Effective teaching ... has it really changed? Some thoughts from Glenda Cain.

Cain, Glenda

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In reflecting on the changes in education over the past twenty years I am taken back to my time in the classroom in the small country town of Eneabba, Western Australia. It was my first teaching appointment as a primary teacher. I travelled 290 kilometres, in part on a gravel road, with no GPS, mobile phone or cruise-control on my mini-minor. I am now at the University of Notre Dame Australia, working in teacher education. The biggest changes I have experienced in my teaching career would be in the way we communicate together. I can now have immediate contact with my colleagues, students, schools and networks without leaving my desk. Many of the words in the above graphic word cloud were never a part of communication during my early years of teaching. There has been a massive change in how we use technology to communicate, so different from the past.

Yet, I still believe the heart of teaching has not changed. As I so often share with my pre-service teachers, the message from Hattie (2009) is that the teacher makes the difference. 'No matter what changes in education the future holds, the establishment and maintenance of high-quality positive relationships is perhaps one of the most crucial must have capacities in the make-up of the twenty-first century teacher' (Churchill et.al., 2011, p. 561). In essence it is the relationships that we grow with our students that are central to effective teaching. No amount of innovative technology, resources or on-line learning can take the place of the teacher and student working together building a trusting, respectful and meaningful relationship. I look forward to a very positive future with the quality of young people entering the teaching profession and the commitment they display in building relationships with each other and their students.

References

Churchill, R., Ferguson, P., Godinho, S., Johnson, N.F., Keddie, A., Letts, W., Mackay, J., McGill, M., Moss, J., Nagel, M.C., Nicholson, P., & Vick, M. (2011). Teaching: Making a difference. Milton, QLD: Wiley.

Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. New York: Routledge.

Glenda Cain is currently working as Senior Lecturer (Literacy-Early Childhood Education and Primary) at the University of Notre Dame Australia, teaching in both undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the School of Education. She has extensive teaching experience across all sectors as a classroom teacher in early childhood and primary classrooms, a deputy principal, early childhood curriculum officer and university lecturer. She has been an active member of ALEA over many years and enjoyed the professional networking with colleagues during this time. She is currently the Vice-President of the Western Australian ALEA branch. Email: glenda.cain@nd.edu.au