Effective Teaching
The effective teacher truly believes that all students can learn. The effective attitudes and actions
employed by teachers ultimately can make a positive difference on the lives of their students. The
five frequently discussed attitudes and actions include: genuine caring and kindness of the
teacher, willingness to share the responsibility involved in a classroom, sincere sensitivity to the
students’ diversity, motivation to provide meaningful learning experiences for all students, and an
enthusiasm for stimulating the students’ creativity.
The skills needed for effective teaching involve more than just expertise in an academic field.
Although there are many different ways to teach effectively, good instructors have several
qualities in common. They are prepared, set clear and fair expectations, have a positive attitude,
are patient with students, and assess their teaching on a regular basis. They are able to adjust
their teaching strategies to fit both the students and the material, recognizing that different
students learn in different ways. As a teacher, they are role models who sets the tone for the
class. If they are able to show enthusiasm and commitment, students are more likely to
reciprocate. Conversely, when they are negative, unprepared, or impatient, these qualities will be
reflected in the attitudes of their students.
POSITIVE
Students need to be engaged with a positive attitude. Teaching is most effective when students
are motivated by the desire to learn, rather than by grades or degree requirements. Teachers
need to stay focused, and need not be afraid to be creative and innovative. They need to find
ways to let students see what is interesting about your subject.
PREPARED
Teachers should know the course material. If students are required to attend lectures and read
assignments, then it seems reasonable that they would do the same. Think about how the
material can be most effectively demonstrated and design a strategy. Write an outline or take
notes to follow during a lecture, and prepare the overheads, diagrams, handouts and other aids
well in advance.
ORGANIZED
Teachers need a plan for what they want to teach. Their job is to illustrate key points and
essential context, to help students integrate all of their work (reading, labs, exams, papers,
lectures, etc.) for the course. Given that there is never time to teach everything, choose the most
important concepts and show how they are related. Show students what they are learning now is
connected to material covered later in the course.
CLEAR
Effective teachers can explain complex ideas in simple ways. As they develop expertise in an
academic field, it is easy to forget that students may have no prior knowledge of fundamental
concepts that they take for granted. Help students understand and use new terminology, so they
can become fluent in the language of your discipline.
ACTIVE
Effective teachers make their students think. Unless they are actively using the concepts, most
students will remember only a small fraction of what they teach. A lecture is an efficient way to
deliver information to large numbers of people, but it is an inefficient way to provide students with
lasting knowledge and skills. Teachers need to consider using at least some classroom time for
activities other than traditional lectures, discussions or question and answer sessions.
PATIENT
Remember what it is like to learn something for the first time. Give students time to process
information and answer questions. Know that it is fine for students to make mistakes if they can
learn from them. Realize that learning can be hard work, even for the most motivated students.
Teachers need to consider ways that could change their approach to reach students more
effectively.
FAIR
Consider what it would be like to be students. Chances are students would want an instructor
who set clear expectations, applied them consistently and could admit when they were wrong.
Whether teachers mark off points on an exam question, give a low grade on a paper, or penalize
someone for a late assignment, they should be able to explain why they did it. On the other hand,
if teachers make a mistake or don’t know the answer to a question, it is much better to
acknowledge rather than ignore it.
