JISD Professional Development Newsletter -February, 2012

Great Teachers Love Learning as Much as Teaching

Carol S. Dweck, in her book Mindset,The New Psychology of Success, states that great teachers possess a growth mindset which helps them make an all out effort to help their students. Additionally, strong teachers always inform their class that they are going to be taught, but not judged.

Strong teachers love learning and they realize that teaching is a good way to learn. On the other hand, struggling teachers often possess a fixed mindset, which lends to the feeling that they know everything, and that their job is to impart this knowledge to their students.

Making of Great Teachers

Carol Dweck states that great teachers believe that students can grow their intellect and talent. Most importantly, Dweck emphases, successful teachers are fascinated with the process of learning. Leading teachers insist on high standards and hard work from their students. They manage their class with strong discipline and structure. During the beginning of the school year, great teachers make sure their students know that failure doesn't exist in the classroom. That is, no student will be intimidated or punished with the implications of having experienced personal failure. teacher 1

Total classroom emphasis is explicitly placed on the positive aspect of the learning process and hard work. Dweck gives an example of how Marva Collins, a growth mindset teacher in Chicago, explained to her class, "You will read hard books in here and understand what you read. But you must help me to help you. If you don't give anything, don't expect anything. Success is not coming to you, you must come to it."

High Standards and Love Gets the Job Done

High standards are set for all students, not just for the ones who are doing well. However, coinciding with the emphasis on high standards, great teachers established immediately an atmosphere of genuine affection for their students. Marva Collins starts her classes off with, "I'm going to love you even when you don't love yourself."

Dweck explains that teachers with growth mindsets don't need to love their students, but they do have to really care about everyone of them. Teachers demonstrate their genuine caring for their students by challenging and nurturing them, explains Dweck.

On the other hand, teachers with fixed mindsets have a tendency to create an atmosphere of judging. They look at students' early performances and decide who is smart and dumb. They usually give up on the students that aren't doing well.

Teach How to Reach High Standards

Carol Dweck stresses that challenge and love aren't necessarily enough for teacher success. However, all great teachers do teach students how to reach those high standards. Most often, successful teachers help students reach high standards with great interest and preparation on the part of the teacher. Students with problems are encouraged to meet with their teachers before, during, and after classes for additional instructions and work.

Growth minded teachers tell students where they are coming up short on their lessons. They don't sugar coat where the student is not achieving the lesson objective. Most importantly, the successful growth minded teacher, makes sure the challenged student gets the necessary tools to close the gap of understanding.

teacher 2 Great Teachers Love Learning

Strong teachers love learning as much as they love helping their students learn. Above average teachers possess a growth mindset that frees them from criticism and the fear of failure according to Carol Dweck. They inspire their students with the thrill of learning, hard work, and accomplishment.

Ddweck, Carol S., Mindset, ""The New Psychology of Success, Random House, Inc., New York, 2006.
Read more at Suite101: Great Teachers Love Learning as Much as Teaching Jul 7, 2010 John A. Marinchek   

http://www.suite101.com/content/great-teachers-love-learning-as-much-as-teaching-a258040#ixzz1EnhxVMbK

Students Describe Qualities of Great Teachers

Viewing students as consumers -- and consumers with strong ideas about how their instructors should treat them as learners and individuals -- can help good teachers become great teachers in the eyes of the people who matter most, according to a new book.

Much research has been devoted in recent years to what makes a good teacher -- education, content knowledge, student test scores, evaluations. Little consideration has been given to the views of teachers customers -- the students who sit in their classrooms everyday.

Students, in fact, have a lot of opinions about what makes a good teacher. School administrators Kelly E. Middleton and Elizabeth Petitt captured some of those pointers in their book,Simply the Best: 29 Things Students Say the Best Teachers Do. Suggestions range from the very simple -- smiling at students and knowing their names -- to more personalized efforts, such as attending student events and visiting their homes. teacher 3

Middleton and Petitt argue that the best teachers take a customer service approach to education and focus on making connections with students and getting to know them as individuals. Teachers who do that, they write, see greater academic progress and fewer discipline problems.

The two authors talked with Education World about their book and the pervasive effects of positive relationships with students.

Education World:Why is building relationships with students more important these days?

Kelly E. Middleton, Elizabeth Petitt:Relationships always have been integral to the teaching and learning process. However, building relationships in schools is becoming a non-negotiable -- something schools must embrace to ensure student success. Data suggests that, unfortunately, many students have little contact with their parents or other adults. Yet, the need exists within each individual to feel connected and to belong. Without an intentional focus on relationships, and systemic efforts to develop those for every student, the likelihood exists that many students will become chronically disengaged from school.

EW:What are the benefits of strong student-teacher relationships?

