Angela Tarver

10/09/14
ELED 300
Module 2 Writing
Introduction
An effective teacher plans to make a lesson with high student involvement. She is
someone who cares to learn about her students and what they are involved in and she
incorporates these interest into her lessons. The term metacognition means thinking about your
thinking, as stated in competency 4. Knowing how you teach and how your students learn
through Gardners multiple intelligences will define strengths and weaknesses to expand on.
Positivity and teacher support will make for a motivated student who is ready to learn.
Planning for Learning
As the teacher, we are the most important factor in planning. Setting goals, short and long
term, will impact how you plan and how you carryout those plans. Knowing how your students
learn will help the educator know the best strategy for teaching a particular area. Experienced
teachers take student motivation into account when they plan. They continually ask what the
students interest are and try to relate their lesson to the topic at hand. An unprepared teacher is
an unprepared class; this goes back to classroom management. Planning will be a great cue when
trying to be punctual and organized as the leader of the classroom. From competency 3, a best
practice is to perform a task analysis for each lesson to determine necessary prerequisite skills
and appropriate level of difficulty. Knowing your students level of learning and understanding
everyone is different will help in the design of planning. For my personal class, I would have a
daily plan, a weekly plan, and a monthly plan. This is what we are learning; today, this is why it
is important, and this is how it will tie into the rest of our week and the rest of our lesson this
month. As their leader, I will always tell them why we are learning what we are learning.
Effective Teaching
An effective classroom starts with the environment. A warm and welcoming climate will
allow the students to feel comfortable and confident in their work space. A model of teaching is
a description of a learning environment (competency 8). On the first day of school, rules and
procedures should be stated. The bar should be set for what the expectations and consequences
are in this class. This goes along with the golden rule; treat others as you wish to be treated. As
an educator, we model the behavior we want to see; the students attitude about learning is based
on our attitude towards teaching. Teachers who communicate enthusiasm in the classroom will
maintain an effective learning environment that will be inviting and engaged. Effective teaching
and teachers use of time goes hand in hand with planning for learning. There is never enough
time, and unfortunately the time we do have is often used inefficiently with many distractions of
todays students and the social world they live in. From competency 8, a best practice is for the
teacher to utilize time, but realizing when to stop their lesson sequence to capitalize on
motivating events or activities that have captured students attention or teachable moments.
Increasing learning through student involvement
Learners are more motivated to learn when the instructor involves them. Sometimes
students feel singled out or embarrassed when a teacher calls on them. A good way to involve
them without an uncomfortable situation could be through the role of content representation.
Using examples, demonstrations, charts and models, students can relate real life scenarios to the
learning. From competency 4, a best practice for engaging instruction is connecting learning to
real-world experiences and focus on the students needs. Knowing a students strengths as well
as a students interests can provide effective planning and learning. When you have a class full
of diverse backgrounds, questioning is one of the most effective tools you have for
communicating that you value all students and welcoming them (Kauchak & Eggen, 2011, p.
193). Questioning can also be a way of increasing student involvement. If they think they are
going to be called on, they are probably paying attention so they are ready to answer.
Conclusion
To be an effective teacher, one must utilize the best practices as stated in competency 3,
4, and 8. Planning and goal setting will keep a well maintained balance of time and classroom
management. Following curriculum guidelines for all grade levels and utilizing TEKS, while
incorporating student interest will create an engaged classroom. If the lesson does not grab the
student immediately they will be checked out after only a few minutes, but if the teacher relates
the discussion to a student involvement, the interest will automatically go up. It is important for
teachers to try and continually learn just as the students are and to never assume there is no room
for more knowledge. Teachers must always expand on teachable moments.

References
Kauchak, D. & Eggen, P. (2011). . Learning and Teaching: Research-based Methods. Newton,
Boston, MA: Pearson. ,