Effective teachers plan for opportunities for students to use and develop critical-thinking skills requiring them to synthesize, analyze, and evaluate a body of information. Effective teachers develop course materials that enable students to learn important aspects or master particular skills of a discipline for both short and long-term enrichment. Course Conduct Effective teachers keep current with new developments, not only in their own are of specialization, but also as a part of a larger discipline. They are able to demonstrate the relevance of course materials to current, real world events or to worthwhile life goals and broad humanitarian concepts. Effective teachers actively engage students in the material.
Students regularly participate in discipline-specific activities.
Effective teachers are concerned about their students. They keep communication lines open through office hours and other formal and informal means of being available to the students. Effective teachers are flexible and provide an appropriate variety of learning methods and experiences. They are willing to change plans, syllabi, and approaches to adjust to student needs and responses. They are able to do this without compromising the goals and quality of the course.