I've posted many actions of an effective teacher on the side of the blog. Take a look at this list that my Tuesday 9:30 class collected and think about the value of each characteristic. After you've reviewed the list carefully, please post your response to the following question...
Congratulations! You've just landed the teaching position of your dreams. You begin packing your things to fly to the new school district and realize, due to the increased costs of gasoline, you can bring with you only three suitcases. Each suitcase can hold only ONE action of an effective teacher...which three would you take with you and why? Please feel free to choose another action if you do not see the one you want on the list.
Don't forget to also post a response to at least one of your peers. Happy Writing!
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I would pack meaningful assignments, inspiration, and caring for students in my three suitcases. I choose meaningful assignments because being a student for 14 years has taught me that busy work lacks intrinsic value and is usually completed for the sake of completion, not the desire to learn from the assignment. I packed inspiration because if you inspire students, you motivate them to give 110% and challenge themselves and fellow students. I also choose to care for students because if you show that you care for them, they will reciprocate and care about what you are teaching them.
ReplyDeleteFor me to be an effective teacher i would bring with me what i thought best for the students. My first suitcase would be to interact with the students. I feel by interacting with the students i gain a personal connection with them that allows the student and i to be more open towards one another, and to not be afraid to talk to each other. My second suitcase would be to challenge the students. I feel that by challenging them, and slowly increasing their knowledge they will be able to understand and obtain more. My third suit case would be to show students respect, to treat them like equals in the classroom. To not point out their intelligence level, to actually make them feel smart in their own way. By showing them respect, i would inturn hope the get respect back. This is what i would bring with me.
ReplyDeleteBlythe-
ReplyDeleteI also agree that showing the students respect to earn respect is an important aspect of being an effective teacher. Students' opinions, ideas, and thoughts are as important as the teachers because they can offer new perspectives that the teacher never thought of. You have to respect their knowledge and believe that students can teach the teacher something new.
Liz,
ReplyDeleteExcellent reflections! "I also choose to care for students because if you show that you care for them, they will reciprocate and care about what you are teaching them." I just want you to be prepared for the notion that some students will not care about what you teach them even if you do show that you care for them. Think about what you will do when that happens, because it will.
I would pack inspires students, having a healthy balance between sharing personal stuff and teaching, and caring for my students. I was strongly considering picking speaking clearly, simply because speaking clearly for a decent period of time is a challenge that I will have to overcome since I digress often, but for me I think it would be more important to build clear & cohesive communication skills as a worthwhile goal. I chose caring for students because it's a broad but very important aspect of teaching that can be shown through some of the other ways listed (empathy is a way to care). I chose it similarly with a mindset towards goals as a teacher who cares values what he or she is teaching does his or her best to inspire students especially if they simply don't want to be there. A good teacher can inspire or help students find interest through his own experiences but still focuses on educational objectives for the appropriate subject. For me, these choices are inseparable. Balancing personal stories with teaching can help inspire, and the ability to inspire shows a teacher is capable and caring.
ReplyDeleteTo Liz and Blythe
ReplyDeleteI agree that mutual respect is very important. I had a teacher who believed it is impossible for any two different opinions to be as important or as valuable as each other simply as a matter of experience or because of empirical data backing up one opinion over another O.O While I think having reasoning to back up one's opinion is important, saying that a student's opinion was not as valid or valuable as the teacher's simply because the teacher is older and has been around longer is disheartening and disrespectful.
I would pack...
ReplyDelete1.Encouragement the students( I feel as if encouragement can sometimes come with challenging them.It's kinda like a two for one deal.)
2. Meaningful asignments because I could never stand doing busy work as a student.
3.Connection with my students. If one cannot connect with her student's,then she won't accomplish much at all.
Liz,
ReplyDeleteMutual respect is very important.No one likes to be treated badly.Treat others as you would like to be treated.
