Shining Students

An Effective Teacher treats each student as an individual ray of light emanating from the same source – the classroom. It is important that students be afforded the opportunity to display their unique gifts, talents and skills and be recognized for it. Just as the athlete has the court and the field to display their abilities, teachers must find the best forums for others to be acknowledged and show their uniqueness. This may be in the science lab, at a music recital, public speaking or a tournament; whatever the venue, students must be allowed to shine.

To be an Effective Teacher in this endeavor, students must be known individually and placed in the best environment which allows them to flourish, or the result can backfire and perform more harm than good. We observe in nature that fish function best when in water and plants when rooted in the soil. In similitude, the Effective Teacher seeks out and determines the opportune time, and location for their students to shine.

A poignant article on helping shy students to shine

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/introverted-students-in-classroom-tony-baldasaro

Student Future

An Effective Teacher like a parent realizes that students will not be with them forever and therefore, always work with the goal of seeing them graduate. This viewpoint is future focused and motivates how students are taught, communicated with and developed. 

The student who is falling behind is encouraged and assisted with catching up. The student with a personality and temperament which is not best suited for society and the workforce is coached along so that their future is not challenged by the character flaws which were not confronted in their past. The future focused teacher helps students prepare for expressed goals, whether in college or a career.  They direct learning and training towards that end and keeps the vision of endless possibilities before them. This type of teacher prepares the students for the world, with a healthy dose of reality and a strong desire for achievement and success in their chosen endeavors.

An article on teachers and student expectation

http://www.education.com/reference/article/teachers-expectations-affect-learning/

Student Characterisitics

An Effective Teacher makes it a priority to know each student the way a parent knows each child. Student characteristics are as varied as the number of students; therefore knowing students allows for a more individualized approach to their learning and increased probability for their classroom success. Which student responds to the extra push and which wilts back from such actions? Which student has an artistic bent and which are scientifically inclined? Which students have a low view of themselves and which have inflated egos?

Determining student characteristics is a labor of love and a strong identifier of an Effective Teacher. It places more than a name on a seat or grade in a spreadsheet – it says, “I care.” Implementing this skillset in the classroom is sure to have positive effects on student learning and relationships and allows for a more substantive rapport with parents when discussing the needs of their children.

A video of a brilliant model used to determine the characteristics of students being taught

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmypubsuUlE

Parenting and Being a Role Model

An Effective Teacher is a stand-in parent during the course of the school day and becomes a reproducible role model for the students. Teachers teach more than the academic curriculum, they must be encouragers, have a listening ear, be a caring friend and an example of good character.

The Effective Teacher is a support parent to their students and often provides for them what they do not obtain at home. The personal time and tutorials which contribute to academic growth; the life discussions which aids in making proper decision; and the compassionate correction which keeps students on the correct path all are a part of teacher quasi-parenting. As a role model, students obtain additional examples of matured character that is worth emulating. They see the commitment of the coaches to their athletes, how the band director works effortlessly to assist with acquiring instruments and how the science teacher spends extra time to prepare students for the science fair. Parenting and being a Role Model, This is all a part of being an Effective Teacher. 

A poignant article on the value of teachers being role models.

http://teach.com/what/teachers-change-lives/teachers-are-role-models

Sympathy and Compassion

An Effective Teacher realizes that many external factors affect student learning which are far reaching and varied. They may be relational, financial, domestic, or a disability. How are teachers to respond to students who may not be eating properly or are not sleeping well because of issues in their home? What about students who may have recently experienced the loss of a loved one or may have undergone an illness which is negatively impacting them at school?

The Effective Teacher realizes that students require empathy, sympathy and compassion whenever a student undergoes a life event which adversely affects their learning. Such events can have a long term impact on the student and how they view learning. The teacher helps students to navigate life’s challenges while still facilitating learning; this makes for a rich relationship between the two. The Effective Teacher that shows sympathy and compassion helps to cement the privilege of teach their students and is able to get the best out of them by going beyond the role of a traditional teacher.

A well developed article on the value of compassion in teachers.

http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/can_mindfulness_make_us_better_teachers

Independent Thinking

An Effective Teacher leads students to the independent use of their intellect. Learning should not just be the memorization of information and acceptance of what is presented.  Effective Teachers encourage students to interact with the presented material, by asking questions, performing analysis and incorporating their experiences. This promotes independent learning and thinking.  The independent thinker is the researcher, the student who develops new mindsets on old material. 

The Effective Teacher accepts that each student as an individual may see the presented material from a different perspective and nurtures the right and ability of a student to question and make a contribution to the material they are learning. Independent thinking is essential for inquiry based learning, which works extraordinarily well for students who function above grade level. Finally, a teacher who promotes independent thinking fosters a sense of maturity among students which encourages self-growth, self-enlightenment, freedom of speech and future independence.

A brief video on how to promote independent thinking with kids.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-WrB-atboU

Revisions for Differences

An Effective Teacher recognizing her student’s individual differences and special needs. An effective teacher must initially assess the types of students present in the classroom before presenting the material. Learners fall into three categories: Auditory, Visual and Kinesthetic. The auditory learner responds predominantly to what they hear, whereas the auditory learner responds to what is seen, the kinesthetic learner learns from their interactions.

The Effective Teacher realizes that the presentation of concepts for differing classes and students will have to be revised in order to get the expected student results. For example, if a lesson is being presented on art. The auditory learner would be best served by simply presenting information about an artist and his painting.  For the visual learner, an example would have to be used, whereby they can see the artwork and the details which make it unique. The kinesthetic learner on the other hand would have to create an artistic piece based on the art that is being presented and emphasized in the lesson.  In all three cases the Effective Teacher would have to revise their approach to determine how best to serve the different teaching styles in the classroom.

This article gives approaches to teaching when taking into consideration the different learning styles.

http://www.nsta.org/publications/news/story.aspx?id=40969