1. Principles of Education and Training
Chapter 10:
What Makes an Effective Teacher?

2. What makes an effective Teacher?
Objectives:
Describe the major roles that teachers perform.
Identify teacher’s professional qualities that have an impact on your life.
Compare your school’s written information on organizational culture to your observations.
Explain the importance of subject-matter knowledge of teachers and how they can stay updated.
Demonstrate your ability to produce clear, professional, written communication.
Identify the steps in constructive conflict resolution and describe the goal of mediation.

3. What Makes an Effective Teacher?
Five KeyTeaching Roles:
Information provider
Facilitator
Planner
Learning evaluator
Role model
NOTE: A facilitator is someone who actively involves students in learning instead of just presenting information; a guide.

4. What Makes an Effective Teacher?
Five Key Teaching Roles:
Teachers provide information, so they must:
know their subject well
provide accurate, up-to-date information
know how to present concepts at the right level
present information in a variety of interesting ways
Teachers facilitate learning by:
actively involving students in learning
guiding instead of telling them what and how to learn
benefit—can unleash student’s creativity and self-motivation
causes students to feel pride and ownership in their own learning

5. What Makes an Effective Teacher?
Five Key Teaching Roles (Continued)
Teachers plan for learning by choosing:
what information will be learned
how to present the information
what the outcomes should be
Plans do not always work out—these unforeseen “teachable moments” should
be taken advantage of and teachers should adapt to the unexpected.
Teachers evaluate learning by:
Grading student work
Important that students understand their teachers’ grading policies and that the policies are clear and consistent to minimize disputes.
Assessment
Plan for learning—changes in plans can enhance learning and teach students flexibility.
Evaluating learning—Learning itself cannot be accurately measured. However, teachers look at how well students can demonstrate what they’ve learned.
Assessment involves determining how much a student or class has learned
If a teacher finds the students have not achieved learning, they may review or add an activity before moving on to another topic.

6. What Makes an Effective Teacher?
Five Key Teaching Roles (Continued)
Evaluating learning
BOTH types of evaluation (grading and assessing) involve monitoring student progress but vary primarily in purpose
Teachers are role models
Comes with a great deal of responsibility
Teachers’ behavior can have a positive or negative effect on students’ behavior and future success
Teachers must show honesty, respect, and responsibility both at school and while in the community
Effective teachers not only talk about examples, but they act as examples
Plan for learning—changes in plans can enhance learning and teach students flexibility.
Evaluating learning—Learning itself cannot be accurately measured. However, teachers look at how well students can demonstrate what they’ve learned.

7. What Makes an Effective Teacher?
Developing Professional Qualities:
The term professional is used to indicate a high degree of skill, competence, and ethics (conduct based on moral principles).
These qualities are critical to teaching success.
Be dependable: Be a person others can rely on.
Be responsible: Take responsibility for your actions, relationships, and obligations
Be committed to students: Work hard to understand your students and their individual abilities, skills, interests, strengths, and relationships.
Dependable—be there on time and prepared to teach, be reliable and loyal
Responsible—you should feel a responsibility for your students that goes beyond the classroom
Respect—owe respect to those above you (in your school’s organization structure) but important to respect those below you as well—the support staff (all nonteaching personnel) from bus drivers to food service staff who are often underestimated!
Show respect: Treat everyone you encounter with respect, from students to staff.

8. What Makes an Effective Teacher?
Developing Professional Qualities (Continued)
Be a Team Player: work and collaborate positively with others
See the Big Picture: focus on the larger purpose without getting bogged down in tiny details. However, this does not mean that the details of the job are overlooked.
Develop a Positive Attitude: look for the positives in situations instead of the negatives. Others around you will feed off of your positive or negative energy—don’t drag others down!
To collaborate means to work cooperatively, encouraging team members, and utilizing the skills and talents of individual members.
Team player—effective interpersonal skills are a primary characteristic that is looked for in potential employees
collaboration-almost all jobs require it; focus on group success rather than individual credit
Groups are ineffective when tasks are poorly defined or there is a lack of teamwork
Positive attitude—If you find yourself in a difficult situation, be proactive in finding solutions and this will help improve your attitude.
You cannot control life, but you can control your reactions to it.

9. What Makes an Effective Teacher?
Working Effectively Within a School:
Find out about the organizational culture:
Observe the people and environment around you
Find out if there is a manual for new teachers
Look for a mission statement (purposes and goals of the school formally written out)
Check out the chain of command (this is what tells you who reports to whom)
Talk to a supervisor
Ask questions of fellow teachers
Chain of command—in many workplaces, you are expected to discuss problems and issues w/your direct supervisor, rather than going directly to the people above that person.
Understanding and assessing the organizational structure can mean the difference between success and failure in the workplace.

