The Qualities of Great Teachers
Many articles in this issue cite the overwhelming consensus among researchers, policy-makers, educators, and members of the public that good teachers are the single-most important element of quality education. As Linda Darling-Hammond writes in “Keeping Good Teachers: Why It Matters, What Leaders Can Do” (p. 6),Effective teachers constitute a valuable human resource for schools—one that needs to be treasured and supported.
- Love for students, belief in students' abilities, and confidence in their own power to make a difference (Sonia M. Nieto, “What Keeps Teachers Going?” p. 14).
- High verbal ability, fairness and respect, good classroom management, effective instructional planning, ability to engage students, and ability to individualize instruction (James H. Stronge and Jennifer L. Hindman, “Hiring the Best Teachers,” p. 48).
- Intellectual energy, resiliency, flexibility, desire to see their students succeed, and individual creativity combined with strong interpersonal relationships (Jackie S. Williams, “Why Great Teachers Stay,” p. 71).
Easing the Transition to Teaching
- Sharon Fieman-Nemser (“What New Teachers Need to Learn,” p. 25) points out that “beginning teachers have legitimate learning needs that cannot be grasped in advance or outside the context of teaching.” Among other things, new teachers need to learn “how to think on their feet, size up situations and decide what to do, study the effects of their practice, and use what they learn to inform their planning and teaching.”
- Lisa Renard (“Setting New Teachers Up for Failure. . . or Success,” p. 62) agrees that many teaching skills must be learned on the job, including classroom management, student motivation, differentiation for individual student needs, assessment and evaluation of learning, and dealing effectively with parents.
Both of these authors and others in the issue argue that schools should not burden new teachers with the full range of duties that veteran teachers handle. Renard specifically asserts that schools should not pair new classroom teachers in inclusion teams, require them to coach or advise extracurricular activities, assign them a school duty period, place them on committees, give them the most challenging grade levels or students, or require them to switch grade levels or courses for the first few years.
Discuss with some of your colleagues your own experiences as beginning teachers. What were the major challenges you faced? How did your school and your fellow teachers support you? What do you wish they had done differently? On the basis of your reflections, consider your current school's teacher induction practices and how they could be improved.
The Debate About Teacher Preparation
Education policymakers are currently concerned about a growing shortage of teachers. This issue has taken on even more urgency because of the No Child Left Behind Act's requirement that schools ensure a “highly qualified” teacher in every classroom. Many states and school districts have responded to this problem by creating alternate routes to teaching, encouraging career switchers to enter teaching without completing a traditional teacher preparation program.
In their article “In Harm's Way: How Undercertified Teachers Hurt Their Students” (p. 34), Ildiko Laczko-Kerr and David C. Berliner argue that these undercertified teachers are not as effective as traditionally prepared teachers. The authors cite research that shows that education coursework in teacher preparation programs is significantly related to teacher performance. They also conducted their own study and found that the students of certified teachers had higher SAT-9 test scores than did the students of undercertified teachers.
Linda Darling-Hammond (“Keeping Good Teachers: Why It Matters, What Leaders Can Do,” p. 8) confirms that “a growing body of evidence indicates that teachers who lack adequate initial preparation are more likely to leave the profession.” Some of the most beneficial aspects of teacher preparation, she concludes, are practice teaching and training in specific aspects of teaching (for example, selection and use of instructional materials, child psychology, and learning theory).
On the basis of your own experience and that of your colleagues, do you agree that traditional teacher education courses offer the best preparation for new teachers? What do you feel are the most important aspects of training that should be included in any teacher preparation, whether traditional or alternative? What aspects of your own preparation did your find most and least helpful?