I think that it is also important like Mica said to have mutual respect. I had a teacher in middle school that didn't have any patience for the grade 8 boys and girls in their class. Almost everyday she was calling the Principal crying to come help her control the classroom, or she would call her boyfriend at her desk and cry to him infront of everyone. Obviously we didn't have any respect for her because she would lose it after the slightest comment from one of her students. I honestly believe that if she would have dealt with her anger in a different way and by not throwing a fit infront of a bunch of middle school students we would have respected her alot more. The respect was clearly not mutual.
ReplyDeleteI think to be an effective teacher you have to have alot of different components. One, respect for the students to in-turn receive respect back from the students. Two, I think that keeping the children entertained and interested in the class but still keeping on task is important to make students enjoy being in your class is important. Three, I think that you have to set boundary lines for yourself when talking about your personal life because to much information about something can hurt the student to teacher relationship in an instant. I think being knowledgeable in what you are teaching is very important but at the same time I think that you have to be able to connect down to the students level and realize that they don't know everything that you know. I had a Math teacher my senior year of High School who was very smart and knew his subject backwards,sideways,and frontwards. But he flew over everything assuming we got everything the first time he would show us on the board, and in reality non of us had any idea what he was talking about. He would skip steps when teaching a different concept and would assume that we knew exactly what he was doing. He was a great teacher and I enjoyed him cause he was funny and kept us interested but I still believe that he was only a good teacher not an effective one. Being able to connect with the students that are entering your class not only personally but understand that they have no idea what you are talking about even though you have taught the same class 8,000 times .
ReplyDeleteIf I had to choose the of the characteristics to take with me on the trip, I would choose inspires students,cares for students, and challenges students. The reason i picked those three characteristics was because those three show that the teacher really does care about his students. The teacher inspires the student to want to be something in life one day, the teacher cares aobut whats going on in their lives, and the teacher challenges the students so that one day when they face similar challenges, they can overcome them with confidence.
ReplyDeleteTo Liz
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you 100%. That makes totally sense and I am guilty of doin that with alot of class assignments. The teachers are just looking for completion so I was never too concerned with the effort I put into it. I just wanted to get the grade.
If I was only able to pick three things to pack with me I would really have to consider what would be the most important. The first thing i would take would the the ability to show how the content applies to life. I think this is important becuase I believe that if i student knows that the information will somehow apply to everyday life that they will be more likely to want to understand instead of just thinking that this is just something they have to pass in order to graduate. The next thing i think would be important is the ability to show interest in the topic being taught. I think this is important becuase being taught something by a teacher that is totally bored and uninterested in the topic makes the students bored and uninterested. The third and final thing that i would being is the ability to give meaningful assignments. A lot of teachers give homework becuase they just want to give busy work. I think being able to give an assignment that will help the students better understand the material is really important.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the idea of having nutual respect. I had a teacher that would teach a political science class and said this is the way it is and anyone who thinks differently is wrong. This made me not have respect in the teacher becuase he did not respect my beliefs.
ReplyDeleteI would choose passion for/interest in the subject, showing respect, and showing how content applies to life. If a teacher is interested in the subject matter he/she is teaching, the students are more likely to catch onto the enthusiasm and be inspired. The result is more productive teaching.
ReplyDeleteShowing respect is crucial to effective teaching. A teacher needs to show respect for the student, the student's family and upbringing, and the student's belongings. If a student feels like they are respected, they have a better self-image and feel like they are cared about. This will make them want to try harder and excel in their studies.
An effective teacher should show how content applies to life. Students will get more out of the lessons, and are more likely to stay in school if they think the information they are learning is important in life.
If I could only pack three of these actions/ qualities it would be passion for the subject matter, respect for my students and being able to apply the content to life. I think that holding a passion for my subject would carry a lot with it. If I was passionate about something I would be well versed in the subject, always be looking to learn more about it and wanting to share it with as many people as possible. It is like sharing a hobby. The teachers that I look back on and remember as making a difference in my life all respected me. I think a student should respect a teacher just as a teacher should respect a student. They can learn from each other and influence each others' lives in ways that may not just relate to the class content. You have to learn to give people responsibility to help the respect themselves, and to gain confidence and independence. Those qualities will take someone far in life. Finally, being able to relate content to life would give students interest. So many times I have thought that I had better things to do than learn what a teacher was saying. It was because they teach directly out of the book. I can read a book myself. I want to be the kind of teacher that can take my subject and twist it into something that students can see through a new set of eyes. If that is done then maybe they will think of it outside the classroom as well. There are effective teachers everywhere, but these three things qualities that I want to have when I make a difference in a student's life.
