The Professional Teacher

The professional teacher is the "licensed professional who possesses dignity and reputation with high
moral values aswellas technical and professional competence ... he/she adheres to, observes and
practices a set of ethical and moral principles, standards and values." (Code of Ethics of Professional
Teachers, 1997) The professional teacher is one who went through a four-to-five-year period of rigorous
academic preparation in teaching and one who is given a license to teach by the Board for Professional
Teachers of the Professional Regulation Commission after fulfilling requirements prescribed by law such
as passing the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET). He/She is registered in the roster of
professional teachers at the Professional Regulation Commission and undergoes continuing professional
education.

knowledge), and in how he/she teaches (pedagogical knowledge).

A professional teacher possesses the following attributes:

Control of the knowledge base of teaching and learning and use of this knowledge to guide the science
and art of his/her teaching practice

Repertoire of best teaching practices and can use these to instruct children in classrooms and to work
with adults in the school setting

Dispositions and skills to approach all aspects of his/ her work in a reflective, collegial, and problem-
solving manner

View of learning to teach as a lifelong process and dispositions and skills for working towards improving
his/ her own teaching as well as improving schools (Arends, 1994)

The last attribute cited by Arends highlights continuing development (cpd) or continuing professional
education
(cpe). As the quotation goes, "once a teacher, forever a student."

Personal Attributes

Personality is the sum of one's personal characteristics. It is one's identity. Teachers, more than any
other professional, are momentarily subjected to scrutiny to the minutest detail and observation by
those they associate with. Teachers are judged more strictly than other professionals. The personality
they project determines the impressions they make upon students and colleagues.

Their poise, bearing, manner of dressing and facial expressions have an impact on their interaction with
students.

Personalities may be described as authoritarian, weak, dynamic, or "magnetic". Teachers' personality

must be natural and genuine, that is, devoid of pretenses and artificiality. They must be consistent, true
and authentic.

Some outstanding personal qualities that never fail to win their flock are worth mentioning:

1. Passion

Passion for teaching is a compelling force that emerges from teachers' love for children. Passionate
teachers exude spontaneity in ministering to the needs

2. Humor

Teachers' humor connects them with theirstudents like a magnet. They help in merging two worlds -
youth and maturity. When they laugh together, young and old, teachers and students, they cease to be
conscious of their age difference. They enjoy as a group, thus promote a spirit of togetherness. A clean
joke will always elicit rapport in a learning environment.
3 Values and Attitude

Teachers are models of values. Whether conscious of them or not, values are exhibited implicitly and
explicitly. Values connote standards, code of ethics and strong beliefs.

Open-mindedness is basic in promoting respect and trust between teachers and students. It opens
avenues for unrestricted search for information and evidence. Problems and issues are resolved in a
democratic way. Students are encouraged to consider one another's findings and explanations. Free
exchanges of suggestions develop a respectful attitude among them.

Fairness and impartiality in treating students eliminate discrimination. Teachers must be unbiased and
objective in judging their work and performance. Avoid preferential considerations that result to
negative response and indifference. Objective evaluations are easily accepted and gratefully
acknowledged. Fairness inculcates self-confidence and trust among students.

Sincerity and honesty are values exhibited in words and actions. Teachers interact with students every
minute. Their mannerisms, habits and speech are watched and at times imitated. Therefore, teachers
must show their real self, devoid of pretenses and half-truths. Sincerity dictates that they stick to the
truth, to the extent of accepting what they do not know about the lesson. Mistakesand faults are
accepted and not "covered up".In theend, students realize that it is better to tell thetruththanfeign

in a falsehood. dealing withSincerity others.and honesty are taken as openness

Professionalism is highly treasured in theteaching

respect edicts conduct. competence profession. knowledgeable, of and Upright the Teachers in high
profession, teaching, skilled and esteemare exemplary and adjudged they thus fromvalue-laden. must
exhibit students professional in have behavior, ethical and internalized In addition if colleagues.and they
theymoralearnaretheto
the They topic, catch to students' soothe attention their feelings and keep fromthemtension focused
and onto develop a sense of humor among themselves.

