Effective Teachers

Some of my favorite things that research tells us about caring and effective teachers are:

o   Teachers share their own lives and ideas with their students.

o   Create relationships with their students to enhance student learning. I found this out in field. Once I established a relationship with the students and they were able to trust me, their learning was enhanced. They felt comfortable sharing their ideas and questions.

o   Teachers who create a warm and supportive classroom environment tend to be more effective with all students. This kind of goes with the last one, but if students don’t feel welcomed or comfortable in the classroom their learning won’t be as effective. I think it’s sooo important that I show each of my future students that they are needed and an asset to our classroom. Students need to feel love and acceptance.

o   The teachers’ enthusiasm for learning. If the teacher isn’t enthusiastic or doesn’t show that a certain subject or learning in general can be fun, how are the students going to feel that.

o   A variety of support systems. In field one of the other teachers on the team went to a conference. When she came back she shared what she had learned. They said they had done research and the number one thing they found that helped students learning was the team working together collaboratively. The teachers on the team consider the whole first grade their class. If one class understands a topic and doing well on the test. The other teachers take what they did and see if it works for their class. I loved how well they all worked together and shared. There are so many resources and support systems out their for teachers, it would be crazy not to take advantage of them.

o   Effective teachers set high expectations. I love this. If there is a good relationship set up between the student and teacher, the student is going to want to meet whatever expectation is set. I like what the guest speaker said last time. If he treats his students like adults they’ll act like adults. If we set those expectations up they’ll meet them.

Carol states “People learn better when they feel valued and supported. To value and support learners, we must know them.” I love that and believe it with all my heart. I also think teachers must teach flexibly. I think my cooperating teacher was a great example of this. She was very organized and prepared, but if something came up it wasn’t a big deal if things needed to be changed or switched around. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow. Students aren’t going to be the same every day. They’re going to have good days and bad days.

Then Why Is It So Hard?

            There are so many things that make teaching hard and discouraging. Some of my favorite advice my cooperating teacher gave me was, There are so many things out there that you could be doing. Don’t beat yourself up or feel guilty for not doing them all. Do what you can and do you’re best and you’ll be fine. I loved that because there really are so many things and ideas out there for teachers. We can’t do everything, but I think if we truly love our students and have their best interest in mind we will be fine and be great teachers! I know there will be challenging times, but I’m excited to put my whole heart into teaching and trying to make a difference in the lives of the kids I teach.

Tiering

In field I was able to practice using a tiered approach in my math lesson. I was teaching a lesson on measurement. The students used ten cubes as there unit of measurement. For this lesson students were practicing how to measure using  ten sticks. I divided the class into two different tiers the first tier of students were measuring objects less than ten cubes long. I had the second tier measuring objects that were longer than ten cubes. They had to figure out how to measure using only one ten stick. Once I asked them if they knew how to count by ten’s they were able to figure it out. It was fun to see both groups be challenged, but yet be successful. The book states “A great classroom conveys to all students, this is hard, but you can do hard things, and I am not willing to let you settle for less.” I hope I can convey that message to all my students. I want them to know they can accomplish hard things and be successful.   

Engaging Students

I think it’s so important to engage students no matter what you are teaching. If students aren’t engaged they’re not going to willingly participate in the lesson.  It will also mean a lot more to students if they’re interested and engaged in the activity. As the teacher I want to make every day exciting. If the teacher isn’t engaging or having fun with the lesson neither will the students. Even on bad days I hope I can fake it until I make it. One idea the book gave to help engage students was focus student products around significant problems and issues. Like the example with the construction site students will more likely be involved if it’s a real issue in their lives. I think it also help to be able to see it hands on. The students were able to observe and watch the construction site every day. I like the idea to use meaningful audiences, especially different audiences in the school. It’s important to help students discover how ideas and skills are useful in the world. I know I don’t learn much from reading a text book. It goes in one ear and out the other. The example of the Holocaust reminded me of a video I watched in college about it. It was only about a 5 minute slide show of different pictures and a few captions. I learned more in those five minutes about the Holocaust than I ever did in school reading about it in a text book. It also stuck with me and I can still remember it. It had a lot more meaning to me than reading about it from a text book. Students need to be able to make connections in a meaningful way. I also liked the idea of looking for fresh ways to present and explore ideas. How boring is it to do the same thing over and over. That’s not exciting or engaging at all.

