Effective teaching is critical for school improvement and involves knowledgeable and responsive teachers who adapt their methods to meet diverse student needs. Characteristics of effective teachers include clear instructional goals, the ability to engage and challenge students, and the provision of a safe learning environment. Moreover, effective teaching requires ongoing self-assessment and adaptation based on instructional awareness, student feedback, and aligning practices with educational objectives.

1. Effective Teaching
Effective Teaching
Teachers are one of the key elements in any school and effective teaching is one of the key
propellers for school improvement. An effective teacher is a positive role model for the learners,
who is knowledgeable, competent, confident, demonstrates teaching responsiveness, has a good
rapport with students, and emphasizes the importance of the teaching and learning process. The
teacher must constantly update his or her knowledge and skills in his or her areas to keep abreast
of recent developments in evidence so that he or she can guide and facilitate the students.
Terms such as ‘instructional effectiveness,’ ‘teacher effectiveness’ and ‘teaching effectiveness’
have been used interchangeably in much of the research literature. This reflects the fact that the
primary nature of a teacher’s work is instructional and that teaching or instruction is generally
carried out in the classroom. Part of the confusion is because sometimes the focus is on the
teacher’s influence on student outcomes, and at other times on the classroom behaviors and
practices that teachers use to promote better outcomes for students.
An effective teacher has to learn how to stimulate the development of critical thinking among
students while keeping their curiosity aroused. We need to empower the student to learn. To
achieve this, peer-teaching and lessons that revolve around their prior knowledge, small group
discussion, and student reflection are useful. Appropriate assessment improves student-learning
outcomes, and students need help in assessing existing knowledge and competency. In designing
modules, tasks, and assignments, extensive formative assessment needs to be built in to cultivate
student attributes such as problem-solving and critical thinking. All assessment components need

2. to be aligned with the content of the modules. An outline of the modules or topics should be
provided.
At the end of a class or session, students need the chance to reflect on what they have learned and
what they still need to know. They should be asked to reflect on the major points of the presented
lecture or tutorial and to answer some questions. A summary can be given immediately to
emphasize the main lecture content or clarify the misconception. Any further queries are followed
up in subsequent classes or sessions.
Characteristics of Effective Teachers
Effective teachers have the following characteristics:
 They are clear about instructional goals.
 They are knowledgeable about curriculum content and the strategies for teaching it.
 They communicate to their students what is expected of them, and why.
 They make expert use of existing instructional materials in order to devote more time to
practices that enrich and clarify the content.
 They are knowledgeable about their students, adapting instruction to their needs, and
anticipating misconceptions in their existing knowledge.
 They teach students metacognitive strategies and give them opportunities to master them.
 They address higher- as well as lower-level cognitive objectives.
 They monitor students’ understanding by offering regular appropriate feedback.
 They integrate their instruction with that in other subject areas.
 They accept responsibility for student outcomes.
 They establish consistency in teaching and learning across the organization.

3.  They engender a culture of professional debate and developmental lesson observation.
 They rigorously monitor and evaluate what they are doing.
 They priorities the teaching of literacy, especially in a child’s early years.
 They focus on the needs, interests, and concerns of each learner.
Effective teaching requires criteria for effectiveness. These criteria refer to the objectives of
education in general and of teaching in particular. Visions about the criteria are the result of a
political and societal debate, but educational professionals, teachers, and schools can also take part
in it. Although objectives of education have changed over time, language, reading, and
mathematics remain the core studies.

4. Acknowledging Individual Differences
Effective teachers personalize the learning for their students. They understand that students
develop at different rates and that in every classroom there will be a range of student abilities and
aptitudes. They accommodate the different needs of students in their class rather than pitch their
teaching to the middle, letting some students be bored while others struggle or are unable to do the
work. Effective teachers use techniques that have each student working on tasks that engage and
challenge them to achieve their personal best. They understand that students learn best when they
are presented with new material in a way that enables them to connect it to what they already
understand and know how to do. Effective teachers also understand that students learn best if their
particular culture, background, and abilities are acknowledged by the teacher in the way they teach
Using a range of pedagogies
Effective teachers use techniques that best serve the learning needs of their students. There are
many things that students can learn themselves through discovery, with the teacher structuring the
learning to suit. There also are many things that require the teacher to teach in a more direct way.
Students not only learn by being exposed to learning opportunities, but they also need to be
explicitly taught those things it is important for all students to know. Some students will learn these
things quickly and with only minimal direct teaching. Other students will need concerted direct
teaching and correction by the teacher before they master the learning required. Effective teachers
help students learn on their own as well as with and from others. They know that students learn
best if they are provided with opportunities to learn not only from the teacher but also from other
students and from sources outside the school that are now more readily accessible through various
forms of technology.