Patience

In teaching, patience refersto a teacher's uncomplaining nature, self-control and persistence. Patient
teachers can forego momentous frustrations and disappointments. Instead, they calmly endure their
students' limitations and difficulties. Teachers cannot help but feel impatient with students'
irresponsibility and carelessness in performing classroom routine. Remembering how their teachers felt
when they, as young students committed similar mistakes, they are able to tolerate such misbehavior
with coolness and equanimity. The inability of students to progress, as they should in learning a
concept,can likewise test the teachers' composure. The teachers' capacity to adjust their methodologies
could allay the tension, at the same time save time and effort for appropriate remediation. While it is
natural to feel irritated and upset at times, meeting disquieting situations with cool-headedness is
indicative of one's moral strength and fortitude.

Enthusiasm

Enthusiasm is synonymous to eagerness and excitement. Enthusiastic passion teachers and love are for
full children of energy are easilyand

felt. all learning with an alert students disposition. any activity teachers,

dynamism. Everyone activity. Their and anticipates Unfortunately, look zestful forward an
interesting not to teachers With and enthusiasticenjoyablethey are borncan

participate in with be them.difficult to undertake since a It commonis not a Nothing of eagerness will
exists among the students. feeling

surprisethat students and identify warmth and they describe enjoy theirwith teachersthem
by the enthusiasm every minute.

Enthusiasm is a gift. It is contagious andcaninstantly affectchildren'smoods and attitudes.

Undoubtedly,itisan irresistible feeling that intensifies the students' momentum to reach a desired goal.
It connects teachers to parents.

6. Commitment

Commitment is a "solemn promise" to perform the duties and responsibilities mandated by the laws and
code of ethics of the profession. It is an unwavering pledge to perform all teaching and learning activities
with consistency and selflessness to the best interest of the students under their care. Committed
teachers are caring and dedicated. They are ready to carry on no matter the price.

Dedication to the teaching job is the true essence of professionalism. Today we lament over the fast
disappearing breed of teachers with a missionary spirit.

Here are some research findings on effectiveteachers compiled by Stronge (2012). Discuss their
implications to teacher pre-service education:

1. Teachers with a major or minor in content area are associated with higher student achievement
especially in the area of science and mathematics.

2. Caringteachers who know their students create relationships that enhance the learning process.

3. Effective teachers practice gender, racial and ethnic fairness.

Effective teachers consistently behave in a friendly and personal manner while maintaining appropriate
teacherstudent role structure.
High levels of motivation in teachers relate to high levels of achievement in students.

Effective teachers exude positive attitudes about life and teaching.

7.Teachers whose students have high achievement rates continually mention reflection on their work as
an important part of improving their teaching.

Introduction

The learning environment consists of the physical environment as well as the psychological atmosphere
or the socio-emotional climate which is mainly a productofthe interaction and relationship between
teacher and students and among the students.

Physical Environment

The physical environment includes the physical condition of the classroom, the arrangement of
furniture, seating arrangement, the classroom temperature and lighting.

We enjoy learning in a neat, tidy, orderly, spacious, welllighted, well-ventilated and quiet classroom. We
can't learn in dirty, topsy-turvy, warm, poorly ventilated and noisy classrooms. How should the
environment be structured for effective teaching and learning?. (One Chapter is devoted to managing
the physical environment in Unit IV).

Psychological Climate

Let us not forget that equally important, if not more important, the psychological atmosphere or climate
that reigns in the

Researchers agree that in addition to conducive physical the favorable school climate includes:
1. Safety (e.g. rules and norms; physical safety; socialemotional safety)

Pine and Horne (1990) described a facilitative learning environment for learning. It is one:

1. which encourages people to be active. A psychological classroom environment which is supportive of

learning engages the learners in the learning process.

