There is much debate over what constitutes a good teacher and how to calculate that measure of "goodness".  Some recommend looking at student's test scores.  Others suggest peer evaluation.  Still others recommend a "laissez-faire" approach that gives the teacher free reign so long as no one complains.  Perhaps it is important, first of all, to identify what a teacher's responsibility is.  Do we expect them to produce students who can fill in all the correct bubbles on an answer sheet, do we expect them to teach their students a set of skills, or do we expect them to produce philosophers and thinkers?

After defining the desired outcome, you can begin to identify the characteristics that will lead to that end.  You will find, no matter which outcome you desire, that all educators ought to possess certain traits, or at least strive to possess them.  

We will attempt to identify and describe those traits over the next several weeks.  

Fitness buffs know the importance of working out, stretching, and training to maintain or improve their form.  They dedicate untold amounts of time to this activity and the results are noticeable.  On the flip side, if you stop working out, or never start in the first place, the results are noticeable in that case, too.  Muscles that lack definition, agility, and strength appear different than those that are cut, trim, and firm. 

The learning muscle, the brain, is just like any other muscle in body.  While it's not technically defined as such, it requires training, flexing, and stretching if it is going to develop to its full potential.  When the brain is only presented with what it is already capable of determining, there is no work out.  However, when the brain is presented with a challenge, the muscle flexes, then is stretched, and finally begins to the show the cut and trim lines that will define it.

Just like the body, you can't expect the learning muscle to spontaneously develop.  It requires effort, some discomfort, and energy.  You can expect to be tired after a mental work out.  But, the rewards are worth it.  Sometimes, like with the physical body, it may be necessary to employ a personal trainer, someone who can help you expand your intellectual work out. 

What employer doesn't want to increase productivity?  There is one very simple, tried-and-true way to accomplish this that is often overlooked.  If you desire to see an increase in your staff productivity, start by focusing on the positive and taking time to recognize individual achievements.  Has one of your employees recently completed a degree or certification program?  Reward and encourage them by acknowledging their accomplishments.  Has a particular department out-performed itself?  Make a big deal out of it.  Do your employees show a loyalty and dedication to their work despite challenging circumstances?  Praise them for it.

We all like to hear positive reinforcement for a job well done.  But sometimes the workplace just becomes so hectic that we forget how important it can be to productivity.  CLO magazine addresses a similar thought in a recent article.  Click here to read it for yourself.  Why are we so quick to forget how important acknowledgement can be?  We often get tied up in the details of what to improve upon rather than being thankful and appreciative for the progress that has already been made. 

Here's the catch....isn't there always a catch?  The praise, acknowledgement, and recognition must be genuine.  You can't just make stuff up.  "And the cleanest desk award goes to...." Acknowledgement like that isn't going to help anyone feel more inspired, motivated, or dedicated.  But genuine praise and recognition can do just that.  When an employee feels appreciated for the job they do and the contribution they make, they feel more connected, loyal, and motivated.  So find something good to focus on today and offer some words of recognition to the folks who deserve it!

How does a particular state make itself more marketable to a specific industry?  It starts by making sure there is ample opportunity for folks to achieve the necessary training and education.  As mentioned in an article on the Manufacturing Institute website, it is necessary to align standards and certifications so that students, both old and young, can obtain the appropriate skills. 

Virginia is doing just that.  According to the article a team of representatives is working to ensure that standards and certifications are being offered.  They are also ensuring that what is being offered is also what is in demand.  Virginia desires to attract job-creating industry and this is the way to go about it. 

Students of all ages can anticipate a focus on meeting those specific industry standards.  And they can rest assured that in meeting those standards they make themselves a valuable member of society, one that is trained, equipped, and ready for employment. 

You may recognize the name Mario Vargas Llosa as the most recent Nobel Prize winner for Literature.  He was nominated and awarded the prize all while performing a teaching stint at Princeton University.  Some folks, his students included, may wonder why Mr. Llosa continues on in the classroom.  Why would a Noble Prize winner spend their time preparing lessons and listening to college students?  The answer is evidenced in a New York Times article and can easily be summed up in two words:  it's important!

Whether you are a prize winner or the recipient of a promotion, teaching what you know to others, particularly the next generation, is an important task.  In the business world, CEO's who take the time to share with their employees what they know and how they came to know it, make a direct and lasting impact on their workforce.  But it doesn't just apply to CEO's, folks who move up within the hierarchical structure of your organization have clearly demonstrated their knowledge and ability, so why not take advantage of that and have them teaching others?

In the education world, we see older students pairing up with younger ones to strengthen and encourage their skills in a way that the teacher may not be able to accomplish.  Teachers have always known the importance of sharing what they know but it is equally important for the students to be given the opportunity to share what they know in an authentic way.  We can instill our students with the sense of importance and significance that comes with teaching when we allow them the opportunity to become the teacher.

In today's economy it may seem to make good business sense to downsize, restructure, or even eliminate the branch of your organization that handles the training and education of employees.  The reasoning behind this decision may sound something like this: 'all of our people already know what they need to know and this is an easy way to cut cost'.  While, in the exact moment spoken, those words may be true, five minutes out and their are faulty.  The technology and execution of skills is changing daily and your practices ought to reflect that change if you are to stay current and relevant in today's market.

