5 Habits of Highly Effective Teachers

 

Here is some detailed information about some of the procedures I set up in my own life that have allowed me to be more effective. These 5 Habits of Highly Effective Teachers may help teachers who are struggling to maintain their sanity.

 

Habit 1:Communication Procedures

Without question, one of the most essential elements of any good relationship is clear and open communication. As a teacher, practically everything that we do in the classroom is communication in one sense or another.

With this in mind, it becomes evident why communication procedures are the most important skills for us to develop.

I have previously written regarding some positive ways to communicate with others. This article is well worth the reading. However this time, we’ll look at some procedures that can be set up that will facilitate greater communication.

The first step to more effective communication is to eliminate unnecessary informational inputs from your life. We have to do this first by getting organized. Since I’ve written about this before, I’ll summarize very briefly here:

How do we eliminate information?

Inbox – Have one place where all incoming physical information goes and process it no more than once a day.

Email – Do not leave emails in your inbox after you are finished with them. Email responses generally yield more emails, so be conservative with responses.

Trash Can – In most cases, when in doubt, throw it out.

Phone – Don’t answer it during business hours. Emergencies usually end up being solved without your intervention. If you are necessary, one phone call will not be the only attempt to reach you!

But aren’t there exceptions?

Habit 2: Classroom Procedures

The procedures that you lay out in the classroom are the most outwardly evident procedures that you have in place. For this reason, they are key elements of your overall classroom management plan. Much of the procedures really depend on the age-group you teach. Since I teach middle school, my procedures are very middle-school oriented. These procedures can be broken up into three categories:

1. Beginning of class

The tone of the entire class is established before the students walk in the door. We’ve all heard the old adage, You never get a second chance to make a first impression. This holds true for the school year, as well as every single class day. For this reason, Harry K. Wong recommends in his book The First Days of School to greet students at the door each day. I don’t always do that, but I find that when I do, the tone of the class is much more manageable throughout.

2. Middle of class 

Once the tone of the class has been established by a well-refined entry procedure, the majority of clastime is spent in the learning process. How can we get the most learning out of every single class?

1. Talking

When is it appropriate for students to talk and when is it inappropriate. We cannot assume that students come to us with this knowledge. Even if they have the knowledge, they will test the waters to see what they can get away with and what is not allowed. To be successful, you must know what is allowed and forbidden beforehand.

2. Leaving the classroom

Do students get to abuse restroom privileges in your class or do they have to hold it in until the wet their pants? I have discovered that once one person goes, more usually realize they need to go also. Do they leave the class without a hall pass? Are there limited numbers of hall passes in a grading period?

3. Moving around in the classroom

When are students allowed to get out of their seats? What if they really need to sharpen their pencil?

I know some teachers have students move desks during class. What is the procedure to make that happen? What about when the whole class is going to the library? How do we line up?

4. Staying seated

What are the students expected to have at their seats? What if they forgot their pen? Or if they are about to have a restroom emergency, can they leave and then answer questions later? How should they sit in their chairs? Is it acceptable to put feet in chairs or across aisles?

Again, all of these are personal choices. There is no one right answer for any of these.

3. Ending of class

The ending of class will help to determine how much information is retained and how much is forgotten. One of the primary keys to success is finishing well.

1. When to end class

You control when the class period ends, unless you allow the bell to take that authority away from you. I used to think differently. I have usually rehearsed until the bell rang, and then had the students put their instruments away. This year, I am going to aim to be finished before the bell rings. This is harder because too much time before the bell rings can allow them to lose focus. So I’m going to establish a procedure where all announcements happen at the end of class to allow for better information retention as well as to maintain better focus.

2. When to put books and supplies away

I remember putting my books away about 4 minutes before the teachers finished with class. How important is it to you that your students stay focused until you dismiss them?

3. How to leave class

If you give middle school students their choice, the answer to this is running and screaming down the hallways. The procedure must be in place on the first day if you want to avoid this.

Your decision on these procedures are things that you should write down. I give my students a “Rehearsal Procedures” page on bright colored paper at the beginning of each year. We consult those procedures from time to time if necessary. Writing things down helps you to more clearly know what your goals are. Writing things down helps the students to more completely know what is expected of them. It’s a win-win situation.

 Habit 3: Relationship Procedures

In teaching, as in most any businesses — and life in general — relationships will either make you successful, or else make you fail. Our relationships spring ultimately from the first habit; our ability to communicate well. But good communication skills alone are not enough to establish powerful relationships. There are more important elements. Here is where again I point out the important role that reading How To Win Friends And Influence People has played in my life. Outstanding book.

While on the subject of 5 Habits of Highly Effective Teachers, I felt it important to once again go over some of these vital social graces. They may be second-nature for some people. For me, most of these things do NOT come naturally. Doing a quick Google blog search about social skills and teachers tells me that the only problem most teachers seem to have is teaching special needs students how to fit into a social environment, or getting students with ADHD to calm down. So I guess that makes me the oddball.

Nevertheless, these are skills that really helped me to grow up and become a better teacher, and just an all-around nicer person to hang out with. :)

1. Look people in the eye

2. Smile

3. Remember as many names as you can

4. Offer greetings to anyone and everyone

5. Ask questions

6. Talk about your own mistakes

7. Keep clean

8. Give liberally

These skills will definitely help you in life. Maybe you know them already, but I would guess that at least one or two of them are things you could improve. I know writing this article made me feel guilty!

Habit 4: Personal Procedures

What are some of the personal habits that are important to me? As I’m sitting here in the middle of the summer writing this, I realize that some of my structure has left my life. I stay up too late, and I wake up too late. I take longer than normal getting ready in the morning, and I sit and read a lot more now than I do during the school year. But disregarding that, here are some of the things that are important to me to keep my sanity outside of work hours during the school year.

1. Wake up early

2. Meditate

3. Arrive early

4. Drink water

5. Exercise

6. Relax

7. Socialize

8. Go to sleep early

9. Keep private matters private

This is my personal list. I’m sure plenty of people have other things that work well for them. The key is stepping back and analyzing what really works for you and what doesn’t. If something is in place that doesn’t benefit you, get rid of it and replace it with either more relaxation time or something else that will benefit you in the long-run.

Habit 5: Community Procedures

How do you interact with your community? I know for many teachers, this is a frightening proposition. Reading some things that other teachers post, it seems that most teachers who live in the same community wherein they teach either participate in public activities either in fear, out of seeming ignorance, or with balance. this is probably my weakest area and something I am seriously working to get better at. If you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them.

1. Participating in fear

2. Participating out of seeming ignorance

3. Participating with balance

What about you????

what habbits do you think are associated with highly effective teachers???