Becoming an Effective Teacher

This essay will discuss communication as being a fundamental part of the early childhood teacher’s role. Educators will communicate with many people during the course of their day. Developing positive relationships through open communication is a strategy that will benefit teachers, parents and most importantly, their students. Teachers must establish limits and expectations for students, not only in the classroom, but within individual lessons. Behaviour management is an essential skill that will be utilised regularly and will require a teacher to develop strategies for dealing with a variety of behaviours.

Whilst in the class room it is up to the teacher to accommodate for students differing motivational influences. The teacher’s responsibility is to provide an environment that enhances students’ motivation to pursue academic goals actively over a long period of time. A teacher is as effective as the plan they undertake to teach and learn. In determining what constitutes an effective teacher specific consideration should be given to various areas that encompass effective teaching and learning such as knowledge of child development, planning, teaching and learning strategies and knowledge of Curriculum content. Teaching and Learning Strategies: Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation: There are two main motivational influences intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.

A teacher needs to be equipped to make appropriate decisions and consistently reflect on their effectiveness. This essay explains how professionalism, teacher reflection, decision making, classroom management, effective questioning and adhering to the constructivist model of thinking are all elements contributing to a valued professional in today’s society. Teaching For teachers to be effective their classrooms should be open, encouraging and safe environments, where a strong student-teacher relationship can be achieved (Marsh, 2008). Students should be treated with respect in order to meet their need for belonging (Eggen&Kauchak, 2010). The layout of the room and resources need to be well considered allowing different areas for different activities (Bennett &Smilanich, P. 1994) keeping in mind space for easy movement and creative work.

Learning for teaching: Teaching for learning. South Melbourne: Cengage Learning.

Teachers have a huge responsibility in making sure that every student in their class is working to their individual potential and that each child is engaged in the material and is benefiting from this learning experience. Educators sometimes find it difficult to develop such a strong teacher-student relationship with each child but studies have shown that the more the teacher is involved, the more motivated students will become. There are many different elements involved in making a child feel a... ... middle of paper ... ... from Academic Search Premier. Johnson, Ronnie, Lamb, Dean. (1994).

Introduction The statement ‘Teaching – reflections, questions, decisions’ sums up what it means to be an effective teacher. Teachers are constantly making decisions about professionalism and ethics, teaching strategies, classroom management, and how to keep their students motivated. These decisions can have a major impact on student learning and how effective they are as teachers. Questioning is an essential—and one of the most important—instructional skills that a teacher can possess. Teachers need to be able to ask the appropriate types and levels of questions, such as the high and low order questions based on Bloom’s taxonomy, as well as being skilled in responding to students answers.

Maintaining Sanity in the Classroom: Classroom Management techniques (2nd edn). London: Taylor & Francis. Elwell, W. C., & Tiberio, J. (1994). Teacher praise.

Lavie, J.M. (2006). Academic Discourses on School-Based Teacher Collaboration: Revisiting the Arguments. Educational Administration Quarterly. 42(5), 773-805.

After spending some time reading about effective teaching, I found that one of the key aspects that seemed to come up most was communication. I believe that as a teacher you will need to have a range of communication, interpersonal and group skills. Communication is not just about being able to speak with your students , but also include writing, reading, listening with your eyes and ears, and also body language. ( Ornstein, Lasley ,2004) For effective communication a teacher must interact and communicate respect , there should always be respect for the students, Parents, Colleague’s and their network of educational professionals . I feel that listening deeply and giving credit for the student’s contributions will encourage respect from the students, a great example of this can be seen in the (Online course: Becoming a Teacher,2005).

Teaching is a profession that is considered to be a rewarding challenging and complex role. An effective teacher does not simply teach knowledge their students and instead aims to arm students with the knowledge, skills, understanding and attitudes that will prepare students for life-long learning. The constructivist theories developed by Piaget and Vygotsky have impacted on the way that teachers teach and this has changed the approach of teaching to place a greater importance on the teacher instead to act as a facilitator of learning in an open, constructivist environment and providing students with the tools to challenge themselves to develop both academically and personally. The education of students within classrooms of today is important for the future as the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are instilled by the teachers will determine the child’s future development, and an effective teacher utilises their skills to have a positive impact and to cement the foundation for life-long learning. Theory of Teaching An understanding of the development and teaching theorists is essential characteristics of an effective teacher, as these theories allow a teacher to understand the development of children, how they learn, interpret, comprehend information and this base is used to develop a working knowledge of how best to teach and generate a positive learning outcome.