1. A Synthesis of Generic Guidelines for Good Teaching
Summer Neel
Advanced Educational Psychology
Spring 2012

2. Effective teaching begins with diversity
The key to a well rounded and effective teaching environment is rooted in the educator’s ability to utilize multiple theories, instructional practices and schema to create a consistent and comprehensive system of teaching

3. 12 principles of good teaching
Supportive Classroom Climate
Opportunity to Learn
Curricular Alignment
Establishing Learning Orientations
Coherent Content
Thoughtful Discourse
Practice and Application Activities
Scaffolding Students Task Engagement
Strategy Teaching
Cooperative Learning
Goal-Oriented Assessment
Achievement Expectations

4. Supportive Classroom Climate
Students learn best within cohesive and caring learning communities
Research has shown
Productive learning occurs when there is an ethics of caring evoked
The supportive classroom promotes student responsibility and teacher commitment

5. Supportive Classroom Climate Implementation
To create a climate for molding their students into a cohesive and supportive learning community, teachers need to engage in
Conducive physical environment
Effective Lesson content and delivery
Positive interpersonal relationship with students
Promoting Positive peer relationships
Consistent organization & behavior expectations

7. Opportunity to Learn Students learn more when
most of the available time is allocated to curriculum related activities
the classroom management system emphasizes maintaining their engagement in those activities
Research indicates that teachers who approach management as a process of establishing an effective learning environment tend to be more successful than teachers who emphasize their roles as disciplinarians

8. Opportunities to Learn in the Classroom
There are more things worth learning than there is time available to teach them, and so it is essential that limited classroom time be used efficiently
Effective teachers convey a sense of the purposefulness of schooling and the importance of getting the most out of the available time
Successful teachers are clear and consistent in articulating their expectations
These teachers spend a great deal of time actively instructing by elaborating content for students and helping them to interpret and respond to it

10. Curricular Alignment
All components of the curriculum are aligned to create a cohesive program for accomplishing instructional purposes and goals
Research indicates that educational policy-makers, textbook publishers and teachers often become so focused on content coverage or learning activities that they lose sight of the larger purposes and goals that are supposed to guide curriculum planning

11. Curricular Alignment in the classroom
A curriculum is not an end in itself; it is a means of helping students to learn what is considered essential for preparing them to fulfill adult roles in society and realize their potential as individuals
Goals in planning curriculum and instruction should develop capabilities that students can use in their lives inside and outside school, both now and in the future
Content developed with these goals in mind is likely to be retained as meaningful learning that is internally coherent, well connected with other meaningful learning and accessible for application

12. http://www. ucdoer. ie/index

13. Establishing Learning Orientations
Teachers can prepare students for learning by providing an initial structure to clarify intended outcomes
Teachers must also cue desired learning strategies
Research indicates the value of establishing a learning orientation by beginning lessons and activities with advance organizers or previews
These introductions facilitate students’ learning by
communicating the nature and purpose of the activity
connecting it to prior knowledge
cueing the kinds of student responses that the activity requires

14. Establishing Learning Orientations in the Classroom
Advance organizers
orient students to what they will be learning before the instruction begins
characterize the general nature of the activity
give students a structure within which to understand and connect the specifics that will be presented by the teacher or text
Such knowledge of the nature of the activity and the structure of its content helps students to focus on the main ideas and order their thoughts effectively

15. Establishing Learning Orientations in the Classroom
Other ways to help students learn with a sense of purpose and direction include
calling attention to the activity’s goals
overviewing main ideas or major steps to be elaborated
pretests that sensitize students to main points to learn
pre-questions that stimulate their thinking about the topic
References: Ausubel (1968); Brophy (1998); Meichenbaum &
Biemiller (1998).

