Running head: ARTICLE REVIEW 1
Article Review
Jeremia Christian Alexander
International Teachers College Universitas Pelita Harapan
ARTICLE REVIEW 2
What Makes Effective Teachers Effective
Summary
Before answering the question What Makes Effective Teachers Effective? Stronge
and Xu (2012), the authors of the article, argue that teachers should care about what qualities
that make an effective teacher because almost every country in the world invests a large
amount of money in education. To answer the question What Makes Effective Teachers
Effective? the authors argue that it is helpful to look at the three interconnected teacher
practices that increase student achievement. Those three interconnected teacher practices are
instructional planning, instructional delivery, and assessment of/for learning. The authors
present their findings of the qualities of effective teachers in each of three teacher practices.
Firstly, regarding instructional planning, researchers found that effective teachers are
those who collaborate in planning with other teachers, plan beyond traditional resources such
as textbooks, translate plans into actions efficiently, and are able to predict troublesome areas
for student learning. Secondly, regarding instructional delivery, educational experts argue
that, of all the teachers background, dispositions, and practices, what directly affects student
learning is instructional delivery. Of school-, family-, and student-related factors, teacher-
related factors are the most powerful influence on student achievement. Providing formative
evaluation is the teacher practice factor that provides the most significant effect on student
achievement. Lastly, regarding assessment of/for learning, studies found that effective
teachers use frequent and systematic assessment, provide constructive feedback, and modify
their instructions as well as assignments to fulfill the different needs of the student.
The author concludes that although abundant educational research has provided
insights into the qualities of a teacher that increase student achievement, teachers vary in
effectiveness when teaching different subject areas, different grade levels, and different
ARTICLE REVIEW 3
groups of students. Finally, there is no single set of teacher attributes that we can definitely
point to that a teacher is effective if he/she has a certain quality.
Evaluation and Reflection
Upon reading this article, novice teachers may not worry about figuring out what
qualities that make an effective teacher since the authors conclude that there is no single set
of attributes they can say that a teacher will be effective if he/she has a certain quality. The
authors could clarify their conclusion that looking into classrooms means looking at the three
interconnected practices of an effective teacher, which is one way to figure out what makes
effective teachers effective. With this conclusion, novice teachers may be more challenged to
look into classrooms so that they find the answer to the question What Makes Effective
Teachers Effective?
What I learned from this article is that the expert teachers were better able to predict
in planning troublesome areas for student learning. I remember my cooperating teacher had
me think about what I would do if some students complete their task faster. I learned in
Instructional Alignment 1 that I do not have to always fill in the differentiation column in my
lesson plans. As a result, I never thought about how I would give a differentiated instruction
to fulfill the different needs of students. Jesus said to his disciples that from everyone who
has been given much, much will be demanded. Some students who are gifted with better
reading ability should be expected to achieve more. To apply this biblical principle, when I
have students read individually in class, I should have more activities for students who read
fast. This article helps me to understand what I learned in Instructional Alignment 1 better.
Though a lesson plan does not always have to have differentiation, it does not mean that I do
not have to think about differentiation. I learned that I should always think about
differentiation in my lesson plan.
ARTICLE REVIEW 4
References
Strong, J. H., & Xu, X. (2012). What Makes Effective Teachers Effective. CSE Magazine,
16(1), 6-11.