Along those lines, a study supporting this idea can be read by clicking this link.  The most successful of all manufacturers seem to grasp the importance of people and talent management.  It does effect the bottom line.  When people are well managed and their training experiences are kept relevant and current, they are able to contribute more fully to the overall goals.  For homegrown manufacturers to maintain their rank in a global economy, they must place an emphasis on the people who will get them there.

One way to maximize the talent potential within any organization is to maintain efficient records of training recieved and needed.  An LMS is the prefect solution to this challenge.  TrainingForce offers the ability to manage people, talent, and programs with the click of a button.  As indicated in the study listed above, this type of management is beneficial for the whole organization and it's bottom line.

According to an article in the New York Times, Grenoble Graduate School of Business in France is expanding its M.B.A. offerings to include a traveling degree program.  According to the article, students will attend week long seminars in 8 international cities over the course of the degree-seeking.  Students will be required to do case studies on each city and focus on the various topics that are specific to that area.  The cities to be included are Grenoble, Geneva, Moscow, London, New York, Singapore, New Delhi, and Beijing.

While a program like this is sure to give its students a wide variety of experiences, I wonder about the overall effectiveness in preparing its students for their specific future.  How can a one week seminar and some case study work really prepare you for the reality of the business world?  There is something to be said for the programs diversity and wide range of experiences, but do they come at too high of a cost?  The travel is a perk, or is it?

Looking at the list of host cities, one wonders how the students will actually grasp the depths of business dealings within each society and government, not to mention the language barriers that will be present.  Will they actually understand how the language, culture, government, and society interact enough to take away the essential business fundamentals they are there to learn?  I appreciate diverse programs and the myriad experiences they bring their students, but is this one so diverse that it will actually do more harm than good?

Have you ever met one of those ultra-organized, color-coded, linked-up and linked-in individuals?  Their ability to maintain order and exact informed decisions is admirable.  Sometimes it takes a team of people to do the same caliber job as it does for one such individual.  But those people are hard to find and in high demand.  So what's an organization to do without a chief organizer?  Well, if the concern is for the organizations' learning needs, an LMS is the way to go.

An LMS can function better than the ultra-organized individual.  It can literally transform your training department by introducing efficient, effective management tools that will result in practical evidence.  Trainingforce is one such LMS.  It's ability to organize courses, classes, instructors, locations, materials and much more makes it a streamlined product your organization can't be productive without.  Check out the Trainingforce website here:  www.trainingforce.com

Trainingforce also offers such perks as being highly customizable.  Trainingforce will work with you and your budget to improve your learning opportunities and requirements.  This particular LMS can service large, international organizations while tending to the needs of smaller domestic companies.  Trainingforce will enhance any learning department while still being budget friendly and user-friendly. 

Virginia Commonwealth University is beginning a new type of teacher preparation program to help form and equip talented and intelligent education students for the demands of urban schools.  According to The Bridge, VCU's education magazine, the program will be shaped more like that of medical students than traditional education students.  The program includes coursework, a yearlong residency of direct supervision by an effective educator, and two years of additional mentoring.  It's like student teaching on steroids.

Will it work?  Will the additional time under the wings of more accomplished educators make the profound and lasting impact VCU and Richmond City Schools are hoping for?  Of course, the jury is still out and will be for quite some time since one of the issues they will be tracking is teacher turnover-something not likely to happen during the first three years of a program designed like this one.  For some the difficulty comes when they are left totally (or almost totally) to their own devices and are required to rely on what they have learned or how creative they can get in the moment.  For others, the difficulty will be trying not to suffocate under the direction of their assigned mentor and resident teacher. 

It would be a great solution to teacher prep quality issues--just tack on an additional 6 months of hands-on training and some more supervision and voila, problem solved.  Unfortunately, I'm not sure that's going to do the trick.  Urban schools present a whole host of issues that are virtually non-existant in sub-urban schools and the individual must have the desire and drive to work within those circumstances or no amount of training will make them want to stay.  At any rate, this new program will result in one thing-- a long time in the teacher making process.  Wonder if those who go through it should expect the kind of pay the medical professionals get after they complete their residencies? 

I was reminded today how important the "doing" is in teaching something new.  I had an opportunity to teach some children a valuable lesson.  We began with some reading and listening, discussion followed and then, then came the fun part, the doing.  The children actually got to put into practice the skills, concepts, and values that we had just discussed.  Now, this wasn't just safe role-playing, this was the real deal.  The children learned the importance, significance, and the how-to of the lesson.  Not only were they excited but they were determined to do it again. 

This concept is transferable to any age.  Learning in a vacuum just isn't going to cut it.  There must be real, authentic opportunities to use the skill in question.  Otherwise, the learning is wasted if it is even achieved at all.  Granted, there are some situation where simulated practice is the close you can get to the real deal until a certain level of mastery is reach, surgery for example.  It is important that the simulated environment closely mirrors the reality if the learning is to be internalized. 

As the instructor, trainer, or teacher it is equally important that you provide these opportunities for your own benefit.  A teacher who only talks about their discipline but never practices it is soon to become out of touch with the changing reality.  Again, some situation prove to be more difficult in this area than others so educators must be aggressive in finding or making opportunities for their own "doing".  Teaching is not a discussion of theory it is a transfer of applicable knowledge.  In other words, teaching is doing.