I. WHAT MAKES A GOOD TEACHER?

SELF-CHECK ITEM: Reassess the chapter-opening vignette. How does Leah Washington create learning experiences that are meaningful for students? How does she encourage critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills? In terms of concepts introduced in this section, what qualities identify Leah Washington as an intentional teacher?

QUESTION 1: How does Leah Washington create learning experiences that are meaningful for students?

POSSIBLE RESPONSE: Leah creates meaningful learning experiences by having students write about personally meaningful events, such as a favorite pet or a dream.

QUESTION 2: How does she encourage critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills?

POSSIBLE RESPONSE: Leah cleverly introduced cooperative learning by having students critique each other’s work, motivate each other to complete tasks, and praise individual accomplishments in "writing celebrations."

QUESTION 3: In terms of concepts introduced in this section, what qualities identify Leah Washington as an intentional teacher?

• Leah is an intentional teacher because her lesson plan is purposeful, with activities designed to meet specific goals, such as teaching children to write well.
• Leah is also an intentional teacher because she experiments with novel techniques to arouse curiosity. For instance, she "…read students funny and intriguing stories…to arouse their curiosity."
• Leah also takes into account the ability level of her young learners and adapts her lesson plans to individual ability. For instance, "Everybody gets an ‘A’ on his or her composition, but only when it meets a high standard, which may take many drafts."
• Unlike less-skilled instructors, Leah uses every minute of class time wisely, instead of engaging students in meaningless activities like cutting and pasting.
• Leah appears to have teacher efficacy; she believes in her own ability to arouse curiosity and interest in her students and persists until her students achieve her education goals. This is exemplified by her guaranteed "A" once a high standard is met, even if it means evaluating many drafts. Further, attending workshops and applying the lessons learned is another indicator of teacher efficacy.
• Leah’s agreement to exchange visits with Ellen indicates that Leah is open to criticism and understands that education settings are dynamic and therefore lesson plans are in constant need of revision.
• Leah is reflective, applying the findings of research and theory to her classroom setting.

SELF-CHECK ITEM: In the chapter-opening vignette, how does Leah Washington evaluate the effects of her instructional choices on her students? What connections are there between a reflective practitioner and an intentional teacher? From Leah Washington’s discussions with Ellen Mathis, create a list of research-based and common sense teaching strategies that an intentional teacher might use.

QUESTION 1: How does Leah Washington evaluate the effects of her instructional choices on her students?

POSSIBLE RESPONSE: Leah introduces instructional choices based on lessons learned in educational psychology courses and seminars. She continually evaluates her strategy on the student level by assessing her students’ work. Therefore, she adjusts her style to the individual needs of each student until her students meet her educational objectives. Finally, Leah agreed to exchange visits with her colleague Ellen Mathis so that each teacher could evaluate and learn from the other’s progress and mistakes.

QUESTION 2: What connections are there between a reflective practitioner and an intentional teacher?

POSSIBLE RESPONSE: Teaching would be easy if teachers made plans and all their plans were achieved without obstacles. However, obstacles are a natural consequence of social existence, particularly when dealing with developing children and adolescents in classroom settings. The example of Mr. Harris and his student Tom illustrates how problems creep up and disrupt lesson plans. intentional teachers accept problems as inevitable and perceive them as opportunities for refinement of teaching strategies. Employing reflective inquiry, they access a wide variety of stored knowledge of educational psychology and development, research findings, and theory to craft the best plan for the constraints of the specific teaching environment they face, consistent with their teaching goals.

QUESTION 3: From Leah Washington’s discussions with Ellen Mathis, create a list of research-based and common sense teaching strategies that an intentional teacher might use.

• Be purposeful, thoughtful, and flexible, without losing sight of the goals for students.
• Be certain that students are engaged in meaningful activities.
• Ask yourself if the lesson is appropriate to students’ background knowledge, skills, and needs.
• Make assignments that meet goals and outcomes.
• Use sound educational research and theories to guide instruction.
• Seek professional development opportunities when they are made available.

SELF-CHECK ITEM: Construct a comparison chart with the columns headed Experimental, Correlational, Descriptive, and Action. Enter information in the following five categories: Goals of Research, Forms Studies Take, Kinds of Findings, Advantages and Disadvantages, and Examples. Next, review the chapter-opening vignette. How does Leah Washington use basic educational psychology research to assess her students’ writing performance?

QUESTION 1: Construct a comparison chart with the columns headed Experimental, Correlational, Descriptive, and Action. Enter information in the following five categories: Goals of Research, Forms Studies Take, Kinds of Findings, Advantages and Disadvantages, and Examples. Next, review the chapter-opening vignette.

QUESTION 2: Review the chapter-opening vignette. How does Leah Washington use basic educational psychology research to assess her students’ writing performance?

POSSIBLE ANSWER: Leah employs a variety of activities that are motivating to her students. For instance, she began by having her students listen to interesting stories written by other students, then gave her students the chance to write their own personally meaningful stories. Finally, she rewarded her students’ efforts in writing celebrations.