Qualities of effective teachers

219 Pages·2007·1.09 MB·English

by  James H. Stronge

Education
Q
u
Remember those great teachers who made you excited about learning? a 2nd Edition
l
it
Remember how it felt to be in their classes and to experience how they i
e
s
made their classrooms come alive? What made those teachers special? o
f
What qualities and skills did they have to ignite student learning? Most e
f
f
important, how did those teachers help their students become successful? e
c
t
iv
In Qualities of Effective Teachers, 2nd edi- • Organize time, communicate expecta- e

t
tion, James H. Stronge shows educators tions, and plan instruction. e
how to re-create this same excitement • Present curriculum to support active a
c
and enthusiasm in their own classrooms and engaged learning. h
by describing the characteristics and skills • Monitor student progress, identify stu- e
r
of effective teachers. Stronge synthesizes dent potential, and meet the needs of s

2
research to identify specific teacher behav- special populations in the classroom.
n
iors that contribute to student achievement. d
This second edition includes new tips and
Rather than look at outside factors like de- e
tools for engaging at-risk students and d
mographics, district leadership, and state high-ability students. It also includes skills it
mandates, Stronge focuses specifically on io
checklists and an expanded, annotated
what teachers can control: their own prepa- n
bibliography to provide a springboard for
ration, personality, and practices.
further insight and exploration. Teachers,
Learn how effective teachers educators who hire teachers, teacher lead-
• Prepare to be effective educators. ers, supervisors, and teachers-in-training
• Establish, manage, and maintain can all use this book to learn to how to
learning-focused classroom develop better teachers and to improve the
environments. quality of learning for all students.
s
t
r
o
n
g
e
$25.95 U.S.
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
Alexandria, Virginia USA
STUDY BROWSE EXCERPTS FROM ASCD BOOKS:
GUIDE
ONLINE www.ascd.org/books
Qualities2nd Cover.indd 1 12/21/06 3:42:01 PM
2ND EDITION
QUALITIES OF
effective
teachers
J A M E S H . S T R O N G E
Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development
Alexandria, Virginia USA
Qualities TP.indd 1 12/21/06 3:43:57 PM
10125 00_FM rev.qxd 12/19/06 1:48 PM Page ii
®
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
1703 N. Beauregard St. • Alexandria, VA 22311-1714 USA
Phone: [phone] or 703-578-9600 • Fax: [phone]
Web site: www.ascd.org • E-mail: [email protected]
Author guidelines: www.ascd.org/write
Gene R. Carter, Executive Director;Nancy Modrak, Director of Publishing;Julie Houtz, Director of Book
Editing & Production;Leah Lakins, Project Manager; Reece Quiñones,Senior Graphic Designer;Circle
Graphics,Typesetter; Sarah Plumb, Production Specialist
Copyright © 2007 by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD). All
rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and
retrieval system, without permission from ASCD. Readers who wish to duplicate material
copyrighted by ASCD may do so for a small fee by contacting the Copyright Clearance Center
(CCC), 222 Rosewood Dr., Danvers, MA 01923, USA (phone: [phone]; fax: [phone];
Web: http://www.copyright.com). For requests to reprint rather than photocopy, contact ASCD’s
permissions office: 703-578-9600 or [email protected].
Printed in the United States of America. Cover art copyright © 2007 by ASCD. ASCD publications
present a variety of viewpoints. The views expressed or implied in this book should not be
interpreted as official positions of the Association.
All Web links in this book are correct as of the publication date below but may have become inactive
or otherwise modified since that time. If you notice a deactivated or changed link, please e-mail
[email protected] with the words “Link Update” in the subject line. In your message, please specify
the Web link, the book title, and the page number on which the link appears.
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-4166-0461-7 • ASCD product: 105156 s01/07
Also available as an e-book through ebrary, netlibrary, and many online booksellers.
(see Books in Print for ISBNs)
Quantity discounts for this book: 10–49 copies, 10%; 50+ copies, 15%; for 500 or more copies, call
800-933-2723, ext. 5634, or 703-575-5634.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Stronge, James H.
Qualities of effective teachers / James H. Stronge. — 2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-4166-0461-7 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 1-4166-0461-8 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Effective teaching. 2. Teacher effectiveness.
I. Title.
LB1025.3.S789 2007
371.102—dc22
2006028422
12 11 10 09 08 07 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
10125 00_FM rev.qxd 12/19/06 1:48 PM Page iii
To my wife, Terri, a gifted teacher of young children,
and
to devoted teachers everywhere
10125 00_FM rev.qxd 12/19/06 1:48 PM Page iv
10125 00_FM rev.qxd 12/19/06 1:48 PM Page v
Acknowledgments.....................................................................................vii
Introduction......................................................................................................ix
Part 1: What It Means to Be an Effective Teacher.................................1
Chapter 1: Prerequisites for Effective Teaching.............................3
Chapter 2: The Teacher as a Person.............................................22
Chapter 3: Classroom Management and Organization................39
Chapter 4: Planning and Organizing for Instruction....................52
Chapter 5: Implementing Instruction..........................................66
Chapter 6: Monitoring Student Progress and Potential................85
Chapter 7: Effective Teaching: What Does It All Mean?...............99
Part 2: Teacher Effectiveness: Resources You Can Use....................107
Section I: Teacher Skills Assessment Checklists.........................109
