Effective Teaching: Notes for the Beginning Teacher by Dr. Paul R. Vaughn

Teachers play a crucial role in the learning of students
Anyone that chooses to do so, can develop and enhance effective teacher characteristics in themselves
It is a choice; if you want to be a great teacher, you have to work for it. You must identify what characteristics of effective are and then set about trying to develop them. Here are some effective teaching characteristics identified by Rosenshine and Furst:

1. Clarity
2. Variability
3. Enthusiasm 
4. Task Oriented/Business-Like Behavior
5. Positive Reinforcement
6. Student Opportunity to Learn
7. Avoided Criticism
8. Structuring Comments
9. Effective Questioning
10. Humor

Clarity

Having clear learning objectives is important for the students as well as for the teacher to both guide and focus the learning process. To teach clearly and effectively, preparation and organized is essential.

Variability

I vividly remember going to a history class in high school and every class period, the teacher would break out the overhead projector and transparencies and he would write notes for 50 minutes and we would copy them down and then the bell would ring and he would erase the transparency and get ready to do it all over again for the next class. That. Was. Brutal. I mean even for him that must have been painful.

Variability is just about mixing it up and keeping it interesting.

Enthusiasm

Enthusiasm is about sharing your passion. I feel that to be an effective teacher you have to be passionate about what you are teaching or it will be very difficult to be sincerely enthusiastic. This is somewhere that I know I need to improve; to show my passion and be animated in my teaching.

Task Oriented/Business-Like Behavior

Being enthusiastic and engaging students is important but empowering students to learn and be passionate about learning, it can't just be a show where the students are entertained and when the bell ring the show is over and learning stops. Demonstrate to the students that what you are teaching is important by being serious about what you teach. Let the students know that you care about them and the knowledge you are imparting to them.

Positive Reinforcement

This is something that I have been reading about lately. As teachers and mentors we should reinforce effort that the students are putting in and not just the results. Check out this article by Esther Cepeda titled, "Fearing Failure, Children Become Slaves to Our Praise." If we only praise the students in our class for getting an A, then we are not encouraging true effort which is considerably more relevant than a grade. That being said, strive to help students recognize their strengths. It will motivate them to work harder.

Avoiding Criticism 

Bottom line: don't focus on weakness, build up strengths. Criticism can be helpful, but you have to be strategic, and have good rapport with the students.

Use of Structuring Comments

This is really interesting to me and something I want to work on developing in my teaching techniques. The "cognitive scaffolding," structuring comments let the learners put pieces together and focus on important concepts that the other material is built upon.

Use of Probing Questions

Asking questions enhances critical thinking. It is easy to unconsciously consume information without asking, "why?"An important piece of advice in this article is to give the students time to actually think about the question, don't expect an  answer immediately. The purpose is to think about it!

Use of Humor  

I, and I think most people, love to laugh. When someone is funny, I have no problem listening to anything they are talking about. Humor, in my opinion, is probably more difficult to develop than some of the other characteristics already discussed, but a great characteristic for effective teaching and building rapport with students. A word of caution: don't let the humor get out of control and keep it in good taste.

Conclusion

Becoming an effective teacher is possible for anyone, but it takes time and effort. Be patient and diligent. Learn from others and use common sense.

Reflective Teaching Lessons

Today I participated in a Reflective Teaching Lesson (RTL) in which I taught my peers about something that I knew very little about...the TIKI!!!

The objective was for the students to correctly interpret the meanings of the eyes of several different tikis. For example, if a tiki's eyes are squinted it is symbolic of love, if the eyes are oval it represents good fortune, and if the eyes are rounded on the bottom and straight on top it indicates safety or protection.

It was a fairly straight forward lesson and a great opportunity to practice teaching in a safe environment.

The Lesson

I provided some brief background information about Polynesia and Polynesian culture and then transitioned into the origins and importance of the tiki. Using a PowerPoint, I showed some examples of different tiki designs and specifically the differences in the eyes. Then, I showed them pictures of different tiki and asked them as a class to describe the eyes and determine their significance. Upon completion they took a quiz individually each student got the correct answer for each of the questions.

Feedback

I prepared a brief learner satisfaction survey to receive feedback. Here are some of the things that they liked:

• "I liked that we were able to learn it, "quiz" ourselves with the class, then individually. It helped solidify the information" 
• "Good visual aids"

And here are some areas that I can improve:

• "More action!" 
• "Maybe some voice inflection"

Reflection

As I reflect on the lesson, I realize that I need to improve on being more engaging and perhaps display more energy in my teaching style. That is something that I will have to practice and I will need to overcome some of my reservedness.

George Couros' "The Innovator's Mindset" Part Three

So, this blog post marks the conclusion of my reflection on, “The Innovator’s Mindset,” and I have to say that overall, I think that this book has provided me with some really great ideas and has helped me put into words some of the thoughts that I have concerning education. That being said, I would like to offer some critique.

First, Couros is explicit in stating that using technology isn’t synonymous with being innovative, however most of the innovations that he gives as examples involve blogging, tweeting, or online portfolios. Don’t get me wrong, I think that those are great pathways to sharing successes and strengthening community involvement in your program, but I also recognize that not all schools or members of the community have access to internet or know how to participate on Twitter. I am specifically thinking about the school that I will be student teaching at this spring and conversations that I have had with my cooperating teacher.

