Tuesday, November 1, 2022

Personal Characteristics of Good Teachers | General Methods of Teaching

QUESTION

Specify the personal characteristics of good teachers.

Course: General Methods of Teaching
Course code 8601
Level: B.Ed Solved Assignment

Answer:

Characteristics of an Effective Teacher

Knowledge and skills are taught and learned at school. School is a little community in itself where teachers and students interact with each other. During this interaction, teachers influence, their learner’s behavior, and learners influence their teacher’s behavior.

The nature of this interaction is an important factor in determining the learner's perceptions of school and his/her attitudes toward school-related persons and activities.

This factor involves the relationship between the personality of the teacher and that of the learner. A teacher’s personality traits are essential Callahan, (1966) says that the teacher whose personality helps create and maintain a classroom or learning environment in which students feel comfortable and in which they are motivated to learn is said to have a desirable teaching personality.

Personal qualities of a Teacher

Elementary school teachers need the following characteristics:

strong interpersonal and communication skills
a genuine interest in children and respect for their individuality
the ability to sense children's individual needs
the ability to be creative, imaginative, patient, energetic, organized, and resourceful
the ability to establish rapport between children and parents
strong leadership and teamwork skills and a good sense of humor
a high level of dedication to work which often impacts personal lifestyle choices
a clear, pleasant speaking voice and the ability to convey confidence
Positive conflict resolution skills and the ability to handle stress well.

Thompson, Greer, and Greer (n.d) say that “every teacher should possess twelve characteristics such as displaying fairness, having a positive outlook, being prepared, using a personal touch, possessing a sense of humor, possessing creativity, admitting mistakes, being forgiving, respecting students, maintaining high expectations, showing compassion, and developing a sense of belonging for students”. Let us read these characteristics as given below:

1) Fairness

Fairness is one of the characteristics of the student's favorite teachers. All humans possess an inbuilt sense of fair play. Whenever a person violates, the other person in this situation is prone to react negatively.

Any impression of favoritism, or lack of fairness, leaves scars on the life of people that lasts forever. The students report in great detail, the unfair actions of their teachers when they had a negative experience of competition between classmates, even after many years have passed.

2) Positive Attitude

Another characteristic that students like most is the positive attitude and approach of the teachers they use in the classroom. Scholars suggest that effective teachers are those who use meaningful verbal praise to get and keep students actively participating in the learning process. Effective teachers are generally positive-minded individuals who believe in the success of their students as well as their own ability to help students achieve.

If the teachers have a positive attitude they “catch students doing things right” rather than “catching them doing something wrong.” The students often recall praise and recognition that was given by their teachers at schools, and they point to the confidence and direction that often resulted in their lives.

3) Preparedness

Competence and knowledge of the content area being taught is something that our college students have always mentioned about their favorite teachers. In research, the students pointed out that in classrooms where teachers were well prepared, behavior problems were less prevalent.

The well-prepared teacher is more likely to be able to take time during lessons to notice and attend to behavioral matters and is less likely to miss the beginnings of potentially disruptive activity. If, on the other hand, teachers have not spent sufficient time in planning and preparation, they tend to be so focused on what they are doing that they miss the early signs of misbehavior. This ultimately results in frequent disruption, waste of valuable instructional time, and student frustration.

4) Personal Touch

Teachers who are connected personally with their students; call them by name, smile often, ask about students’ feelings and opinions, and accept students for who they are. As well as the teachers who tell stories of their own life events that relate to the subject matter currently being taught, motivate students’ interest, and endorse bonding with the students. Teachers who show interest in their students have interested students.

5) Sense of Humor

If a teacher can break the ice in difficult situations with the use of humor, this is an extremely valuable asset for teaching. According to McDermott & Rothenberg (2000), students enjoy teachers with a sense of humor and remember those teachers who made learning fun. Good teachers enjoy a laugh with the class occasionally.

6) Creativity

Students always like the unusual things that their teachers do in creative ways. The construction of models or things from waste like plastic bottles provides a field into which children could go and work by themselves quietly on academic activities like puzzles and word finds.

7) Willingness to Admit Mistakes

Like everybody, teachers may make mistakes. Sometimes students may know when their teachers make mistakes. Unfortunately, some teachers try to let the mistakes go unnoticed or cover them quickly. Teachers who recognize their mistakes in a very humble and pleasant way and apologize to them. This act of teacher provides an excellent model for the students, and they may be effective teachers reflect a willingness to forgive students for misbehavior. For example, if a student repeatedly asks irrelevant questions and detracts others from

the lesson. The teacher can simply say the question is irrelevant and direct the student to further study.

8) Respect

The teacher's desire is respected by their students. The teachers who give respect to their students are always respected by them. Effective teachers can train their students to be respectful in many ways such as, he can keep individual grades on paper confidentially or speaking to students privately after misbehavior, not in front of others. Good teachers show sensitivity to feelings and consistently avoid situations that unnecessarily make students uncomfortable.

9) High expectations

Teachers with positive attitudes also possess high expectations for success. Teachers’ expectation levels affect how teachers teach and interact with students. Generally, students either rise to their teachers’ expectations or do not perform well when expectations are low or non-existent. The best teachers save the highest standards. They consistently challenge their students to do their best.

10) Compassion

Hopefully, school is a place where children can learn and be nurtured in an emotionally safe environment. Sometimes in youngsters' classrooms, there may be a significant amount of cruelty and hurt feelings. In these situations, a caring teacher tries to reduce the impact of hurt feelings on learning

Teacher quality is the most important factor in determining school quality. But what factors determine teacher quality? There are fifteen key characteristics that administrators look for in their teachers, given in an article from Teaching for Excellence.

Teacher’s characteristics as an administrator

Let us read the teacher’s characteristics from the administrator’s point of view:

Exhibit enthusiasm:

An enthusiastic teacher can make learning fun for the students. If the teacher has the willingness to teach he can make a difference in the motivation of students. This quality also helps in building a sense of teamwork even beyond the classroom.

Know your content:

Teachers must keep up with their field of expertise. The teacher must have mastery of the knowledge and new developments in the field. For example, if you teach kindergarten, subscribe to an early childhood journal. If you teach chemistry, attend the seminar at the local college. Only the knowledge of changing trends can make teachers experts in the field.

Be organized:

To be organized, the teacher must learn how to handle the routine for example collecting student work, handing out materials, posting assignments, what to do when finished with an assignment, communicating class news, etc. Organized planning of teaching lessons spares teachers’ time and lets him/her spend more time on students’ learning. Time with students, Established routines keep the class on track and give you more time for teaching and engaging students.

Teach actively:

Hard-working teachers are always appreciated. Good teachers are actively involved in teaching. They continuously move around and notice the students’ behavior and their learning activity.

Show a good attitude:

A philosopher, Voltaire, said, "The most courageous decision one makes each day is the decision to be in a good mood”. The students need models with positive attitudes. Notice what you say to others and your tone of voice. The teacher must show care, concern, and respect.

Establish successful classroom management:

The teacher must establish the classroom management system from the first day of class. Since discipline and management structures are essential for students to be at work, teachers enforce management rules for an orderly class environment by using their qualities of consistency and fairness. The inconsistent rules should not be enforced.

Pace instruction:

Learning is directly related to the opportunity to learn. Students learn the most by doing, not by watching, not by standing in line, and not by listening. Teachers must plan an instructional timeline for courses to be taught.

B.Ed Helper | Teacher Education [Student-Teacher-School-Society]

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