According to Harry Wong, the difference between an ineffective teacher and an effective teacher is simple; an effective teacher is not doing what an ineffective is doing. The effective teacher is a good manager of a classroom, while the ineffective one results to disciplining the classroom. First, the effective teacher has his or her own clear procedures. This is important because students need a structure. They also need a routine.
The structure gives the students an analysis of their expected behavior systematically. For instance, the students are aware that bell rings mean class dismiss. The effective teacher already has the students know what to do when class dismisses. Even though the students hear the bell ringing, they stay in the classroom until the teacher says dismiss the class thus there is order in the classroom because the teacher has communicated his or her expectations to the students before hand. Second, the effective teacher teaches the students procedure repeatedly. Through this procedure, the students get a sense of direction.
Therefore, an effective teacher spends time with the students as they rehearse. They know that the time they put into the practice and rehearsal of the procedure is worth it. They get students do things since they know that the more the students work, the more they learn. The effective teacher never tires of reinforcing the procedure and will give a student who forgets or fails to follow the right procedure in class an opportunity to do as required in the procedure. Consequently, the procedure becomes a routine.
I feel that effective teachers have a passion for their profession. It is not only the passion for looking forward to teaching everyday, but also it is the enthusiasm to look for other ways to increase students’ achievement. These kinds of teachers go out of their way to ensure their students achieve their maximum potential. They do not only apply the teaching strategies that they learned but take risks to teach the best way that suits their students by designing lessons that enable them to master the content. They inspire their students who in turn work hard thus learn effectively. For this, every student in my class should feel comfortable and have a sense of belonging.
I will also close the physical gap between my students and me to reduce the distance. This environment will make students feel at ease thus they will be able to communicate with me whenever they need. In addition, I will inspire students to do well and know more through comfortable communication. I will aim to make all my students understand what I expect of them. This will help them to learn effectively and mould their lives too.
This will be done by treating the students as if they are already successful by inviting them to succeed, as it will dress them for success. I will strive to become a better manager of my class by letting the students know the procedure to follow in class. The procedure will be practiced and rehearsed so that students know exactly what their expected behavior is. I will not only keep learning how to be an effective teacher to grow professionally and achieve success as an educator, but also implement the new teaching methods. More importantly, I will strive to achieve happiness as a teacher with the correct research based practices.