16. Coherent Content
To facilitate meaningful learning and retention, content is explained clearly
Content is developed with emphasis on its structure and connections
Research indicates that networks of connected knowledge structured around powerful ideas can be learned with understanding and retained in forms that make them accessible for application
In contrast, disconnected bits of information are likely to be learned only through low-level processes such as rote memorizing, and most of these bits either are soon forgotten or are retained in ways that limit their accessibility

17. skills are likely to be learned and used effectively if taught as strategies adapted to particular purposes and situations

18. Coherent Content in the Classroom
Whether in textbooks or in teacher-led instruction, information is easier to learn to the extent that it is coherent
the sequence of ideas or events makes sense and the relationships among them are apparent
Content is most likely to be organized coherently when it is
selected in a principled way
guided by ideas about what students should learn from studying the topic

19. Combining Curricular Alignment & Coherent Content
In order to enable students to construct meaningful knowledge that they can access and use in their lives outside of school teachers need to:
retreat from breadth of coverage in order to allow time to develop the most important content in greater depth
represent this important content as networks of connected information structured around powerful ideas
develop the content with a focus on explaining these important ideas and the connections among them
follow up with authentic learning activities and assessment measures that provide students with opportunities to develop and display learning that reflects the intended outcomes of the instruction

20. Thoughtful Discourse
Questions are planned to engage students in sustained discourse structured around powerful ideas
Questions to stimulate students to process and reflect on content, recognize relationships among and implications of its key ideas, think critically about it, and use it in problem solving, decision making or other higher-order applications
Questions should reflect sustained and
thoughtful development of key ideas
Why is that?

21. Tell me why you think that is true?
Well, First, I was reading the other day that ……

22. Thoughtful Discourse in the Classroom
Questions should reflect sustained and thoughtful development of key ideas
In the early stages of units when new content is introduced and developed, more time is spent in interactive lessons featuring teacher/student discourse than in independent work on assignments
The teacher plans sequences of questions designed to
develop the content systematically
help students to construct understandings by relating it to their prior knowledge
Create a dialogue about content
forms and cognitive levels of these questions should be suited to the instructional goals in the curriculum

23. Thoughtful Discourse in the Classroom
Thoughtful discourse features sustained examination of a small number of related topics, in which students
develop explanations
make predictions
debate alternative approaches to problems
consider the content’s implications or applications
The teacher presses students to clarify or justify their assertions, rather than accepting them indiscriminately
In addition to providing feedback, the teacher encourages students
to explain or elaborate on their answers
to comment on classmates’ answers
References: Good & Brophy (2000); Newmann (1990); Rowe
(1986). 20

24. Practice and Application Activities
Students need sufficient opportunities to practice and apply what they are learning, and to receive improvement-oriented feedback
Research indicates that skills practiced to a peak of smoothness and automaticity tend to be retained indefinitely, whereas skills that are mastered only partially tend to deteriorate

25. There are 3 main ways teachers help their students to learn
they present information, explain concepts and model skills
they ask questions and lead their students in discussion about content being studied
they engage students in activities or assignments that provide them with opportunities to practice or apply what they are learning

26. Practice and Application Activities in the Classroom
Practice is one of the most important yet least appreciated aspects of learning in classrooms
Successful practice involves polishing skills that are already established at rudimentary levels in order to make them smoother, more efficient and more automatic
Most practice should be embedded within application contexts that feature conceptual understanding of knowledge and self regulated application of skills
Opportunity to learn in school can be extended through homework assignments that are realistic in length and difficulty given the students’ abilities to work independently
practice must involve opportunities not only to apply skills but also to receive timely feedback

27. Scaffolding Students Task Engagement
The teacher provides whatever assistance students need to enable them to engage in learning activities productively
Research on learning tasks indicates the effectiveness of assignments is enhanced when teachers
first explain the work and go over practice examples with students
then release them to work independently
circulate to monitor progress and provide help when needed
Teaching within the students’ Zones of Proximal Development (ZPD) implies that students
will need explanation, modeling, coaching and other forms of assistance
teacher structuring and scaffolding will be faded as the students’ expertise develops

28. Scaffolding Students Task Engagement in the Classroom
if they are to have their full impact activities need to be
effectively presented
monitored
followed up
Teachers must prepare students for an activity in advance
provide guidance and feedback during the activity
and lead the class in post-activity reflection afterwards
Teachers also need to assess performance for completion and accuracy and reteach when necessary
Full effectiveness cannot be reached unless the assignments are followed by reflection or debriefing activities

