Effective teachers Essay Example for Free

Effective teachers Essay I. The Power of an Effective Teacher and Why We Should Assess It This is the value of the teacher, who looks at a face and says theres something behind that and I want to reach that person, I want to influence that person, I want to encourage that person, I want to enrich, I want to call out that person who is behind that face, behind that colour, behind that language, behind that tradition, behind that culture. I believe you can do it. I know what was done for me. The transformative power of an effective teacher is something almost all of us have experienced and understand on a personal level. If we were particularly fortunate, we had numerous exceptional teachers who made school an exciting and interesting place. Those teachers possessed a passion for the subjects that they taught and genuine care for the students with whom they worked. They inspired us to play with ideas, think deeply about the subject matter, take on more challenging work, and even pursue careers in a particular field of study. Some exceptional teachers achieve celebrity status, such as Jaime Escalante, the math teacher who inspired the film Stand and Deliver, but thousands of unsung heroes go unrecognized in their remarkable work with students on a daily basis. ? II. Qualities of an Effective teacher Think back to when you were in school. Who was your favourite teacher? Who was the teacher you dreaded having? Almost everyone will instantly be able to answer these two questions. We’ve all had terrific teachers and, unfortunately, most of us have had teachers that were not effective. So what qualities does an effective teacher have that an ineffective teacher does not? The answer is that it takes a perfect blend of several qualities to create a truly effective teacher who can have a lasting impact on virtually every student. In this article, we examine ten qualities that virtually every effective teacher will possess. a)An effective teacher loves to teach. The single most important quality that every teacher should possess is a love and passion for teaching young people. Unfortunately, there are teachers who do not love what they do. This  single factor can destroy a teacher’s effectiveness quicker than anything else. Teachers who do not enjoy their job cannot possibly be effective day in and day out. There are too many discouraging factors associated with teaching that is difficult enough on a teacher who absolutely loves what they do, much less on one who doesn’t have the drive, passion, or enthusiasm for it. On top of that, kids are smarter than what we give them credit for. They will spot a phony quicker than anyone and thus destroy any credibility that the teacher may have. b)An effective teacher demonstrates a caring attitude. Even teachers who love their job can struggle in this area, not because they don’t care, but because they get caught up so much in the day to day routine of teaching that they can forget that their students have lives outside of school. Taking the time to get to know a student on a personal level takes a lot of time and dedication. There is also a line that no teacher wants to cross where their relationship becomes too personal. Elite teachers know how to balance this without crossing that line and once a student believes the teacher truly cares for them, then there is no limit to what that student can achieve. c)An effective teacher can relate to his or her students. The best teachers work hard to figure out how to relate to each of their students. Common interest can be hard to find, but exceptional teachers will find a way to connect with their students even if they have to fake it. For instance, you may have a student who is a Lego fanatic. You can relate to that student if you do something as simple as ordering a Lego catalogue and then going through it and discussing it with that student. Even if you have no actual interest in Lego’s, the student will think you do and thus naturally create a connection. d)An effective teacher is willing to think outside the box. There is no one set cookie cutter way to teach. A cookie cutter approach would likely be boring for both teachers and students. What makes teaching so exciting is that kids learn differently, and we have to find and utilize different strategies and differentiated learning to reach every student. What works for one student, will not work for every student. Teachers have to be willing to be creative and adaptive in their lessons, thinking outside the box on a continual basis. If you try to teach every concept in the same manner, there will be students who miss out on key factors because they aren’t wired to learn that way. e)An effective teacher is an excellent communicator. To be the best possible teacher you must be an effective communicator. However, in this area you are not just limited to being a skilled communicator to your students although that is a must. You must also be a strong communicator with parents of your students as well as your faculty/staff team within in your building. If you have a difficulty communicating with any of these three groups, then you limit your overall effectiveness as a teacher. f)An effective teacher is proactive rather than reactive. This can be one of most difficult aspects for a teacher to conquer. Intense planning and organization can ultimately make your job all the more less difficult. Teachers who plan ahead, looking for aspects that they might have issues with, and proactively looking for solutions to solve those problems will have less