2. which promotes and facilitates the individual'sdiscovery of the personal meaning of idea.
Meaning is not imposed by teacher. This is personally arrived at by the learners considering the
uniqueness of their experiences.

which emphasizes the uniquely personal and subjective nature of learning. Every learner is unique.

in which difference is good and desirable. There is respect for diversity. To be different does not mean to
be deficient.

which consistently recognizes people's right to make mistakes. Learners feel at ease and learn best
when mistakes are welcome because they are recognized as part and parcel of the learning process.

which tolerates ambiguity. This leads to openness to ideas and prevents teacher and learners alike to be
judgmental.

in which evaluation is a cooperative process with emphasis on self-evaluation. This makes evaluation
less threatening. The learner is not alone when he evaluates learning; he is with a group. His/her
progress is seen against his/her targets not against the performance of his/ her classmates.

8. which encourages openness of self rather than concealment of self. People feel at ease and so aren't
afraid to be transparent.
9. in which people are encouraged to trust in themselves as well as in external sources. There is a strong
social support and it is not difficult to trust others.

in which people feel they are respected. Everyone is convinced of the inner worth/dignity of each
individual and so it is easy to respect everyone.

in which people feel they are accepted. There is a sense of belongingness.

12. which permits confrontation. Since learners feel at ease and feel they are accepted, they are not
afraid to confront themselves.

13. provides conducive learning environment necessary in the full development of the cognitive and
appetitive faculties of the learner. These include his/her senses, instincts, imagination, memory,
feelings, emotions and will.

Introduction

The learning of our students is our foremost concern. How do we define learning? Learning is the
acquisition of a knowledge-base used with fluency to make sense of the world, solve problems and
make decisions.

Let us break the long definition for analysis. The key words are: 1) acquisition of a knowledge-base, 2)
fluency, and 3) make sense of the world, 4) solve problems and 5) make decisions. The definition implies
that learning begins with knowledge acquisition. This knowledge learned must be used with ease or
fluency because it has been mastered. This knowledge is applied in problem solving, in decision-making
and in making meaning of this world. Knowledge that is just acquired without being utilized is what
American philosopher North Whitehead referred to as "inert ideas". These are "ideas that are merely
received into the mind without being utilised, or tested, or thrown into fresh combinations."

Principles of Learning

By knowing some principles on how learning takes place, we will be guided on how to teach. Below are
some principles of learning from Horne and Pine (1990):
1. Learning is an experience which occurs inside the learner and is activated by the learner. The process
of learning is primarily controlled by the learner and not by the teacher (group leader) ... Learning is not
only a function of what a teacher does to, or says to, or provides for a learner. More significantly,
learning has to do with something which happens in the unique world of the learner. It flourishes in a
situation in which teaching is seen as a facilitating process that assists people to explore and discover
the personal meaning of events for them.

No one directly teaches anyone anything of significance ... People learn what they want to learn, they
see what they want to see and hear what they want to hear. When we create an atmosphere in which
people are free to explore ideas in dialogue and through interaction with other people, we educate
them. Very little learning takes place without personal involvement and meaning on the part of the
learner. Unless what is being taught has personal meaning for the individual, he will shut it out from his
field of perception. People forget most of the content "taught" to them and retain only the content
which they use in their work or content which is relevant to them personally. Then it must be wise to
engage the learners in an activity that is connected to their life experiences. It is unwise to impose
learning on our students. No amount of imposition can cause student learning.

2. Learning is the discovery of the personal meaning and relevance of ideas. Students more readily
internalize and implement concepts and ideas which are relevant to their needs and problems. Learning
is a process which requires the exploration of ideas in relation to self and community so that people can
determine what their needs are, what goals they would like to formulate, what issues they would like to
discuss and what content they would like to learn. Within broad programmatic boundaries, what is
relevant and meaningful is decided by the learner, and must be discovered by the learner.

It is necessary that teacher relates lessons to the needs, interests and problems of the learners.

3. experience. Learning (behavioral People become change) responsible is a consequence when they
haveof really assumed responsibility; they become independent when they have experienced
independent behavior; they become able when they have experienced success; they begin to feel
important when they are important to somebody; they feel liked when someone likes them. People do
not change their behavior merely because someone tells them to do so or tells them how to change. For
effective learning, giving information is not enough, e.g ., people become responsible and independent
not from having other people tell them that they should be responsible and independent but from
having experienced authentic responsibility and independence.
If experience is the best teacher, then a teacher should make use of experiential learning. Experiential
learning makes use of direct as well as vicarious experiences. We don't have to experience
everythinginordertolearn.We learn from other people's experiences, too, good as well as not so good
experiences.

