The following list contains items that students have used to describe their best teachers :
- Enthusiasm
- Students can feel the excitement.
- Students easily detect the teacher's love for job and subject.
- Preparation
- Teacher knows the subject.
- Teacher plans and prepares lessons daily.
- Punctuality
- Always arrives on time.
- Begins and ends class on time.
- Expects and encourages students to arrive on time.
- Support and concern for students
- Lets students know that he/she cares about their success.
- Takes time with students.
- Allows for creativity.
- Is friendly and courteous.
- Is supportive and encouraging.
- Is smiling, caring and loving.
- Consistency
- Does not miss class.
- Is consistent in attitude and dealings with students.
- Is always well prepared to teach class.
- Politeness
- Treats students with respect.
- Does not condescend.
- Avoids embarrassing students in class.
- Firmness and control
- Is firm in a kind manner.
- Avoids tangents in teaching.
- Does not play favorites
- Provides personal help
- Takes time to explain concept.
- Gives individual attention.
- Accepts individual differences.
- Employs an effective delivery
- Clarifies for understanding.
- Creates a sense of fun with the learning task.
- Eliminates bad, irritating and/or distracting habits.
- Does not make students lose face
- Avoids criticizing students
- Has high expectations of class members.
- Is humble.
- Is fair.
- Uses variety.
- Uses a variety of learning activities.
- Experiments.
- Allows for spontaneity.
- Has a sense of humor; is relaxed.
- Use of engaged time
- Sets a good pace and provides for a change of pace.
- Avoids engaging students in "busy work".
- Use of text
- Is not a slave to the text.
- Uses text as a road map.
- Keeps within 1-2 days of the scheduled course outline.
- Field trips and other activities
- Applies student experiences to classwork.
- Does not always teach from a sitting or leaning position.
- Interpersonal relationships with students
- Does not allow students to call him/her by first name.
- Does not try to win a popularity contest.
- Maintains a healthy teacher-student relationship.
- Respects students (remember that sometimes what you think is healthy,
fun joking with students may be interpreted by them as disapproval and
dislike.) - Does not allow one or two students to monopolize or dominate the class.
- Keeps accurate records of
- Work completed.
- Attendance.
- Test results.
- Grades.
Additional Suggestions
- Provide for activity changes – perhaps something not on the lesson plan; for example, scrabble, hangman, pictionary.
- Be somewhat unpredictable – Students will not know what comes next. Keep students in some suspense.
- Variety – In teaching, variety provides for renewed interest in the subject matter. Use variety in how you have students work together. Do not always pair the same ones together. Provide for a variety of learning activities. Some suggestions are:
- Assignments
- Brainstorming
- Buzz sessions
- General discussion
- Panel discussion
- Problem-solving discussion
- Music
- Instructional games
- Questioning and quizzes
- Reports and talks
- Role playing
- Worksheets
- Demonstrations
- Dramas
- Storytelling
- General chalkboard use
- Chalkboard illustrations
- Charts and maps
- Displays and mobiles
- Filmstrips
- Flannelboard
- Flashcards
- Motion pictures
- Opaque projections
- Overhead transparency projections
- Pictures, posters
- Tape recordings
- Video tape recordings
- Videodisk recordings
- Videotaping class presentations or activities
- Guest appearances
- Combined activities with another class.
- Instant Involvement – Create a variety of instant involvement techniques that can be used to capture students attention for what will be presented.
- Give eye-to-eye contact.
- Change teaching style for variety.
- Pace – A change of pace is refreshing and helps students re-enter the learning process.
- Change of setting – At appropriate times it is stimulating and interesting to meet in a different location or setting for a specific learning task.
1 comment:
First of all, very complete post and good job. I like who the "fantastic teacher descriptions" source is students.
This is pretty much a very long way to state the "student involvement" principle, with an added helpful teacher characteristics.
I agree with this list. Tu support this, let me provide and example.
With child rearing, which is more effective: the positive parent who is encouraging and interacts with the child or the distant parent who if anything only spouts negativity at the child?
Obvious answer.
Now imagine that the parent is the teacher is the parent to a lesser degree. Changed the child to children and let's say the students are the children. Same idea applies.
I will admit that it does look staggering to live up to these "requirements" everyday, no matter what the teacher's mood. But it can be done and should be done in order to teach children most effectively.
SIDENOTE: This is a two sided issue as well. Teachers have little motivation to do well. In public schools for example, in more populous areas, one classroom can have 40,60 students alone. There is one teacher and that teacher often can't give all the attention to all students that needs to be given. It would help to split the grades into more manageable classes and hire more teachers for the same grade if necessary.
Then of course there is the low paycheck which is self explanatory.
Finally, the 'hire a teacher' process itself seems pretty open. It might help if standards were a bit stricter. One seems to find loads of instructors who just seem to hate their jobs and the kids alike to be quite common in the school system. Then there are the teachers who will let anything go and have a zoo going instead of a properly functioning classroom.
Again, good work with this post.
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