Blog 20

Notes from Sharrelle's research topic.

• research: how can the media rule articles and responses of public form a Discourse community.
• focus: observe and look up articles form magazines that are similar but not so similar.  look up the age groups of responses.
• how can a Discourse community form because most responses are the same but different.
• diverse magazines. different ethnics ages.
• important: how are these a Discourse community.  growth of a magazine.

Feedback: look at different articles with diverse populations.  why does some articles have diverse pictures and some articles do not.   Look for articles in different magazines with the same topic.  Find articles relating to media creating a Discourse community.  Look online to see who posts about the articles- are the comments the same among diverse populations. 

Sharrelle's notes for me:

Stephanie research question:- What makes an effective teacher?
Her Focus-  observing the teacher/ interaction w/the students to see his reaction
                   -interview the teacher/ record/ observe body language or maybe not
                   - observe where the teacher stands in the classroom ( center front when discussing something important)

What's important- To see what's so important about what makes the students comfortable about the that teacher.

My feedback- For me as a student and other students I feel like this research question is really good to know to compare why some teachers are better to understand and better overall than others. Through the research this can help me and other students see the difference and maybe look at the other teachers in a way to understand then more.


Here is what i have so far for the introduction and lit review.  It is not complete yet, I want to see if I am on the right track.

Introduction:

            Many researchers have conducted a study about what makes an effective teacher.  The research is varied depending upon the author and what they observe. Most research shows what a teacher does in and out of the classroom to make them effective.  I will conduct a study, using the material from the text called Qualities of Effective Teachers, to prove that a specific second grade teacher in North New Jersey is an effective teacher.  

I have observed this teacher twice for about an hour to two hours each time.  I hope to find that the teacher I observed is an effective teacher for these reasons: his prerequisites as a teacher; the teacher as a person; his classroom management and organization skills; implementing instruction; and how he monitors student progress and potential. My project is important to writing studies because I feel that the teacher I observed is effective because of how he teaches the students.  He has the students write down different aspects of his lesson. 

I hope to prove my theory by comparing what I write in my literature review to what the teacher did.  I will compare the topics discussed in the text Qualities of Effective Teacher written by James H. Stronge to what the teacher demonstrates. After observing the teacher two times, according to the text, he is an effective teacher.  In the literature review, I will talk about Stronge’s notes on effective teachers. I will also talk about the qualities’ of an effective teachers in detail as well as what he considers an effective teacher.

Literature Review

            According to the text Qualities of Effective Teachers, “effective teachers have been called ideal, analytical, dutiful, competent, expert, reflective, satisfying, diversity-responsive, and respected”. (Stronge, xiii)  Stronge also writes that “effectiveness is an elusive concept when we consider the complex task of teaching and student achievement”. (xii) After reading this text, I learned what makes an effective teacher. “An effective teacher plans and prepares for the organization of the classroom with the same care and precision used to design a high quality lesson.” (Stronge, 23)

            Prerequisites of a teacher

            Teachers can prepare themselves by doing the following things: making use of their verbal ability, having educational coursework, having teacher certification, having knowledge in his / her content are, and having teaching experience.  Studies show “students taught by teachers with high verbal skills perform better in standardized tests than those students taught by teachers with lower a verbal ability”. (Stronge, 4)  “Several studies have focused on teacher effectiveness related to the amount and type of educational coursework in a teacher’s preparation program.” (Stronge, 5).  Teachers with lots of experience and that are fully prepared are better able to help the students during instruction. “A teacher’s formal pedagogical preparation has been shown to have a positive effect on student achievement, especially in the areas of math, science, and reading.” (Stronge, 6)  Strong states that not only does formal pedagogical preparation helps the students, but if “a teacher attends a conference, workshop, or graduate class will help the students” as well. (6)  Stronge also mentions that a

fully prepared and certified teachers have a greater impact on gains in learning as well as teahcers with subject matter knowledge are better able to go beyond the basic textbook content”. (7-8)

The teacher’s experience is key when it comes to teaching students, but teachers who have been teaching for a while know that routines are an important part in a student’s success. As well as routines and many other things, experience is what makes an effective teacher effective.

The teacher as a person

“Much of the recent research on teacher effectiveness focuses on relating teacher behaviors to student achievement.” (Stronge, 13) Strong also states that “The teacher’s psychological influence on students has been linked to student achievement in various effectiveness studies”. (14)

Classroom management and organization skills

Strong states that

components of the organizational plan of a classroom include room arrangement, discipline, the creation of routines, and plan to teach the students how their learning environment is organized. (26)

The teacher organizes his / her class room by the vision the see is best for classroom instruction.  The better the classroom is set up for the students / teacher’s needs, the better the classroom will run during instructional time.

Implementing instruction

“Studies suggest that instructional and management processes are key to effectiveness.” (Stronge, 13)

How he monitors student progress and potential.