4. Learning is a cooperative and collaborative process Cooperation fosters learning. "Two heads
arebetterthan one. " People enjoy functioning independently but theyalso enjoy functioning
interdependently. The interactiveprocess appears to "scratch and kick" people's curiosity, potential, and
creativity. Many times you are reminded of something because of what you hear from the group.

Cooperative approaches are enabling. Through such approaches people learn to define goals, to plan to
interact and to try group arrangements in problem solving. Paradoxically, as people invest themselves in
collaborative group approaches they develop a firmer sense of their own identification. They begin to
realize that they count, that they have something to give and to learn. Problems which are identified
and delineated through cooperative interaction appear to challenge and to stretch people to produce
creative solutions and to become more creative individuals.

Teacher should make use more of cooperative and collaborative approaches. This way, students are
taught to live together and learn interdependently.

Learning is an evolutionary process. Behavioral change requires and conditions time and for patience
learning ... is Implicit an evolutionary in all the principlesmodel of

learning. Learning situations characterized by free and open communication, confrontation, acceptance,
respect, the right to make mistakes, self-revelation, cooperation and collaboration, ambiguity, shared
evaluation, active and personal involvement, freedom from threat, and trust in the self are evolutionary
in nature.

Change takes time. Let us not expect results overnight. Rome was not built in one day. Then as teachers
and learners, let us learn to be patient. Things that are worthwhile in life take time.
6. Learning is sometimes a painful process. Behavioral change often calls for giving up the old and
comfortable ways of believing, thinking, and valuing. It is not easy to discard familiar ways of doing
things and incorporate new behavior. It is often "downright" uncomfortable to share one's self openly,
to put one's ideas under the microscope of a group, and to genuinely confront other people. If growth is
to occur, pain is often necessary. However, the pain of breaking away from the old and the comfortable
is usually followed by appreciation and pleasure in the discovery of an evolving idea of a changing self.

It may be good to make our students realize that learning is a difficult task. It is accompanied by
sacrifice, inconvenience and discomfort. But it leads to inner joy.

One of the richest resources for learning is the learner himself. In a day and age when so much emphasis
is being placed upon instructional media, books and speakers asresourcesfor learning, we tend to
overlook perhaps the richest source of all - the learner himself. Each individual has an accumulation of
experiences, ideas, feelings and attitudes which comprise a rich vein of material for problem solving and
learning. All too often this vein is barely tapped. Situations which enable people to become open to
themselves, to draw upon their personal collection of data, and to share their data in cooperative
interaction with others maximize learning.

As a teacher, you must draw these learners' ideas, feelings and experiences. You midwife the birth of
ideas.

The process of learning is emotional aswell as intellectual. Learning is affected by the total state of the
individual. People are feeling beings as well as thinking beings and when their feelings and thoughts are
in harmony, learning is maximized. To create the optimal

One of the richest resources for learning is the learner himself. In a day and age when so much emphasis
is being placed upon instructional media, books and speakers asresourcesfor learning, we tend to
overlook perhaps the richest source of all - the learner himself. Each individual has an accumulation of
experiences, ideas, feelings and attitudes which comprise a rich vein of material for problem solving and
learning. All too often this vein is barely tapped. Situations which enable people to become open to
themselves, to draw upon their personal collection of data, and to share their data in cooperative
interaction with others maximize learning.
As a teacher, you must draw these learners' ideas, feelings and experiences. You midwife the birth of
ideas.

