Effective Teachers “What Great Teachers Do Differently” Todd Whitaker

Two Ways to Improve Schools Get Better Teachers Improve the teachers in the school

Expectations A teacher’s classroom management sets the stage for student learning Great teachers focus on expectations and establish them at the start of the year. Establish relationships so that students want to meet these expectations If you expect good behavior, generally that is what you will get.

When a Student Misbehaves The great teacher has one goal: to keep the behavior from happening again. The least effective teacher often has a different goal: Revenge Effective teachers are motivated to prevent misbehavior, while ineffective teachers are motivated after a student misbehaves to punish the student.

When is it appropriate to: Use sarcasm in the classroom: Never Yell at a student: Never Never argue with a student, because you will not win. Maintain your professional composure and stay calm.

Always treat students and parents with respect Respond professionally and appropriately

Great Teachers The challenge is to focus on your own performance. Strive to be a great teacher; Set even higher expectations for yourself

Who is the Variable? The variable is how the teachers respond. Good teachers consistently strive to improve, and they focus on something they can control- their own performance.

Focus on Self Success in any profession starts with a focus on self

The Power of Praise Effective teachers treat their students with positive regard and understand the power of praise. Effective teachers look for opportunities to find people doing things right and knows how to praise those people so they’ll keep on doing things right

Five Things That Help Praise Work Authentic Specific Immediate Clean Private

Authentic Praise people for something genuine and recognize them for something true.

Specific Effective praise is specific. The behavior that we acknowledge often becomes the behavior that will be continued. Do not be dishonest, but identify those areas that do have merit.

Immediate Praise Recognize positive efforts and contributions in a timely manner Praise must be clean. Try not to include the word “But.”

Private Most kids prefer praise in private, because of peers teasing them. Send notes to parents

Our Impact is Significant If we have great credibility and good relationships, students work to please us. If we lack credibility, students work against us. Students come to class expecting us to set the tone. If the tone we establish is positive and professional, they’ll match that tone. If our attitude is negative and confrontational, they’ll respond in kind.

Positive Attitude By consistently filtering out the negative that don’t matter and sharing positive attitude, we create a much more successful setting. Consciously or unconsciously, we decide the tone of our classrooms and of our school. The best teachers consistently compliment and praise students.

Self Control Effective teachers model self-control; Their classroom management is grounded in their ability to manage their own behavior. The great teacher has the ability to ignore trivial disturbances and the ability to respond to inappropriate behavior without escalating the situation.

Think of the teacher who punishes the entire class for misbehaving: The most responsible students feel uncomfortable and upset and have much less respect for the teacher.

Uncomfortable Feelings Do not argue with a hostile parent. They are good at it, but you may begin to feel uncomfortable and avoid the parent. The parent will feel empowered and can’t wait to tell the world how the teacher reacted. Effective teachers will focus on behaviors that will lead to success, not the beliefs that stand in the way of it.

Touch the Heart, Then Teach the Child When a teacher’s sensitivity to students increases, so does the opportunity to reach them. Until we connect with students emotionally, we may never be able to connect with their minds.

Every Teacher has an Impact Great Teachers Make a Difference