1. Dean, Simmons School of Education and Human Development
The Outlook of an Effective Teacher: Beyond Knowledge and Skills in Today's Classrooms
David J. Chard, Ph.D.
Dean, Simmons School of Education and Human Development
Thank you, Beth
Honor to be asked to open the Teaching Effectiveness Symposium. For those of you who are new to SMU, it is important for you to be aware of the incredible teaching that takes place here. The Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Fellows are great examples of the quality of teaching at SMU, but they are the tip of the iceberg. Since my arrival 6 years ago, I have been consistently impressed by the quality of teaching I’ve witnessed.
In the next few minutes I'd like to
Discuss assumptions about our work as teachers
Discuss an emerging body of evidence on the relationship between teaching and learning
Identify some evidence-based practices that as professional educators should make a difference in our classrooms

2. Our students need to learn to:
Be creative
Communicate
Work in teams; collaborate
Be culturally and technically literate
Empathize and relate to others
Sir Ken Robinson, Noted Educationalist

3. A Science of Learning
Over the past 40 years, there has been a windfall of multi-disciplinary research on learning. This includes work in cognitive psychology on topics such as motivation, memory, concept development, and transfer; topics in anthropology on the influence of community and context; from education research on measurement. These are just a few. The National Research Council in 1999 published the first of two editions of a review of the research on learning. This review provides us with substantial guidance in thinking about how to enhance teaching in our classrooms.
For me it indicates at least two important advances: first, that there is a science to support our decisions about teaching and learning, a body of evidence on which we can begin to build our practice and, that this body of evidence converges on some key findings that are supported and reinforced by multiple disciplines.
Today, I want to use this opportunity to give you a few kernels of the findings highlighted by the body of evidence that also set the occasion for the several exciting breakout sessions that you’ll have an opportunity attend later this morning.

4. A Conceptual Framework for Aligning Learning Environments
Student
Knowledge
Community
Assessment
Teacher
Let me begin by showing you a conceptual frame for thinking about the learning environments. With the teacher or instructor in a position to design or engineer what happens in a course, the body of evidence suggests that our instructional design has to go beyond just the knowledge we have to consider other important aspects of learning. These aspects include the student, the community or contexts in which we are preparing the student, and the assessment, the means by which we will determine whether or not the student has learned what we expect them to learn.

5. Teacher Assessment Community Student
Use formative assessments to gauge student learning
Pay attention to individual student progress and develop instruction accordingly
Make expectations transparent employing rubrics
Community
Strive to create a culture that encourages academic risk-taking, collaborative problem-solving, and intellectual camaraderie
Student
Understand and work with students’ preconceptions, learning histories, and background knowledge
Understand students’ cultural differences and their impact on learning
Knowledge
Focus instructional design on what needs to be taught, why and when it is important, and what mastery or competence looks like.
Teacher

6. Summary
There is a science of learning that has emerged over the past 50 years.
As professional educators, we must strive to improve the impact we have on our students by employing evidence-based practices where they exist.
The Center on Teaching Excellence can be one of many resources to help you optimize the quality of your teaching.

7. Thank You