5. Encouraging Student Responsibility
Effective teachers teach in a way that encourages students to take greater responsibility for their
own learning. They make sure their students know what the goals of the learning program are;
understand how these goals will be assessed; know whether they are on track to achieve success,
and are actively involved in evaluating their own learning.
Having Mastery of their Teaching Content
Effective teachers have a thorough knowledge of their subject content and skills. Through this,
they inspire in their students a love of learning. They also understand how students best learn
concepts, content, and skills. Effective teachers use their knowledge of learning processes to
determine which will be most effective to help the particular students in their classes learn
successfully.
Providing a Safe Environment
Effective teachers provide a safe and orderly environment, both physically and emotionally, so
students can achieve their potential. They know students learn best if they are in a classroom where
they feel safe and confident to attempt new tasks even if at first they are unsure about how to tackle
them.
What Good Teaching shows:
• Good subject knowledge is an essential prerequisite for good teaching.
• Well-structured lessons share a number of key characteristics.
• The skillful use of well-chosen questions to engage and challenge learners and to
consolidate understanding is an important feature of good teaching.

6. • Effective assessment for learning… is a vital ingredient in good teaching.
Effective Teaching in Primary Schools
 Good subject knowledge.
 Good questioning skills.
 An emphasis upon instruction.
 A balance of grouping strategies.
 Good classroom organization
 Effective use of other adults in the classroom
 Clear objectives.
 Good time management.
What Effective Teacher Should do!
 Teachers should adopt a student-centered approach and lucid teaching objectives,
appropriate teaching strategies and resources to promote class interaction and
help students to construct knowledge.
 Teaching should stimulate thinking, develop students’ potential, and foster their
learning ability. Appropriate attitudes and values are also fostered in the process.
 Teachers should cater for the needs of different learners, offer suitable feedback
and, at the same time, enhance their confidence and interest in learning.
 Teachers should extend student learning by providing life-wide learning
opportunities.
 Schools should strive for student autonomy in the learning process by encouraging
them to actively engage in sharing, collaboration, and exploration, thus enabling

7. them to enjoy learning, enhance their effectiveness in communication and develop
their creativity and sense of commitment.
Six Steps to Improve Teaching
Step One
Develop Instructional Awareness. What do you actually DO? Why do you do it? This involves
everything from what you physically do in the classroom to why you structure the course as you
do.
Step Two
Gathering Information. Watch a videotape of yourself teaching. Have a colleague observe you
and offer feedback. Look at all your syllabi together. Complete one of many different teaching
inventories. Ask for student input.
Step Three
Set Goals and Outcomes. What do your students need to know in terms of content? (Why?) What
skills do they need to obtain? (Why?) How will you know if they have learned this content or
gained these skills? Sometimes your course leads to another or is sandwiched between
courses. You may need to have some group discussions—this is a community
decision. Sometimes, you have set goals and outcomes independently—upon what did you base
your decisions?
Step Four
Making Choices about Changes. What needs to be changed and how? Begin by changing your
policies and practices that conflict with what you believe about students and learning or that are in

8. conflict with your course content or your instructional setting or that do not lead to the outcomes
you will assess. For example, if you believe students need to work independently but you control
every aspect of a project, your practice and belief are in conflict. If you are lecturing to a small
gathering of students, your practice conflicts with the setting. If you are asking students to read
eight chapters, discussing three, and testing on two, your outcomes and practices are in conflict.
Step Five
Implementing the Alterations. Make changes in small steps. Explain to students why you are
making the changes—it will help students gain instructional awareness. Offer a rationale for each
part of your assignments and assessment. Students will better understand why they are reading or
writing or completing a project and why they are graded as they are. Rubrics and rationales take
time to create, but on the other end, they will save you time in the assessment.
Step Six
Assessing the Alterations. Use multiple and appropriate assessment measures. If students can
demonstrate knowledge in multiple ways and you can arrange a time for this, offer options. For
example, can you offer students the option of a test or a project? A test or a paper? Group or
individual work? If you stay focused on the OUTCOMES, the method of assessing those may be
more flexible than you realized. If, for example, writing skills are not one of your outcomes, can
a student take a test orally?