Five Factors for Effective Teaching

New Zealand Journal of Teachers’ Work, Volume 4, Issue 2, 89-98, 2007

PHILIP GURNEY

ABSTRACT: In the course of a teaching career a teacher does not often have
the opportunity to consider the very basic principles of his/her craft in the
classroom. This article is such an exploration. In searching for the elusive ‘Holy
Grail’ of Good Teaching, the article suggests five key factors that could
contribute to an effective and worthwhile learning and teaching environment.

All teachers do good things some of the time, and all good teachers
do bad things some of the time. The differences among teachers lie
not only in the proportions of the good and the bad, but also in their
awareness of the effects of what they are doing and their readiness
to share this awareness with their students.
(Smith, 1995: 590)

INTRODUCTION

At the beginning of this year I set myself a goal and that was to try to establish
an understanding of the concept of good teaching. I wanted to see if it were
possible to encapsulate the qualities of a good teacher and good teaching in
a good learning environment so that one could hold these qualities up as a
benchmark for all teachers to see and to aspire towards achieving some kind of
excellent standard. In my quest for this educational ‘Holy Grail’, I have
discovered a wide range of very diverse interpretations of teaching theories and
philosophies, of very different starting points that will clearly influence the
teacher's actions in the classroom and of many different approaches to what
actually happens in the classroom and how teachers relate to what they do in
the confines of the four walls that they define as their teaching environment. I
have also sat in teacher's classrooms for hour-long periods or for short 10
minute visits, I have spoken to 30-year veterans – some jaded, some still
passionate, and bright-eyed first year teachers filled with Teachers College
enthusiasm and attention to strands and objectives for everything that they do in
the classroom. I have reflected on my own 27 years of teaching in different
countries and cultures. I have searched high and low for the ‘Grail of the good
teacher’ and in the end I come back to the idea caught in W.B. Yeats poem,
‘The Circus Animals Desertion’, where all ideas and thoughts begin:

Now that my ladder's gone,

I must lie down where all the ladders start,
In the foul rag-and-bone shop of the heart.

(Yeats, 1961: 392)

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So what is good or effective teaching? Smith (1995) suggests that learning

‘is a consequence of experience’ (p.588). He argues that education and
therefore teaching, should be focussed on the creation of ‘appropriately
nourishing experiences so that learning comes about naturally and inevitably’
(p.589). He states that schools should focus less on ‘talking about learning and
teaching’ and ‘more about doing’ (p.589). Is this then the answer to the quest?
To reflect on what we do in the classroom rather than on all the talk about
theory and practice. To develop an effective teacher model by identifying clearly
what it is that effective teachers do in their classrooms?
If this were the case then Alton-Lee (2003) has provided ten clearly
defined and research-supported characteristics of quality teaching. Although
these characteristics were developed for ‘diverse students’, I would question
how many classrooms in New Zealand or anywhere in the world would be made
up of anything but diversity in culture, ability and social point of view. Alton-
Lee's ten point model covers the following areas:

1. A focus on student achievement.

2. Pedagogical practices that create caring, inclusive and cohesive
learning communities.
3. Effective links between school and the cultural context of the
school.
4. Quality teaching is responsive to student learning processes.
5. Learning opportunities are effective and sufficient.
6. Multiple tasks and contexts support learning cycles.
7. Curriculum goals are effectively aligned.
8. Pedagogy scaffolds feedback on students' task engagement.
9. Pedagogy promotes learning orientations, student self-
regulation, metacognitive strategies and thoughtful student
discourse.
10. Teachers and students engage constructively in goal-
oriented assessment.

(Alton-Lee, 2003: vi-x)

This then leads to the two extremes of the quest, a simple ‘focus on what
you do’ and a detailed analysis of the best evidence on quality teaching. Does
teaching draw on both extremes and should the effective teacher be expected
to follow one, or both of these models and in the process perhaps fall short of
either goal? In reaching my own conclusions I have endeavoured to find a path
that draws these two philosophical approaches together so that I can find a
possible map that will provide further direction in the quest for that ‘good
teacher’ epitaph.
 Five Factors for Effective Teaching 91

With this in mind I will focus on the areas that I believe are the most
significant in my teaching and in my efforts to be an effective teacher. In the
creation of an effective learning environment, I suggest that it is the interaction
of the following five key factors that provide a foundation for a good teaching:

! Teacher knowledge, enthusiasm and responsibility for learning.

! Classroom activities that encourage learning.
! Assessment activities that encourage learning through experience.
! Effective feedback that establishes the learning processes in the
classroom.
! Effective interaction between the teacher and the students,
creating an environment that respects, encourages and stimulates
learning through experience.

