Effective Classrooms: Teacher Behaviors that Produce High Student Achievement Educational Research Service (ERS) is the nonprofit foundation serving the research and information needs of education leaders and the public. ERS provides objective,

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Effective Classrooms Teacher Behaviors that
Produce High Student AchievementEducational
Research Service (ERS) is the nonprofit
foundation serving the research and information
needs of education leaders and the public. ERS
provides objective, accurate, and up-to-date
research and information for local school and
school district decisions.The Informed Educator
Series May 2000Gary S. Mathews,
Ph.D.Superintendent Carroll I.S.D., Southlake,
TXCabinet Meeting, November 6, 2002
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Parents have always known that it matters a lot
which teachers their children get.That is why
those with the time and skills to do so work very
hard to assure that, by hook or by crook, their
children are assigned to the best
teachers.Research proves that parents have
been right all along.--Katy Haycock, 1998Good
Teaching Matters A Lot,Thinking K-16.
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Researchers analyzed data for third-grade,
fourth-grade, and fifth-grade students in 54
Tennessee school districts.RESULTS.the most
important factor affecting student learning is
the teacher. In addition, the results show wide
variation in the effectiveness among
teachers.--Wright, Horn, Sanders, 97
Teacher and Classroom Context Effects on Student
Achievement Implications for Teacher
Evaluation. Journal of Personnel Evaluation in
Education.
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Results contdThe immediate and clear
implication of this finding is that seemingly
more can be done to improve education by
improving the effectiveness of teachers than by
any other single factor such as socio-economic
status or prior achievement levels.--Wright,
Horn, Sanders, 97
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Researchers have found that highly effective
teachers were generally effective with all
students, although lower-achieving students were
the first to benefit from assignment to an
effective teacher.Results Using data from two
large Tennessee districts, these researchers also
studied residual effects of teacher
effectiveness on later student achievement.
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Students who were assigned to the classrooms of
relatively ineffective teachers, and the next
year were in classrooms of very effective
teachers made excellent academic gains, but not
enough to offset previous less-than-expected
gains.
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The researchers found that .the effects of
teachers appeared to be cumulative, with the
difference of almost 50 percentile points between
a student who had effective teachers for all
three grades (3, 4, and 5) and a similar student
who had a low-effectiveness teacher for all three
grades.--Sanders Rivers, 96Cumulative and
Residual Effects of Teachers on Future Student
Achievement. University of Tennessee
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CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE TEACHERS

• These teachers have .high energy and the
  ability to help all students learnthe low
  achievers, the average achievers, and the high
  achievers.

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They keep themselves and their students on
task.They tend to be among those who arrive
early and stay late. Interestingly, they
frequently are described as having a good sense
of humor.--Bratton, 98How Were Using
Value-Added Assessment. The School Administrator
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WHAT HELPS STUDENTS LEARN?Of 28 categories of
variables related to student learning, classroom
management ranked first!The researchers
definition of classroom management included
effective questioning/recitation strategies,
learner accountability, smooth transitions, and
teacher with-it-ness.
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The Effective Teachers

• .were extremely aware of what was happening in
  their rooms. They were virtually always in a
  position where they could see everyone in the
  room.(they) seemed extremely attuned to
  intervening before a problem escalated in the
  classroom. Like good parents, these teachers
  seemed to possess a sixth sense for when things
  became too noisy, or even too quiet, in an area
  of the classroom.

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WHAT HELPS STUDENTS LEARN

• Teachers were consistent in their management
  techniques, so children knew what was expected of
  them and consequently carried out work that
  needed to be done.
• The day flowed smoothly from one activity to
  another, and routines were regular. The
  activities were varied to keep children engaged.
• Furthermore, the affective quality in the rooms
  was exemplary teachers were warm and caring.In
  such an atmosphere, children learned to respect
  the teacher and one another.
• --Morrow, et al., 99
• Characteristics of Exemplary First-Grade
  Literacy Instruction. The Reading Teacher

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THE MOST ACCOMPLISHED TEACHERS

• Managed, on average, to engage virtually all
  (96) of their students in the work of the
  classroom.
• In contrast, the on task rate for moderately
  accomplished teachers was 84
• While the on task rate for the least
  accomplished teachers was only 61.

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Numerous studies have also identified aspects of
good classroom management as being strongly
linked to higher levels of student learning

• The classroom management system emphasizes
  curriculum-related activities. The teacher does
  not see discipline as a separate issue or set of
  controls. Faced with a problem, such teachers
  find something the student is interested in,
  find something else the student can do, find
  something else the student can share. -- In
  other words, these teachers view discipline
  primarily as a natural consequence of their
  ability to interest and involve learners.
  Haberman, 95

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Other Findings related to Effective
Teaching/Classroom Managementgt The teacher is
consistently well prepared and follows
predictable, although not rigid, patterns of
behavior and activities. Students know what is
expected of them.gt The teacher minimizes
disruptive behavior by redirecting students in a
positive way before the problem becomes
overt.--Wharton-McDonald, Pressley Hampton, 98
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SOME IMPLICATONS FOR CISD

• Recognize teacher behaviors that produce high
  student achievement. (High expectations are
  more than just raising the bar for students.
  They are what good teachers do to get students
  over the bar.)
• Recruit these teachers.
• Retain these teachers.
• Reward these teachers.
• Train future teachers to be the kind of teacher
  that produces high student achievement regardless
  of student background. Staff Development