0. What is Effective Teaching?
Dr. Lucas D. Maxwell, Assistant Professor of Agricultural Education
Professional Development Day – May 5, 2016

1. Teaching Made Simple

2. Is Teaching…
Art?
Science? OR
Both?
What do you think?

3. What does an effective teacher look like?

4. Characteristics of Effective Teachers
Rosenshine and Furst (1971)
Clarity
Variability
Enthusiasm
Task Oriented – Businesslike
Student Opportunity to Learn Criterion Material
Bransford, Darling-Hammond, & Lepage (2005)
Clear Expectations
Working the Room
Encouraging Communication
Clear Organized Plan

5. Principles of Learning and Teaching (adapted from Newcomb, McCracken, Warmbrod, & Whittington, 2004)
Must possess meaning, organization and structure
Readiness is a prerequisite for learning
Must be motivated to learn
Students will rise to the level of expectation
Success is a motivating force
Must be provided with knowledge of their progress
Reinforced behaviors are more likely to be learned
Directed learning is more effective than undirected
“Inquire into” subject matter versus being “instructed in”
Students learn what they practice

6. Charlotte Danielson’s FRAMEWORK FOR TEACHING

7. Effective College Teaching
Teaching Effectively: Award Winning Faculty Share Their Views (adapted from Maxwell, Vincent, & Ball, 2011)
Student Focus
Dialogue
& Relevance
The Act of
Effective Teaching
Thinking
& Progression
Effective College Teaching
The Act of Becoming & Evolving
as an Effective Teacher
Teaching
& Learning
as Growth
Teaching as Scholarship

8. Teaching That Sticks (Heath & Heath, 2007)
Simple
Unexpected
Concrete
Credible
Emotional
Story

9. 1. Simple JFK FBI NATO UPS NASA IRS J FKFB INAT OUP SNA SAI RS
K.I.S.S.
Inverted Pyramid
Highly effective teachers prioritize content
They focus on what is important
They organize content simply
Simplicity makes ideas stick
Keep your teaching lean and focused
JFK FBI NATO UPS NASA IRS
J FKFB INAT OUP SNA SAI RS
(Heath & Heath, 2007)

10. 2. Unexpected Begin with a question
Let your lesson unfold like the plot of a mystery novel
Make your students curious
Huh?
Ah Ha!
Unexpected ideas and questions create a knowledge gap
They indicate the destination but may not tell you how to get there
Put box labeled highly effective teacher on table but do not refer to it and simply move on
(Heath & Heath, 2007)

11. 3. Concrete
Jane Elliot
Often times concepts seem abstract, perhaps even mysterious
Seek to make them concrete…real life
Concrete items are more easily remembered
How can/do we do this in our own classrooms?
(Heath & Heath, 2007)

12. 4. Credible For any idea to stick it needs to be credible
Seek ways to address student’s skepticism
Sometimes students need to see it to believe it
What do we teach that might make students skeptical?
(Heath & Heath, 2007)

13. 5. Emotion Emotion builds student engagement
Do we teach topics that elicit emotions?
Make the topic hit students in the gut…or the heart!
(Heath & Heath, 2007)

14. 6. Story
How many of you have ever told a story when working with a group of students?
What happened?
Students…people in general…love a good story
Heck, we love a bad story!
Mental stimulation
While not as good as actually doing something, mental stimulation (imagining/thinking about something) may be the next best thing
(Heath & Heath, 2007)

15. Teaching That Sticks (Heath & Heath, 2007)
Simple
Unexpected
Concrete
Credible
Emotional
Story
To download your free copy visit

16. Beware… The Curse of Knowledge
When you teach you are speaking your native language: Expertise
But remember, your students don’t speak Expertise!

17. THANK YOU!
Discussion