KEY FACTOR 1: TEACHER KNOWLEDGE, ENTHUSIASM AND

RESPONSIBILITY FOR LEARNING

In 1964 John Holt addressed the question: ‘How children fail?’ and he
proceeded to analyse the state of schools and education in the USA. His
conclusions were that schools did not recognise the living quality of education.
He highlighted the boring nature of repetitive tasks, the dishonesty of teachers
with schooling and with themselves, the limiting of knowledge and ultimately the
coercive nature of schooling (Holt, 1964: 168-179). Holt’s comments are central
to the creation of a classroom that reflects the teacher's knowledge, enthusiasm
and the responsibility for creating a learning environment that will effectively
nurture the student’s desire to learn and to accept the challenges of thinking
and inquiring into all that is offered by the teacher. To create this environment,
the teacher must be prepared to challenge the prejudices of an education
system that still reflects much of Holt's view. Teachers need to adjust their
thinking about the nature of teaching; the classroom environment should mirror
the teacher's reflective practices that would be central to the learning
environment. There are many theories about reflective practice and thinkers like
Baird (1991), Day (1999a & b), McMahon (1999) and Cole and Knowles (2000)
provide specific direction for critical self-reflection. Day (1999a) argues that
‘teaching is more than a craft’, suggesting it is an ‘educational science and a
pedagogical art’ (p.22). Day (1999b) also suggests a model for reflective
professionalism that includes the following key words: ‘Learning, Participation,
Collaboration, Co-operation, Activism’ (p.228). These are ideas that effective
teachers should keep as touchstones for their practice.
In taking on the reflective role, teachers can enjoy the process of teaching
by sharing their knowledge through the creation of a reflective classroom. In
such an environment the knowledge is shared; students and teachers all
become learners, discovering the world of the subject. The teacher that is
willing to share his knowledge unconditionally will be stepping towards the
effective classroom. The passion that a teacher has for his subject will be
creating a world that moves beyond the ritual of classroom activities. It is the
 Philip Gurney 92

example of passion for something that can inspire students to want to learn.
Fried (1995) sums this idea up:

The example we set as passionate adults allows us to connect to

young people's minds and spirits that can have a lasting positive
impact on their lives.
(p.19)

At the same time the teacher is the guardian for learning in the classroom
environment. If the teacher goes in unprepared, unwilling to share, unfocussed
on the process of developing a context that will encourage and stimulate an
interest and a thirst for further knowledge then that teaching is shirking the
responsibility of being a teacher. Teaching is far more than simply transferring
information, it is the engaging of minds to seek out answers. Strong, silver and
Robinson (1995) put forward the acronym SCORE to suggest a model of
student engagement. I would suggest that this model should be applied to
teachers first:

S: The Success of mastery of the subject that you teach.

C: The Curiosity that every teacher should have entrenched in their
teaching. A teacher who is not curious has lost a critical portion
of the passion for learning.
O: Originality – a teacher who is passionate about the teaching
process will be creative; will be constantly seeking new ways of
engaging and challenging students.
R: Relationships are central to the effective classroom and teachers
are crucial in the nurturing of opportunities for students to engage
with subjects that at senior levels can lead to a life-long
interaction with the subject.
E: To maintain this process the teacher needs Energy. This a
something that schools do not always provide, and teachers in
general need the time to reflect; to re-energise and to regenerate
their focus on the learning process. It is an essential ingredient in
the effective classroom that is too often ignored.
(SCORE acronym adapted from Strong et al., 1995: 9-11)

In essence a teacher who brings a passion for teaching to the subject, and
takes responsibility for the creation of an environment that allows for the sharing
and enjoyment of that knowledge, will be creating an effective learning climate.

KEY FACTOR 2: CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES THAT ENCOURAGE

LEARNING

In many classrooms this is the key factor that supports an effective learning
environment. It answers the question posed by Smith earlier in this paper as to
what do effective teachers do in the classroom.
 Five Factors for Effective Teaching 93

