Qualities of Effective Teachers, 2nd Edition

by James H. Stronge

Identifies specific teacher behaviors that contribute to student achievement.

Genres: Education, Teaching, Nonfiction

198 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Tracie Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for class. It has some good information and ideas on how to improve your teaching beyond straight laced lecture. However, it was dry as HELL and not presented in any interesting manner. Also, it was unnecessary to read the entire book. It is perfectly fine to skip the major text (which could be repetitive) and to just focus on the lists and bullet points. This book also provided some decent checklists. HOWEVER, I do not believe that these attributes are the ONLY things that constitute a good teacher. Teachers are multifaceted and complex people in their own right.

[Alison Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think everyone already knew this information

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some solid tidbits but could use more practical advice on implementation.

[Claire · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is basically a summary of a bunch of research that tries to show what an effective teacher is. However, if you look carefully at the bibliography, a lot of the research is way outdated, and some of the research studies are ridiculous. The book goes through five sections (personality, management, organization, implementation and monitoring student progress), throws in any research that may have anything to do with that section, and tries to summarize what makes a teacher effective. At the end of the book, there are "teacher skills assessment checklists" and "teacher responsibilities and behaviors" which basically restates the first half of the book in a check off list form. This book would have been effective if it has just made the list of what makes an effective teacher and ended it there. It could have been 1 page with a bibliography. All the meaningless explanations and wordiness drove me insane. I would not recommend this book, unless perhaps you are going to a job interview, and want to be sure to bring up some of the characteristics of an effective teacher (just look at the lists in the back, don't read the whole book).

[Misty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Highly informative, but very overwhelming in a single chunk. The practices and principles in this book are based in research which I appreciate. In addition each chapter is well organized and well developed. What is overwhelming is trying to digest and apply these practices in a matter of months. There is a lot of overlap between the research results and suggestions as to how an effective teacher should be in the classroom. I would love a book that distills some of the material and draws the connections between the 6-7 areas of practice. Better yet, that is probably what each educator should do to rewrite the book for themselves to make it more digestible and applicable. I did appreciate the scientific approach, but like most textbooks, it is up to the practitioner to translate it into real world use.

[teacupsandunicorns · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very general. A lot of this I already knew. It had some good check lists and bullet lists. It was very general. I would have found it more helpful if it showed you how to concretely apply this in real life rather than just general statements of being respectful to students (duh!) and knowledgeable of the content you’re teaching (again, duh!). I appreciate what it was trying to do but I would have appreciated it even more with more concrete techniques rather than general statements and some statistics.

[RuthAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever wondered what qualities an effective teacher possess? This book will have you really thinking about how you teach and what really works.

[Muriel Hammond-teusink · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good review of qualities necessary for effective teaching.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book seems a little repetitive with some of its ideas.

[Chris Loeffler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read that reiterated my understanding of quality teaching, and gave a few practical tools to help me give meaningful feedback to younger teachers.

[Joni Bauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book for teachers!

[Tiffany (Work Kids N Books) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fabulous outline of the skills and knowledge needed to be an effective teacher. Great for new teachers or collegiate use.