“Best” teachers make students want to learn and reinforce their efforts, while “worst” teachers turn students of.

Teachers also play a major role in helping children learn to deal with positions of authority, to cooperate with others, to cope with problems, and to achieve competence.

organize the classroom environment to provide time and opportunity to learn
involve students in planning motivating learning activities
communicate high expectations for student success
adapt learning activities to the needs and abilities of students
ensure success for students by providing guidance and support as they progress
through the curriculum.

Teachers who try to work closely with each child and who understand group dynamics are more likely to provide a successful and rewarding learning environ­ment. Studies have found that successful or effective teachers are those who are warm, enthusiastic, and generous with praise, and have high status. Also, successful teachers communicate well and are responsive to students.

Teachers who use expansive verbal descriptions and who encourage the children to converse with each other ef­fect an increase in their students’ verbal skills.

Teacher-child relationships are significant factors in school success

a competent teacher is one who is committed to work, is an effective classroom manager, is a positive role model with whom students can identify, is enthusiastic and warm, continues eforts for self-improvement in teaching, possesses skill in human relationships, and can adapt his or her skills to a specific context

Teachers direct, guide, and set an example for students—they are leaders. Teachers use different styles of leadership to accomplish their goals.

Effec­tive teachers are those who are collaborators or partners with students in learning;

the teacher’s leadership role as that of a mentor who guides participation

an effective teacher is one who is sensitive to the student’s zone of development and pro­vides appropriate independent, as well as collaborative, activities to enhance learning.

The differences between successful and unsuccessful classroom managers lay in the planning and preparation of instruction, so that inatten­tion and boredom were prevented.

student inattentiveness and misbehavior were often linked to prob­lems of discontinuity in a lesson, which in turn were linked to inadequate preparation by the teacher

teacher behavior as “with-it­-ness.” Teachers who are “with it” respond immediately to incidents rather than waiting, quash minor problems before they turn into major ones, do not overreact to incidents, and focus accurately on the individuals involved in the incident rather than blaming someone wrongly

Well-managed classrooms appear to run by themselves, with the teacher spending most of the time teaching rather than dealing with behavior problems.

Another characteristic of successful classroom managers is the ability to overlap, or deal with more than one activity at the same time

Teachers usually receive data about students at the beginning of the school year (test scores, past grades, family and health information, comments by previous teachers), which influence their expectations of stu­dents for achievement and behavior. Because of these expectations, the teacher tends to treat students differently. Students then react to the teacher differently. The students’ behavior and achievement reinforce the teacher’s expectations. Gradually, the students’ self-concepts, motivation, and levels of aspiration reflect these expectations. If continued throughout the year, the students’ performances will match or fulfill what the teacher expected or prophesied at the beginning of the year.

teachers’ expecta­tions can be influenced by certain student characteristics, such as socioeconomic class, cultural background, gender, personality, physical attractiveness, speech characteristics, and handwriting

Teacher expectations about students do not have a direct impact on student behavior; it is only when these expectations are communicated to the students and selective rein­forcement results in shaping their behavior that teacher expectations have an impact. By becoming aware of possible biases in their behavior caused by their expectations, teachers can make a conscious efort to interact objectively with each child.

Research shows that teacher-student interaction differs according to the gender of the stu­dent (the gender of the teacher does not seem to matter), though even when confronted with documentation (such as video recording), most teachers are unaware of inequities

Teachers are more responsive to the disruptive behavior of boys than of girls and are more likely to rep­rimand boys.

When children request attention, teachers generally respond to boys with instructions and to girls with nurture.

Teachers must be trained to foster assertive and affiliative skills in both girls and boys. School curricula and textbooks should be moni­tored for gender stereotypes and should provide positive role models for both girls and boys.

Ethnic background is a factor in teacher-student interaction in that both teacher and stu­dent come to the relationship with certain socialization experiences influencing their val­ues, morals, attitudes, motives, behaviors, and roles.

Diverse socialization yields diverse perspectives on what to learn, how to learn it, and how to show it has been learned

For optimal developmental and learning of all children, educators must accept the legitimacy of children’s home language, respect (hold in high regard) and value (esteem, appreciate) the home culture and promote and encourage the active involvement and support of all families, including extended and nontraditional family units.

Teacher sensitivity can be used to enable children to be tolerant and respectful of dif­ferences.

Income. Children from birth to age 5 whose families’ incomes were below the pov­erty line were found to score lower on a standardized test than children from families with average incomes.

Education. Children whose parents finished high school and had some college education routinely score higher on cognitive and academic tests than do children of parents with less education.

Family structure. Single-parent families are likely to have fewer resources than dual-parent families.

Neighborhood. Children growing up in high-poverty urban communities plagued by violence, gangs, drug activity, old housing, and vacant buildings may experience stress, a lack of positive role models, a lack of institutional re­sources (school, protective services), and negative peer influences

Individualized instruction, in which the child’s abilities rather than prescribed academic content provide the basis for teaching techniques.

.
Adaptation of the curriculum to various learning styles, whereby visual, auditory, and tactile learners are motivated to succeed.

Collaboration with various professionals, so that services such as medical, physical therapy, speech therapy, and counseling are provided

Peer tutoring, in which children with greater abilities help those who are in need

The purpose of preschool intervention services, as defined by Congress, follows:

1. 
   To enhance the development of infants and toddlers with disabilities and to mini­mize the potential for delay.
2. 
   To reduce educational costs by minimizing the need for special education and related services after infants and toddlers with disabilities reach school age.
3. 
   To minimize the likelihood of institutionalization of individuals with disabilities.
4. 
   To enhance the capacity of families to meet the special needs of infants and toddlers.

Risk refers to endangerment or vulnerability to negative developmental outcomes.

Resilience refers to the ability to withstand and rebound from crisis or persistent challenges.

Teachers also have to motivate students to achieve in the face of learned helplessness— the perception, acquired through negative experiences, that effort has no effect on out­come

Philosophies of teaching range from emphasis on the learner, with the goal of expanding an individual’s knowledge (learner-directed), to emphasis on the teacher, with the goal of me­thodically presenting new knowledge to the student (teacher-directed).

accountability refers to making schools and teachers respon­sible for student learning or achievement outcomes. It means that educational expendi­tures must be justified.

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (re­vised in 2004), which is a model for standards-based education, requires annual testing in all states.

at all elementary, middle, and high school teachers who are assigned to teach core academic sub­jects meet the following NCLB requirements:
have at least a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution of higher education
hold full state certification
demonstrate subject-matter competence for each NCLB core academic subject they
teach.