All Children Can Learn!

The book states, “All children can learn” does not mean “all children are the same.”  I really believe that all children can learn. They just don’t all learn in the same way. It’s my job as a teacher to find out what those different ways are in my classroom and then teach to each individual student. I need to make sure that each student is well served in the classroom. It’s so important to help each student realize their value not only in the classroom, but in life. If student can learn the value of learning it will help them far more than just learning the information they need for that school year. I love that it said students need to dream. I want all the student in my classroom to be able to dream and know they can accomplish anything they put their mind to. I want to be able to have my students in mind with everything I do in my classroom. It should be about them and how to help them learn and grow. I love the part tha tis said the teacher is their to be your partner, coach, mentor and taskmaster all along your learning journey in this class. I love the idea that I will be there to be their partner and coach, to help them learn and grow. I’m not there to make them complete assignments. It’s a journey and I am there to help the students in the journey of learning. How fun!!

Teaching the Student

The book states "Teachers shape lives, not by providing a sturdier network of social services, not by helping the child explore the psyche, not by standing on the sidelines and providing strategies designed to capture the game point, buy by equipping students with the intellectual wherewithal necessary to make their way in a world that increasingly demands academic preparation for full societal participation." I really liked this, we're not just teaching students curriculum or certain subjects, it's more than that. What good would any of it do if they didn't know how to take their knowledge, understanding, and skills into society. We need to teach students to be life long learners. But, how do we do this? One of my favorite quote from the books states, "we rarely succeed in teaching subjects unless we teach human beings as well." I think it is so important to teach to the individual rather than teach a subject. We must get to know our students as much as possible. We need to know their strengths and weaknesses so we know better how to help them succeed. Students need to feel affirmation, contribution, power, purpose, and challenge. It is our job as teachers to ensure that in them. My second grade teacher did a good job at this. I was a very shy student and would rather sit in the back and go unnoticed, but I still felt like I was his favorite student and I could accomplish anything. I think he was able to make all of us feel that way and instill great confidence in each of us. He never made us feel dumb or like we couldn't accomplish something. I think this is one of the most important things you can give a student.

Possibilities

I was reading my friend Randees blog and she wrote about her favorite quote from the reading that I really liked as well. The quote states “Remarkable teachers are aware of the restraints and imperfections of schools. Somehow these teachers see the possibilities more clearly than the impossibilities. They look beyond the things that they can’t change toward the young people, learning environments, curricula, and instruction they can change.” This will probably be kind of difficult at times, but I think it’s so important to stay focused on things you can change and improve rather than things that are out of your control. As a teacher I think there will be many things that we wish we could change for our students, but focusing on things we can’t change and impossibilities is such a waste of time and will get us nowhere. I think focusing on the possibilities not only in teaching but all aspects of life will lead to greater success.

Classroom Communication

Without effective communication it is very easy to be misunderstood. If students understand you as a teacher and how your classroom is run, they will be more willing to help the classroom run smoothly and effectively. Communication in the classroom can also:

• Build a group Identity
• Ensure that the teacher has ways of getting to know students better.
• Enable the teacher to share his or her thinking about teaching.
• Provides shorthand for quick communication among members of the classroom community.

To me these all sound like great things to achieve and have in the classroom. It’s worth taking the time and energy to have effective communication in the classroom. I want to know each of my student’s individual strengths and communicate to them that they are important and valued in my classroom. Students will feel valued if their ideas and thoughts are considered. It’s important to try and see things from their perspective as well as your own. So how do we set this kind of classroom up? Here are some strategies.

• Hold Goal-setting Conferences
• Use Dialogue Journals
• Incorporate Teacher Talk Groups in Lesson Plans.

Many students will talk more freely in small groups than in whole class exchanges. I know I was one of those students. I hated talking in front of the whole class and got too nervous to focus on what I wanted to say. It’s important for all students to be able to communicate in some way. One thing that keeps coming to my mind about classroom communication is morning meetings. If done right I think this could be your biggest tool in helping achieve communication in the classroom.