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I believe there are so many characteristics an effective teacher needs to possess. Some characteristics that I find very important are great listening skills and communication skills. The teacher needs to know how to convey the material they are teaching in an effective, understanding, and engaging way in order for students to learn. Teachers need to be able to explain things clearly in order to see learning and participation from the students. When working with younger students or students who are having a hard time understanding, teachers need to be able to explain things in a simpler way while still getting their point across. Teachers also need to have a tone of voice in which students feel comfortable talking to them and approaching them. Therefore, good listening skills go hand in hand with good communication skills. Having good listening skills will help teachers get to know their students and their needs. When the teacher has good listening skills it helps the student feel safe and comfortable when talking to the teacher. Having good communication and listening skills helps students feel valued and cared for.

Although I have been in classrooms where teachers have great communication and listening skills I have also been in classrooms where teachers have a harder time with these characteristics. There is a huge difference between these classes. I have noticed that in the classroom where the teacher has trouble with communication and listening skills there are more behavior problems. This could be because the students don’t feel like they are being listened to. This could cause students to not want to share their knowledge or concerns in class. It could also mean they are not understanding what the teacher is asking from them and as a result may act out.

I think to be an excellent teacher, teachers need to build relationships and trust with their students. Not only do they need to do that, they need to make sure they are making a difference in their students lives. Students should be learning something new from their teachers, if they aren't learning something new I would then ask 'Is the teacher an excellent teacher?'. I think even if students learn the smallest thing one day, the teacher was excellent. Of course teachers can't be perfect and they should never pretend to be. Teachers should teach students that it is okay to be wrong and it is okay to make mistakes. In this generation, students grow up thinking everything they have to do in life has to be perfect. Of course that is the wrong mindset for students to grow up having because nothing in life is and will be perfect. Teachers need to be flexible, schedules change and things interfere with lessons such as an assembly in the middle of the math lesson. Rather than teachers freak out because they didn't finish and the test is coming up; just let that lesson flow into the next day and push the test back. Personally, I think flexablity is important! Teachers also need to be kind and welcoming with their students. Teachers need to understand that all students may not be able to understand right away. Students learn at different levels and in different ways. Teachers need to adjust to the needs of their students. 

Back to the initial question, I do not equate excellance with effective. Excellance is trying to be perfect and effective is accepting the fact that things happen and overcoming those situations. 

There are many characteristics that a teacher needs to possess in order to be an excellent teacher. I believe that one of the most important characteristics a teacher needs to possess is knowing how to reach each child and diversify the material to engage and meet the needs of each and every student. This idea incorporates understanding and building a relationship with each child and has the teacher being patient, caring, and kind to each of them to better understand where they come from, how they learn, and what it takes to help grow in all ways. A teacher also needs to be dedicated and ready for anything to be thrown at them with engaging the students in questions, differentiation, technology, current events, and bringing real life scenarios into the classroom. Excellent teacher’s require these characteristics and so much more.  

I think that if you are an excellent teacher then you are effective, so yes I would equate excellence with effective. The characteristics mentioned above are what it takes to be an excellent teacher plus so many more. If a teacher can master those characteristics plus more, and be able to engage and encourage each student then there is an effect on the students and they will be able to learn to their fullest potential.

Personally, I do not equate excellence and effectiveness. To me, the word effective is results based. The result of an effective car is that it gets you where you need to go. In relation to teachers, their effectiveness would be determined through assessments, and most schools determine this through standardized testing. I believe if a teacher is effective, this will show through student data. 

Excellence on the other hand, is going above and beyond. Going back to the car analogy, you probably wouldn’t say if a car is effective it must be excellent. That is because these words have much different denotations. An excellent car may be a sports car or one that has many different features. As a teacher, I feel that excellence is something that is more obscure to measure than effectiveness. An excellent teacher may be one that gets to know students on a personal level, includes diverse lessons and reading materials, and nurtures students’ emotional needs in addition to their intellectual ones. 

I have had effective teachers in school. I have learned so much from them and their enthusiasm for their subject. Because of the effective teachers I’ve had, I have grown in knowledge and been excited about learning. I haven’t had to relearn things on my own while being in an effective teacher’s classroom, and I’ve done things like pass AP tests which I never could’ve done without their academic influence. However, what I have learned in excellent teachers’ classes does not compare. I have had few excellent teachers, and I have learned substantial life skills in their class. The teachers who inspire their students to be better people are excellent, these teachers have inspired me to become a teacher myself. While I think our main priority is to educate students, to be excellent we have to do more than that.

Hello Carolyn,

To me, “excellent” means some kind of ranking, while “effective” means that students are learning. I also think “excellent” is completely subjective and means something different to administrators, colleagues, parents and students. I know that I have had students who love the way I teach while others in the same class hated me. The same goes for admin, colleagues and parents!

