Overview: What is good teaching? What does it look like? How do we build good teachers?

Believe it or not, the answers to the questions above aren't always obvious... and worse yet, answers vary across individuals and across groups of individuals. For example, it makes sense that teachers might answer these questions in one way... but that parents, principals, and policy makers might answer them differently. What's important about this in our conversation... is for you to be able to answer these questions for yourself!

The readings below give different answers to these questions. Your job is to read/watch each carefully and take some notes about similarities, differences, and perspectives. Don't just stumble through these things blindly because I told you to... take a look at each using your most critical eyes. Who is the author of these ideas? What motives or goals might they have? Who is the intended audience for these resources? Are some more or less compelling for you? Why or why not?

Work through each resource and keep the discussion questions in mind as you do... see below.

Readings:

• What makes a great teacher? - from the Atlantic - be sure to watch all four of the videos!
• InTASC standards for teachers - nationally, teacher preparation has adopted these ideas about what makes a great teacher
• What makes great teachers great? - a video discussing this issue with some teachers
• What makes a great teacher? - from Education Week
• Some stories Mark wrote - after moving from a high school science teacher to a university professor... I wrote a series of short stories about teaching

Discussions questions - each also appear in the corresponding Moodle forum:

1. What is a great teacher? What are some qualities and characteristics of great teachers? What are great teachers able to do? How do we learn to become great teachers? If you can, talk about these factors in the context of sharing about a great teacher you had - or didn't have! In other words, share some of your own experiences as a way to illustrate what a great teacher is and does. Look carefully at the InTASC standards for teachers as these standards also govern what teachers need to be able to do here in Oregon - what do you notice about these standards? What's missing from these? What do they seem to emphasize?
2. How do you become a great teacher? Think carefully about how we learn to be great teachers - what kinds of things need to happen for us to grow into great teachers? Do you think parent and students would have different answers to this question? In what ways? Think about the little stories that Mark wrote... what do they suggest about what great teachers do? And what do they suggest about becoming a great teacher? I'm not saying Mark was a great teacher... but I do think the stories raise issues that great teachers need to think about. Any other thoughts on how to become a great teacher?

Supplementary materials:

Here's some additional resources you may want to check out... I recommend them all!

• Here's what some kids say about good teachers - elementary teachers - and secondary teachers!
• Here's what one teacher - who is also a slam poet - says about good teachers!
• Building a better teacher? - from Doug Lemov and his recent, famous book Teach Like a Champion