Essay On Effective Teacher

I decided to interview a friend of mine who just started her second year of teaching. She works for a Middle School in Westchester County, teaching 6th and 7th grade math. I asked her a series of questions about her whole experience on becoming a teacher. I was relieved to hear what her first few days were like being a new teacher, because that could be nerve racking for any new teacher. She explained to me that she was shocked on her first few days, and overwhelmed with the respect she immediately received from her students. They greet her in the hallway, and thank her as they leave class. I could just imagine how good that would feel to get that reaction from your students. When I asked her why she decided to teach the grade that she is in, she explained to me that she chose to do middle school because it is a crucial time for development in an adolescents life, and also a challenging time.

Even though I volunteered in different schools, I never had the opportunity to ask about the real feelings of a teacher. During the interview, I learned that there is more than just teaching in becoming a teacher. This is because she told me how one of her hesitation on becoming a teacher is the time one dedicates for the job. She told me that when one is teacher, one must prepare lesson plans, come to school early to prepare for the day, and even stay longer to grade papers. She said that her typical day starts at 7:30 am to prepare materials and school instruction starts from 8:00 am until 4:30 pm. Then, even though the class ends already, she needs to create lesson plans for the entire week. She said that all these things are part of a teacher’s job, but they do not get paid to do these things. Therefore, I learned that being a teacher is not easy because there are a lot of extra responsibilities beyond the job description and that being a teacher extend beyond the classroom. Additionally, her answer made me reflect on whether I want a job, where I have to work more than the “work hours.” However, despite this workload, what amazes me was when she said that if she could go back, she would still choose to be a teacher because of her passion to make a difference in the lives of the

What is the most effective way to teach? Can students really learn and fully understand the material teachers convey to them on a day to day basis? According to a middle school mathematics teacher, his methods of teaching the traditional way was not as effective and producing a long-term impact as he would have liked. The article "Never Say Anything a Kid Can Say!" enriches us to the possibility of applying slight gradual modifications to our teaching methods and how we could find ways to utilize that information in the search for more effective teaching methods to encourage students to explain their thinking and become more deeply involved in the classroom discussions, thus developing their questioning skills (Reinhart, 2000). After

I am the proud mom of four AMAZING kids, a wife to my supportive and hard-working husband, and a dedicated educator with 19 years of creative, effective, and engaging teaching experiences. I LOVE teaching…from the moment you step into my warm, welcoming, themed classroom, to interacting and guiding every student toward personal success, to sharing in their triumphs and challenges, to fostering the “real-world” connections, and most importantly…fostering a love of learning! I work endless hours planning, researching, preparing, and implementing in order to be creative, effective, engaging, and fun for every student. I pride myself on being able to connect and build strong relationships with all of my students each year. I believe in the importance of knowing each student’s learning style, and truly understanding their personal strengths and weaknesses, as like every adult, each child is unique and learns differently and at their own pace! Further, I believe that ALL kids can LEARN! I teach each of my students the importance of taking ownership, involving

As a child playing school with the neighborhood children, I had always dreamed of becoming a teacher. Since the first day of kindergarten, watching the teacher teach us how to do basic things like counting, writing, and reading is what interested me in teaching. Throughout my elementary and secondary education I became even more interested in the teaching field. I thought that being a teacher would be the best thing in the world because a teacher has an immense amount of knowledge. Now I am in college where I am currently studying to be a secondary mathematics teacher. There are several reasons why I want to become a teacher, but the two most important reasons are to make a difference and to

An outstanding teacher is extremely knowledgeable and understanding of the content being presented and teaches the lessons dynamically to cater to all students’ diverse learning styles. To ensure that the teacher is knowledgeable and understanding of the content an outstanding teacher has to have an on going, voluntary, self motivated pursuit of knowledge for their profession and the content they are teaching. A superior teacher must always strive to improve upon that knowledge base through research, investigation, and professional development. Outstanding teachers need to strive to be lifelong learners and continually grow in their professional development.

"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops." This is one of my favorite teaching quotes, penned by Henry Adams. It reminds me of the reasons that first fueled my passion for teaching and keeps me motivated through all my experiences. When I was about five years old, I would line my barbies in a row and "teach" them the alphabet. I believe teachers are not created but born, and this was the case for me as well. I always knew I would find teaching highly rewarding. Additionally, I had marvelous teachers myself who inspired me to admire the profession. One in particular stood out to me, Mrs. Sather. She helped me with college applications, applying to scholarships and developing a love for math. I want to be a Mrs.