stress on them, than those teachers who wait until a problem arises and then tries to address it. Being proactive does not replace being adaptive. No matter how well you plan, there will be surprises. However, being proactive can cut down on these surprises tremendously, thus making you more effective overall. g)An effective teacher strives to be better. A teacher who has grown complacent in what they do is the most ineffective kind of teacher. Any teacher who is not looking for new and better teaching strategies isn’t being an effective teacher. No matter how long you have taught, you should always want to grow as a teacher. Every year there is new research, new technology, and new educational tools that could make you a better teacher. Seek out professional development opportunities and try to apply something new to your class every year. h)An effective teacher uses a variety of media in their lessons. Like it or not we are in the 21st century, and this generation of students was born in the digital age. These students have been bombarded by technological advances unlike any other generation. They have embraced it, and if we as teachers do not, then we are falling behind. This is not to say that we should eliminate textbooks and worksheets completely, but effective teachers are not afraid to implement other forms of media within their lessons. i)An effective teacher challenges their students. The most effective teachers, are often the ones that many students think are the most difficult. This is because they challenge their students and push them harder than the average teacher does. These are the teachers who are often students’ least favourite teachers at the time, but then later on in life they are the ones that we all remember and want to thank, because of how well they prepared us for life after our time with them. Being an effective teacher does not mean you are easy. It means that you challenge every one of your students and maximize your time with them so that they learn more than they ever thought they could learn. j)An effective teacher understands the content that they teach and knows how to explain that content in a manner that their students understand. There are teachers who do not know the content well enough to effectively teach it. There are teachers who are truly experts on the content, but struggle to effectively explain it to their students. The highly effective teacher both understands the content and explains it on level. This can be a difficult skill to accomplish, but the teachers who can, maximize their effectiveness as a teacher. III. Effective teaching strategies Six keys to classroom Excel a) Interest and explanation – â€Å"When our interest is aroused in something, whether it is an academic subject or a hobby, we enjoy working hard at it. We come to feel that we can in some way own it and use it to make sense of the world around us. † (p. 98). Coupled with the need to establish the relevance of content, instructors need to craft explanations that enable students to understand the material. This involves knowing what students understand and then forging connections between what is known and what is new. b) Concern and respect for students and student learning – Rams den starts with the negative about which he is assertive and unequivocal. â€Å"Truly awful teaching in higher education is most often revealed by a sheer lack of interest in and compassion for students and student learning. It repeatedly displays the classic symptom of making a subject seem more demanding than it actually is. Some people may get pleasure from this kind of masquerade. They are teaching very badly if they do. Good teaching is nothing to do with making things hard. It is nothing to do with frightening students. It is everything to do with benevolence and humility; it always tries to help students feel that a subject can be mastered; it encourages them to try things out for themselves and succeed at something quickly. † (p. 98) c) Appropriate assessment and feedback – This principle involves using a variety of assessment techniques and allowing students to demonstrate their mastery of the material in different ways. It avoids those assessment methods that encourage students to memorize and regurgitate. It recognizes the power of feedback to motivate more effort to learn. d)Clear goals and intellectual challenge – Effective teachers set high standards for students. They also articulate clear goals. Students should know up front what they will learn and what they will be expected to do with what they know. e)Independence, control and active engagement – â€Å"Good teaching fosters [a] sense of student control over learning and interest in the subject matter. † (p. 100). Good teachers create learning tasks appropriate to the student’s level of understanding. They also recognize the uniqueness of individual learners and avoid the temptation to impose â€Å"mass production† standards that treat all learners as if they were exactly the same. â€Å"It is worth stressing that we know that students who experience teaching of the kind that permits control by the learner not only learn better, but that they enjoy learning more. † (p. 102. ) f)Learning from students – â€Å"Effective teaching refuses to take its effect on students for granted. It sees the relation between teaching and learning as problematic, uncertain and relative. Good teaching is open to change: it involves constantly trying to find out what the effects of instruction are on learning, and modifying the instruction in the light of the evidence collected. † ?

