| The purpose of the study was to examine the perceptions of the National State Teachers of the Year in relation to specific conditions and characteristics of effective teaching and learning. Seventy 1988 and 1989 Teachers of the Year participated in the study.;The findings of the research indicated that the Teachers of the Year believe the most important characteristics necessary to be effective are knowledge of subject matter, a caring and compassionate personality, enthusiasm, organization, a sense of humor, and a love of children. In terms of classroom presentation, the Teachers of the Year use a variety of teaching methods in their classrooms, with hands-on activities being used most often. Additional methods that are used more than ten percent of the time included the lecture method, cooperative learning, and the discussion method. The findings also indicated that Teachers of the Year do not rely heavily on the use of a textbook in their teaching, especially at the elementary and junior high school levels. Additionally, Teachers of the Year try new presentation methods in their classroom on an average of more than thirty times per school year, with elementary teachers attempting over fifty new presentations a year. When observing the types of questions Teachers of the Year ask on tests, over fifty percent of the questions occur at the knowledge and comprehension levels, and the remainder are on the application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation levels.;In terms of establishing discipline, the Teachers of the Year felt the key techniques were to communicate their expectations, establish an environment of mutual respect, allow students to have input when creating rules, limit the rules to a minimum, and place high expectations on all students.;The research constituted a case study design using descriptive-survey research techniques. Data from the Teachers of the Year were collected through the use of a survey instrument that examined characteristics of teacher effectiveness, classroom management, assessment techniques, classroom presentation methodologies, and demographic information. |
