Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Have the researchers done studies on teachers who have high SAT scores and compared their student test results with teachers who don't. And in order for that research to be a valid, did they measure that against all of the other threats to internal validity that must me added to the equation. What about the type of students teachers get, and how long has that teacher been teaching, and has that teacher taught a gate cluster, an ELL cluster, poor inner city kids, middle class white kids and etc. What programs did they use, what kind of parental support did that teacher get? So many variable play a part into student performance that it's practically ridiculous to say that a student performance is solely based on what SAT score or GPA that teacher earned in college.
Remember the measurement for teacher content mastery is the Praxis test. How well does that correlate with effective instruction? I am not sure of the research I can check but I know from my experience it plays a major role and but is not the final determination or the most significant one. Classroom anxiety can be heightened if there also exist content anxiety. Too often high school teachers will limit the parameters of what is being learned to the boundaries of what they know. Not every teacher is able to say I don't that answer.
Good point. I know for me when I have to start teaching my 4th graders how a circuit works, I HAD NO CLUE. So, I went to a science 101 training fore elementary teachers, and took a crash course on electricity and magnetism, and it helped me learn some concepts and things I hadn't ever known about Physical Science that I had to struggle with and teach.
Today, I teach those lessons with ease, and I make it a point to start my lesson first with my students looking at the components of a circuit as a classroom demonstration, dividing my kids into groups of two or 4, giving them the bulb, wires, batteries, and simply tell them make the bulb light using those materials---all hands on for them.
I am always blown away how fast my students quickly learn the vocabulary and concepts simply by allowing them to figure out how a circuit works on their own. Before, I would just give them the boring vocabulary, define the vocabulary for them, and then test them on what they learned because I couldn't explain myself what made a circuit work and the science behind it. Now that's called refining my practices, and I am happy to say that I have been refining a lot of what I have been doing these last 5 years because I have been fortunate enough to have a young principal who wants more for our students instead of complacent teachers who aren't growing as a result.
Good point. I know for me when I have to start teaching my 4th graders how a circuit works, I HAD NO CLUE. So, I went to a science 101 training fore elementary teachers, and took a crash course on electricity and magnetism, and it helped me learn some concepts and things I hadn't ever known about Physical Science that I had to struggle with and teach.
Today, I teach those lessons with ease, and I make it a point to start my lesson first with my students looking at the components of a circuit as a classroom demonstration, dividing my kids into groups of two or 4, giving them the bulb, wires, batteries, and simply tell them make the bulb light using those materials---all hands on for them.
I am always blown away how fast my students quickly learn the vocabulary and concepts simply by allowing them to figure out how a circuit works on their own. Before, I would just give them the boring vocabulary, define the vocabulary for them, and then test them on what they learned because I couldn't explain myself what made a circuit work and the science behind it. Now that's called refining my practices, and I am happy to say that I have been refining a lot of what I have been doing these last 5 years because I have been fortunate enough to have a young principal who wants more for our students instead of complacent teachers who aren't growing as a result.
You have the internal drive to be successful along with the ability to transfer your strengths to your kids.
Now that's called refining my practices, and I am happy to say that I have been refining a lot of what I have been doing these last 5 years because I have been fortunate enough to have a young principal who wants more for our students instead of complacent teachers who aren't growing as a result.
Interesting, sounds like you have a lot of latitude in how you teach
Interesting, sounds like you have a lot of latitude in how you teach
LOL I am really laughing, because the science training was sorta mandatory for me to teach those lessons more rigorously. So thanks to my principal who wanted to see the rigor in my science lessons increased, I sorta had no choice. It was because I wanted to improve in that area is what made me a better teacher.
LOL I am really laughing, because the science training was sorta mandatory for me to teach those lessons more rigorously. So thanks to my principal who wanted to see the rigor in my science lessons increased, I sorta had no choice. It was because I wanted to improve in that area is what made me a better teacher.
your situation reflects one of the shortcoming of how elementary schools are organized. Most teachers are generalist with limited specialist. That is a function of many things including university training and certification. Hopefully your team has a diversity of content talent and you can support each other with your strengths.
I feel that whenever I tell people that I want to teach, I get this automatic look of disdain, it's really frustrating especially since I am looking to teach in an urban setting & w/ young kids. Since I'm an English major, a lot of people assume that teaching is what I'll ultimately do w/ my degree. However, unlike a lot of my fellow colleagues majoring in English, they don't want to teach at all!
