It’s good to reflect on how and why my teaching has changed over the years. I’m completing an assignment in which I need to remember what effective teaching is. Here are my thoughts.
The effective teacher/facilitator is foremost, enthusiastic about the subject matter taught and keeps up-to-date with developments in his/her field of expertise as well as teaching in general. The effective teacher is friendly but firm; approachable and genuinely cares about the students in his/her care. Additionally, the teacher takes an interest in students as individuals, welcomes their input and respects their differences. Students will like an effective teacher. They will not consider the teacher to be unfair, too strict or the subject matter too hard. Students will enjoy learning and be motivated to learn because the teacher will deliver the subject in an interesting, fun and dynamic environment.
Concomitantly delivery includes recapping previous material learnt and where appropriate linking it with new material/skills to be learnt. Delivery of materials is ideally using a variety of instructional stragegies and teaching aids to suit a range of learning styles such as auditory, visual, kinesthetic and others. The effective teacher uses effective questioning to ensure student understanding. Lessons have an appropriate beginning, middle and conclusion. When teachers experience a genuine interest in their students’ learning progress, students are eager to learn more. When they grasp what they are learning, when it is at their pace, level of understanding and comprehension – yet challenging, they experience fulfillment on their learning journey. The effective teacher is aware of the effect of a raised voice, kind encouraging word and matches verbal delivery with the appropriate eye contact, gestures, body language and humour. Thus the teacher sets a standard of mutual respect between teacher/student and other students. The effective teacher will use classroom management strategies that are consistent and fair. The effective teacher does not try to be ‘over-friendly’ but establishes a clear expectation of behavior and standard. The teacher will manage routine tasks effectively to avoid wasting valuable teaching time. For example by posting results on notice boards instead of handing them out in class and a system for managing the collection and distribution of work.
The effective teacher is constantly monitoring student progress during the lesson and on completion. By observation, student feedback and responses he/she makes adjustments to suit the learners’ needs, either simplifying processes or increasing the challenges presented. Self-reflection enables the teacher to continually strive for improvement. Therefore, the teacher is flexible and concerned more with the student learning progress than with rigidly adhering to a lesson plan or “getting through the work”. Such a teacher holds high expectations of student performance and is able to build success by maximizing their potential. Where teachers have high student expectations, students perform better. Additionally, the effective teacher is able to shrewdly modify an outdated or superfluous curriculum.
The effective teacher creates a warm, inviting, energizing, teaching environment. Students feel safe, secure, confident. Most importantly, the effective teacher is planting the seeds of a love of learning: lifelong learning.
