WHAT MAKES A GOOD TEACHER?

theenglishteacher on October 11th, 2008

Carl Rogers, an American psycologist suggested there are three core teacher characteristics to help create an effective learning environment.

Respect: Being positive and non judgmental in regards to another person
Empathy: Being able to see things from another person’s point of view
Authenticity: Being yourself without egoistic barriers or hiding behind a job title

These three qualities a far more likely to induce a more positive learning environment, where students are more inclined to take risks and take responsibility for their own learning. Communication between student and teacher becomes more open and honest and therefore a stronger bond emerges, based on mutual respect.

These qualities should not be “clothes” that a teacher puts on in the classroom. They have to be genuine intentions. A good teacher is one who not only has knowledge of their subject but has the personality to convey it in engaging, motivational terms. Therefore demonstration and participation rather than explanation is often more effective.

In short: An effective language teacher is one that cares more about their students’ learning than they do about their own teaching!

Source www.socyberty.com

Image of Doris Day taken from www.eslpod.com

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No Responses to “WHAT MAKES A GOOD TEACHER?”

KarenneOctober 12th, 2008 at 1:36 pm

Hi Aniya,

Excellent post as usual! I absolutely agree with the above.

K
BeverlyOctober 13th, 2008 at 6:29 am

Love this blog post! I so agree with more participation than instructional learning for students. I’ve just been on a conference in NZ called ULearn08 – about how ICT can increase children’s participation in learning. See my reflections on http://www.ictece.blogspot.com . I think another characteristic for teachers today as you have hinted – is that they need to be risk-takers too.
theenglishteacherOctober 13th, 2008 at 9:46 am

Thanks for the posts and dropping by guys. Yes I found it rather interesting too..
leewinOctober 13th, 2008 at 5:56 pm

Hello Aniya!

This is an exceptional blog. I am new to blogging so you’ll have to forgive me if I am doing things wrong here.

It is an excellent post in the article but is it really anything new to say that teaching should be more interactive than passive? Maybe I am missing the point of the article but this psychologist seems to be saying things we already knew.

I was just wondering where Carl Rogers was heading with this. Just a thought.

Cheers!
theenglishteacherOctober 13th, 2008 at 6:51 pm

Hi Leewin,
You’re right there’s nothing new about this, but some teachers still live in the past, so it’s just to give them a knock, and some students think that these methods of teaching still exist, so this post helps those who do not know, hope that answers your question
aminhersOctober 14th, 2008 at 3:40 pm

Nice posting, Aniya
btw I want to be a math teacher
LeewinOctober 15th, 2008 at 7:53 am

Hello Aniya!

I guess it doesn’t hurt to have a reminder because we can all get stuck in a rut when it comes to doing or learning things.

I hate to ask this but I was wondering if I could ask for some assistance. My class and I are putting together a podcast and one of our topics is on how relevant Education is today. Could you visit my blog and answer the post on “Our First Podcast: We Need Your Help!”

We are gathering student and teacher opinions for the show.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give and please refer this post onto others if you get a chance.

Cheers!

http://mrwiniks.edublogs.org