Punching Above Your Weight

“The best teachers are those who show you where to look, but don’t tell you what to see.” —Alexandra Trenfor

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A few weeks ago, as part of a series of teacher meetings I was facilitating, I observed something that has often intrigued me and it isn’t an observation in isolation. Two teachers were teaching side by side, same year level with similar kids, yet their results were so far apart it could only be put down to one thing: teacher efficacy. Now these two teachers work under incredibly challenging circumstances in a socially disadvantaged school, both care about the students they teach and each have over 10 years teaching experience. So how can the results they are achieving with these students look so different? It got me thinking, so I took some time out of the meetings to do some teacher observations and what I am about to share with you is not intended to shock, but hopefully give you a chance to reflect on your own practice.

The big difference that stood out as soon as I walked into the classroom was the student to teacher relationships that had been established. Both had a nice rapport with the students, but the teacher that was having all the success very clearly operated from the firm and fair position. Interestingly, a great deal of research points to the student to teacher relationship outweighing the teacher’s subject knowledge or teaching approach when considering student achievement. As I sat and watched this skilled teacher leverage the relationships that they had developed, to cultivate great learning opportunities across the room, I watched a little longer and this is what I observed in regard to relationship:

  1. Positive engagement with students that was focused on reinforcing expected behaviours and ‘catching’ students doing things right.
  2. Preparedness that indicated a deep understanding of the students. It was clear that this allowed the teacher to attend to early signs of poor behaviour and pull students back into line.
  3. Sense of humour that broke the ice and helped students relax, encouraging them to take risks and have fun as they learnt.
  4. High expectations that provided boundaries for students, yet pushed students to do their best. These students were clearly proud of their efforts.
  5. Forgiveness that was evident in the ability to start each day fresh. This was articulated clearly to students.

My observations are not intended to be a comprehensive list of the ingredients that make the perfect teacher, rather, a reminder that good teaching is not that far away from even the most challenging classrooms. Where do you stack up against this list? When things get tough, what goes missing from your teaching approach? What would your students say about you as a teacher? What are your teaching strengths and how do you share them?

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Ryan Martin


Ryan Martin, recently awarded with the Northern Territory Principal of the Year, is an experienced school leader with a proven track record in behaviour management, leadership and coaching. He has a sharp focus on changing the trajectory of students from highly complex and disadvantaged
backgrounds. Ryan has a passion for education but you might also find him surfing, skating or tinkering around with old cars.