Characteristics of “Effective” Teachers (Various Sources)
ED 180

Student centered
Effective classroom and behavior manager
Competent instructor
Ethical
Enthusiastic about teaching
Knowledgeable about subject
Professional

Personal characteristics of those teachers included:
showing care and concern for students,
respecting all students,
making students feel special,
actively listening; having passion for teaching,
being enthusiastic,
motivating students to learn,
having a good sense of humor;
possessing personal integrity including being honest and being fair.

Instructional characteristics of teachers perceived as best included
being organized and providing guidelines, while maintaining some flexibility to accommodate for individual needs;
using group activities, making learning fun, and sharing the responsibility for learning with students;
loving the content area and knowing it well enough to connect the material to life beyond the classroom.

Presentation ability
Is enthusiastic about his/her subject
Seems to have self-confidence
Seems to enjoy teaching
Is a dynamic and energetic person
Has an interesting style of presentation
Varies the speed and tone of his/her voice
Cares about the quality of his/her teaching
Organization and clarity
Lectures easy to outline or cases well organized
Explains clearly
Speaks in a manner that is easy to understand
Is careful and precise in answering questions
Summarizes major points
Knows if the class is understanding or not
Is well prepared
States objectives for each class session
Grading and assignments
Returns exams and papers quickly
Exams and assignments are reasonable
Assigns grades fairly and impartially
Explains the grading system clearly
Follows the plan as established in the syllabus
Gives assignments related to the goal of the course
Is accessible to students out of class
Intellectual/scholarly
Discusses recent developments in the field
Contrasts implications of various theories
Presents origins of concepts and ideas
Discusses points of view other than his/her own
Interaction with students
Invites criticism of own ideas
Encourages class discussion
Relates to students as individuals
Has a genuine interest in students
Student motivation
Made me work harder than in other courses
Motivates me to do my best work
Creative exams requiring original thinking