Adam and Eve in Paradise lost Essay -- essays research papers

Milton was looked on by many feminists, â€Å"of or relating to or advocating equal rights for women,†(comma before quotation mark)[1] as rather chauvinistic in the way he portrayed Eve. In, (delete,) Paradise Lost, there are many examples of Eve being slighted (comma and substitute well with while) well Adam remains unscathed. **** Haven’t Developed introduction completely **** When Eve first enters the world, (comma maybe) she awakes, â€Å"Under a shade on flow’rs†¦,†[2] by a lake. In putting Eve under shade, (comma maybe) Milton shows that she is not one hundred percent in accordance with God. Eve wondered where and who she was and then she proceeded to look at her image in the water. (Revised sentence) â€Å"There I had fixt mine eyes till now, and pin’d with vain desire, had not a voice thus warn’d me†¦,†[3] is Eve’s (‘ might be needed) words to Adam. This action shows how Eve is so vain that she would sit for eternity unknowingly mesmerized by her own image. All it takes though to move Eve from the lakes edge is the voice of God who she trusts without question. Milton makes (made because past tense) Eve out to be dim because if most people were to hear a voice they would inquire (on) who(m) it was. However, in this case, (, might be needed) Eve just trusts (trusted if you want to make it past t ense) the voice right away (immediately, for a better word) foreshadowing her trust in anyone who speaks. This shows how Milton is chauvinistic also (Do you need â€Å"also†) because he is infe...

My Theory on Personality

My Theory of Personality Personality refers to a combination of long-lasting and distinctive behaviors, thoughts, motives, and emotion that typify how we react and adapt to other people and situations. (Plotnik, 2012) Many psychologists, like Freud, theorize that it is a combination of many factors that affect the personality. Many of these factors ranging from early childhood development and unconsciousness to rewards and punishments. I have chosen four concepts that I believe contribute the most to the development of the personality and will explain why.The concepts I have chosen to be part of my very own personality theory are: childhood experiences, interpretation of experiences, and observable behavior. Alfred Adler, an Austrian medical doctor and psychologist, once said that we develop our desires and drives during our childhood then our whole adulthood becomes affected by these childhood experiences. People keep striving during their adulthood to fulfill the desires they have developed during childhood. (Radwan, 2008) Childhood experiences are the first lessons you learn, the first observations you see, and are what I believe to be the basis of personality in adulthood.For example, if a child grows up with an overprotective family, she/he will learn to fear strangers and have a lot of insecurities. But in adulthood they will have to deal with that fear, in such a way that it might transfer to another fear like a fear of taking risks or trying new things. Growing up, there are always situations when you have to meet new people or interact with strangers, and sooner or later you get over the insecurities you have about meeting new people and become friendlier, or you keep your anthropophobia and become very isolated.Personality traits you learn at a young age sticks with you throughout your life even if you forget about them, you're unconscious mind still puts them in to effect on a daily basis. Interpretation of experiences very from person to person. â⠂¬Å"Kids need to feel badly sometimes,† says child psychologist David Elkind, professor at Tufts University. â€Å"We learn through experience and we learn through bad experiences. Through failure we learn how to cope. † Some people might take overbearing parents as a sign of love and affection.While on the other hand a different person might see it as suffocating and annoying. Depending on how they interpret these situations of over-protection by their parents will build on their personality. (Marano, 2004) The child who sees the overbearingness as love will embrace and project it as an adult. But the child who sees the protectiveness as suffocating will want to take more risks and be more outgoing as an adult. A real question I have is why do we interpret these situations the way we do.Most of the time I realize the way I react to certain situations is the same as the way my mother would have reacted. Maybe it is because we spent a lot of time together in my teen year s. Observable behavior is basically what you see people do and how they act. There is a phase people say to one another that, in its simplest form, means take note and execute. â€Å"Pay it forward†. Paying it forward is when you notice someone going out of their way to do something nice for you. And in return you do the same for someone else.In a way it is supposed to start a chain reaction and sooner or later more and more people will be kinder to strangers. But after a while the chain end due to someone not paying it forward. Maybe they didn't notice or they were not paying attention. And when it comes time for them to pay it forward they think nobody has done it for them, so why should they do it for someone else? So, they do not help this person out. That is observable behavior, people learn by watching, and it can change them to be friendlier or ruder.In my theory of personality, childhood experiences, interpretation of experiences, and observable behavior all contribut e to it. Each has its very own contribution towards a person's personality. Weather it is from early childhood and how the child is treated or young adulthood observing your environment and learning from your environment. Even how you see certain situations, you can see the positive side or the negative side. Just one behavior cannot be the only reason for a person's personality. It takes many different events to establish it.

