Ask an Expert: What makes a teacher effective?
Q. The new legislation (Senate Bill 10-191) is aimed at ensuring an effective teacher in every classroom in Colorado. What is an “effective teacher”?
A. The state will be setting up committees to define what effective instruction looks like, and who an effective
teacher is. I happen to like the work of Dr. Jere Brophy, at Michigan State University. He and his colleagues have analyzed the best research out there on teacher effectiveness. Here is their list, and I quote:
- Supportive classroom climate: Students learn best within cohesive and caring learning communities.
- Opportunity to learn: Students learn more when most of the available time is allocated to curriculum-related activities and the classroom management system emphasizes maintaining students’ engagement