1. Persistence. Many urban teachers honestly believe that most of their students (all in some cases) should not be in their classrooms because they need special help; are not achieving at grade level; are "abnormal" in their interests, attentiveness, or behavior; are emotionally unsuited to school; or are in need of alternative schools, special classes, or teachers trained to work with exceptional individuals. In some urban districts and in individual urban schools many teachers perceive 90% of their students to be not "normal."
Effective urban teachers, on the other hand, believe it is their responsibility to find ways of engaging all their students in learning activities. The continuous generation and maintenance of student interest and involvement is how star teachers explain their jobs to themselves and to others. They manifest this persistence in several ways. They accept responsibility for making the classroom an interesting, engaging place and for involving the children in all forms of learning. They persist in trying to meet the individual needs of the problem student, the talented, the handicapped, and the frequently neglected student who falls in the gray area. Their persistence is reflected in an endless search for what works best with each student. Indeed, they define their jobs as asking themselves constantly, "How might this activity have been better -- for the class or for a particular individual?"
The persistence of star teachers demonstrates several aspects of their ideology: teaching can never be "good enough," since everyone could always have learned more in any activity; teaching inevitably involves dealing with problems and problem students, and such students will be in every class, every day; and better materials and strategies can always be found. The basic stance of these teachers is never to give up trying to find better ways of doing things. The quip attributed to Thomas Edison, "The difference between carbon and diamonds is that diamonds stayed on the job longer," might describe these teachers as well.
2. Protecting learners and learning. Star teachers are typically involved in some life activity that provides them with a sense of well-being and from which they continually learn. It might be philately, Russian opera, a Save the Wolves Club, composing music with computers, travel, or some other avocation from which they derive meaning as well as pleasure. Inevitably, they bring these activities and interests into their classrooms and use them as ways of involving their students in learning. It is quite common to find teachers' special interests used as foci that generate great enthusiasm for learning among the students. The grandiose explanation for this phenomenon is that people who continually experience learning themselves have the prerequisites to generate the desire to learn in others. A more practical explanation would be that we teach best what we care most about.
In any event, star teachers frequently involve their students in learning that transcends curriculum, textbooks, and achievement tests. Their commitment to turning students on to learning frequently brings them into noncompliance with the extremely thick bureaucracies of urban schools. Stars do not view themselves as change agents, per se, but they do seek ways to give themselves and their students greater latitude within the traditional curriculum.
Consider the following episode. The teacher has succeeded in truly involving the class in a learning activity. It might be an environmental issue (What happens to our garbage?); a biological study (How does a lie detector work?); or the production of a class play dealing with violence in the neighborhood. Imagine further that the intense student interest has generated some noise, the use of unusual equipment, or a need for extra cleaning of the classroom. The principal learns of the activity and requests that it be discontinued. The principal also instructs the teacher to stick with the approved texts and to follow the regular curriculum. At this point the lines are clearly drawn: continuing a genuine learning activity in which the students are thriving versus complying with the directive of a superior and following a school policy.
The way star teachers seek to work through such a problem is in direct opposition to the reaction of quitters and failures. Star teachers see protecting and enhancing students' involvement in learning activities as their highest priority; quitters cannot conceive of the possibility that they would diverge from the standard curriculum or that they would question a school administrator or a school policy.
To the uninitiated, such struggles over red tape may seem atypical. Experienced star teachers, however, find themselves involved in a continuous, day-to-day struggle to redefine and broaden the boundaries within which they work. One reason they so often find themselves at odds with the bureaucracy of urban schools is that they persist in searching for ways to engage their students actively in learning. Indeed, their view that this is their primary function stands in stark contrast to the views of teachers who see their primary function as covering the curriculum.
Star teachers try to resolve their struggles with bureaucracy patiently, courteously, and professionally. They seek to negotiate with authority. Quitters and failures perceive the most professional response to be unquestioning compliance.
3. Application of generalizations. Some teachers have 30 years of experience, while others have one year of experience 30 times over. One basis for professional growth is the ability to generate practical, specific applications of the theories and philosophies. Conversely, successful teachers can also reflect on their many discrete classroom activities and see what they add up to. If you ask stars to give examples of some principle they believe in (e.g., "What would an observer see in your classroom that would lead him/her to believe that you believe all children can learn?"), they are able to cite clear, observable examples. Conversely, if a star is asked to offer a principle or make a generalization that accounts for a series of behaviors in which he or she engages, the star is equally able to move from the specific to the general.
The importance of this dimension is that teachers must be able to improve and develop. In order for this to happen, they must be able to take principles and concepts from a variety of sources (i.e., courses, workshops, books, and research) and translate them into practice. At the same time, stars can explain what their day-to-day work adds up to; they have a grasp not only of the learning principles that undergird their work but also of the long-range knowledge goals that they are helping their students achieve.
At the other extreme are teachers who are "concretized." They do not comprehend the difference between information and knowledge; neither do they see any connection between their daily lessons and the reasons why children and youth are compelled to go to school for 13 years. Indeed, quitters and failures frequently respond to the question, "Would you give an example of a principle in which you believe that guides your teaching?" with, "I don't like to generalize" or "It's wrong to make generalizations."
The ability to derive meaning from one's teaching is also a function of this ability to move between the general and the specific. Without this ability to see the relationship between important ideas and day-to-day practice, teaching degenerates into merely "keeping school."
4. Approach to "at-risk" students. Of all the factors that separate stars from quitters and failures this one is the most powerful in predicting their future effectiveness with urban children of poverty. When asked to account for the large numbers of at-risk students or to suggest what might be done about cutting down on the number of at-risk students, most teachers are well-versed in the popular litany of causes. The most common causes cited are poverty, violence, handicapping conditions, racism, unemployment, poor housing, lack of health care, gangs, drugs, and dysfunctional families. But while the quitters and failures stop with these, the stars also cite irrelevant school curricula, poor teaching, and overly bureaucratic school systems as additional causes.
Since quitters and failures essentially blame the victims, the families, and the neighborhoods, they do not come up with any measures that schools and teachers can or should take to improve the situation. Indeed, they say such things as "You can't expect schools to be all things to all people" or "Teachers can't be social workers, nurses, and policemen." Stars also see all the societal conditions that contribute to students' problems with school. But they are able to suggest that more relevant curricula and more effective teaching strategies are things that schools and teachers could try and should be held accountable for. Star teachers believe that, regardless of the life conditions their students face, they as teachers bear a primary responsibility for sparking their students' desire to learn.
5. Professional versus personal orientation to students. Stars expect to find some youngsters in their classrooms that they may not necessarily love; they also expect to be able to teach them. Stars expect that some of their students will not necessarily love them, but they expect these students to be able to learn from them. They use such terms as caring, respect, and concern, and they enjoy the love and affection of students when it occurs naturally. But they do not regard it as a prerequisite for learning.
Quitters and failures, on the other hand, cannot and do not discriminate between the love of parents for their children and the love of teachers for their students. They regard such love as a prerequisite for any learning to occur. They also believe that the children should feel a similar sort of love for their teachers. Consequently, it is not uncommon for quitters and failures to become disillusioned about their work in poverty schools. Once they realize that the children do not love them or that they cannot love "these" children, they find themselves unable to function in the role of teacher. For many quitters and failures, this love between students and teachers was a major reason for seeking to become teachers.
Star teachers have extremely strong, positive feelings toward their students, which in many cases might be deemed a form of love. But these feelings are not the primary reasons that stars are teachers, nor are these feelings the basis of their relationships with their students. Indeed, when their students misbehave, star teachers do not take it as a personal attack. Neither do they maintain class order or inspire effort by seeking to instill guilt. Genuine respect is the best way to describe the feelings star teachers have for their students.
6. Burnout: its causes and cures. Star teachers in large urban school systems are well aware that they work in mindless bureaucracies. They recognize that even good teachers will eventually burn out if they are subjected to constant stress, so they learn how to protect themselves from an interfering bureaucracy. As they gain experience, they learn the minimum things they must do to function in these systems without having the system punish them. Ultimately, they learn how to gain the widest discretion for themselves and their students without incurring the wrath of the system. Finally, they set up networks of a few like-minded teachers, or they teach in teams, or they simply find kindred spirits. They use these support systems as sources of emotional sustenance.
Without such organizational skills -- and lacking the awareness that they even need such skills -- failures and quitters are literally beaten down by the system. The paperwork, the conflicting rules and policies, the number of meetings, the interruptions, the inadequate materials, the lack of time, large classes, and an obsessive concern with test scores are just some of the demands that drive the quitters out of the profession. Moreover, quitters and failures are insensitive to many of the conflicting demands that every large, impersonal organization makes. And worst of all, they don't believe a good teacher "should" ever burn out. They believe that a really good person who really wants to be a teacher should never be ground down by any bureaucracy. This set of perceptions leads them to experience feelings of inadequacy and guilt when they do burn out. And unlike stars, who use their support networks to offset the expected pressures, quitters and failures respond to the pressures by feeling that they probably should never have become teachers.
7. Fallibility. Children and young people cannot learn in a classroom where mistakes are not allowed. One effective way to ensure that we find teachers who can accept the mistakes of students is to select those who can accept their own mistakes. When teachers are asked, "Do you ever make mistakes?" they answer, "Of course, I'm only human!" or "Everyone makes mistakes." The difference between stars and quitters is in the nature of the mistakes that they recognize and own up to. Stars acknowledge serious problems and ones having to do with human relations; quitters and failures confess to spelling and arithmetic errors.