Learning Theory by Kara
Effective Teaching
Effective teaching means anticipating the needs of students, continuously learning and adjusting, eliminating distractions and barriers, and loving and caring about what you do.
Effective and Ineffective Teaching Displayed
It is important to know your students. In this video the teacher has a great understanding of this particular student and knows how and when to push him. While his strategy of singling out the student in front of his classmates would not be effective for most, it was effective for this student. This was only true because the teacher knew what this student needed.
This teacher was not an effective teacher. I do not believe it was right for him to continuously interrupt the student while he was speaking. He was also making his student more nervous by pacing, flipping through papers, and giving him negative looks.
This is an effective teacher. She knows her student well and even does what she can to know what is going on in their life outside of school. She also holds her students to high standards.
I believe this teacher has effective qualities, like humor but in this case I do not think it was effective or appropriate for him to single-out and make fun of this student.
What do effective teachers do differently?
The characteristics I outlined are prioritized because they are essential to enjoying and withstanding decades of teaching. Caring about students, having interest in subject matter, finding joy and humor in teaching, connecting with other teachers and with parents, will create a strong structure to allow teachers to excel in their careers.
DAILY
5pm-8pm
What are the standards?
California Standards for the Teaching Profession
-
Using student knowledge to engage them in learning... just like humans want to know what the surrounding nature is like to be prepared to go outside, teachers should find out what their students know before engaging them in learning.
-
Connecting subject matter to real-life situations... just how we can find connection of life in all aspects of nature, we can find ways to connect curriculum to our students.
-
Creating learning environments that are inviting... just how nature can be beautiful, calm, warm, and inviting, so can our classrooms.
-
Using and adapting resources to support learning... just like mammals adapt to their surroundings, teachers need to adapt resources to support learning.
-
Establishing accurate goals... just like in nature how predators gauge how much energy they can waste catching prey, teachers need to gauge their goals for students and how much energy they spend in one area.
-
Reviewing data and reflecting on teaching... just how humans study the patterns of nature and weather, teachers need to study the data from their students' performances and reflect on improvements they can make in the classroom.
PLNU Dispositions
Spirit of Collaboration, Flexibility and Humility
-
Working with others to achieve a common goal and understanding where fault may lie and excepting responsibility.
-
​In a more extreme way, just like in nature animals work together to survive and weaker animals are noticed for their mistakes.
-
Harmony in Learning Community
-
Handling conflict to ensure a healthy and safe environment
-
Just like in nature, most animal packs are led by a more strong and wise leader who can minimize conflict and create harmony among the pack. ​
-
Perseverance with Challenge
-
​​​Be a life-long learner and push through challenging times.
-
​Just how nature challenges all living beings and some are able to adapt and overcome through knowledge and experience
-
Educator Interview
1. In what ways do you involve your students in curriculum planning?
2. How do you display respect, kindness, and equality in your classroom?
3. How do you handle bullying in your classroom? What is your expectation from students regarding bullying?
4. In what ways do you make each individual student feel included?
5. If a student disagrees with your instruction and disturbs the class, how do you respond?
6. In what ways do you hold your students to high standards?
7. How do you praise your students for good behavior and work ethic?
8. How do you find out what your students already know?
9. What kind of resources and technology do you use in your classroom?
10. How do you teach your students about responsibility and accountability?
11. How do you ensure your students understand subject matter?
12. What kinds of personal goals do you set for your students?
13. How do you embrace diversity in your classroom?
14. Give me an example of how you demonstrated self-awareness in the classroom?
15. What cultivates a safe learning environment?
16. Describe a time when you established a professional goal and how you achieved it.
17. How do you optimize your instructional time?
18. How has being an educator changed you as a person?
19. How do you go about working with the families of the students who are struggling in your class?
20. What do you do when the family blames you for their child’s overall performance in your class?
What I Learned
I learned what it takes to be an effective teacher. There is a lot to consider when teaching students and it goes way beyond just having an interest in teaching. Students need the correct environment, curriculum, feeling, interest, entertainment, humor, adjustments, connections and much more to be effectively taught. Teachers need to provide these things. To do this, one needs to CARE about every aspect of teaching and have the willingness to continue learning and changing.