1-41.
The most important reason public schools provide an excellent education is that teachers are required to be highly qualified and suited for the job. When asked if public schools were a wise investment for the government Barnard answered,” Yes, not every parent [very few in fact] are trained and suited to educate students”” (Barnard). In particular, they must acquire and maintain a license to teach. In order to earn this teaching certification, they must demonstrate proficiency in all basic skills, study their subject area in depth, and learn effective techniques of instructing all kinds of learners. They also are required to get on-the-job training under the guidance of an experienced teacher. They have to motivate students to learn and have a passion for teaching, maintain their license, and continue their own education and training throu...
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 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).
...also believe in their own ability and the schools to teach students regardless of the circumstances. Students have to feel safe and be able to trust their school as well as the employees and other students in it. This means that rules and policies must be established otherwise it’s not an effective school. The school cannot be too small or too large to be an effective one either. Also, the parents and community definitely have to be involved in the education of their children or neighbor’s children in order for the school to be an effective one. This pertains to me because once I graduate and start looking for a place of employment I will want to work in an effective school. The knowledge that I have gained from this book will help me in choosing an effective school to work at.
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.
Defining and determining the scope and concept of teaching effectiveness is argued to be challenging for researchers (Roche & Marsh, 2000; Young & Shaw, 1999). It is not possible to limit the definition to one dimension, trait, behavior, or classroom procedure totally captures what it means to be an effective teacher. It is believed to be a multidimensional construct, including such issues as content knowledge, or pedagogical knowledge, or personality features of the teacher, and classroom dynamics (Bush, Svinicki, Kim, & Achacoso, 2006; Carnell, 2007).
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