ReplyDeleteJenn,
ReplyDeleteI didn't read any of these before I posted my own comment and now that I've read them I realized that we packed the same three things! It seems that we have similar ideas on what makes an effective teacher!!!!
Liz, I agree that meaningless assignments are not helpful teaching tools. Busy-work always made me feel like not trying, because it didn't matter if I did or not. I never felt like I learned anything from them. An effective teacher only gives assignments that are directly helpful to the student's learning experience. The only benefit I see in busy work is that it can help improve responsibility and punctuality.
ReplyDeleteI would inspire the students but also be intimidating so they know they can't walk all over you. I would also bring knowledge of the skill i am teaching.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing I would choose is challenging your students. In everyday life there are challenges. This will help them learn to solve hard situations. My Second choice I would bring the show how content applies to life. I believe as a teacher you need prepare your students for the future. They need that kind of guidance. I think the last one is support students. If they don’t have support they will not succeed. Most students drop out of school because they need help and have no support.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading everyones comments i realized how many different things need to be done to be an effective teacher. I am looking forward to learning how to become an effective teacher!
ReplyDeleteTo be an effective teacher I think it's most important to bring inspiration. If people are inspired it is easier to make an effort towards something. I would also pack respect. People are so much more likely to care about you and rules if they feel like they deserve to be where they are at. The last thing I would pack with me would be humor. There is nothing worse than sitting in a class where its all worksheets and boredom. You have to have a little fun every once in awhile to stay sane!!
ReplyDeletenicole, I agree with you on the fact that students need to see how it applies to real life. No one wants to waste their time learning things that aren't going to matter once they walk out of that class.
ReplyDeletei would inpsire the students to always do their best work. by doing this, i would give them work that i know they will use in their lifetime. i think thats important because when your a student, you dont want to do work that you know you wont use ever. if they know they are going to use it, then they will feel they need to know the material. i would also set a good example for them by being responsible. i will hand back all of their work right away. this shows the students responsability and it will eventually rub off on them. lastly, the students need a strong support system. if they dont have the support then they will not feel the need to succeed in school. they need a little push sometimes.
ReplyDeleteHello all. For me I think I would pick cares for students, gives meaningful assignments and knows their subject.
ReplyDeleteKnowing your subject is obviously important, after all how can you teach a subject that you don't know throughly? No matter how much you might care about the students, or care about being a good teacher, you won't make much of a difference in your students lives if you don't know your subject. Students aren't idiots after all, if they realize you don't know your topics then not only will they not respect you, but they won't get anything out of your class.
Just as important as knowing your topic is giving meaningful assignments. I personally have always hated busywork. To me it says that the teacher is not prepared to do the job they are paid for and is just wasting my time. If that's the case I, and most students I think, would rather be somewhere else or at least doing something else-like studying for another class in which you have a lot of work to do.
Finally, but most importantly, I think caring about your students is the most important quality a teacher can have. If you actually care about them you will, hopefully, in theory, do all the other things that a teacher should do. You'll be passionate about your subject, you'll be respect of them and their beliefs, you'll be empathic, you'll give meaningful assignments. You'll do these things becasue you care and want to make a difference in their lives. I think everyone has had teachers that obviously don't care. In such cases, even when they know their topic well, students probably won't do as well as they could under a teacher who cares about them and takes the time to make sure every student maximizes their potential. Granted you can't do much for students who don't want to be there, but if you care about them perhaps you can change that and if you can change that you can at least see that they learn something.
Liz...
