Teacher Effectiveness Training

Teacher Effectiveness Training

1. Why the need?

   • is a democratic way of solving classroom problems- satisfy both teachers and parents
   • punishment is non-beneficial
     • is unlikely to control student's aggressive behaviour. It might even causes aggression in children
     • may work on children, but not when they reach adolescence
     • children will try to achieve some form of autonomy, or make life miserable for those who try to coerce them
   • giving rewards is non-beneficial
     • grading system may be frutile when...
       • low-achieving students don't see the value in grades
       • high-achieving students only learn whey they are appropriately rewarded, and not because of interest and desire
       • those who work for grades may end up cheating, copying or plagarizing

2. building good relationships with students

   • stop using roadblocks that hinder good relationship
     • avoid words that communicate unacceptance
     • avoid words that communicate judgement, evaluation, or put-downs
     • avoid making students feel better to make the problem go away or encouraging students to deny that there is any real problem (better for students to face it)
     • avoid changing subject, diverting students' efforts, or having to deal with students and their problems

3. identifying student needs

   • accept students’ behavior as an attempt to satisfy needs
   • avoid categorizing certain behaviour as misbehavior
   • listen carefully and accurately to student messages
   • obtain information about a student’s behavior by making direct inquiries like, " Why are you so angry?"

4. making a trade

   • trading an unacceptable behavior for one that is acceptable to you.
     • EG. student keeps walking around--> get him to help you set up the computer
     • offer something compelling, and students can then focus on the new productive task and forget the disruptive one.

5. making learning environment conducive and learning valuable to learners

   • when students are overstimulated, teachers should provide learning experiences that allow them to be more active. eg. role plays, debates, interviews, discussions, labs.
     • activity that directly relates to the event students are excited about can help keep things under control as well as promote better learning.
   • when students are impoverished, let them decide what they learn and thus will be more excited to learn. Allow them to have a say in rules and regulations as well.

6. being a listener to students' problems

   • being a passive listener
     • students pouring out problems can release stressful feelings and emotions
     • let the students come up with their own solution
     • use verbal and nonverbal cues to show acknowledging responses and let students know you are attentive and interested in listening to them and that you accept them
   • being an active listener
     • provides even deeper probing of problem situations
     • assure students that teachers not only have heard them but have also understood
     • needs to properly decode student messages which may be ambiguous. Needs to avoid incrimination which students are disinclined to.
     • guides students to solve their problems, and trust that they can do it, but not helping them solve their problems.
     • build the trust and thereby more meaningful relationships between teachers and students can be fostered.

7. Using confronting I-messages

   • made up of 3 components:
     • Component 1: tell students exactly what their their inappropriate behavior is
       • begins with 'when' to convey to students that it is just a particular time their specific behaviours are a problem.
     • Component 2: contains a statement of the tangible or concrete effect the specific behavior has on the teacher.
     • Component 3: contains a statement of the feelings generated within teachers by their students.
   • eg: “When you throw chemicals around in the lab (description of behavior), someone could be seriously hurt (tangible effect), and I’m afraid I’ll be held liable (feeling).”
   • not useful when students couldn't care less about teachers' feelings
     • need to shift gears
       • need to switch back to listening mode to show empathy for the students and thereby, letting the students understand the teacher's problem
         • refer to Edwards, pp191 for the example
       • may not be useful at times too..
         • need to initiate mutual problem solving
           • Steps involved:1. Define the problem. 2. Generate possible solutions. 3. Evaluate each solution. 4. Make a decision. 5. Determine how to implement the decision. 6. Assess the success of the decision
           • the goal of a common consensus reached among students is very important
           • will not be useful when values between teacher and student collide
             • when that happen, students will likely resist problem solving, believing the problem is either in your imagination or none of your business. - MOST EXTREME CIRCUMSTANCES
             • Solutions
               • gain acceptance by students as a consultant regarding value matters. This may be achieved only when students believe the teacher is not evaluating them or trying to force them to change. Thus, the teacher must show willingness to discuss various issues and share ideas without promoting point of view to students.
               • make changes to their own values and make their values more compaitible with students attitudes and beliefs

8. preventing discipline problems

   • by sending preventive I-messages: designed to modify future student behaviour in some anticipated set of circumstances
   • by modifying classroom environment so that students feel welcomed and invited to learn--> will be less distracted by other influences.