Unfortunately, the only measure of “effectiveness” we seem to utilize is standards/standardized tests which are fundamentally flawed in my opinion. I taught two classes in the same term, in the same subject, both in the afternoon. At the end of the term I had one class with an average of over 80% while the other averaged 56%! I would have been tagged as the best and worst teacher in the school district. Is labelling a diagram of the cell, balancing equations, or working out physics problems better than having a student leave your class with the willingness to look up answers, weigh evidence before making a decision, and understand how science works?

We work with humans and because we are all different there is no sure way to reach or appeal to everyone all the time. Having said this, I believe there are some conditions that should be in place for any student to at least feel good about being in a classroom:

1) students should feel safe.
Students should not dread walking through your doors. The environment of the classroom should be free from bullying, teasing and judgements.

Mistakes are not downfalls or penalties, simply paths to learning.  If students didn't make mistakes then they really didn't need to take your course.  The teacher's job is to move them past the mistakes.
The teacher needs to be approachable and willing to help struggling students.

2) the teacher should care.
I feel that we encourage teachers to put curriculum ahead of children. To me, curriculum is arbitrary and students should come first. This means a teacher should treat students well, give second (and even more) chances, modify lessons and assessments as needed. Decisions should be made in the best interest of the child, not in the interests of the teacher, school or state.  

3) students should have opportunities to use their strengths
A variety of assignments, projects an assessments should allow students to use their personal strengths and interests. Music, art, writing, acting, video, coding, movement, athleticism all have a place in science classrooms and can motivate students to work harder and take greater interest in your subject.

4) the teachers and students should enjoy teaching and learning

While I always infused humour into my teaching not all teachers can pull it off.  However, I think if we take a step back and put our subject in perspective, we can make learning less stressful, less onerous and more like a challenging journey. 

Hope this helps!

Elaine, I couldn't agree with you more. I believe being excellent and effective mean very different things. I really liked reading about your perspective about these two words. I think being effective does mean students have the opportunity to actually learn the material instead of just finishing an assignment. I love the three characteristics you believe a teacher should possess. I believe they're very similair to the three characteristics I believe a teacher should possess- caring, passionate, patient. Overall, I think teachers need to be compassionate and caring. It's so true what you said, if you don't have compassion for your students how will they trust you? Trust and safety by a student is an extremely important part of teaching. If they don't trust you or feel safe in your classroom, how will they learn? Great post Elaine!

Elaine, 

I really enjoyed your post! In other classes, we have previously talked about the importance of being kind, having compassion, and being dedicated to your career. Children can very easily detect negative vibes. It is important that as future teachers we understand that these children are looking up to us and counting on us for many different things. Not only do children come to school to learn about math, science, social studies, and language arts, but they come to learn how to be kind, compassionate, and good people. From the early years, we talk to children about having manners and being nice to others. If we ourselves do not give children this example, how can we expect them to be this way? Through our teaching and day to day interactions with children, we need to remember that they are the reason we are here for and that we believe in them! There are so many characteristics that make up a good teacher and I totally agree with the characteristics you have shared.

Elaine,

I really like how you started off this post. In my eyes also view the 'excellence V.S. effective' debate as 'learning V.S. meeting deadline/criteria' I think that a combination of both is really what shows true excellence. I also found the traits you chose that show an excellent teacher very interesting. I think all of those are necessary to be a good teacher as well! The way you backed up those traits really made sense to me. At first i thought that they were generic and i though 'well these are good traits to have for every job'. However, after you explained how it connected to the students it really made sense to me. I appreciate you pushing me to think outside of the box! 

Good post! 

Kendra Logar

I especially appreciated your including dedication to each student as a criterion for a teacher to be effective AND excellent, Elaine.

Each child should get the best we have to offer! Some will require more of our effort, attention, compassion and patience; that is often where the passion comes in - if you love your job and are passionate about reaching each and every child, you will find a way to give your best to all of them.

Rachel, I agree with your post. Teachers should not expect to be perfect but effective instead. As you mentioned it is ok to make mistakes and to let our students know it is ok as well. Expecting perfection with only cause stress on the teacher and students. Every teacher should be passionate, patient and caring, these are great characteristics.  Without these characteristics, I truly believe you can not be a successful teacher. Children can truly sense everything and if they sense, in your tone of voice, constant anger and frustration instead of patience they will not feel welcomed and comfortable. Which would cause them to believe they are not cared for. I love that your 4th-grade teacher inspired you to become a teacher. I am sure hearing about this would make her very happy! 

Rachel, 

I think you brought up a very important point about the word 'excellent' being similar to 'perfection', which is not what any student nor teacher should strive to be. I think that mistakes are sometimes the best way to learn. It helps you and your students learn from one another in the best way to help shape you and your student. I also couldn't agree more with your character traits that a teacher should have. Especially when it comes to patients when dealing with young students that are just learning the fundamentals of learning skills. We need to remember to take a step back and give the students the time to process and LEARN these skills. Thank you for sharing! I loved reading your thoughts on the topic!