Middleton, Petitt: Research from a variety of perspectives indicates a strong correlation between positive student-teacher relationships and student success in schools. Those include:

  • increased student learning and desire to achieve at high standards;
  • decreased negative behavior incidents and dropout rates;
  • increased school satisfaction and motivation;
  • increased sense of student self efficacy;
  • improved positive attitudes toward school; and
  • improved student social-emotional skills, such as caring, empathy, social responsibility.

students raising handsDr. Robert Marzano suggests, The quality of relationships teachers have with their students is the keystone to effective classroom management, and perhaps even to the entirety of teaching. As one learns about having high expectations for all students through strong student-teacher relationships, it becomes apparent that relationships impact almost every aspect of education, from student achievement and closing the achievement gap to school safety. In fact, relationships permeate the culture of a school and indicate either a positive or toxic culture within the school.

EW:How would you respond to the concern that teachers putting a focus on customer service could lead to lax classroom standards?

A focus on customer service allows one to have higher standards
and greater expectations because we know that students
will work harder for educators who believe in them
and who demonstrate in words and actions they care about them.

Middleton, Petitt:The first reaction to that statement is that actually the opposite is true. A focus on customer service allows one to have higher standards and greater expectations because we know students will work harder for educators who believe in them and who demonstrate in words and actions they care about them. Perhaps Dr. James Comer said it best when he shared, No significant learning occurs without a significant relationship.

Customer service that includes making connections with students and building relationships isnotallowing students to do whatever they want in the classroom. It is notabout becoming the students friend. Itisabout conveying to students that you know who they are; you have high expectations; you will treat them with respect; you will give them opportunities to demonstrate mastery of learning, even if it requires providing some additional assistance beyond the initial instruction; and that you honor the relationship that exists between you and every student, each and every day, without favoritism.

EW:What do you think are the toughest to implement of the 29 things students say the best teachers do -- and why?

Middleton, Petitt: Students want to know how that what they are learning is important in the real world. They have an innate desire to understand why it is important to learn a particular concept on a particular day. One of the toughest suggestions to implement professionally is relevance and real-world application. No one can argue with the importance and need to consider that aspect during instructional planning. However, the ability to incorporate relevance and real-world application with each instructional concept in each content area often proves to be a difficult task. student talk

The toughest of the 29 for teachers personally to implement probably relates to admitting making a mistake and knowing how to recover successfully. Sometimes as teachers, we are pre-programmed to think we need to be perfect; we need to have all the answers. Many equate mistakes with eroding student and administrative confidence in ones teaching ability. However, based on research, it is often better to make a mistake and recover from it successfully than never to make a mistake at all. Students see many desirable behaviors modeled when adults admit their errors. How can we teach students to take academic risks if we never convey through our own words that failure and overcoming a mistake are valuable learning experiences?

EW:What would you say to teachers who say they are already overwhelmed and can't take the time to visit students' homes or attend their athletic events?

Middleton, Petitt:Many of our teachers would probably reply, Not taking the time costs you even more in the long run! One of our teachers was asked by a group of teachers from another school district about how one goes about getting buy-in from other staff members who are reluctant to embrace that concept. Her response was, Do you want greater student motivation and fewer discipline problems in your high school? That is what Ive witnessed as a teacher, and my colleagues would say the same!

The toughest of the 29 for teachers personally to
implement probably relates to admitting making a mistake and
knowing how to recover successfully.

Schools are bombarded with increased expectations coupled with fewer resources, including unfunded or underfunded federal or state mandates. Many of those expectations stem from the battle cry for more accountability and testing, or more paperwork and policy geared toward a plethora of school issues. As we reflected on the efforts in our schools, we asked, Whats the most important thing in our district? We came to the realization that we had lost sight of the student, that isknowing who he or she is, taking time to interact, building a rapport between the home and school, and taking ownership of the individuals and how we interact with them in our schools.The majority of educators chose the profession because of the student-teacher relationship and their desire to make a difference in the lives of others. What we are observing is that a focus on developing positive relationships reconnects staff members with why they initially chose to become teachers.

EW:How can teachers be better prepared to build relationships with students?

teacher and studentMiddleton, Petitt:A teachers content knowledge is crucial in improving student achievement. However, we must first see the students as individuals and what each brings to the table in terms of interests, strengths, gifts, and areas for growth. Building relationships begins with the simple things that matter most to students -- smiling at them, using their names, knowing who they are and what they like, allowing them to know who you are as a teacher, being consistent, not being afraid to admit you made a mistake -- and proceeds to thinking about how to use the relationship to connect students to learning and to give them ownership in the process. It means valuing who they are and what they have to say. We like to think of it as treating all students like you would want your child to be treated. John Dewey once said that what the best and wisest parents want for their child should be what we want for all children.

This e-interview with Kelly F. Middleton and Elizabeth Petitt is part of the Education World Wire Side Chat series. Click here to see other articles in the series. Article by Ellen R. Delisio Education World® Copyright © 2010 Education World

Editor: Dee Thomas, JISD Professional Development Coordinator