So basically, are teachers respected or not in your humble opinion of course?
NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!!!!! Did I say NO!!! At least not in the way engineers are.
I spent 18 years in engineering before becomming a teacher and I have never felt so disrespected in my life. One of the first comments made to me by a parent, who just learned I used to be an engineer, was "Oh, couldn't cut it in the real world?".
I am not respected by students, their parents or society. I'm told I work "Part time" so I should only get a part time salary. I don't offer that I'm a teacher in casual converstion anymore and if someone asks, I'm quick to point out that I was an engineer first. I miss being respected for what I do and the hard work it took to get here.
Last edited by Ivorytickler; 05-02-2009 at 09:56 AM..
Having a great knowledge of a subject does not make one a good teacher. These can be among the most frustrating teachers in the world. For these types of teachers, the subject came easy to them and they don't understand why their students aren't grasping the lecture. Part of the problem is these types of teachers talk "over" their students. When I was in high school I taught my classmates English Lit by converting the story into a language they could understand. Part of the problem with some English Lit stories is historical context. For example, Romeo and Juliet aren't understood by modern teenagers because if they want to date someone they just do it. They don't understand the historical context of the story in which the daughter of merchants and royalty were considered property of the family and the family decided to whom she would marry based upon financial or nobility status of the suitor. Even if Romeo's family was hated by Juliet's family he still would have been considered if his family was more wealthy than Juliet's family. Romeo's family was the poorer of the two because 1. his friends and family were not invited to the ball and 2. when Juliet's cousin murdered Romeo's friend they did not fear the law but when Romeo killed Juliet's cousin he fled for the hills. The rich family of that time controlled the law. Some had a very hard time with some of Dickens stories also because they didn't understand the historical period life.
your situation reflects one of the shortcoming of how elementary schools are organized. Most teachers are generalist with limited specialist. That is a function of many things including university training and certification. Hopefully your team has a diversity of content talent and you can support each other with your strengths.
Actually we do, we team teach our science lessons where all 4 of us are experts. I teach the physical science, my colleagues teach earth and life sciences.
Having a great knowledge of a subject does not make one a good teacher. These can be among the most frustrating teachers in the world. For these types of teachers, the subject came easy to them and they don't understand why their students aren't grasping the lecture. Part of the problem is these types of teachers talk "over" their students. When I was in high school I taught my classmates English Lit by converting the story into a language they could understand. Part of the problem with some English Lit stories is historical context. For example, Romeo and Juliet aren't understood by modern teenagers because if they want to date someone they just do it. They don't understand the historical context of the story in which the daughter of merchants and royalty were considered property of the family and the family decided to whom she would marry based upon financial or nobility status of the suitor. Even if Romeo's family was hated by Juliet's family he still would have been considered if his family was more wealthy than Juliet's family. Romeo's family was the poorer of the two because 1. his friends and family were not invited to the ball and 2. when Juliet's cousin murdered Romeo's friend they did not fear the law but when Romeo killed Juliet's cousin he fled for the hills. The rich family of that time controlled the law. Some had a very hard time with some of Dickens stories also because they didn't understand the historical period life.
Having a great knowledge of a subject does not make one a good teacher. These can be among the most frustrating teachers in the world. For these types of teachers, the subject came easy to them and they don't understand why their students aren't grasping the lecture. Part of the problem is these types of teachers talk "over" their students. When I was in high school I taught my classmates English Lit by converting the story into a language they could understand. Part of the problem with some English Lit stories is historical context. For example, Romeo and Juliet aren't understood by modern teenagers because if they want to date someone they just do it. They don't understand the historical context of the story in which the daughter of merchants and royalty were considered property of the family and the family decided to whom she would marry based upon financial or nobility status of the suitor. Even if Romeo's family was hated by Juliet's family he still would have been considered if his family was more wealthy than Juliet's family. Romeo's family was the poorer of the two because 1. his friends and family were not invited to the ball and 2. when Juliet's cousin murdered Romeo's friend they did not fear the law but when Romeo killed Juliet's cousin he fled for the hills. The rich family of that time controlled the law. Some had a very hard time with some of Dickens stories also because they didn't understand the historical period life.
They can also be among the best teachers in the world. A teacher cannot teach you what they do not, themselves, understand. The best teachers I ever had were subject matter experts. Some struggled with how to explain things to students but once they bridged that gap, the sky was the limit.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
