Semes 01 Method of Teaching Unit 1. Handout 1

Handout 1, Unit 1

Summary of Conclusions from Teacher Effectiveness Research In the early 1970s, educational researchers interested in improving teachers’ performance and students’ learning in school began studying the relationship between teachers’ actions in the classroom and students’ test scores. As a result, these researchers identified certain teacher actions that have a positive effect on test scores. This research is called ‘teacher effectiveness research’.

More recently, researchers have identified teachers’ actions that not only result in satisfactory test scores but also have a positive effect on school attendance, promotion to the next grade on time, on-time graduation, cooperative behaviour in school, and students’ beliefs that they can learn in school.

While teacher effectiveness research does not tell us all we need to know about effective teachers and satisfactory learning, it does direct our attention to teacher actions associated with test scores that are higher than in classes where teachers do not take these actions. Conclusions from the many

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studies of teacher actions in the classroom can be summarized in different ways. One summary is provided here.

Goe, Bell, and Little evaluated the approaches used by effective teachers.

• Effective teachers believe their students are capable of learning and they can teach them successfully. If students do not learn from a lesson, these teachers teach it again using a different method and sometimes different materials.

• Effective teachers organize life in the classroom so that time is used for learning and students are not sitting at their desks with nothing to do, roaming around the room, or chatting with another student.

• Effective teachers move through the curriculum at a pace that challenges students to keep up but do so in relatively small steps to minimize frustration and allow continuous progress.

• Effective teachers are active teachers in that they demonstrate skills, explain concepts, design problems for students to solve, and review regularly. They emphasize understanding and application of knowledge.

They provide ample opportunity for practice. They encourage students to

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take personal responsibility for learning. They move around the classroom continuously to maintain contact with students.

For a student’s perspective on effective teachers, review ‘How Do We Value Teaching: Voices of the Students’ by J. D. Greenberg.

Read the article, and create a list of actions deemed effective by students.

You have now reviewed different perspectives of teachers’ actions, both from classes in which students earn high test scores and graduate from secondary school. Read the lists again and create one list that includes all of the actions, but do not repeat any action. Using the ‘Teacher Observation Form’ given to you by your teacher, create a checklist that you can use when you observe a teacher in a classroom.

Very important note to Student Teachers From the point of view of Student Teachers, there are two important limitations to this research. First, both studies were conducted in schools in Western countries. However, the research is still relevant, as most of the conclusions are consistent with contemporary research on learning and the results are believed to be universal to all human learning

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Second, all of this research uses statistics that produce correlations.

Correlations simply tell us that two events occur together. The statistic does not tell us that one event is causing the other to occur. As such, we know that students in classrooms where teachers engage in these actions earn higher test scores than students in classrooms where teachers do not engage in these actions. However, we do not know which, if any, of these actions cause higher test scores.

As indicated earlier, findings from this research are consistent with evidence about some universal principles of learning. If you understand that the teacher actions summarized here are not causally related, you can use the research to guide your observations of teacher actions in the classroom with confidence.

Source: Methods of Teaching COURSE GUIDE Associate Degree in Education/ B.Ed. (Hons) Elementary 2012 Page. 78

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