It’s been two months since I have started going back to school with the intention of becoming a teacher someday. And within that span of time, my definition of a teacher and teaching has drastically changed: from the notion of being the easiest thing to do to being the most challenging and noblest profession of all time. It practically turned my world upside down!
Even though my definition of a teacher and teaching has significantly changed over time, my dream of becoming one has not. I still want to become a teacher, not just an ordinary teacher but an effective one. I want to effectively teach to my future students so that I will become the person that is truly deserving to be called a teacher.
During the course of my lessons, I have been reflecting on all the things I have learned. One of the things that have caused me to think is when I came across the following quote: “Teaching is something that takes place only when learning does.” For me, I agree on it 100% completely but I think that you need to add more precise words on it so that one can correctly define “effective teaching.” With that quote, it seems that teaching was simply defined only as transferring of knowledge. When a student learned what was taught, then that is teaching already. But for effective teaching to transpire, Michael Signal, an eHow Contributor said it best: “Teachers must know what students need to learn, how to best teach it and how to tell if they have learned it.” It has to be strategic and result oriented.
Personally, I believe that effective teaching is not only to cause your students to learn but for them to understand the value of the knowledge they have acquired and being able to think independently with it. Aside from that, the teacher must be able to see the end results of what he has taught them.
So, for learning to actually happen, the teacher must know the importance of effective teaching. He must be aware that teaching effectively is causing the learner to become an independent thinking individual that will become a well-rounded being and be an asset to the society. Thus, effective teaching can truly define a teacher.
Therefore, to become an effective teacher, I must be well aware of the importance of effective teaching. I must know what I need to teach to my students (learning objective), how to best teach my subject matter (teaching approaches, strategies, methods and techniques) and how to tell if they really have learned from it (assessment).