10. What Makes an Effective Teacher?
Subject Knowledge and Teaching Skills
Teachers MUST have a thorough understanding of the subject they teach!
Know how your subject matter relates to other subjects and how it relates to careers students might want to pursue.
Teachers MUST be lifelong learners because new discoveries and information are continually added.
Take advantage of professional development
Take part in professional organizations
Attend seminars and conferences
Pursue an advanced degree
Note: Knowing subject matter is not enough, you must also know how to teach it and be able to utilize many different teaching techniques to capture students’ interest and enhance learning.

11. What Makes an Effective Teacher?
Communicating Effectively
Teaching is all about communicating!
Communication involves being an effective sender (person sending the message) and receiver (person accepting and interpreting the message.
Spoken words and nonverbal messages (body language) must match or a confusing mixed message results.
Components of Effective Communication:
Must occur in the context of positive relationships
Each form (verbal, nonverbal, written, or electronic) depend on specific, but related, skills
Mixed message—EX: if a teacher laughs while scolding a child who has broken the rules it sends a mixed message.

12. What Makes an Effective Teacher?
Creating Positive Relationships
Take ownership in the relationship.
Take responsibility for your feelings instead of blaming others
Be an active listener
Active listening involves asking questions and restating ideas to discover the true message of the sender
Give verbal feedback and focus on the speaker
Use assertive communication
Assertive communicators freely express their thoughts, ideas, and feelings respectfully and allow others to do the same.
Taking ownership in relationships—use I statements instead of you statements—EX: “I feel sad.” NOT “You make me sad.” Your feelings are your own and while influenced by events, another person doesn’t cause them.
Do NOT be a(n):
Aggressive communicators aim to hurt or put other people down and show disrespect.
Passive communicators are unwilling to say what they feel, think, or desire in order to avoid all conflict.

13. What Makes an Effective Teacher?
Improving Communication Skills
Improve communication skills:
Speaking
Watch what you say in class and in public
Speak w/ thought and purpose; simplicity and clarity are important
Tailor your message and how you present it to the specific audience
“Think before you speak.”
Writing—convey clear messages; use proper grammar
Avoid trying to impress people with complicated words and long sentences
Organize your writing effectively
Check your grammar and language
Do not rely on spell check/grammar check!
ALWAYS use formal standard English, do NOT use slang or texting abbreviations.
Make sure what you write represents you and the school professionally.
Realize that anything you write may be permanent.

14. What Makes an Effective Teacher?
Improving Communication Skills
Improve communication skills:
Nonverbal communication—what do your actions say?
This includes: facial expressions, body posture and movements, your tone of voice, and appearance
Make sure you dress appropriately for situations
Make every effort to speak calmly even if you’re upset!
Nonverbal cues account for a major part of miscommunication and stress in relationships
Electronic communication—remember it may be forwarded to others; it may also be seen by your employer
Info put on the Web may stay there indefinitely
While electronic communication has enormous benefits, it can also be very dangerous!
Nonverbal cues can reinforce your words, take away their power, or confuse your listener. Make sure your actions match your words/message.

15. What Makes an Effective Teacher?
Resolving Conflicts:
Constructive Conflict Resolution
All relationships encounter conflict at times.
Constructive conflict management can help.
The steps are:
Clarify the issue: Each party should state the problem in their words.
Find out what each person wants.
Identify various alternatives: brainstorm possible solutions while keeping an open mind
Decide how to negotiate: the people involved need to agree on how to proceed.
Choose the best alternative (a compromise both can accept)
Solidify the agreement: both parties agree to accept and implement the solution
Review and renegotiate if needed
Constructive conflict management is a step-by-step method of coming to a solution. This will lead to a greater understanding and growth in the relationship. Failure to do this will lead to continued conflict.
Conflict can be thought of as a process that moves from decision making to problem solving to crisis resolution.
Step 5: If a compromise isn’t possible, it may be necessary for the two sides to simply agree to disagree

16. What Makes an Effective Teacher?
Resolving Conflicts:
Constructive Conflict Resolution
Mediation
Sometimes a neutral third party, a mediator, is needed to resolve a conflict. This process is called mediation.
Teachers are often mediators in student disagreements
Mediator—A neutral person who oversees conflict resolution in order to help others reach a peaceful settlement.
Mediation—The process of bringing about an agreement or reconciliation between opponents in a dispute.

17. End of Chapter Ten Review Date: _____________
TEST Date: ______________