The Components of a “Good Teacher” and How an Educator Create a Classroom with Gravitated Students

 

The Components of a “Good Teacher” and How an Educator Create a Classroom with Gravitated Students

Author: Santosh Kumar Biswa, Sr. Teacher, Damphu CS, Tsirang, Bhutan

 

 

Teachers are the most influential and powerful people in society in shaping its youth through the dissemination of knowledge and building the capacity for them to live effectively. Mostly, they are engaged with students in the classroom, providing not simply literacy on various subjects, but also on other areas of learning that include life skills, values, roles in society, health, religion, civics, etc. Simply providing literacy to students through lecturing doesn’t fulfill the primary goals of education because students are not the consumers of facts alone, instead, they are the creators and teaching should promote lifelong learning with the enhancement of different developmental skills for them to transform and prepare for life ahead (Lanier, 1997). To make it happen, a teacher needs to be a good teacher knowing the fact that teaching is a complex profession (Wikipedia, 2021). Anyone can teach in the classroom, but only a few can bring the differences through teaching in the life of any learner. In this discussion, I will be focusing on some of the components of a “good teacher’ and how can a teacher attract students to the classroom for real learning.

 

The components of a “good teacher”

 

A good teacher is someone who through his teaching really influences his students through his exemplary teaching skills and abilities so that he is remembered by his students throughout their lives. He should be a role model in his classroom through the promotion of excellence in teaching and should be able to connect with students for student-teacher relationship building (OETJobs, 2021). There are many things to be remembered by a teacher to be a “good teacher” and bring differences in his teaching. Some components of a “good teacher” are:

 

Firstly, a teacher should be committed to his profession and should love his job with a strong work ethic. He should be someone who is professionally sound at all times and should be a responsible person who never gives up when coming to his student’s educational needs (Azer, 2005) and any of their misbehaviors within the school (OETJobs, 2021).

 

Secondly, having good communication skills is integral and would enable them to build a good student-teacher relationship for a better classroom environment. He should be sound enough to encourage input from students and respect their views, communicate the curriculum well, express ideas constructively, show a caring and friendly attitude, handle student’s tasks well (Azer, 2005), and possess good listening skills. 

 

Moreover, a good teacher is someone who is able to motivate his students to achieve their goals through various feedbacks that are constructive in nature and remain focused on their learning progress. He should be someone who is available all the time to assist them with their doubts so that they attain success. Motivation takes place if a teacher creates a trusting learning environment through openness in the discussion that ultimately helps students learn through mistakes (Azer, 2005).

 

On the other hand, a good teacher is a talented individual who comes always with a variety of teaching strategies to promote higher-order critical and creative thinking through collaboration and teamwork, so that the teaching becomes comprehensive and memorable (Azer, 2005). In this account, he should be also the master of all teaching skills in which he possesses sound knowledge of the subject and teaching resources, student’s background about their learning and he employs problem-solving skills and effective instructions (Psychology Campus, 2004-2008). By doing so, he is able to create interactive student engagement during the learning process through the proper organizational skills of the lesson (OETJobs, 2021).

 

Finally, a good teacher is someone who always practices fairness in the classroom and he is mostly engaged in entertaining students during the teaching and learning process so that the class remains lively, and he is focused on transforming students rather than simply teaching the content (McKinney, 1988).

 

How an Educator Create a Classroom with Gravitated Students?

 

Many factors affect learning in the classroom. Lack of motivation is one among many factors that hinder learners as it diminishes their interest in learning (Young, 2014). As an educator, one should create an environment where students start to develop an interest in learning. The interest in learning multiplies when a student’s emotion is taken care of by the teacher away from the negativity. There are various ways in which an educator creates a classroom that motivates students to like one’s teaching. They are as follows:

 

Firstly, the most important thing that the teacher needs to know is that he should make his students feel that they are important in the classroom, they are intelligent and could at any time come forward to seek help and can share their opinions without hesitations (Thompson, 2015).

 

Secondly, an educator should create a lively and positive classroom environment through the encouragement of an open and sincere communication system in the classroom whereby they start feeling comfortable in the classroom to share their opinion openly (JBCN School Blog, 2018) and learn to appreciate and celebrate their own success and can accept their mistake in lively manners (Young, 2014). One should be polite, gentle, and inclusive in his approach to the students and should teach humorously so that they remain active in the class and really make them feel that the teacher is interested in them (Thompson, 2015). It allows learners to remain motivated and face future challenges (JBCN School Blog, 2018).

 

On the other hand, an educator should let his students know how much he loves them and cares about their success and career. According to Andre P. Audette (2021), she stated that when students come to know that they are being loved, it has direct psychological responses in their minds which would ultimately motivate them to learn. This would help them to overcome any kind of mental crisis, they have in their mind.  

 

Moreover, Socializing with students during recess hours and listening to their opinions in and outside the classroom opens the gate to develop the student-teacher relationship, creating the room for them to understand how much their teachers love and care for them and respect their views (Rosier, 2020).  

 

Finally, Focusing on the interests of the students in the classroom really helps them remain focused, and most students prefer activities-based learning whereby they collaborate with their friends for openness in the sharing of ideas and expression. It motivates them through a deeper learning experience (JBCN School Blog, 2018). But, the teacher should be fair in providing positive feedback at all times.

 

Conclusion

 

In a nutshell, to be a good teacher in the eyes of students is an art that requires skills in an individual. There are many common qualities that a good teacher possesses because they are always prepared with the proper plans and are able to easily suit their teaching strategies based on the mood of students. They are always positive and are aware of the consequences if they lack anyone stated above. They are the creator, not the dictator throughout their teaching processes. 

 

Reference

Audette, A. P. (2021). Tell Your Students You Love Them, Appropriately. Retrieved September 3, 2021 from https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-teaching-strategies/tell-your-students-you-love-them-appropriately/

Azer, S. A. (2005). The qualities of a good teacher: how can they be acquired and sustained? Retrieved September 3, 2021 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1079387/

Lanier, J. T. (1997). Redefining the Role of the Teacher: It's a Multifaceted Profession. Retrieved September 3, 2021 from https://www.edutopia.org/redefining-role-teacher

McKinney, K. (1988). FACES: Five Components of Quality Teaching. Retrieved September 3, 2021 from https://www.jstor.org/stable/1317535

OETJobs. (2021). What Makes a Good Teacher: 10 Qualities of an Excellent Teacher. Retrieved September 3, 2021 from https://oetjobs.com/what-makes-a-good-teacher-10-qualities-of-a-good-teacher/

Psychology Campus. (2004-2008). Good Teachers. Retrieved September 3, 2021 from http://www.psychologycampus.com/educational-psychology/good-teachers.html

Rosier, S. (2020). How to Get Your Students to Like You. Retrieved September 3, 2021 from https://www.wikihow.com/Get-Your-Students-to-Like-You

Thompson, J. G. (2015). How to Be Everyone’s Most Favorite Teacher EVER. Retrieved September 3, 2021 from https://www.bamradionetwork.com/how-to-be-everyone-s-most-favorite-teacher-ever/

 Wikipedia. (2021). Teacher. Retrieved September 3, 2021 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teacher

Young, J. (2014). The importance of a positive classroom. In Encouragement in the Classroom. ASCD. Retrieved September 3, 2021 from http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/sf114049/chapters/The-Importance-of-a-Positive-Classroom.aspx