According to what teachers are told by research, an effective teacher is where students achieve results by standardized tests. An effective teacher is also associated with knowledge of his or her subject along with experience and qualifications. And according to hiring policy, one must show he is a highly qualified effective teacher and be able to prove it. At least that is what teachers are told. However, for the most part, this is true, but it “labels” qualifications compared to real results.
Here is my research of an effective teacher:
Teachers must show students respect on the first day of school, especially if they want respect in return.
Do not yell – it’s childish.
Understand each student’s needs and actually talk to them.
Let a very tired student rest for a few minutes. He may have been up all night working because his parents cannot.
Have a sense of humor and get the students to like you – when they like you, they will work for you.
Do not pretend you know everything. Showing you are not perfect shows them respect.
How do I know? I was one of those inexperienced teachers whose students surpassed expectations even when other administrators criticized my methods behind my back. I gave students confidence along with respect.
An effective teacher also integrates parent involvement. This may have been one of my flaws. I always attended parent-teacher conferences, but I should have consistently called parents to let them know how their child is performing, whether good or bad. The majority of teachers lack parent involvement because teachers often feel that if parents want to know how their child is doing, then it should be up to the parents to make the first move. A great teacher does whatever possible to get the parents involved because better parent involvement and student-teacher-parent relationship, the better the student will perform in class and on tests.
This is the most important aspect of an effective teacher, but once again researchers go a little too far. So much emphasis is put on classroom management that there are millions of strategies, which gives teachers a brain overload. To achieve good classroom management, tell the students bluntly how the year is going to work for them. For example, you could say the following “You can pretend to be bad all you want or be immature so you can attract attention, but end the end after going to the principal, your parents, and whomever else, you will eventually be right back here behaving like you should have from the start, so you may as well grow up right now, today. If I have done something to disrespect you, then let me know. If not, show me the same respect.” This will eventually sink in. Another way to achieve good classroom management is to walk around the room. If someone is not working, do not ask why, but ask if that individual needs help and you will show her.
Qualities of a Good Teacher
To attempt to sum it up, research cannot find perfection, only many qualities of a good teacher. Humans are imperfect and if an individual teacher gets results consistently, then there is no need to try and submerge that teacher into more unfamiliar strategies. What works for one teacher may not work for another. Also, qualities of a good teacher need to be shown to and by the administration because those who do need help with results can learn from different teachers who attain results and new teachers can find their place and what works for them.