Three Critical Factors for Effective Teaching

Teachers work hard to prepare and execute lessons for effective teaching and wish their students to succeed. There are some students that teachers can relate to easily, while others are harder to reach. Why? What is the key to developing a strong rapport with all students and igniting their passion for learning? How can teachers teach effectively to insure growth and/or success for all students? There are three critical factors to building strong connections with students that effect their learning. Those factors include learning style, personality type and gender preferences. Having a strong grasp on those factors will build solid relationships between teacher and student, therefore increasing a students desire to learn and chance for success. That's effective teaching!

By understanding learning styles, a teacher can plan lessons according to each students strengths, thus enhancing the students performance and retention of information. The three dominant learning styles are visual, auditory and kinesthetic. A visual learner will process info by sight and creates pictures in his/her mind. The visual learner is sensitive to facial expressions, likes things that are "pretty" and prefers an orderly environment. The auditory learner processes information by hearing and is sensitive to sounds. He or she will pick up auditory cues quickly, needs verbal reassurance and may talk to him/herself. The kinesthetic learner processes information by touch, sense and smell and learns best through a hands-on approach. He or she needs physical reassurance and is sensitive to how he/she is touched. Each student processes information by unique means. Understanding learning styles can help a teacher present information to students in a fashion that meets his/her needs and optimizes success.

Another critical factor that effects how students learn is the personality style. Most of us have heard the terms introvert and extrovert, but do we truly understand how personality style effects the relationship between the teacher and student? Often times students who are introverted are inappropriately labeled as "shy," while an extroverted student is labeled "undisciplined," both of which may not necessarlily be true. Understanding this trait can help a teacher adjust his/her teaching style to meet the needs of the student, particularly when the teacher and student have opposite personality styles. Introversion and extroversion determines how much external stimulus the brain wants to be happy. The introvert's brain has a high level of alertness and takes in a lot of data per second, therefore, leaning towards quiet, low stimulus. He/she prefers watching, reading, solitude and quiet hobbies. The extrovert, on the other hand, has a brain with a lower level of alertness and seeks out extra stimulus. The extroverted personality wants to be involved in activities, enjoys debating, is competitive and is easily bored. Understanding personality style can help a teacher divert trouble in communication and increase effectiveness in instruction. One extroverted teacher described a problem teaching a particular student before having knowledge of personality style differences. While teaching math, the teacher's questions would go unanswered by the student, therefore, leading her to believe he did not understand the material. What the teacher didn't know was that her introverted student needed time to process the information internally before discussing the math problems. After learning about the differences in personality style, the teacher allows the student more "think time," which allows the student time to process the information and allows the teacher to evaluate the students understanding more effectively.

The third factor that plays a great role in learning is gender. Certainly, males and females often have different interests and preferences, but why? Brain development plays a role in how males and females learn, but most curriculum is designed to be gender neutral. In early brain development the right side of males brains develop spatial and visualization before the language development in the left brain. Males have a tendency to be more efficient when focusing on one thing at a time. The female brain, however, develops on the left side earlier, which leads to early language development. Though the right brain develops at a slower rate, females are able to think "globally" because they can jump from left to right brain activities easily. Males are slower to develop hearing and often have trouble hearing a soft-spoken teacher, particularly if seated at a good distance. The differences in gender preferences could explain why some males do not develop early art skills for drawing pictures as female students. The differences in the development between males and females plays a huge role in a students learning. A teacher can easily understand the needs and recognize the preferences of a student of the same gender. The challenge is in learning to recognize the needs of those of a difference gender and adjust expectations and requirements accordingly.

Every teacher wants to be effective and reach all his/her students for success. Learning more about these three critical factors can mean victory in developing rapport with all students and creating a positive environment where all students are recognized for his/her individual characteristics and therefore, attaining success. Teachers who understand the three critical factors for effective teaching know that the key to reaching all students lies in understanding how learning style, personality type and gender preferences effect learning.

Learn about the brain