Jay Varner: Classroom Analysis

To be a successful and impactful teacher, one needs many traits in order to facilitate active learning while maintaining a solid classroom environment. What makes a teacher effective is knowledge, which includes theoretical knowledge about behavioral patterns and knowledge pertaining to the subject at hand. These skills are used to display attitudes that foster hardy relationships between the teacher and their students (Ryan, Cooper, & Bolick, 2016, p.156). Personally, I experienced this level of success in my professor Jay Varner at James Madison University. Varner had an unprecedented enthusiasm for reading, writing, and rhetorical matter. Not only was he incredibly knowledgeable about these topics, but he presented them to the class
163). The idea of equality in the classroom in terms of succeeding is what fosters a relaxed and positive classroom environment. The expectation that all students can achieve their highest potential motivates the class as a whole and gives individual meaning to a students’ work. Since Varner cared about our goals and aimed for us to reach them, the classroom was full of energy. All students in his course felt validated and worked as hard as they could to live up to the expectations Varner set for us regardless of gender, race, or other identifying factor. He did not adjust his expectations based on judgment or perception of a student’s character which allowed for us as a class to trust his judgment as a
170). Scaffolding is the act of assisting students in their independent work who can’t complete their task fully working alone. Aiding students who are so close to their goal but just can’t quite reach it are where true learning is abundant. However, in order to practice this aspect of effective teaching, the zone of proximal development must be accounted for. Teachers assist students in their work in order to help them bypass a simple “bump in the road” and unlock their true potential in understanding a concept by even simply asking leading questions that allow the student to rethink the problem and approach it in a different way to receive their final answer. Scaffolding is simply one of the most important aspects of effective teaching because it uses background knowledge, theoretical knowledge, and subject knowledge all together to stimulate learning and the creative process of problem solving within