ReplyDeleteRegarding what you said about busy work improving responsibility and punctuality, I think I have to disagree with you. I think it does the opposite. If you give busy work then while a student might do it, they won't care about the assignment. They'll just do it to maintain their grade or not get in trouble. That doesn't teach responsibility or punctuality, it teaches that you can get by in life with not doing what you're supposed to do. After all, a teach is supposed to TEACH their students. Busywork doesn't teaching anything except that the teacher in question is not prepared to do their job and doesn't care about their students.
Oops, sorry Liz. I read the comments wrong. I was actually disagreeing with Jenn Townsend.
ReplyDeleteBecky,
ReplyDeleteI like what you said about handing back your students work right away. After all, how can a student know they have to improve on something if they don't know how they did or what they got wrong. This is especially important for those of us who want to teach science or math, math especially. To much of what you learn in math class build onto what you learn next. If you think you got it right, but actually got it wrong, then you need to know right away so you can study some more.
While it's not math related I'm actually in that same boat myself in my ENG COMP class. My professor is an interesting individual, but I turned in a paper over a week ago and still haven't got it back yet. I have two more papers coming up in that class and have no idea how I did on my last one.
i would pack knows there content,offers help, and challenge students. When a teacher knows their content, it builds respect from the students which helps them in their learning experience. Students also need know they can get help when needed. If a student feels like he or she has nowhere to go when struggling, then they will only sit on their thaughts and not learn. lastly, challenging students is the only way to engage there minds and force them to think out the correct answer. If there were no difficult challenges, it would only prove to be damaging to the students overall knowledge.
ReplyDeleteI would offer help, care for students, and speak clearly. I went to a large school but the teachers were great at offering to help each student out. This shows that the teacher wants to see you succeed. Then I would care for the students. Many students may have a tough life at home and need that one person to show a helping hand or a little smile. I would speak clearly too. It really aggervates me when people mumble because I have to have them repeat themselves and I know as a kid asking questions sometimes can be hard. They are there to learn something and it would be hard to take a test over notes they weren't able to take or understand.
ReplyDeleteBeingn an effective teacher means to me that I would interact with students, show to them how it realtes to there lives, and challengeing them. With teaching high school level you would have to be able to interact with the students. That means you would have to use there interests, music, and social experances to get them to see why the information is important. Showing them how it does realate to them can get there attention and hopefully will keep them into lecture. Yet it is also easier to show a little of you personal experiance's and feelings to show how important it all really is. Challengeing the students is always important. You need to always have them want to learn more about what your teaching them. Getting them to open there minds to the possiblity of why is this important and how will i use this will help to open the doors to other questions that will only help them to learn.
ReplyDeleteTo everyone:
ReplyDeleteI also see that a lot of use have picked the same three. I agree that showing respect it always important as well. Having respect for each other is something the business world lacks today. I think that is something that a lot of us haveing gotten away from and it all starts with how we were raised and taught.
I also agree that busy work is never a good thing. I remeber when i was in school and we got busy work in a class more than once a weeek; that class automactically became the joke hour. Busy work i have alway viewed as the teacher has something better to do then to teach us something new or help us to understand what we were learning.
Mike,
ReplyDeleteI agree that challenging your students would be an effective way to get them to learn more in the subject. I also think that giving students guidance and support is a huge factor to being an effective teacher.
I myself would bring along 1. knows there content 2. shows how content applies to life and 3. inspires students. These are the most important attributes to a teacher since i can relate them all to a specific teacher from high school, specifically the one we wrote on the post it note a couple classes ago. A good teacher must know the material they are teacher or else the students wont buy into it. One way to keep the students involved is by applying to an everyday life situation such as something they deal with in the home or something along those lines. Thirdly, it is vital that the teacher inspires the student. What's the point of teaching if you dont inspire the kids? To me it would be pointless.