Section II: Teacher Responsibilities and Teacher Behaviors.......115
Section III: Annotated Bibliography...........................................137
References...............................................................................................172
Index......................................................................................................192
About the Author....................................................................................197
10125 00_FM rev.qxd 12/19/06 1:48 PM Page vi
10125 00_FM rev.qxd 12/19/06 1:48 PM Page vii
Acknowledgments
The creation of a project is never an isolated endeavor. This was
certainly true in the development of this book. To move from imagi-
nation to culmination required the encouragement, support, and
assistance of many individuals. I take this opportunity to acknowledge the
contributions of many friends, generous colleagues, and capable students.
Colleagues from the College of William and Mary continued to offer
invaluable support as the second edition of the book and related projects
unfolded. In particular, Patricia Popp, Thomas Ward, and Virginia McLaugh-
lin offered technical support and encouragement for this research. I am
indebted to those who assisted on the first edition upon whose work the
foundation for the second edition was built. Many of my graduate students
contributed significantly to the first edition. Christine Hill, Jeanne Struck, and
Kimberly Chandler assisted with a review and synthesis of extant research
related to effective teaching. Catherine Little helped refine the conceptual
framework and develop an early draft for the manuscript. William Brown,
Jennifer Hindman, and Linda Hutchinson worked extensively on the an-
notated bibliography included in the book. And Lisa Vernon and Jennifer
Hindman, again, provided invaluable assistance in refining and editing a final
version of the manuscript.
Several of my current and former doctoral students are due enormous
credit for their background research, careful editing, and updating of the
second edition of Qualities of Effective Teachers.In particular, Sheila Ashley,
Matthew Edinger, Tamra Freeman, and Trina Spencer, all doctoral students
in the School of Education at the College of William and Mary, reviewed
research and literature with regard to the qualities of effective teachers, both
vii
10125 00_FM rev.qxd 12/19/06 1:48 PM Page viii
viii Qualities of Effective Teachers, 2nd Edition
in general education and with at-risk students. Catherine Little (University of
Connecticut), Christine Hill (Newport News Public Schools, Newport News,
VA), and Kimberly Chandler (Center for Gifted Education, College of
William and Mary) assisted in reviewing and refining the sections on teach-
ers of gifted students. Jennifer Hindman (Teacher Quality Resources, LLC)
provided a careful and thoughtful final review of the entire manuscript. I wish
to acknowledge the invaluable contributions made by Leslie Grant (Teacher
Quality Resources, LLC) to this second edition. She is the contributing author
for the new sections in chapters 1 through 6 related to teachers of at-risk
students and teachers of high-ability students. Leslie worked tirelessly iden-
tifying and synthesizing research to be added to the book, and then editing
and refining the final manuscript for publication. I am, indeed, privileged to
work with such outstanding current and former doctoral students.
Colleagues from Taylors Elementary School in the Greenville County
Public Schools, South Carolina, generously contributed their time and exper-
tise to reviewing and enhancing the teacher responsibilities and teacher
behaviors section of the book. In particular, I wish to thank Principal
Vaughan Overman, instructional coaches Jean Dickson and Melodie White,
and teachers Lois Maxwell Childs and Vicki Sloop for their careful review and
enhancements.
To everyone who contributed, I wish to express my admiration for your
dedicated work as educators and my appreciation for helping to make this
project a reality. And, finally, I wish to acknowledge you, the readers, who
embraced the original edition of Qualities of Effective Teachers,and thus made
this updated version worth the effort. Thank you.
10125 00_FM rev.qxd 12/19/06 1:48 PM Page ix
Introduction
The focus of this book is the teacher. The content is presented within
the context of a person—the teacher—as opposed to viewing teach-
ing skills as isolated processes. The book is research-based, and the
style and format are designed to be user-friendly, providing easy-to-use
summaries and tools for teacher effectiveness. In building on the framework
provided in the first edition, this new edition provides an update on research
related to effective teaching. Added features in the second edition include a
focus in each chapter on the qualities to emphasize when working with both
at-risk and high-ability students.
If finding or becoming an effective teacher were simple, this book would
not be needed. If a single method for developing an effective teacher existed,
such a teacher would be in every classroom. Nonetheless, there are common
attributes that characterize effective teachers.
Teachers have a powerful, long-lasting influence on their students. They
directly affect how students learn, what they learn, how much they learn, and
the ways they interact with one another and the world around them. Con-
sidering the degree of the teacher’s influence, we must understand what
teachers should do to promote positive results in the lives of students with
regard to school achievement, positive attitudes toward school, interest in
learning, and other desirable outcomes. This understanding should be based
both on what experts and stakeholders think teachers should do and on what
education research has shown to be significant in the preparation and prac-
tice of effective teachers.
The second edition ofQualities of Effective Teacherschronicles the com-
mon background and identifies the common behaviors that characterize
ix