In Their Own Words: Findings From Interviews of Highly Effective Teachers

• In Event: How Highly Effective Teachers Create Equitable Educational Opportunities for Historically Marginalized Youth

Abstract

Over the course of an entire academic year, we observed 41 highly effective teachers (HETs) of historically marginalized youth to determine the methodologies and belief systems they employed. When we interviewed them, we were able to glean what they perceive makes them highly effective. The teachers were asked to respond to questions about their effectiveness, their most effective instructional and classroom management strategies, they ways in which they build relationships with their students, and finally, what makes them more effective than their peers.
The initial question we asked the HETs was, “What do you think makes you so effective?” The four overarching themes that emerged from the teachers’ responses were: relationships, rapport, high expectations, and love for the work. Student-teacher relationships are significant because effective teachers develop appropriate relationships with their students with clear boundaries. Many HETs clarified that the relationships they had with their students were not friendships – they were adult-child relationships characterized by positive, respectful interactions that left no doubt as to who was in charge and setting the boundaries.
The aspect of rapport, or a harmonious connection, also resonated with the HETs, and it was evident in all of our observations. Teachers appeared simultaneously at ease and in control of their classrooms. They endeavored to get to know their students and personally connect with them on a daily basis, all of which is validated in the literature that indicates students are more likely to achieve academically, attend class, pay attention, feel motivated, and enjoy the subject matter when they have rapport with their teachers (Benson, Cohen & Buskist, 2005; Frisby & Martin, 2010; Granitz, Koernig & Harich, 2009).
The HETs uniformly identified high expectations as one of the characteristics that informed their status as highly effective educators. They set high standards for their students, but they also made the steps for attaining those standards exceedingly clear, and scaffolded those steps for their students. According to Arnold (1997, p.51), “Positive expectations promote positive attitudes and motivation to achieve; negative expectations lead to alienation, discouragement, and lack of effort.” The HETs in this study seemed to intuit this assertion and purposefully crafted positive expectations for their students.
Finally, the HETs unanimously identified a love for the work as a factor in their success with students. One teacher articulated the concept by observing, “This is a really hard job, and I think if you don’t embrace it 100%, then you’re not going to be effective.” We frequently observed the teachers telling the students that they loved them and loved their jobs as teachers.
In the words of one of the most ambitious and dedicated teachers we observed, “I don’t want to just be good today, I want to be great.” It is the pursuit of greatness that separates highly effective teachers from their peers, and ultimately enables them to make a significant impact on the educational trajectories of their students - students who have been marginalized and are most in need of inspired, effective, rigorous teaching.

Author

• Claudia Marie Bermudez, Claremont Graduate University