Becoming an expert teacher has never been an easy task since it requires a lot of practice and readiness to engage in continuous learning instead of resting on one’s laurels. Despite multiple difficulties associated with gaining helpful experience and growing as a professional, specialists in education are expected to travel this path to make contributions to the field and self-actualize. This paper focuses on the attributes of effective teachers and the role of using and understanding the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in developing such characteristics.
Multiple competencies help to distinguish between expert and novice teachers. Unlike the latter, experts in the field of education know how to deal with discipline issues apart from possessing enough knowledge peculiar to the subjects that they teach (Sternberg & Williams, 2010). Based on modern research, expert educators demonstrate openness to new experiences and agreeableness (Buttner, Pijl, Bijstra, & Van den Bosch, 2016). Apart from the amount of knowledge, expert teachers are different since they tend to organize everything they know “around encountered cases and experiences” (Lachner, Jarodzka, & Nückles, 2016, p. 198). It helps them to create unique and flexible knowledge structures.
The CCSS, the initiative that specifies particular educational achievements for each school grade, can be used to increase specialists’ chances to become expert teachers. Adopted by more than forty states, it encourages students to propel their reasoning skills to the next level (Coburn, Hill, & Spillane, 2016). Achieving this task is impossible without expert teachers’ contributions and hard work. Thus, the implementation of the CCSS motivates teachers to improve different competencies and become capable of making the proper pedagogical decisions on their own.
Finally, these learning standards for different subjects provide teachers with a reference point. It is also essential that they do not set limitations related to the use of pedagogical approaches (Coburn et al., 2016). When they are aware of the standards, teachers see the goal and are welcome to use their experience, theoretical knowledge, and creativity to achieve it. Despite criticism, the CCSS can enhance effective teachers’ attributes by making professionals solve new pedagogical tasks on a regular basis.
References
Buttner, S., Pijl, S. J., Bijstra, J., & Van den Bosch, E. (2016). Personality traits of expert teachers of students with EBD: Clarifying a teacher’s X-factor. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 20(6), 569-587.
Coburn, C. E., Hill, H. C., & Spillane, J. P. (2016). Alignment and accountability in policy design and implementation: The Common Core State Standards and implementation research. Educational Researcher, 45(4), 243-251.
Lachner, A., Jarodzka, H., & Nückles, M. (2016). What makes an expert teacher? Investigating teachers’ professional vision and discourse abilities. Instructional Science, 44(3), 197-203.
Sternberg, R. J. & Williams, W. M. (2010). Educational psychology (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.