International Journal of Advanced Research in Education & Technology (IJARET) 88 Vol. 3, Issue 3 (July - Sept. 2016) ISSN : 2394-2975 (Online) ISSN : 2394-6814 (Print) www.ijaret.com © IJARET All Rights Reserved Qualities of Effective Mathematics and Science Teachers Dr. Raja Mohammad Latif Dept. of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University P.O. Box 1664 Al Khobar 31952, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia E-mail : rlatif@pmu.edu.sa; rajamlatif@gmail.com&dr.rajalatif@yahoo.com I. Introduction Our every day is different from the earlier days and this is largely due to the contribution of science in our life. Mathematics is a science whose subject matter has special forms and quantitative relationships of the real world. Mathematics is a branch of science, which deals with numbers and their operations. It involves calculation, computation, solving of problems etc. Its dictionary meaning states that, ‘Mathematics is the science of numbers and space’ or ‘Mathematics is the science of measurement, quantity and magnitude’. It is exact, precise, systematic and a logical subject. Mathematics reveals hidden patterns that help us to understand the world around us. Now, much more than arithmetic and geometry, mathematics today is a diverse discipline that deals with data, measurements and observations from science, with inference, deduction, and proof; and with mathematical models of natural phenomena, of human behavior, and of social systems. It may also be defned as, ‘Mathematics is the study of quantity, structure, space and change; it has historically developed, through the use of abstraction and logical reasoning, from counting, calculation, measurement, and the study of the shapes and motions of physical objects. We can’t live happy life without science. The science has become integral part of our life. Science has also infuenced educational enterprise and hence it is also the integral part of our educational system. Learning of science has become unavoidable part of general education. The modern civilization is a scientifc civilization. In this age the modern society is completely drawn into the scientifc environment. Today science has become an integral part of our life and living. Now we cannot think of a world without science. I think teaching is an art and there are born teachers. But there are majority of teachers, who can improve upon by experience of practice and utilization of various methods of teaching science. The basic aim of teaching any subject is to bring about desired change in behaviour. The change in behaviour of student will be indicated through students' capacity to learn effectively. This is only possible by adopting various methods of teaching. The teacher cannot utilize any method to any type of students in any type of environment. One has to choose and adopt the right method of teaching while keeping in mind the capability of the students and the curriculum. Thus, method is a way of presentation of the content in the classroom. But, it is however very important to keep in mind that a method is not an end in itself but is used to achieve the set aims of teaching. You should also keep in mind that, same method should not be used at all times but there should be fexibility in using it as for as situations, circumstances, and condition in a particular case. You should use various methods depending upon demand of the situation. The method which in a particular class under a particular circumstance, may be a total failure for other teacher. The best methods of teaching science are Teacher-Centered and Pupil-Centered. The frst type of teaching methods focuses on telling, memorizing and recalling information. The students’ participation is very limited wherein they only ask questions or answer questions. Most of the time, the students are passive listeners and receive the knowledge. The teacher is center of process that goes on in the classroom. The second type of teaching process emphasizes on need, requirement, interest and capability of students. The students are active participants where in their skills and abilities are developed. Teacher and students jointly explore the different aspects of problem. The role of the teacher is to create a problematic situation, have materials and resources available to the students, and help them identify issues, state hypotheses, clarify and test hypotheses and draw conclusions. If you are keen in making lesson plans which may help you in achieving your identifed objectives, then they should be stated clearly. If objectives are not clearly defned, it is impossible to evaluate a student, a lesson, a unit, a course or a program effectively. This leads to teaching disaster. Unless you have clear picture of instructional intention, you will be unable to select test items in which the objectives are clearly defned and the students know which activities are relevant for success of the teaching and learning process. A meaningfully stated objective is that clearly communicate the readers the writer’s intention. It states the behavioral outcome of students after completing a certain topic. The most important characteristics of useful objectives are that it identifes the kind of performance that will be accepted as evidence Abstract The effectiveness of mathematics and science teachers stems mainly from their confdence of the subject matter, how to teach it (pedagogy), and their attitude. Truly inspirational mathematics and science teaching occurs when a teacher is not only enthusiastic about the mathematics or science topic being taught, but also understands that topic fully in order to present it in a comprehensible and meaningful way to each learner. The behaviours used to indicate effective mathematics and science teachers have been grouped under three categories namely: professional knowledge, professional practice, and professional attributes. The behaviours under each category are considered standards of performance of teachers, something they can work for standards are broadly stated expectations of what teachers should know and be able to do. These standards provide the criteria for making judgments about the quality of professional development opportunities that university teachers need. We will present the standards for effective mathematics and science teachers. The list of standards and behaviours are by no means complete. But they are useful for professional development programs to focus on so that teachers can be helped to achieve most, if not all, of them. Keywords Attribute, Education, Effective, Knowledge, Practice, Teaching 2010 Mathematics Subject Classifcation: 97D40, 97D50