What Makes an Effective Teacher

Introduction

What is teaching? What do we mean by quality education? What is the best way to motivate a child to reach their full potential? These are some of the questions that the effective teacher may ask themselves. In fact, much of the role of the modern teacher can be defined in the statement; Teaching – reflections, questions, decisions. These aspects are interwoven and iterative. Teachers need to reflect upon various policies, concepts and strategies. They need to ask the right questions and make the right decisions. The cycle continues. This assignment examines the role of the teacher with reference to professionalism and ethics, the teaching role and teaching strategies, classroom management and motivation.

Professionalism and Ethics

The foundations for becoming an effective teacher perhaps lie within professionalism and ethics. After all, this influences every single decision a teacher makes. Professionalism can be divided into six distinct categories; these are academic, legal, ethical, professional, personal and cultural professionalism. (Whitton et al., 2010) This is possibly a good starting point because teachers need to reflect upon what professionalism means for them and how it will affect their teaching practices.

For example, legal professionalism encompasses a whole range of aspects including duty of care, child protection, freedom of information, discipline, restraint, bullying and harassment, sexual assault and physical contact, discrimination and defamation. (Whitton et al., 2010) The list is vast and so are the implications. The effective teacher will need to keep their policy knowledge up to date. They will also have to make decisions based on these policies. Perhaps this is where professional judgement is...

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...n conclusion, there are many facets to the effective teacher. Professionalism and ethics are of upmost importance and underpin the ethos of the teaching role. Moreover, the teacher must exhibit certain characteristics and focus on building quality relationships with the students. A range of teaching strategies should be utilized; in particular teachers need to be proficient in the use of questions. Planning is important in creating a safe and positive learning environment that incites a sense of belonging and managing misbehavior efficiently is vital. Motivation needs to be examined and understood with reference to the students in the class. Teachers need to reflect upon and question their own teaching practices and understanding of the policies and strategies available to them in order to make the best decisions for the children in their classroom under their care.