What is effective teaching?

I teach reading and writing courses in a community college and love what I do. Recently though I have been wondering if others feel the same way. Some of my colleagues appear to be very passionate about what they teach. How do I know? Well, students talk with each other in the hallways, in the cafeteria, and in classes. I hear great things about some classes and teachers. At other times, students seem less than complimentary. I would also say that I’m not excluded from this. I’m sure there are lessons I could have taught differently at times or lessons that did not work as well as I had hoped. Even so, I feel I go into every class prepared to give it my all. So this brings a question to mind. What is effective teaching? Can we all claim to be effective teachers? What do students expect from us? We would really like to hear what you have to say so please chime in.