ReplyDeleteI would pack knows information as well as diverse teaching styles as well as inspires students. I believe these three attributes are some of the most important when trying to educate students. no one will retain any information from someone that has no idea what they're talking about. also, if the teacher is not passionate about his or her subject, then why should the student show any interest. Also, Diverse teaching styles is important because if a teacher is teaching everything the exact same way, it will get monotonous and boring.
ReplyDeleteanthonys mom: I agree that showing respect is very important as well, without respect, there is no room so any sort of relationship between a teacher and their student, or it could be dramatically different and the relationship could be innappropriate and not affective
ReplyDeleteThere are many actions required to be an effective teacher. However, if I were to choose three they would be; respect, inspiration, and knowledge. The importance of showing respect, how can you ask students to “treat others the way you would want to be treated” if you do not begin your relationship with respect. Respect is also extremely general. When your students are out of their small community, it is important to know that even when someone comes across as “different” they still deserve respect from the start. Every person has good inside and the potential to do good. I want to do all I can to inspire each student to reach for their highest potential the rest of their life. I feel this applies even more to the students who may struggle in school. I want to learn how to let them know that even if they are struggling in “this” they may excel in “that.”:) Knowledge comes in many unexpected ways. Acknowledgement of how much you can learn from something as simple as your day to day routine could make learning seem broader. Everyone needs knowledge in some form.
ReplyDeleteAnthonys-mom, I completely agree with you in response to the importance of interacting with students and showing them how what they are learning relates to their life. However, I just wanted to touch on your “respect” comment. I do agree that the work places are changing and respect is not looked at as much as whom you know. Children’s home lives are significantly changing and I feel that’s why we need to continue to stick to the “basics” such as R-E-S-P-E-C-T. :)
the three things i would pack would be inspiring the students to belive in themselves, believing in myself as a teacher, and engouraging my students to do the best that they can do, always. Stundets need to believe in themselves before they start any assignment or project. They need to confidence that they can do anything otherwise they are not going to try to do their best. The teacher has to do the same thing believe in themselves as a teacher and a person, we have to have confidence to do our best as a teacher and show our students that we do care. Teachers need to always encourage students to excel at what they do best and help them excel.
ReplyDeleteSarah,
ReplyDeletei agree with what your comment. Many teachers have promblems with speaking clearly and that is a problem with for students. This causes problems for students because they might not receive the information the teacher is trying to communicate with the class.
I believe the three things I would pack would be showing how content relates to real life, inspiring my students, and challanging my students. The one I would take though would be the inspiring my students. Without inspiration in High School I wouldn't have cared enough to have been challenged or to care how it related to the real world. Inspiration gives that spark of life to the classroom and allows students to really run with it. I know when I was in high school the assignments and classes I loved the best were the ones that inspired me to do my best.
ReplyDeleteNicole, I almost chose the relating content to real life. I know that in high school and middle school my teachers, especially my politics and math classes, would rail you on the fact that you're going to use this the rest of your life. My question always was 'on what?' they never seemed to tell you exactly what it was we were going to use it for, but yet they still harrassed us into learning it.
ReplyDeleteI would pack inspiring my students also and encouraging my students, but most of all i would pick interacting with students. I believe these things are important as an effective teacher because all of my previous effective teachers brouht all of these actions to the table and i learned a lot from that. Inspiring my students will allow us to relate to one another any many ways and it builds this comfortness between the student and teacher. Encouraging a student motivates them to work hard, it will let them know that the teacher really cares about their learning and wants to really help them and this all falls into interaction with a a student because interaction allows the student to have a clear understanding and it makes a student want to work instead of just giving students work and leaving them to do it on their own. there's no way they can learn from this.
ReplyDeleteI believe the three things I would pack would be diverse in teaching styles, know his/her students, and shows interest in content. it is important to have a diverse teaching style to reach every. if you know your student then you will know what they a capiable of and it's important to know their strenthes and weaknesses. in order to keep student interested in learning you have to make it fun and interesting.
ReplyDeletethe fourth one that i would have choosen is encouraging a student. when you are able to encourage a student they work hard and are proud of what they finished.
ReplyDelete