Rachel,

I like how you compared excellent to being similar to perfection. I agree with what you said! I also think that children need to know that it is okay to make mistakes. Very often I catch myself trying to be a perfectionist and then feeling disappointed if it does not happen the way I had envisioned or had hoped for. I often have to remind myself that making mistakes is okay and that not everything will go how I want it to. Being understanding of this can be so beneficial in so many aspects of life. Students will not only make mistakes in school but throughout their life. By being passionate, patient, and caring, we will help students learn, create positive relationships with us, and be happy with coming to school. 

I think you hit on three very important qualities for teachers to possess.  Having passion and compassion are non-negotiables, are they not?

Mariana,

This is a tough question to pin down and answer becuase, like you said, there are multiple characteristics that are important for a teacher to possess. Kindess is a huge one! You cannot expect to work with elementary aged children and not treat them with the utmost of kindness. As a teacher, having the ability to make a child feel safe and comfortable is such an important role and a gift as well. Flexibility is also a good characteristic that I have learned from our experiences thus far. Being able to change plans at the drop of a hat is super important because anything that can go wrong will, especially with technology.

Good post!

Maggie  

Mariana, I loved your analogy using a bag of chips and happy vs. healthy stomach :-)

It definitely provides a visual of how teachers can fill a void, yet not in a manner that will provide the best learning situation!

Yianet, 

I think knowing your students makes a world of a difference in your classroom. It sets up the road for your teaching. 

I think it also demostrates to students that they are important, and that their individual presence matters! It shows that you care.

In regards to excellent and effective, I believe they are both qualities we should aspire as teachers, as they both form unique purposes. I think the teacher you mentioned that was excellent, but you do not remember much of what was taught is a great example as how they were excellent perhaps at somethings in teaching, but they did not effectively deliver/apply their content. It is very tricky, because I feel as excellence is what many of us strive for, when in reality effective is what should be the ultimate goal. If something is not effective, even if its excellent, it might not matter as much. 

Yianet,

I couldn't agree with you more. I think that teachers are all different and can be excellent in different ways. There can be a teacher that is hilarious and entertaining, but they may not create a curriculum  that is differentiated for all of the different learning styles. To me, it is more important to have teacher that is effective, rather than a teacher that is excellent. I also agree that the growth mindset is very powerful and definitely what we need to teach young students. I wish teachers had taught me the power of the growth mindset, I think it can be life changing! 

Thank  you for your post, 

Anne 

Veronica,

I think the example you shared on how excellent it is different from effective is very well put! It makes for an easier understanding of what I also believe about the two of them. From what I'm understanding from your post is that excellent is just completing the task, but effective is actually having a positive outcome from the process. Thank you for sharing I really enjoyed your analogy on this topic!

Hi Veronica,

I really like how you related 'effective' and 'excellent' to running. That is such a great example to compare it to! I do think it is more important to be an effective teacher rather than an excellent teacher. Of course we all want to be excellent, and I think this is even more prevalent with social media, with things like Pinterest. It is so easy to compare and think that other people have cuter classrooms or ideas. However, it is so important to remember that we are all going to teach a little bit differently, and be excellent in different ways by using our own strengths. Also, I agree with you, a positive attitude is a key factor in being an effective teacher. If we are not enthusiastic and hopeful about our students, then they won't be either.

Thank you for your post!

Anne 

Anne, 

I could not agree with your post more. To be an effective teacher is about being flexible, educated, caring, and well informed. I didn't state the educated part in my post but I think that is also an important characteristic that teachers need to have. Educated is key when we are teaching children on all topics. If we are not educated, we can be portraying inaccurate information that will affect their learning now and later. 

The teachers I had throughout my education have all been different in their own ways. They all cared in different ways as well. Although, in middle school I had 2 teachers who really didn't care if you were successful and knowing I wanted to go into the teaching field I told myself I would never be like them even in a younger grade! Reflection is also important. I think students should take a step back each day and reflect on their day of teaching and make each day better than the day before. 

Excellent is hard to achieve but teachers should push to be effective and as excellent as they can be each day! 

Hello Maggie! 

I could not agree more with you when you said “If you care about someone or something you tend to do whatever is necessary to make sure that they are successful”. This is such a serious thing and a teacher needs to care about each student know matter how hard they are to teach. It is our job to figure out what it takes to make this child successful! That also go with the patience. You have to have patience in order to never give up on our students! These are wonderful characteristics of making an excellent and effective teacher. 

Maggie,

I completely agree that patience is a neccessary component to being a successful teacher. It is a really difficult attribute to attain, but I think we need to keep in mind they are probably learning what we teach them for the first time. Also, if our students aren't grasping something we probably need to teach it in a different way, rather than blame it on them. Therefore, I would say the ability to take responsability is another important quality.