The process of learning is emotional aswell as intellectual. Learning is affected by the total state of the
individual. People are feeling beings as well as thinking beings and when their feelings and thoughts are
in harmony, learning is maximized. To create the optimal

other.peoplecarry in it comeconditions cannot the Ifout beforeinway. the the be some in If purpose.
purpose effectively group a the tasks, group purpose are Regardless of it for accomplished fighting will
the learning of not group the of and be group the to is when working optimally purpose occur, to is
other discuss to against people ofdesign achieved things a currentgroup,musteachandgetif

issues and problems in a given field with reason and honesty, then it will not be achieved if people are
afraid to communicate openly. Barriers to communication exist in people and before we conduct
"official business, " we need to work with the people problems that may exist in a group. It might be said
that in any group, regardlessof the people problems which exist, enough group intellectual capacity
remains intact for members of the group to acquire information and skills. However, to maximize the
acquisition and internalization of ideas it seems reasonable that the people problems would have to be
dealt with first.

As teachers, let us appeal to our students' intellect as well as to their emotions.

The process of problem solving and learning is highly unique and individual. Each person has his own
unique styles of learning and solving problems. Some personal styles of learning and problem solving are
highly effective, other styles are not as effective, and still others may be ineffective. We need to assist
people to define and to make explicit to themselves the approaches they ordinarily use so that they can
become more effective in problem solving and learning. As people become more aware of how they
learn and solve problems and become exposed to alternative models used by other people, they can
refine and modify their personal styles so that these can be employed more effectively. (1990). (Source:
Gerald J. Pine and Peter J. Horne,

pays learning to styles allow and students multipleto learn in accordance with their
GuidingPrinciplesinDetermining and Formulating Learning

Objectives

1."Begin with theend in mind," says Covey, the author of"SevenHabitsofEffective People". In the context
of teaching, this means that we must begin our lesson with a clearly defined lesson objective. With a
clear and specific lesson objective we will have a sense of direction. With a definite lesson objective in
mind, we do not lose sight of what we intend to teach. No amount of far-fetched question or comment
from our students, no amount of unnecessary interruption or disruption can derail our intended lesson
for the day. With a specific objective, our lesson becomes more focused. We do not waste nor kill time
for we are sure of what to teach, how to teach, what materials to use.

2. Share lesson objective with students. Like a seminar that begins with a statement of purpose, our
lesson ought to begin with a statement and clarification of our lesson objective. Make known to our
students our instructional objective and encourage them to make the lesson objective their own. This
lesson objective when shared and possessed by our students will become their personal target. It is
against this personal target that they will evaluate themselves

3. Lesson objectives (cognitive) must skill, be in (psychomotor) the be dominantly two or three
andcognitive,domains-values

ofpsychomotor meant psychomotor(affective). knowledgeskills.primarily Lesson if Our orit for affective.

is objectives lesson intended knowledge may Dominantly for in acquisition the the acquisition affective
cognitive and domain and dominantlyif honingit areis

mainly focused on attitude and value formation. A cognitive or a skill lesson must always include the
affective dimension for wholistic learning. A lesson objective that dwells on trivia is hardly a motivating
force. What if a student is able to identify the parts of a plant? What has that to do with him/her and
his/her life? In other words, a lesson is worthwhile if it gets connected to everyday life, how the student
is and ought to be concerned with it, what difference it makes for a fuller existence. We will find it very
difficult sometimes to determine whether a lesson objective is in the cognitive or psychomotor domain.
When you face the difficulty, don't let it bother you. If we come to think of it even a dominantly
cognitive lesson includes teaching of skills, say for instance, intellectual skills like reasoning and inferring.
Likewise an intended lesson objective in the psychomotor domain such as "to focus the microscope
under low and high - power objectives in 30 seconds" includes the cognitive element of knowing the
parts and functions of

each part of the microscope and understanding the "do's" and the "dont's" in focusing a microscope.
Furthermore, a lesson objective geared towards the formation of desirable attitudes and habits has
definitely a cognitive base. We may not succeed in effecting in attitudinaleand people (affective) without
change explaining in attitude what and the behaviordesired behavioral change is

skill unaccompanied by values, we may contribute to the formation of people who will have all the skills
to oppress, to abuse and to take advantage of the unskilled and the unlearned. So it is necessary that
our lesson gets direction from objectives in the two or three domains with the affective domain always
present.

Work on significant and relevant lesson objectives.