Being a teacher was always seen as a boring job; it’s very hard to be one, they have to become a master of what they are teaching, and they don’t get payed a lot. The one thing that students don’t realize about teachers is that when they see their students eyes light up from learning something new, it’s one of the best feelings in the world. When teaching my students I could see the indulgence of learning something new in their eyes and I felt that feeling teachers get, the feeling of being independent, and grown-up. Independence truly brings happiness to a

In any classroom, a teacher is perhaps the most important aspect. S/he does all the planning, assessing, and facilitating of discussions. However, a teacher’s biggest mission is to ensure that students understand the mathematical concepts, but not assisting so much that the students feel they are not allowed to create their own methods (Hiebert, 1997). To do this, the teacher must select her tasks with a goal in mind. Often teachers are taught to blindly follow the state curriculum and scripted lessons. However, it is important that these lessons are placed in a sequence that is consistent with what the teacher wants the students to learn (Hiebert, 1997). When teachers select their tasks, they must be familiar with their students’ funds of knowledge and choose lessons and ideas that are consistent with their students’ level of thinking. Selecting lessons in this manner allows teachers to better anticipate the way students may answer the problems. It is also a teacher’s job to share relevant information with the class. This includes mathematical conventions (such as symbols, numbers, operations, and special vocabulary needed to solve problems) as well as alternative methods (Hiebert, 1997). However, it is important to remember that while students may benefit from learning different methods, they should not be forced to change their methods to better align with the standard way of solving the problem. Essentially, sharing relevant information includes supporting students as thinkers and problem solvers and helping them learn important mathematics (Hiebert, 1997). Teachers must also establish a classroom culture. This includes focusing on methods as well as adopting an appropriate position of authority. Students should share, analyze, and improve their ways of thinking and teachers need to know when to step back and let the students struggle with the problem – especially when it comes to telling students

In early September, I observed two mathematics classes and will compare and contrast the difference and similarities in classroom management techniques, teaching strategies, and student responses to the teacher. I will also discuss classroom set-up and give my impressions to the effectiveness of the teaching style and perceived student response to the learning activity. Overall, I felt that both teachers were amazing in their own style and kept the students engaged and on learning task.

After teaching mathematics in a middle school classroom, I recognized my likes and dislikes about teaching math. My biggest dislike about teaching mathematics is the fact that many students have a negative attitude about mathematics and have become discouraged throughout their elementary years. Once a student believes they are not capable of doing math, it is hard to change their belief. Another dislike about teaching mathematics is that during this change to a more problem solving and student-centered teaching technique, students are coming to us from teachers who focus on procedural knowledge instead of conceptual knowledge. “Conceptual knowledge is knowledge that consists of rich relationships or webs of ideas” while “procedural knowledge of mathematics is knowledge of the rules and the procedures” (Van De Walle, 28). While there are a few negatives about teaching mathematics, there are several things I liked about teaching middle school mathematics. I liked how the students were eager to learn the content and were confident in their abilities to share their findings with their peers. Each student has a different background when it comes to mathematics and real world scenarios where they have encountered this content. This provides for better discussion amongst students which I feel is lacking in younger grades. This learning experience, like any professional development, changes your thinking as an educator. Prior to this experience I was nervous about the idea of

Becoming a teacher is not something I always knew I want to do. When it came time for me to start considering what my future career would be, all I knew was that I did not want to be stuck in an office behind a desk every day. I wanted to do something where I could make a positive impact on other people’s lives, and be around sports. I wanted a job that would be interactive, challenging and exciting. While searching for something that would fulfill these goals I found that teaching could do just that as long as I do everything I can to become an effective teacher who contributes to the world in an important way.

As Siemon states in ‘Teaching Mathematics: Foundation to Middle Years’ that there are strong connections between teaching and mathematics learning, and in the end ensuring we have effective mathematics teaching. To understand what it means to be an effective mathematics teacher, you need to have confidence in your own understandings, having conceptual connections among various mathematical topics. Ensuring educators are creating and providing meaningful learning opportunities for children.

I had many reflections—as a student, teacher, and educator—after reading the article, “Knowing Mathematics for Teaching” by Ball, Hill-Bass, and Bass (2005). Ball and her colleagues (2005) discuss the issue that there are many different schools of thoughts and practices about the way teachers should be prepared and supported to teach mathematics in classrooms. On the one hand, teachers are asked to take additional math content classes, attend teaching- practice and new curriculum workshops. On the other hand, Bass et al. (2005) tell us there have been efforts to recruit teacher based on strong college grades in mathematics majors. Yet, Ball et al. suggests the need to continue to research the relationship between the level of preparation and knowledge in mathematical to student achievement to “ensure that every student has a teacher who comes to the classroom equipped with the mathematical knowledge needed for teaching” (p. 44).

This paper will explore some of the major differences between traditional math instruction and a problem-based instructional model. These models are defined largely by characteristics such as classroom environment, learning goals, teachers’ roles and whole-group approaches. I will address each of these topics more thoroughly throughout this paper and conclude by sharing some of my personal thoughts and goals regarding these two instructional approaches as they relate to the teaching of math.