Also, I know that a primary target audience population were leaders in education such as school administrators, and trying to help them see the importance of empowering teachers so that they can empower students, but I found myself thinking many times that many scenarios presented in this book seemed a bit utopic. I don’t want to say that the ideas aren’t relevant, because they are great and I am excited to strive for the ideals that Couros has and that I share, but at the same time I don’t want to enter a new school with unrealistic expectations.    

That being said, let me share with you some great insights from the last part of the book. Chapter 11 is about embracing an open culture, which emphasizes the importance of sharing and competitive collaboration. So far in this journey to teacherhood I have been so impressed by people’s willingness to share their time and resources with me because they are passionate about their work and the students that enter not only their classrooms, but all students. That to me is an amazing thing.

Another insight is how you can involve the local community in what is going on in your classroom by communicating via social media and encouraging students to share what they are working on in with others. I know I just finished criticizing the reliance on technology and social media, but I really do think that, where it is available to the school and community members, social media is a great way to involve and strengthen community ties with the school, teachers, and students.

In conclusion, I am excited to teach! I am excited to try out some ideas that I will borrow from this book as well as some others that I have gathered along the way. 

George Couros' "The Innovator's Mindset" Part Two

On to part two of George Couros’ book, “The Innovators Mindset.” The first part of the book outlined what innovation is and what it is not, as well as why it is important. In part two, Couros details how innovation can be used to create an environment of empowerment. There is an emphasis on building relationships and sharing ideas and experiences to both unite people and accelerate innovation.

I was surprised at an experience that Couros recounts that sometimes administrators will not allow a teacher to run with a good idea not because it is risky or may have unknown consequences, but because they fear that other teachers will be expected to do the same thing and possibly add more work or stress to their lives. An example was given of a teacher who created a social media page for the class posted videos, photos, and comments about what the students were learning so that the parents could have a better idea of what their child was doing throughout the day. The administrator denied the teacher from continuing the page as they felt that parents would want other teachers to do the same thing and thus create more work for the other teachers. Couros comments, “The fear that drives leaders is not always about failure. Sometimes, the real fear is of success.” To be honest, I had never thought about this as an obstacle to innovation. I understand that leaders don’t want to create more work and stress for the already very busy teachers, but I think the author makes a perfect argument when he says, “If what is best for our learners is our primary concern, equity of opportunities will be created at the highest levels, not the lowest.” I agree with Couros. The young people that step into our classrooms deserve the best teachers and to stunt teachers’ creativity and desire to create learning experiences that will engage and empower not just the students, but their families and the community, would be a grave disservice to everyone.

Another subject that George Couros writes passionately about, is the difference between engaging students and empowering them. He explains that engagement is getting the learners excited about what is being taught and that is great, but not enough. Couros continues that empowering learners is helping them develop the capacity to pursue their passions, interests and future. It is not enough to entertain the students in our classroom, if after the “show” is over they don’t know how to pursue their own passions and obtain knowledge that is important to them. The authors states that, “It is imperative that we teach learners how to be self-directed and guide their own learning, rather than rely on others to simply engage them.”

I am left with both excitement, to get into the classroom and put into practices what I am reading and what seems to align so closely with my own teaching philosophy, and at the same time doubts, concerning my ability to create an environment, a culture, in which my students have a desire to actively pursue their own interests and become self-directed learners. I suppose that it will come with experience and perseverance. 

George Couros' "The Innovator's Mindset" Part One

I am currently reading "Innovator's Mindset" by George Couros and so far it has been a great read. Part one of the book is about innovation in education where Couros defines innovation and why it is essential for effective learning in schools. He makes it very clear that the intent of the book is not to dictate what should or should not be done, but to "provoke thought and inspire you to create your own innovative approach in your practice." The first few chapters are filled with examples of practical solutions and questions to ponder concerning the current state of education in the U.S.

Couros uses a definition posited by Carl Bass, "Innovation is process by which we change the world...It's the practical application of ideas and technologies to make new and better things." The author emphasizes that for something to be truly innovative, it must be both new and better, however rit does not necessarily need to be a thing. In education, what this really down to is creating an environment and designing learning experiences in which the learners...learn. It seems obvious, but how much does a student actually learn while in school? I think it may be important at this point to distinguish between learning and memorizing-regurgitating information. A quote from the Center for Accelerated Learning I found especially fitting:

"Learning is creation, not consumption. Knowledge is not something a learner absorbs, but something a learner creates. Learning happens when a learner integrates new knowledge and skill into his or her existing structure of self. Learning is literally a matter of creating new meaning, new neural networks, and new patterns of electro/chemical interactions within one's brain/body system"

I though that was pretty eloquently stated and echoes so much of what I believe as a future teacher. 

Much of the advice that the author gives concerning innovative education is making students the center of the classroom and encouraging them to take responsibility for their own learning. However, Couros points out that students have been condition to "schooling" and are not comfortable with that responsibility and may push back when teachers try new that doesn't include worksheets and multiple choice tests. So a question that I have been pondering, and that I am hoping will be addressed in the following chapters, is how, as a teacher, can I help my students take responsibility for their own learning and actually have a desire to learn? How can I as a teacher inspire young people to want to learn about the world and discover something that they can be passionate about?

I am excited to learn more and use what I learn to inspire others to do some good in the world. Thank you for joining me on my journey.

Michael Cahill