With our lesson objective becoming our students' lesson objective, too, our students will be self-
propelled as we teach. The level of their self-motivation all the more increases when our lesson
objective is relevant to their daily life, hence, significant.

Lesson objective must be aligned with the aims of education asembodied in the Philippine Constitution
and other laws and on the vision-mission statements of the educational institution of which you are a
part.

The aims of education as enshrined in our fundamental law of the land, in the Education Act of 1982, the
Ten-Year Medium Term Development Plan must be reflected in the vision-mission statements of
educational institutions. In turn, the vision-mission statements of educational institutions must filter
down to the course objectives stated in course syllabi and in lesson objectives laid down in lesson plans.

This means that the aims and goals of education asprovided forin our laws filter down to our lesson
objectives. We have something to do with the attainment of our broad aims of education. We can
contribute very much to the realization of our school's vision and mission statements because our lesson
objectives are based on our school's vision and mission statements. Imagine what happens when our
lesson objectives are not in any way related to the goals of education and to the vision-mission
statements of the educational institutions where we work.

Aim at the development of critical and creative thinking.

This is easier said than done. We need not go into a laborious research to be convinced that the
development of critical and creative thinking is wanting in classrooms. Most questions asked whether
oral or written are convergent, low-level questions. With teachers quite used to awarding and praising
pupils/students giving the right answers and sometimes branding the pupil or student who asks
questions "pilosopo", the classroom atmosphere that prevails is not ripe for the development of critical
and creative thinking. If

development of critical and creative thinking. If

arewe ripecriticalwantfortheto and contribute creative then to thinkers, the we should development the
type include of of citizens incitizens our neededscopewho

creative question of tomust questions makethinking. be a democracy,lotgood high-level, -alllikewise Our

for teaching divergent, the not development to strategies or frown open-ended on and of students
critical techniquesquestions.whoand It

must be such that they serve as catalyst in the development of higher-order-thinking skills (HOTS) and
creative thinking skills. For more notes on creative and higher-order critical thinking skills, refer to
Chapter 2 of this Unit.

For this reason the whole brain must be used for balanced learning not just the left for critical thinking
but also the right for creative thinking.

7. For accountability of learning, lesson objectives must be SMART, i.e ., Specific, Measurable,
Attainable, Resultoriented Relevant, Time-bound and Terminal.
When our lesson objective is SMART it is quite easy to find out at the end of our lesson if we attained
our objective or not. It will also be easier on our part to formulate a test that is valid to measure the
attainment of our lesson objective. Moreover, our lesson becomes more focused for we have a concrete
picture of the behavior that our students should be able to demonstrate if we realized our lesson
objective.

In short, SMART objectives increase our accountability for

spread depart what the learning test fromout we that of the are our in unsound going the students. end
to practice we give With find to SMART of assess ourselves teaching learning. objectives, unclear that is
Withweonso

SMART instruction lesson and assessment. objectives, There there is is curriculumgreater match
alignment.between

Taxonomy of Objectives

With educational taxonomy, learning is classified into three domains namely: (1) cognitive, (2) affective,
and (3) psychomotor or behavioral.

Bloom's taxonomy of cognitive domain.Benjamin Bloom (1956) led his group in coming up with the list
of instructional objectives in the cognitive domain. Arranged from lowest to the

GuidingPrinciples in the Selection and

Use of Teaching Strategies

Herearesomeguiding principles in the selection and use of teaching strategies:

1. Learning is an active process. Nobody can learn for us in the same way that nobody can eat for us, nor
live for us, nor die for us. We eat for ourselves, live our own life and die our own death. Only I can learn
for myself. As a learner, I must, therefore, be actively engaged in the learning process. If it is my brother
who solves my assignment in algebra then it is my brother not me who will master the skill of solving
problems in algebra. If it is my mother who works on my project on crochet work, it is my mother, not
me, who hones her crocheting skill. This means that we have to actively engage the learners in learning
activities if we want them to learn what we intend to teach. We have to give our students opportunities
to participate in classroom activities. We have to give varied activities to our students for "hands-on-
minds-on" learning. Researchers found out that the most effective approaches - resulting in 75 percent
and 90 percent retention rates, respectively - are learning by doing (such as through the

inquiry method) and learning by teaching others. (Danielson, 2002).This quote serves as an apt summary
ofthe first principle:

What I hear, I forget.

