GOOD TEACHING: THE TOP TEN REQUIREMENTS

One. Good teaching is as much about passion as it is about reason. It's about not only motivating students to learn, but teaching them how to learn, and doing so in a manner that is relevant, meaningful, and memorable. It's about caring for your craft, having a passion for it, and conveying that passion to everyone, most importantly to your students. Two. Good teaching is about substance and treating students as consumers of knowledge. It's about doing your best to keep on top of your field, reading sources, inside and outside of your areas of expertise, and being at the leading edge as often as possible. But knowledge is not confined to scholarly journals. Good teaching is also about bridging the gap between theory and practice. It's about leaving the ivory tower and immersing oneself in the field, talking to, consulting with, and assisting practitioners, and liaisoning with their communities. Three. Good teaching is about listening, questioning, being responsive, and remembering that each student and class is different. It's about eliciting responses and developing the oral communication skills of the quiet students. It's about pushing students to excel; at the same time, it's about being human, respecting others, and being professional at all times. Four. Good teaching is about not always having a fixed agenda and being rigid, but being flexible, fluid, experimenting, and having the confidence to react and adjust to changing circumstances. It's about getting only 10 percent of what you wanted to do in a class done and still feeling good. It's about deviating from the course syllabus or lecture schedule easily when there is more and better learning elsewhere. Good teaching is about the creative balance between being an authoritarian dictator on the one hand and a pushover on the other. Five. Good teaching is also about style. Should good teaching be entertaining? You bet! Does this mean that it lacks in substance? Not a chance! Effective teaching is not about being locked with both hands glued to a podium or having your eyes fixated on a slide projector while you drone on. Good teachers work the room and every student in it. They realize that they are the conductors and the class is the orchestra. All students play different instruments and at varying proficiencies. Six. This is very important -- good teaching is about humor. It's about being self-deprecating and not taking yourself too seriously. It's often about making innocuous jokes, mostly at your own expense, so that the ice breaks and students learn in a more relaxed atmosphere where you, like them, are human with your own share of faults and shortcomings. Seven. Good teaching is about caring, nurturing, and developing minds and talents. It's about devoting time, often invisible, to every student. It's also about the thankless hours of grading, designing or redesigning courses, and preparing materials to still further enhance instruction. Eight. Good teaching is supported by strong and visionary leadership, and very tangible institutional support -- resources, personnel, and funds. Good teaching is continually reinforced by an overarching vision that transcends the entire organization -- from full professors to part-time instructors -- and is reflected in what is said, but more importantly by what is done. Nine. Good teaching is about mentoring between senior and junior faculty, teamwork, and being recognized and promoted by one's peers. Effective teaching should also be rewarded, and poor teaching needs to be remediated through training and development programs. Ten. At the end of the day, good teaching is about having fun, experiencing pleasure and intrinsic rewards ... like locking eyes with a student in the back row and seeing the synapses and neurons connecting, thoughts being formed, the person becoming better, and a smile cracking across a face as learning all of a sudden happens. Good teachers practice their craft not for the money or because they have to, but because they truly enjoy it and because they want to. Good teachers couldn't imagine doing anything else.

What makes a good teacher?

Teachers are important and make a difference. The quality of teaching is a crucial factor in promoting effective learning in schools. Effective teaching requires individuals who are academically able and who care about the well-being of children and youth. Points Arising from Research The most powerful single factor that enhances achievement is feedback – positive, encouraging, clearly targeted. The setting of appropriate, specific and challenging goals is critical. Effective teachers make purpose and content explicit, plan carefully, use systematic assessment and feedback, make connections, encourage children to think about thinking and model what they want the children to do. Key Elements of What makes a good teacher? Research detailing the direct effect of good teaching on pupils is difficult to assess, as relating ‘good teaching’ directly to higher attainment in pupils is almost impossible to verify. However there are many attempts to analyse what constitutes a ‘good teacher’. The following points are generally agreed to have an impact on pupils: Subject Matter Knowledge Highly knowledgeable and up to date in their subject area, but do not pretend to know it all, willing to learn from pupils Teachers’ repertoires of best practices Provide learner with clear tasks, goals, and requirement and inform them of progress made. A key skill in teaching is the ability to explain and describe things clearly Encourage pupils to think, to make connections, to practise and reinforce, to learn from other learners and to feel that if they make mistakes they will not be ridiculed or treated negatively Promote pupil participation through problem solving, questioning, discussion and “buzz group” activities Treat all pupil questions seriously and do not intimidate or ridicule Use regular informal assessment strategies including a range of types of questioning, observation and listening in Understand that, since individuals learn at different rates and in different ways, we need to provide a variety of activities, tasks and pace of work, and monitor and evaluate children’s progress Use breaks and activities to engage pupils’ thinking and interest Turn to reading and research for fresh insights and relating these to their classroom and school Work in a shared and collegial way with other staff Personal qualities Demonstrate an empathy with pupil thinking, anticipate misconceptions and allow pupils to develop understanding in a variety of ways Observe pupils in class for signs that they are failing to keep up, are bored, or are not understanding Show flexibility in responding to pupil needs Genuinely want pupils to learn, understand and develop critical thinking abilities, as well as master content or learn skills Encourage pupils to take an active role in working through difficulties and take time to work through concepts in detail with those who have difficulties Teachers who show enthusiasm for subject, professional area and teaching role motivate pupils as they look forward to coming to that class Highly effective teachers are viewed as “easy going”, “relaxed”, with an “open” manner. This brings a relaxed atmosphere to the classroom Communicate effectively Are resourceful and positive and adopt a problem-solving approach Are creative and imaginative and have an open attitude to change Are systematic and well organised, focused, determined and hardworking Demonstrate empathy and fairness, are caring and approachable Teacher Competences The Standard for Chartered Teachers states that the quality of the educational service depends pre-eminently on the quality of our teachers. The standard then list the following 4 components: Professional values and personal commitments Professional knowledge and understanding Professional and personal attributes Professional action It also lists 4 central professional values and personal commitments which effective teachers should develop: effectiveness in promoting learning in the classroom critical self-evaluation and development collaboration and influence educational and social values Reflection and Discussion Do you reflect on your practice in the classroom? As a result of this reflection do you alter your approach within your classroom? How much do you share good practice with colleagues? Some Activities Relating To the Issue of What makes a good teacher? Key element Objective Action Some examples and suggestions Subject Matter Knowledge Highly knowledgeable and up to date in their subject area, but do not pretend to know it all, willing to learn from pupils Pupils may be - very aware of recent developments – could you involve them in producing/researching the latest information for topics? Teachers’ repertoire of best practice Use regular informal assessment strategies including a range of types of questioning, observation and listening in. Look closely at formative assessment in your class. (See Toolkit section on Formative Assessment) Personal qualities Observe pupils in class for signs that they are failing to keep up, are bored, or not understanding. Show flexibility in responding to pupil needs. Use Traffic Lights. Green means confident about understanding, orange means unsure and red means not understanding. Pupils are challenged with support to grade themselves Teacher competencies Effective teachers should develop collaboration and influence Prepare an action plan drawing on your strengths and tackle any of the weaknesses that you have identified. Discuss this with a trusted colleague to get feedback on your analysis. Ethos within the classroom There is a high level of respect, interest in and acceptance of the pupils Focus on reward and encouragement not on sanction and punishment. Consultation with pupils in relation to own goals and personal aspirations.

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