Author: Pat

Volume 3, Issue 1

Characteristics of Highly Effective Teachers

Recently the NY Times reported that the Obama administration’s proposed sweeping overhaul of President Bush’s No Child Left Behind education law will call for broad changes in how schools are judged to be succeeding or failing. Though the overall goal is still a higher level of academic proficiency for every child, this administration intends to focus less on accountability through testing and more on the practices that raise student achievement.
In an interview with Washington Post reporters, President Obama stated that Education Secretary Arne Duncan and other educational experts have “arrived at a consensus that if you’re improving teacher quality and combining that with high standards and strong data to back it up you will see positive results.”
Since teacher quality is such an important component of President Obama’s Race to the Top educational initiative, it behooves us to examine just what the phrase “high quality teacher” means. What are the characteristics that make teachers highly effective in raising student achievement in their classrooms? The topic is hotly debated because teacher quality is extremely hard to measure.
In the past, most qualification assessment looked to easily measurable attributes like teacher certification, academic degrees and years of experience. But often the correlation between these and the ability to elicit significant gains in student achievement was low. Teachers considered highly qualified did not always provide quality instruction.
When looking at these characteristics, it is helpful to separate them into several categories because effective teachers share not only quantifiable and tangible traits, but also intangible personality traits that determine their impact on their students. A compilation of several research studies shows these tangible attributes are strongly related to student achievement.
Some experience. Increases in teacher experience correlate with student achievement before leveling off at approximately five years of experience. Thus, being a classroom teacher with 20 years experience is reported as no more beneficial than being a classroom teacher with five years experience.
Strong academic preparation. Studies report that teachers who attended a college with above-average entrance requirements tend to have a pronounced positive effect on student performance, particularly high school students.
Deep expertise in both content area and teaching methodology. The best teachers have mastered their subject area and a wide range of teaching methods and strategies.
Verbal and cognitive ability. Ease and sophistication in understanding the learning process and communicating with students plays a significant role in raising student achievement.
Less important are traditional licensure and credentials and advanced degrees, except in high school mathematics and science.
Intangible traits such as teacher disposition and attitudes play as strong a role in teacher quality as tangible traits. It is these intangible traits that received top billing when adults were asked about teachers who made a difference in their lives.
Hold positive expectations for student success. A teacher’s belief that all students can learn and the ability to set the right expectations for each student profoundly affect student achievement.
Mission-driven and passionate about their work. Impassioned teachers generate student inquisitiveness about the subject and excitement about learning itself.
“Withitness” Coined by education writer Jacob Kounin, this means an intuitive ability to head off misbehavior without interrupting teaching flow. A good classroom manager has “eyes in the back of her head.”
Ability to foster the growth and development of others. Quality teachers truly care about each and every student and know how to connect with them and demonstrate their care.
Of course, many more traits contribute to teacher excellence: non-conformity, creativity, decisiveness, intellectual rigor, and confidence-building are just a few. Whatever combination of traits they have, highly effective teachers are our best hope for student excellence.
This article is excerpted from Harry Wong: The First Days of School; ASCD research brief, The Study; Teaching and Learning at Edubook by Kimberly Back, July 2009; The Traits of Highly Effective Teachers by Elaine McEwan; McRel Newsroom online.

February 2010 Newsletter

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February 2010 Newsletter

February 2010 Newsletter

Should We Extend the School Day and Year?

Service Learning
Support Programs
State Education Agency K-12 Service Learning Network
www.seanetonline.org
Learn and Serve America's National Service-Learning Clearinghouse
www.servicelearning.org
The Jimmy and Roslyn
Carter Partnership Foundation
www.jrcpf.org/
Facing the Future
www.facingthefuture.org
National Service
Learning Partnership
www.service-learningpartnership.org
Learn and Serve
America
www.learnandserve.gov

Suffolk’s Edge
Teacher Center
31 Lee Avenue
Wheatley Heights, NY 11798
631-254-0107
teacher_center@wsboces.org
www.seteachercenter.org
Angelique Johnson-Dingle
Carol Weintraub
Elyse Eusanio

Last March President Obama proposed lengthening the school day, or shortening the summer vacation. “We can no longer afford an academic calendar designed when America was a nation of farmers that needed children at home to help plow the fields at the end of each day,” Obama said. “That calendar may have once made sense, but today, it puts us at a competitive disadvantage.” U.S. children spend substantially less time in school than those of other countries. At least 15 countries have more than the U.S 180-day school year. By comparison, Japan has 243, South Korea 220, and Israel 216 days in their school year. The National Center for Time and Learning cites five benefits to extending

school time for improvement of teaching and learning. (1) Students can spend more time on task. (2) Teachers can delve into subject matter in more depth. (3) More time for teacher-student interaction. (4) Greater student engagement through project-based learning and elective courses will result. (5) Time can be set aside for teacher professional development.
Some researchers, however, argue that it is quality of time, not quantity, that affects student achievement. Quality includes strong curriculum, best instructional practices, high-quality teachers, and sufficient resources to implement the lengthened school schedule.