What I see, I remember.

What I do, I understand.

2. The more senses that are involved in learning, the more and the better the learning. What is seen and
heard are learned more than what are just seen or just heard. The graph below shows the contribution
of the five senses to learning. Based on the graph, we can say that we learn more with what we see than
with what we simply hear. One research finding confirms this: "Humans are intensely visual animals. The
eyes contain nearly 70 percent of the body's receptors and send millions of signals along the optic
nerves to the visual processing centers of the brain: .. We take in more information visually than through
any of the other senses" (Wolfe, 2001)

This implies the use of a teaching methodology that makes use of more visual aids than mere audio aids.
A combination of audio and visual aids (thus the term A-V aid which means audio-visual), however, is far
more effective. Most effective, of thus course, the is termthe "multi-sensory use of a combination aids."
of three or more senses,
3. Emotion has the power to increase retention and learning. We tend to remember and learn more
those that strike our hearts! In fact, the more emotionally involved our students become in our lesson,
the greater the impact.The more intense

the arousal, the stronger the imprint. Then let us not feel afraid to bring in emotion into our classrooms.
Let us add an emotional touch to learning. Without the emotional dimension, oursubject matter will
remain cold and lifeless. Wolfe states that "our own experience validates that we remember for a longer
time events that elicit emotion in us." (Wolfe, 2001) His pedagogical advice is for us, to recognize the
power of emotion to increase retention and plan instruction accordingly.

4. Learning is meaningful when it is connected to students' everyday life. Abstract concepts are made
understandable when we give sufficient examples relating to the students' experiences. The
meaningfulness and relevance of what we teach is considerably reduced by our practice of teaching
simply for testing. We teach today, ask them to copy and memorize what we taught them. The following
day we test them on how much they have retained from what we taught yesterday, period! We repeat
the process day in and day outdeposit information into their heads which are likened to empty
receptacles then withdraw the same in a test. At the end of the term, we withdraw everything in the
final examinations and so when students go back for the next term their minds are empty again. This is
the so-called banking system of education.

Or our manner of teaching can be simply reduced to what is called the "answering pedagogy." After we
have taught the process of photosynthesis, we may start our class the next day with a review of
photosynthesis and so ask: "The process by whichtheleaves manufacture food in the presence of light is
The part of the plant that manufacturers the food is the etc ., etc. And we expect pupils to give the
correct answer from memory. The pupil who gives the correct answer is the good pupil. The pupil who is
not able to automatically give the correct answer is no good. Pushed by reflective thought, we ask: "And
so what if pupil knows the correct answer to be photosynthesis? What if he knows that the leaf is the
site of the food manufacture?" These questions simply point to the need for us to add meaning to what
our pupils/students learn. They see meaning in what they learn when we, teachers, show the
connectedness of our lessons to their everyday concern, to their daily life.

5. Good teaching goes beyond recall of information. Good thinking concerns itself with higher-order-
thinking skills to develop creative and critical thinking. Most teachings are confined to recall of
information and comprehension. Ideally,
d reach the vels of application , analysis ,

evaluation and synthesis to hone our students'thinking skills.

6. An integrated teaching approach is far moreeffectivethan teaching isolated bits of information.

Corpuz and Salandanan (2003) claim that an instructional approach isintegrated when it considers the
multiple intelligences (MI)and varied learning styles (LS) of students.

Principles in ClassroomManagement

Below isa listofprinciples on classroom management hackedup byresearch ascited by James H. Stronge
in his book "Qualities of Effective Teachers" (2002).

1. Consistent, proactive discipline is the crux of effective classroom management.

"Prevention is better than cure", so goes the adage. If we are proactive in our approach to discipline we
prevent unnecessary disciplinary problems from cropping up. We have don't to wait for disciplinary
problems to erupt for us to take a move. It is analogous to picking up a banana