An Integrated Approach to Teaching Effectiveness

Abstract

This paper takes at least four basic positions which should be made explicit at the outset. First, the teacher is the key figure in a teaching­learning situation. (This may sound like a cliche.) A, corollary of this position is that all other contingencies of the educational enter­prise, such as para-professionals, clerical and custodial staff, administra­tion, instructional materials and educational technology, and the like, are peripheral in the sense that their fundamental role is to facilitate the emergence of pupils' learning. The second position is that the goals of education are essentially similar, if not the same, for all of us engaged in education. To state this position broadly and bluntly, the goal of our education in the ultimate analysis is to promote the well-being of mankind through the provision of quality education. The third position is that teaching effectiveness can be identified and determined only on the basis of growth in pupils' knowledge, skills, and action patterns. The fourth position which is quite obvious from the title of this paper is that classroom discourse is a means for determining teaching effectiveness.