Does Good Teaching Make a Difference?

Lauren Steinhardt

Ed Psych

GLE105 01

1/24/14

Module Question#1: “Does good teaching make a difference? Has it made a difference in your learning, or perhaps in your life outside the classroom or in a career choice? How should effective teaching be assessed by administrators?

            In my opinion, good teaching makes a major difference when it comes to learning within early education, secondary education, and even a college education. With good teaching should come organization, preparation, communication, and respect from teacher to student and of course student to teacher. Students need to be able to feel comfortable in class and have a safe learning environment. Teachers need to make sure that topics are relevant and that lesson plans are able to reach each and every student in the class. Without good teaching education is at loss.

            Teaching in my life has certainly had its ups and downs. Believe it or not there are teachers out there who actually truly care about their students and it is not just a job to them, which means a lot to me as a person and a student. Sometimes the style that a teacher or professor pursues is not exactly what appeals to me or helps me understand the lesson plans. I know that when I understand something that I learn in class I always remember it and am able to use that knowledge outside the classroom such as when talking to elders or my family, and even when answering a jeopardy question. It gives me great pride when I am able to take in information and retain it within my memory. Sometimes teachers do not realize that what they are teaching might not reach or be understanding to certain students in the class. I’m certainly not saying that the job is easy, but teaching is rather inconsistent. With that being said, administrators should assess teachers by trying to put themselves in the perspective of both the teacher and the student. To try and understand what students might be retaining and how the teacher acts or what his or her attitude is towards his or her students. I think that like in college, administrators should survey the students to see how they feel about the teacher. I know that in my high school administrators would walk in and sit in the classroom for ten to fifteen minutes and write notes on their iPads, but that never seemed entirely accurate, for teachers sometimes put on a face and what the administrator might see isn’t necessarily what the students might see or feel.