Stipek (1996) lists six practices that support the idea that an effective
classroom is a classroom of opportunity and experience, where learners can
explore and experiment in a climate that recognises the process of learning as
the measure of success rather than the right answer approach (p.105). It
acknowledges the vital role of intrinsic motivation in creating an environment
where students can feel that they are the masters of their own learning (p.102).
In a different environment, but following the same basic philosophy, Alton-Lee
(2003) suggests, ‘quality teaching provides sufficient and effective opportunity
to learn’ (p.53).
Both of these writers highlight the need for the classroom environment to
be a place that allows students to learn. That may be a very obvious statement
but in considering the average class of senior students, many factors would in
fact mitigate against a good learning environment being created and not
through lack of trying or experience on behalf of the teacher. The fact that a
teacher may be successful in one year does not necessarily mean that success
will be continued in the next year. The teaching environment may be the same
but the attitudes that each cohort brings to a classroom will always influence the
outcome. A teacher must be able to identify the ebbs and flows of each class
and work with the students to create the learning environment. Teachers need
to be prepared to test what is going on in the class, for example, through
feedback questionnaires on what they doing.
In reflecting on this feedback and on the classroom activity of a year, a
teacher could identify specific exercises and techniques that engaged the
students. It takes patience and persistence to have the classes work co-
operatively, to carry out independent research, and to report back to small
groups and to the whole class – the goal is that through the teacher’s
endeavours, the learning will become the student’s own learning. The activities
need to be part of their learning regime and not something that is imposed. This
is an area that requires planning, reflection and preparation.
This is clearly a central issue in this aspect of the learning environment: it
is a very self-conscious action on the part of the teacher. The activities that are
used in the class to engage the students must be reviewed, revisited and
refocused so that they are constantly drawing the students into an effective
interaction with the subject. Effective Teaching is not a passive action.

KEY FACTOR 3: ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES THAT ENCOURAGE

LEARNING THROUGH EXPERIENCE

A central aspect of the NCEA regime is assessment. It is the cry of teachers,

students, parents and administrators that NCEA over-assesses. The point that I
feel is that the assessment can be very much a part of the creation of an
effective learning process. I accept that the nature of a learning environment
that is dominated by assessment procedures can detract from the learning
environment but I have found that if the students are able to see the value of the
learning process, and the assessment is a part of the learning and not an end in
itself, then they can buy into the process and actually use it to gain better
results while benefiting from the learning environment which they help to
generate through their self-monitoring and peer-assessment activities. This is
an idea that has been demonstrated by Cameron (2002) in identifying the
 Philip Gurney 94

processes of peer tutoring, co-operative learning, reciprocal teaching through

predicting answers, questioning, clarifying and summarising and collaborative
reasoning (p.38-39). All of these processes when used in a classroom will
empower the learners as they are the people doing the learning; echoing
Smith's question: ‘What do you do in the classroom?’ If assessment activities
are part of the ‘doing’ then they become a central part of the learning process.
In the terms of Brown and Campione (1996, as cited in Cameron, 2002), they
become a ‘community of learners’ (p.40).
Delandshere (2002) argues that there is a gap in the research on
assessment practices. She focuses on: the inclusion of the value judgements of
the assessments in the learning process, of the ‘discourse, actions and
transactions of individuals in participation’ (p.1478), and questioning the nature
of assessment and inquiry. Her questioning emphasises the nature of the
debate surrounding assessment and its multi-level of inquiry (p.1481). This is an
issue that has concerned me in relation to NCEA where the process of
assessment of internal and external standards and formative and summative
work seems to blur the lines of assessment and inquiry. At what stage does the
teacher have to step back and leave the student to complete the assessment?
At what stage does inquiry become assessment?
This is a question that influences the process of learning and the creation
of an effective learning environment. The effective teacher has to be aware of
the debate surrounding assessment and has to be able to cope with the
interplay of summative and formative tasks in the NCEA regime. Regardless of
the educational structure, the effective teacher will use assessment as part of
the learning environment rather than as a separate entity.

KEY FACTOR 4: EFFECTIVE FEEDBACK THAT ESTABLISHES THE

LEARNING PROCESSES IN THE CLASSROOM

Hattie (1999) provides my teaching with a core underpinning value. I have

always believed that feedback – focussed, appropriate, timely and learning-
related – should be one the cornerstones of the effective teacher. Hattie's
extensive research highlighted the value of feedback in raising achievement
(p.2). He identifies feedback as ‘the most powerful single moderator that
enhances achievement’ (p.9). With this endorsement I focussed on trying to
create a classroom where my feedback to the learners was aimed at
encouraging them to become more engaged. I had to develop different methods
of feedback that would allow them to engage with the learning. My explanations,
my questioning methods, my instructions all had to be linked with the learning
environment and all were part of the interplay of feedback and student input.
The effective classroom is one were the students actively seek feedback as
they will know that their own learning will become part of the feedback process.
The nature of interplay of learning and teaching in the activities of the effective
classroom adds to the value of the feedback in such an environment. Alton Lee
(2003) highlights the value of feedback but warns that too much can be as
detrimental as too little. This then provides another key aspect of the effective
teacher. Feedback that is appropriate and meaningful to the learner will be a
central part of the effective learning environment.
 Five Factors for Effective Teaching 95

In a further step the feedback that a teacher gets from the students is
essential to the creation of a learning environment. The more feedback that a
teacher can obtain from students, and the more the teacher can act on that
feedback, the better the learning environment will be that is created.