29. Strategy Teaching
The teacher models and instructs students in learning and self-regulation strategies
Research shows that Strategy teaching is especially important for less able students who otherwise might not come to understand the value of consciously monitoring, self-regulating and reflecting upon their learning processes

30. Strategy Teaching in the Classroom
Many students do not develop effective learning and problem solving strategies on their own but can acquire them through modeling and explicit instruction from their teachers
Strategy teaching is likely to be most effective when it includes cognitive modeling
the teacher thinks out loud while modeling use of the strategy

31. general study skills and learning strategies that teachers can model for their students
Rehearsal
repeating material to remember it more effectively
Elaboration
putting material into one’s own words and relating it to prior knowledge
Organization
outlining material to highlight its structure and remember it
Comprehension Monitoring
keeping track of the strategies used to construct understandings and the degree of success achieved with them, and adjusting strategies accordingly
Affect Monitoring
Maintaining concentration and task focus
minimizing performance anxiety and fear of failure

32. Cooperative Learning
Students often benefit from working in pairs or small groups to construct understandings or help one another master skills
Research indicates that there is often much to be gained by arranging for students to collaborate in pairs or small groups
Co-operative learning promotes affective and social benefits
Co-operative learning creates the potential for cognitive and metacognitive benefits by engaging students in discourse that requires them to make their task-related information-processing and problem-solving strategies explicit

33. Cooperative Learning in the Classroom
replaces individual seatwork time with opportunities for students to work together in pairs or small groups on follow-up practice and application activities
Co-operative learning can be used with activities ranging from drill and practice to learning facts and concepts, discussion and problem solving
It is perhaps most valuable as a way of engaging students in meaningful learning with authentic tasks in a social setting

34. Cooperative Learning in the Classroom
Some forms of co-operative learning call for students to help one another achieve individual learning goals
Co-operative learning methods are most likely to enhance learning outcomes if they combine group goals with individual accountability

36. Goal-Oriented Assessment
The teacher uses a variety of formal and informal assessment methods to monitor progress towards learning goals
Research has determined that well-developed curriculum includes strong and functional assessment components
These assessment components are aligned with the curriculum’s goals
They are integrated with its content, instructional methods and learning activities
They are designed to evaluate progress towards the major intended outcomes

37. Goal-Oriented Assessment in the Classroom
Effective teachers use assessment for evaluating students’ progress in learning and for planning curriculum improvements, not just for generating grades
Good assessment includes data from many sources and addresses the full range of goals or intended outcomes
Assessment should be treated as an ongoing and integral part of each instructional unit
Results should be scrutinized to identify
learner needs
misunderstandings or misconceptions that may need attention
potential adjustment in curriculum goals, instructional materials or teaching plans
weaknesses in the assessment practices themselves

38. Achievement Expectations
The teacher establishes and follows through on appropriate expectations for learning outcomes
Research indicates that effective schools feature
strong academic leadership that produces consensus on goal priorities
commitment to instructional excellence
Positive teacher attitudes towards students expectations regarding students’ abilities to master the curriculum

39. Achievement Expectations in the Classroom
Teachers’ expectations concerning what their students are capable of accomplishing shape
what teachers attempt to elicit from their students
what the students come to expect from themselves
It is helpful if teachers set goals for the class and for individuals in terms of floors (minimally acceptable standards), not ceilings
all students should be held accountable for participating in lessons and learning activities and for turning in careful and completed work on assignments
teachers should emphasize continuous progress relative to previous levels of mastery rather than how students compare with their classmates or with standardized test norms

40. Teachers are likely to be most successful when they think in terms of stretching students’ minds by stimulating them and encouraging them to achieve as much as they can, not in terms of ‘protecting’ them from failure or embarrassment

41. References
Geneva Switzerland. UNESCO. International Bureau of Education. By Jere Brophy. Web. <
Alexander, Patricia A., and Philip H. Winne. Handbook of Educational Psychology. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, Print.