Josh Grajower Reflection Paper July 8, 2013

Great motivational speakers feed off of the emotional element of the human psyche. Through personal anecdotes, exciting storylines and linguistic genius these speakers have their crowds at the edge of their seats. These people are often described as just having it. In educational circles great teachers are often described as being naturally gifted and possessing the same it quality. However, this idea is counterproductive to growth as individuals and as a community. Teachers who feel they have a natural talent can choose to rest on their laurels and not strive to improve. While teachers who struggle at first might give up instantaneously, feeling dejected that they dont have it. Our communities place education at the center and cannot afford either of these errors. I have learned from Robert Slavins book Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice that great teaching can be a learned skill and can surely be taught. Great teachers are not born, rather they are made. As Slavin writes, Good teaching has to be observed and practiced, but there are principles of good teaching that teachers need to know, which can then be applied in the classroom (p.4). Working on the premise that great teachers are made and not born (which may be a big assumption), how does one make a great teacher? One educator might believe great teaching is done through strict rules and toughness, while another educator will declare with conviction that great teaching can only be found in a relaxing environment and with a warm, friendly teacher. One teacher, who has been teacher for 35 years, asserts that her experience has shown that frontal teaching should be lauded and applauded. A young colleague of this experienced teacher quietly and softly explains why 21st century skills require classes to be interactive and hands-on. Who is right? What makes a great teacher? On the first day of class we spent much time discussing how people attempt to answer these critical and fundamental questions. We discussed four major tactics. Some people answer with personal anecdotes (e.g. Ive been teaching for 20 years and all my students love my projects). Others will just use hyperbole to make their point (e.g. Everyone knows). Some will throw out random data, which doesnt show any causational (or sometimes even correlational) connection to their actual point. Many, in my opinion, use the final route of simply responding from the gut and give a charged emotional response.

We discussed though how all these methods are flawed. Personal anecdotes and emotional responses have their place, however our initial response to any question should be to either provide or search for evidence. Educational research is surely limited, nonetheless whatever research has been done must be used as the primary tool in deciding what makes a great teacher. I am someone who is often drawn to the latest fad in education. I can easily be convinced of the value of blended learning, flipping the classroom or project-based learning (PBL) to name a few. All of these learning models and their proclaimed effects are exciting to my young mind and appeal to me as an educator. The early stages of this course have made me more conscious of my need to scrupulously and diligently analyze the research regarding the effects these methods have on student learning, both positive and negative. A good example of my acquired mindset was the speech in the video we recently watched in class regarding jigsaw activities. The speaker in the video (whose name escapes me) made a casual comment that the jigsaw activity could help prevent tragedies like the one in Columbine. I know the speaker was trying to use an emotional tactic to make his point and I was frustrated by the lack of evidence for his claim. I now have seen the article which does discuss the actual studies done about the effects of jigsaw activities which helped me understand the speakers point; however that is not my point in this paper. My point is that I had the proper mindset to question and probe for the evidence.1 Another major benefit of evidence based practice is its ability to help me in discussions with other educators. I often find myself at odds with certain teaching practices and I become engaged in productive, tension-filled conversations with colleagues and administrators about my progressive methodology in the classroom. I am often trying to persuade others to understand my point of view and there is no better way to do that than with hard evidence. The other still might not want to change, but at least I feel if I have the evidence it will certainly bolster my point. Lastly, and slightly as an aside, I was very drawn to Slavins unifying quality for great teachers. Slavin labels all great teachers as intentional. He explains:
Intentional teachers know that maximum learning does not happen by chance. Yes, children do learn in unplanned ways all the time, and many will learn from even the most chaotic lesson. But to really challenge students, to get their best efforts, to help them make conceptual leaps and organize and retain new knowledge, teachers need to be purposeful, thoughtful, and flexible, without ever losing sight of their goals for every child. In a word, they need to be intentional.

Intentionality means coming to class with a real, defined purpose. It means having clear goals and a clear plan on how to attain those goals. This intentionality must be guided by research, as I
1

To be clear, I was previously a proponent of jigsaw activities and I have not only used them in my class, but I actually presented on jigsaw activities at a recent faculty meeting. My point here is not about my personal feelings towards jigsaw activities, rather the research regarding jigsaw activities.

have developed already, but also gives meaning to what a teacher does without researching guiding the process. Not everything done in the classroom (or our lives for that matter) can be guided by empirical research. Everything can be guided by purpose. Educational leaders today are trying many new tactics to try and change the paradigm of education. While this is an exciting time to be a young, progressive educator, I must proceed with evidence. Every innovation will not have evidence to back it up and sometimes (if not many times) I will have to trust my intuition and find guidance and solace in my classroom goals. The first step though in becoming a great teacher means being intentional through research.

References: Slavin, Robert (2012). Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice. Boston: Pearson