KEY FACTOR 5: EFFECTIVE INTERACTION BETWEEN THE TEACHER

AND THE STUDENTS, CREATING AN ENVIRONMENT THAT RESPECTS,
ENCOURAGES AND STIMULATES LEARNING THROUGH EXPERIENCE

Eisner (2002), in putting forward a number of concepts that should be essential

components of schools, argues:

Good teaching depends on sensibility and imagination. It

courts surprise. It profits from caring. In short, good teaching
is an artistic affair.

(p.577)

The effective teacher will be one who engages with the students in the
class in a way that highlights mutual respect and an acknowledgement of the
learning process that is in place. Eisner's suggestion that teaching is a caring
exercise is very much part of the effective learning process. Learning is an
emotional exercise. Students will engage in something that appeals to them
emotionally. The teacher who brings a sense of personal involvement to the
classroom, who wants to share the knowledge with the members of the class,
who is prepared to show that he/she is also a part of the learning cycle, will be
setting up a relationship which will encourage a good learning environment.
Wolk (2001) highlights this by emphasising that teachers ‘who are passionate
about learning ... create an infectious classroom environment’ (p.59).
The effective environment will allow students the time to learn. This is
something that is mentioned frequently in the literature. Crooks (undated)
emphasises that ‘good learning needs time and patience’. Wolk (2001) argues
that students need time ‘to own their learning’ (p.59). In the rushed world of
Year 13, Level 3 NCEA students have about 125 in-class teaching periods to
cover the entire course; it is a difficult decision on the part of the teacher to ‘give
time’ for students to explore at their own pace the work that they are doing.
This last factor is essential in creating an ethos of learning that will allow
students to feel comfortable in the classroom. The working environment that is
generated by the interaction and the enthusiasm of the teacher will remove the
stigma of ‘working’ and turn the learning process into something that is
rewarding and therefore to strive towards. In effect, the creation of an effective
learning environment would generate a positive learning atmosphere throughout
a school.
 Philip Gurney 96

CONCLUSION

Nuthall (2001) questions the cultural myths that haunt classrooms, making
teachers follow certain rituals that appear to be good practice. His suggestion
that ‘every generalisation we make, every conclusion we draw, must be true of
every individual’ (p.24) highlights the very nature of the effective classroom. It is
like a finely tuned instrument that needs to be nurtured, not forced into strait-
jackets of convention. The effective teacher will be able to orchestrate the
music of the classroom, turning Yeats’ ‘foul rag and bone shop’ into an
environment of excitement and passion for learning.
Finally, I return to my original quest, having targeted five key areas that if
followed might lead towards some answers in the search for that perfect lesson.
The point about the process is that it is the journey that is important. As the
teacher becomes more involved in the learning process, as the passion for
knowledge is shared with the students, so the effective nature of that teaching
and learning environment will become evident.
 Five Factors for Effective Teaching 97

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Alton-Lee, A. (2003). Quality teaching for diverse students in schooling: Best

evidence synthesis. Wellington: Ministry of Education.
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development. In P. Hughes (Ed.), Teachers and professional development
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Cameron, M. (2002). Peer influences on learning. Set, 3, 36-40.
Cole, A. L., & Knowles, J. G. (2000). Researching teaching: Exploring teacher
development through reflexive inquiry. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Crooks, T. J. (Undated pamphlet). What do we know about learning. Dunedin:
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Day, C. (1999b). Researching teaching through reflective practice. In J.
Loughran (Ed.), Researching teaching (pp.215-232). London: Falmer
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Delandshere, G. (2002). Assessment as inquiry. Teachers College Record,
104(7), 1461-1484.
Eisner, E.W. (2002). The kind of schools we need. Phi Delta Kappan, 83, 576-
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Fried, R. L. (1995). The passionate teacher. Boston: Beacon Press.
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Holt, J. (1964). How children fail. New York: Dell.
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Educational Action Research, 7(1), 163-168.
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The opinions expressed are those of the paper author(s) and not the New Zealand Journal of Teachers’ Work.
Copyright is held by individual authors but offprints in the published format only may be distributed freely by individuals
provided that the source is fully acknowledged. [ISSN-1176-6662]
 Philip Gurney 98

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Philip Gurney is Deputy Principal at Trident High

School, Whakatane. He has been teaching for 29
years and has held a range of positions, from HOD
to Principal. He is an alumnus of Rhodes University
– BA Honours, University of Cape Town – B.Ed,
and Otago University – M.Teaching (Distinction).
He completed the M.Teaching in 2006 where he
focussed specifically on reflective practice and
engaging students in their own reflective learning.