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| Synchronicity of the Seven Correlates |
W hat directs the flow of effective teaching? What will make all the ideas, activities, books, resources, and lessons fall into place to be used effectively? How will teacher effectiveness in the educational process of students be examined and evaluated?
As a beginning teacher, I yearned to find THE ANSWER.
There remained some elusive ingredient to being a great teacher. In my mind it was like the golden ring at the merry-go-round. If I just worked, studied, and learned enough, I could grab the golden ring of superlative teaching.
As often happens with young people, this search began because I doubted myself. Even though I had wonderful grades, experiences and references, I was still trying to perfect myself. I still believed that there was ONE MORE answer...a magic key to effective teaching that I didn't hold.
Why did I search for the magic key? I wanted to BE the best teacher in the world. I didn't want to doubt. I wanted to KNOW.
Being young, I thought there was always something else, some magic idea out there, that I didn't know. As time went on, I experienced a wider vision of effective education. I began to trust myself, my students, and the rest of my learning community.
Why did I search for the magic key? I wanted to BE the best teacher in the world. I didn't want to doubt. I wanted to KNOW.
Being young, I thought there was always something else, some magic idea out there, that I didn't know. As time went on, I experienced a wider vision of effective education. I began to trust myself, my students, and the rest of my learning community.
I discovered there wasn't just ONE magic idea for effectiveness in teaching and learning. While there was still plenty I didn't know, I did figure out that no magic bullet can replace the effective basics that help people learn well.
It took some time for me to stop looking for something that I already owned. It took some time for the competitive energy of the student to be replaced by the collaborative efforts of the teacher.
When I was new to teaching, I absorbed and experienced the positive impression of learning based on the Effective Schools research model, encompassed by the SEVEN CORRELATES OF EFFECTIVENESS. I learned these correlates at the knee of all the effective teachers, community members and family members who touched my life. They taught me!
Yes, they taught me how a student centered learning community began, developed, and evolved over time.
Yearning to discover an understanding of the arrival at the end goal of effectiveness, a destination, will never happen. That's not how effective teaching happens. It's all about the journey with your students, with your teaching peers, with parents, with school leaders, and the larger community.
Over the years, gathering more knowledge and experience, I learned what I really wanted. I really wanted to evaluate the effectiveness of my teaching within the ecosystem of my students' education. I really wanted to immerse myself in the learning process with them. The Effective Schools Research movement came to serve as a core set of organizing principles for my educational philosophy.
What are the Seven Correlates of the Effective Schools Research Movement?
- Instructional Leadership
- Clearly Stated and Focused Mission
- Safe and Positive Environment
- High Expectations for ALL Students
- Frequent Monitoring of Student Progress
- Maximize Learning Opportunities
- Positive Communication - School, Home, Community
For me, the short answer for all these questions is YES. How about you?
This is an updated version of my n2teaching Hearts and Minds blog article on Effective Schools Correlates: It's a Teacher's Life for Me.
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