The Essential Characteristics of Effective Teaching - Report Example

The essential characteristics of effective teaching Name of the Student: Name of the Instructor: Name of the course: Code of the course: Submission date: Introduction There has been an extensive debate among scholars in the education field in regard to what the definition of effective teaching is and what its essential characteristics are. This is epitomized whereby some of the proponents have perceived effective teaching as that which is successful in the production of purposeful and beneficial learning of students through the utility of procedures which are appropriate. Nonetheless, Braskamp and Ory (1994) incorporated both learning and teaching in their definition and determined that effective teaching is the creation of a state whereby there is occurrence of learning; molding these states is what teachers viewed as successful have learned to do effectively. On the other hand, other proponents in the realms of education have attempted to outline some of the rudimentary characteristics that constitute effective reading. This has also been confronted by diverse perceptions just like the definition of effective teaching. Against this backdrop, this paper is a profound effort to explore the essential characteristics of effective teaching. Some of these characteristics include availability of classroom activities which encourage learning, effective interaction between the teacher and the learners that stimulates the learning process and individual or collective presentations, extensive knowledge, responsibility and enthusiasm of the teacher as well as assessment activities to the learners to encourage their leaning through discussions and group work. Essential characteristics of effective teaching Classroom activities that encourage learning ought to be evident In this context, the teaching environment ought to be endowed with activities which prompt the learners to engage in investigative undertakings which enhance their learning process. In the case of young learners, the teacher ought to provide them with an opportunity where they can engage in modeling of different creature and words, analyzing photographs related to the topic under discussion among other activities. This fact is supported by Eby (2005) who cited that in situations where it is feasible, the teacher ought to bring in objects or photos which have a direct relationship with the subject under study. These will to a great extent help in enhancing the observation and creativity skills of the learners. This is because the young learners will be in a position to relate what they are seeing on the picture/photos with what they encounter in daily lives. Based on what they see on the photos, they will be able to recognize what is depicted on the picture when they see it in real life. In addition, the learners have an opportunity to engage in a critical analysis whereby they identify the similarities and differences of the objects presented to them or those which are exhibited in the picture, exploring, classifying and even sorting these objects. Moreover, they are able to express their like and dislikes of these objects based on their diverse experiences. These activities are evident in the video by Schoolsworld (2012) whereby the learners are engaged in activities that encourage the learning process. For instance, the learners in this particular class are engaged in activities like modeling and constructing where the learners get an opportunity to look at the photographs, investigating and discussing what they can see in these photos. In addition, they engage in modeling and talking about the words which they are using in the classroom context. On the other hand, based on the background that these learners are investigating about different crawling animals, they are exposed to a garden environment which is a kind of an exploratory activity. In this instance, the learners talk about what they can find and see as well as bringing onboard their diverse experiences and sharing them with their peers (Schoolsworld, 2012).This is a very robust strategy which can culminate in effective teaching, mostly to young learners. Effective teaching ought to entail effective interaction between the teacher and the learners that stimulates the learning process In this regard, an interactive relationship between the learners and the teacher ought to be cultivated which is imperative in shaping the relationship between these two parties whereby the learners are able to freely express their experiences, feelings opinions and attitudes towards the subjects under discussion. Thus, the learners should be in a position to disclose their thoughts and ideas and at the same time respect those of their peers. This is based on the fact that learners exhibit a wide range of divergence in their learning abilities as well as their experiences which emanate from their backgrounds differentiation. This level of interaction between the teacher and the learners is evident in the video from Schoolsworld (2012) whereby the learners are engaged in interactive learning process with their teacher who encourages them to identify some of the creepy crawlies that exhibited with a pictorial on the whiteboard. In this regard, the teacher is able to engage in effective interaction with the students in this process whereby the learners are able to identify different insects, for instance, caterpillars and butterflies among others. The teacher is also able to give her insight on the characteristics of thesecreepy crawlies. This is exemplified by her explanation of a snail having a shell on its back. In the process, the teacher appreciates the students contributing in the discussion also encourage those who fail in identifying the names of thesecreepy crawlies, their differences as well as the similarities. It is also worth to be cognizant of the fact that this positive interaction and collaboration ought to evident even at the level of the teachers themselves. In this case, the teachers interact between themselves, sharing ideas and experiences which are fundamental in enriching the teaching process. This can be evident when the teachers collaborate in developing teaching kits or share experiences about teaching a certain distinct class. This latter fact is supported by Killen (2005) who cited that the teachers ought to exhibit the willingness to share and collaborate in their activities which is integral in the eventual success of the learners. Thus, the teachers are endowed with an ideal chance of learning from each other which is key in enhancing each other. Thus, both of these levels of interaction are very vital in the learning process, mostly that between the teacher and the learners. In a situation where the teacher has a commendable and a positive attitude towards the learners, encouraging and motivating them, they are bound to be positive about the learning process and they will not be shy of expressing their ideas and thought because of fear of being criticized or rebuked by the teacher. Effective teaching entails extensive knowledge, responsibility and enthusiasm of the teacher It is an apparent fact that the wide knowledge of the teacher about the subject in discussion is integral towards effective learning. This is whereby the teacher has adequate knowledge of the subject and is able to effectively correct the learners in case they are wrong about a certain subject. This is imperative in supporting the academic interaction between the teacher and the learners. Based on the background that the teacher has extensive knowledge in the subject will mean that the learners are able to gain new, formidable knowledge from their teacher. On the other hand, the effectiveness of the learning process is dependent on the level of enthusiasm of the teacher to a certain topic or subject under discussion. This is because when the learners perceive the teacher to be enthusiastic about a certain subject, they are bound to be motivated as well as having a positive perception about the teacher’s behavior which is vital in cultivating positive teacher-learner interaction (Killen. 