What Makes an Effective Teacher

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What makes a teacher “effective”? (Word count 1210) An effective teacher realises that what they do matters to students, and that having “an appropriate mind frame combined with appropriate actions work together to achieve a positive learning effect” (Hattie, 2012). The impact of positive teaching embraces the importance of passion in a teacher. Zimmerman cites that “passionate teaching requires emotional engagement between teacher and student” ((2009). This makes the teaching more interesting to students and fosters deeper connections whereby the student may be inspired to find passion in their own lives (Zimmerman, 2009). This relationship coincides also with the level of care a teacher possesses. “Caring is a particular kind of relationship between the teacher and the student that is defined by the teacher's unconditional acceptance of the student, the teacher's intention to address the student's educational needs, the teacher's competence to meet those needs, and the student 's recognition that the teacher cares” (Cooner; Stevenson; Frederiksen, 2011) Identifying passion and care as two of the fundamental attributes of an effective teacher, I shall endeavour to outline why I believe these are so important based on scholarly research. In 'Inspiration Espresso', Gulick states that even a hefty dose of caffeine is not enough to get through the huge amount of daily responsibilities of a teacher (2008). These tasks become a focus point for a passionate teacher. The classroom is set out to be an “educationally stimulating environment”, where “teachers find joy in the school day by appreciating moments that represent their favourite aspect of their profession” (Gulick, 2008). These teachers are able to then be “flexible in the pace and sequence of learning based on the particular students needs and ability” (McAllister, 2012). This builds trust where
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