It is refreshing to hear that you have had mostly positive experiences in your education. e
The example you share about your positive experience and the way the language teacher
interacted with the class exemplifies all the positive principles of teaching. e Specifically,
it sounds that this teacher utilized strong encouragement of student-faculty contact and
active learning in her gentle, patient and creative approach. e Additionally it sounds like
she utilized a variety of teaching techniques to appeal to a broad and diverse array of
learning styles.The example of poor teaching sounds to me like that teacher had issues
maintaining control of the classroom. e This can sometimes be a trait in younger teachers
who have not learned boundaries yet and is a clear violation of maintaining appropriate
student-faculty contact. e Additionally it sounds like that teacher struggled in maintaining
high standards and expectations, another trait common in inexperienced educators. e
Thank you for your examples, they were both excellent. e They had valid examples of
several principles of teaching. I found you were very transparent and enlightening in
using your experiences to address the Principles of effective teaching (Bernstein, Franz,
& Chew (2020). I never really considered the methodology which educators used as
being factors (advantageous or disadvantageous) related to learning effectiveness. You
made strong points regarding good and bad teaching. However, before this assignment
my eyes were closed to effective teaching and what could potentially be rated as good
or bad.You mentioned you had recent positive experiences from a “good” instructor. I
also had instructors like yours who seemed to walk in the character and behavior of
serving and providing opportunities to explore learning. Both your and my instructors
displayed effective teaching principles: 1. encourage student-faculty contact 3.
encouraged active learning with the recordings 4. gave prompt feedback 7. provided
learning cues. This acknowledgment from the instructor motivated me as it seems to
have motivated you. We both agree that the good instructor took steps to make
themselves available in the areas in which we needed reinforced learning (Bernstein, et
al., (2020).However, I can also relate to your negative experiences from a “bad”
instructor. The bible states that we are to encourage each other (MEV, 1 Thes. 5: 22).
But I also saw and heard of disappointments in high school and undergraduate and
graduate programs that were not encouraging. I do recall that some individuals
complained that certain instructors exhibited monotone speaking, nonchalant attitudes
regarding whether the students “digested” the information, or (within the military) “death
by power point”. Hopefully, this is not an assembly minded mentally that was suggested
by (de Pillis & Johnson, 2015). I agree it is necessary to address individuals’
educational needs within different contexts and without favoritism or financially related
undertones.Often it is as you mentioned, all do not learn at the same pace related to
personal or other circumstances. The scripture you used mentioned, regarding running
the race (MEV, Heb. 12: 1) is similar one that I adopted in graduate school for
endurance related to memory and physical attacks (MEV, Gal. 6: 9). As a result of
having additional insight related to effective teaching, this assignment reinforced my
stance to continue in providing a “child version” of scripture and visual cues in
addressing life circumstances and suicidal ideation with the children I service.
References
Bernstein, D. A., Franz, S. & Chew, S. Teaching Psychology, 3(20). ISBN
978-0-367-14394-7 (digital).
de Pillis, E., Johnson, G. (2015). First, Do no harm: Effective, ineffective and
counterproductive. Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice. 15(1), 58 – 69.
Modern Evangelist Version (2014). Breakthrough Jubilee Bible. Military Bible.