Taking a Look at Service Learning

It all started among Bronx middle-schoolers enrolled in the Teen ACTION (Achieving Change Together In Our Neighborhood) program at Middle School 218. After much discussion, they identified bullying as the issue they wanted to tackle for their Teen ACTION project. They decided to organize a poetry slam where, along with their peers, they could raise a united voice against bullying. Some 150 students, parents and community members attended. Demonstrating that the pen is mightier than the sword, the poetry and skits they produced exposed the fears and insecurities that motivate most bullies.
This is a good example of a service learning program that had a positive impact on the student participants and community it served. Service learning is defined as a method of teaching that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich student learning, teach civic responsibility, encourage life-long civic engagement and strengthen communities.
The practice of service learning is not new, dating back to educational and social change movements in the 1870’s. The term service learning was coined in 1967 to describe the combination of conscious educational growth with the accomplishment of tasks that meet genuine human needs. Several national studies show that strong service learning programs improve academic grades, increase attendance, and develop students’ social responsibility. Additionally, by teaching students about the role they can play in their community, service learning improves workplace skills, enhances personal development and gives students a sense of competency as active contributors to positive change in their own communities because they are solving real problems and addressing real needs.
Many teachers, schools and districts through

out the country have implemented service learning as they realize its importance as part of overall school improvement efforts. In 2008, the National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC) released the K-12 Standards Practice that used research to determine eight standards of quality service-learning practice. They are:
-Meaningful service which has clear goals, meets genuine community needs and has significant consequences for all participants.
-Curricular connections. Academic learning must be integrated into a service project. Connections should be clear, intellectually challenging, and relate to content and skills from the academic disciplines.
-Reflection, with structured opportunities to think, write and talk about the service experience to understand its impact.
-Diversity which reduces stereotyping by bringing different groups together in pursuit of common goals. For example, students and seniors brought together, or urban and rural students working together, all gain an improved understanding of each other’s point of view.
-Youth voice as the students themselves select, design, implement and evaluate their service activity.
-Partnerships with agencies that are able to identify genuine needs, provide mentorship to students and contribute assets toward completing a project.
-Progress monitoring through structured assessments and feedback during the activity. -Duration and Intensity are determined by the community members, service recipients and students together to fit the authentic needs of those involved.
To learn more or to start a service learning project in your school, look at the box to your left for resources.

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This story can fit 150-200 words.
One benefit of using your newsletter as a promotional tool is that you can reuse content from other marketing materials, such as press releases, market studies, and reports.
While your main goal of distributing a newsletter might be to sell your product or service, the key to a successful newsletter is making it useful to your readers.
A great way to add useful content to your newsletter is to develop and write your own articles, or include a calendar of upcoming events or a special offer that promotes a new product.
You can also research articles or find “filler” articles by accessing the World Wide Web. You can write about a variety of topics but try to keep your articles short.
Much of the content you put in your newsletter can also be used for your Web site. Microsoft Publisher offers a simple way to convert your newsletter to a Web publication. So, when you’re finished writing your newsletter, convert it to a Web site and post it.

This story can fit 100-150 words.
The subject matter that appears in newsletters is virtually endless. You can include stories that focus on current technologies or innovations in your field.
You may also want to note business or economic trends, or make predictions for your customers or clients.
If the newsletter is distributed internally, you might comment upon new procedures or improvements to the business. Sales figures or earnings will show how your business is growing.
Some newsletters include a column that is updated every issue, for instance, an advice column, a book review, a letter from the president, or an editorial. You can also profile new employees or top customers or vendors.

This story can fit 75-125 words.
Selecting pictures or graphics is an important part of adding content to your newsletter.
Think about your article and ask yourself if the picture supports or enhances the message you’re trying to convey. Avoid selecting images that appear to be out of context.
Microsoft Publisher includes thousands of clip art images from which you can choose and import into your newsletter. There are also several tools you can use to draw shapes and symbols.
Once you have chosen an image, place it close to the article. Be sure to place the caption of the image near the image.

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