Rent The Musical Essay - 880 Words

Rent. To most people it is associated with an apartment, house, or another object. This word rarely conjures pleasant memories, but more often annoyance and stress. However, when someone mentions rent to me, my mind races to some of the most memorable experiences in my life. When I hear the word Rent, I immediately see an eclectic Broadway production, overflowing with talent, adventure, and magic. I picture scantly clad actresses, strutting across the stage. I envision stunning duets and thought-provoking lyrics. That single word transports me to a different time and place. In order to adequately depict my feelings, I must start at the beginning. In the fall of 1996, I embarked on my maiden NYC voyage. Armed with a camera,†¦show more content†¦As the 1996 Pulitzer and Tony Award Winner, I had long thought of it as my personal unicorn. Something I had heard and dreamt of, but would never experience myself. As we dressed for the show, my thoughts were flooded with images and ideas. We descended the hotel stairs, hailed a taxi, and arrived at the theatre; while I remained in a pleasant daze. My first impression of the Nederlander met and exceeded all my expectations. I had envisioned an old theater, forgotten by the Broadway elite. As we walked to the door, we were able to see the wall signed by the cast and photos of the premier. The theater itself had a rundown feel to it and left you with the distinct impression that the magic was within the walls and on stage. As we entered the doors, I soaked in every thing. Our seats were located in the center, orchestra section, which gave us a perfect view of all the action. As the lights dimmed and the music began, I realized that my dreams were becoming a reality. I knew each of the songs, the names of every cast member, and the sequence of events. The story, which was based off the Italian opera La Boheme, was fresh in my mind. I could picture each of the characters, Roger, Mark, Mimi, and all the others, long before they took the stage. It’s hard to explain my exact feelings as I watched this show. It was an experience that nothing has been able to top. I felt a connection with this show and itsShow MoreRelatedRent - Musical1779 Words   |  8 Pagesa scene in the new musical RENT that may be the quintessential romantic moment of the 90s. Roger, a struggling rock musician, and Mimi, a junkie whos a dancer at an S/M club, are having a lovers quarrel when their beepers go off and each takes out a bottle of pills. Its the signal for an AZT break, and suddenly they realize that theyre both HIV-positive. Clinch. Love duet. 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(Sheed 120) What he did not know that night w as that Show Boat was to go on to be one of the most influential shows in American musical theatre. Show Boat revolutionized American musical theatre by changing the setting of the average musical theatre work to America toRead MoreJonathan Larson s Life Of Poverty1632 Words   |  7 Pagesshort life in poverty. He was born in New York 1960 and died 1996. During his short 36 year life he is credited for a few plays and received many awards as either a playwright or a composer including Tick, Tick Boom and the opera La Boheme inspired, Rent. After graduating from White Plains High School he was awarded a four year scholarship to Adelphi University on long Island for acting. During his college days he explored his creativity through playwriting. He wrote and performed school cabarets