Efficient Teacher

In order to be an efficient teacher it is important to realize that there cannot be one approach to managing a classroom effectively. It is important for a teacher to recognize the teacher characteristics, learner characteristics and teacher-learner interactions that are present in a classroom setting. All of these characteristics help mold what kind of teacher you will be and help dictate the classroom environment you would want to have with your students.

When I look back at the teacher who made the most impact on me it was undoubtedly my grade 11 English teacher. His power base was referent power. Some of the important characteristics of referent power are that the students view the teacher as an important person and behave as they like the teacher as a person. Also the teacher needs to communicate that they like and care about the students as well in order for referent power to be effective. (Levin, Nolan, Ken + Elliot, 2012 p. 82)

My grade 11 teachers' delivery in the classroom is what stands out in my mind with all my memories. We are taught that all our lessons should begin with a "hook" and looking back it was as if every word he would utter was a hook. He just had that way of engaging the classroom when he spoke and all students would listen tentatively. He would also begin his classes always giving us 10-15 minutes or so to discuss about recent news events of something interesting that was happening. I feel that with this referent approach, where you are friendly and really taking in to the interest of the students, the students in turn respect the teacher more and I don't believe it was a coincidence that the classroom was extremely behaved because of it. This is why I believe in the referent power base most, I truly believe that if you are respected and liked by your students, the students in turn will benefit greatly in their learning and in turn, exhibit the same level of respect towards you. Furthermore, I felt that he also was very flexible in his approach to learning based on what and how we wanted to learn. It reiterated to the students that our opinions mattered and this was an important feature of his teacher characteristic, as it exhibited the ways he would adopt management strategies that conflict less with his current method of operating a classroom. (Martin, Sugarman + McNamara, 2000 p.214)

If you power base is referent power, it is essential that if you planning to have this type of relationship with your students, it is important that rules are established within the first few days of the school year and a lesson plan is in order. By using the referent power approach, the creation of these rules for the classroom is a decision that should come from the entire classroom. By the end of the lesson the goal is that the student would have felt the responsibility and taken ownership in creating these rules. An example of a type of lesson that is suitable for the grade 3 or 4 level is the lesson will begin with a classroom reading illustrating easy examples of what rules are. The class will then give suggestions of their own rules for the class, which will be followed by an art activity to assist in displaying those rules throughout the classroom. By focusing on the end goal first and working backwards to achieve that goal, this is an example of using the backwards design to assist in creating this lesson. (Wiggins and McTighe, 1998, p. 21-25) Furthermore, backward design isn't only beneficial in this lesson, but it also beneficial in assisting yourself as a teacher to be able to see the whole picture and envision how you would want your class to look like at the end of the work, and slowly work to attain that goal.

The structure of the classroom is another element that is significant when considering the type of learning environment you want to have for your students. While there is no right answer, some important characteristics that should be present with all structures of the classroom setting are ease of access for the teacher to be in close proximity of all students and should be flexible to accommodate many different learning centers. (Levin, Nolan, Ken + Elliot, 2012 p. 143) I am a teacher who believes strongly in group activity therefore, in my classroom, the position of desk would most likely be in groups of 4 with the students facing each other. This would provide plenty of space for the teacher to walk around the classroom and