Becoming an Effective
Teacher
Chapter 11
Effective Teachers are…
1.
2.
Made
Born
Beyond knowledge of self…knowledge of
why you are teaching:

A well developed educational philosophy

Unpacking your deeply held assumptions
about: what is education, the nature of the
learner, what subjects are most important, the
role of schools in society
Pedagogical Content Knowledge



Knowledge of the organization and
presentation of subject matter in a way that
makes it understandable to and applicable by
others
Teachers are able to “psychologize” the
subject matter for students. (Dewey)
Scaffolding from the known to the unknown
(Vygotsky)
Knowledge about how Students Learn and
Grow

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Educational psychology studies how students
develop physically, socially, and cognitively
Our conceptions of ourselves and of others
develop in a unique way as we interact with
our world…who we think we are, who we
think others are, and what we think is the
purpose of being here
Knowledge of Curricular Content

No Child Left Behind Act defines a “highly
qualified teacher” as: holds at least a
bachelor’s degree, full state licensure,
subject area competence, has passed
rigorous state tests in the subject(s) s/he is
teaching
The Knowledge Base of Effective
Teachers

Culturally responsive teachers: 1. believe all
students can achieve and succeed, 2. build a
community of learners, 3. build connections
to families and the community, 4.are
continual learners, 5. vary instructional
methods, 6.know their students, 7. are
introspective and reflective
Good teachers have

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Pedagogical skill to implement teaching
strategies…and pedagogical content knowledge
Reflective skills to analyze and act of teachergenerated data
Communication and collaboration skills to build
relationships
Management skills to arrange successful learning
environments
Technological skills
The attitudes and Dispositions of
Effective Teachers

Star teachers tend to be nonjudgmental, are
not moralistic, not easily shocked, truly listen,
recognize their own weaknesses, don’t see
themselves as “saviors”, network, see
themselves as “winning”, enjoy their
interactions with kids, see their primary
impact as raising kids self esteem and
helping them be more humane, derive
satisfaction of lots of needs teaching
kids…but not power needs
It is most important that a teacher has high
levels of
1.
2.
3.
Knowledge that
s/he is teaching the
students
Skills in teaching
the subject to the
students
Positive
dispositions,
values, attitudes
20%
0%
80%
Knowledge that s/...
Positive disposit...
Skills in teachin...
Effective Teachers Employ These Tools


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Structure and Clarity
Motivation
High Expectations
Questioning
Styles of Teaching on Ends of a Spectrum

Authoritarian – characterized by:

Teacher-Centered
Traditional Structures
Rules-Based
Transmission of Knowledge
Centrality of Teacher Knowledge




Styles of Teaching on Ends of a Spectrum

Constructivist, characterized by:

Student-Centered
Democratic, egalitarian ideals
Student experience of learning
Teacher as Learner who Models



Styles of Teaching and Management

P. 217 & 217 in your text:

Constructivism…Alfie Kohn
We punish and reward too much. Student
learning should be motivation in its own right.


Behaviorism…Assertive Discipline….Lee and
Marlene Canter. Use of rewards and
punishments.
My most effective teachers were….
1.
2.
3.
Authoritarian
Constructivist
Somewhere in the
middle
Academic Learning Time

This concept is dynamically intertwined with
styles of teaching. It has to do with
curriculum (more on that later), but also how
a teacher thinks about using time available.

Allocated Time
Engaged Time
Academic Learning Time


Classroom Management

A direct function of teaching style

Group alerting
“withitness”
Overlapping
Least intervention
fragmentation




The Pedagogical Cycle

What is the set of actions, responses,
communications that define activity in the
classroom?

1.
2.
3.
4.



Structure
Question
Response
React
Academic Structure as a Goal:




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Objectives
Review
Motivation
Transition
Clarification
Scaffolding
Examples
Directions
Enthusiasm
Closure
Questions and Effective Teaching

Learning to Question well is part art, and part
skill:

Lower order questions – factual, naming, etc.
Higher-order questions – evaluate, analyze,
compare, solve a problem….

Bloom’s Taxonomy:


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
Knowledge
Comprehension
Application
Analysis
Synthesis
Evaluation
I experienced Bloom’s Taxonomy in…
1.
2.
3.
4.
All of my high
school classes
1 class at best
None of my classes
2 or more of my
classes
NBTS Description of Effective Teachers


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

Committed to students and their learning
Know their subject matter and subject matter
pedagogy
Responsible for managing and monitoring
student learning
Teachers think systematically about their
practice and learn from experience
Teachers are members of learning
communities
Stages of Teacher Development




1.
2.
3.
4.
Survival
Consolidation
Renewal
Maturity
Knowledge about the Community


Connecting students to the outside world
requires that teachers know their students’
community
Eating in the community, living in the
community, reading local community papers,
talking with community members, going to
meetings of the community
At present, my most developed teaching
tools are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Content knowledge
Pedagogical skills
Reflective skills
Communication
skills
Management skills
Positive attitude
and dispositions
Reflective teachers





Open-minded
Wholehearted
Responsible
An ethic of caring relationships
Learning communities
It’s most important for me to build
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Pedagogical skill
An ethic of caring
An educational
philosophy
Reflective practice
Pedagogical
content knowledge