2005). Thus, the teacher ought to be passionate about the particular subject which will motivate the students. The teacher also ought to be committed towards passing this knowledge to the learners. Both of these are evident in the video from Schoolsworld (2012) whereby the teacher has extensive knowledge of the creepy crawlies under discussion, for instance, the difference between the centipede and the millipede when the numbers of their legs are put into consideration and proceeds to pass this information to the learners. On the other hand, the teacher is highly enthusiastic about her teaching and is concerned about her students and also knows the names of all her students which exhibit a high level of responsibility. Thus, high level of knowledge and enthusiasm by the teacher is important in ensuring that the learners feel certain that they can trust what the teacher says and are motivated to engage in more inquiry into the topic under discussion as opposed to a teacher who is characterized by uncertainties in regard to a certain subject. Effective teaching entails giving assessment activities to the learners to encourage their leaning through discussions and group work This attribute of effective teaching is evident when a teacher is able to give tasks to the learners which are imperative in bringing forth applicable reorganizations among the learners (Clements & Battista, 1990). These tasks are later assessed to weigh the level of comprehension among the students in regard to particular subjects under discussion. These assessment activities can be taken individually or collectively (group work). However, the latter strategy is more applicable based on the fact that it fosters some sense of independence as the learners go about performing the given task. In addition, groups are strategic in providing the teacher with alternatives in instructional strategy based on the attributes depicted by different groups (Fetherston, 2006).This alternative scan be based on the strong or weak points of the students as evident from the assignments. Assessment activities ought to be integrated in the learning process so that the level of understanding as embedded in the learners is evaluated. This is fundamental in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of various students. As previously mentioned, students exhibit divergence in the learning abilities and assessments are key in identifying these divergences. After the assessments, the teacher is able to identify the weak students and assist them accordingly. On the other hand, the teacher is able to identify gaps in the teaching process whereby he/she is able to identify some of the areas in the subject under study which needs some clarifications and proceed elucidate these parts in subsequent lessons. Assessments as being part of the teaching process are evident in the video by from Schoolsworld (2012) whereby the teacher gives the students a task of collectively identifying the creepy crawlies and classifying them as slithering, crawling or flying. The students are to proceed and stick the pictures of these creepy crawlies under their specific classes. This is to entail discussion with friends in class to ensure that the students share ideas and thoughts in this particular assessment process.Assignments are thus important in monitoring the teaching process and serve various ends as expounded above. They have thus been cited by different proponents as being a key characteristic of effective teaching. Teachers should thus commit enough time in formulating adequate and applicable assessments to be administered to the students either as individuals or in groups. Individual or collective presentations Presentations have also been cited as a key characteristic of effective teaching. This is whereby the teacher allocates different tasks to specific individuals and groups who are expected to engage in comprehensive of the topic allocated them. After they are through with the analysis, they are supposed to present their findings in front of the class and in most cases, give concrete evidence supporting their inferences. In a group situation, the students are expected to integrate the ideas and thoughts of the members in the presentation before they can present their findings to others. However, the ideological contribution of each member is usually evaluated and the contributor given a chance to explain on his/her conviction, experience and belief in regard to the particular information that is to be included in the presentation. Accordingly, Fetherston (2006) noted that enough time ought to be allocated to each group to plan and organize its presentation and it is usually in this particular time that most of the learning takes place. In addition, the teacher ought to give clear expectations in regard to the format, delivery method as well as the content of the presentation. However, it is worth noting that academic presentations are often prominent in relatively progressed levels of learning. In most cases, the teachers often tie the in-class presentations to the final grading system at the end of a particular learning period. In this case, the students make extensive efforts to make their presentations as strong and convincing as possible so that they can score high grades which will impact on their final grades. In this process, they engage the teacher in discussing and verifying particular subjects or topics which might be clear prior to the presentation. This has also been cited as a strategy of effective teaching in different levels of academia. Conclusion It is evident from the above discourse that effective teaching is endowed by diverse characteristics, majority of which are apparent in the video by Schoolsworld (2012). These characteristics include but not limited to individual or collective presentations, availability of classroom activities which encourage learning, extensive knowledgeresponsibility and enthusiasm of the teacher, effective interaction between the teacher and the learners, not forgetting assessment activities to the learners to encourage their leaning through discussions and group work.Teachers ought to be cognizant of these characteristics and work towards ensuring that there are evident in their teaching process which will be key in enhancing the effectiveness of their efforts. References Braskamp, L. A., &Ory, J. C. (1994). Assessing faculty work: Enhancing individual and instructional performance. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Clements, D.H & Battista, M.T (1990).Constructivist learning and teaching.Arithmetic Teacher, 38(1), 34-35. Eby, J.W (2005). Engaging students in classroom discussions. Teaching in the elementary school: a reflective action approach Ch. 8 pp 173-193. Fetherston, T (2006). Constructivist approaches (part).Becoming an effective teacher ch. 7 pp 161-168. Thomson. Killen, R. (2005). Programming and assessment for quality teaching and learning.Southbank, Victoria: Nelson Australia Pty. Limited. Schoolsworld (2012).Knowledge and understanding of the World. Retrieved October 14, 2012 fromhttp://www.schoolsworld.tv/node/2065?terms=644. Read More