The ideal teacher Essay Example for Free

The ideal teacher Essay What characteristics should a teacher possess? What Makes a Good Teacher? Video – Effective Teacher †¢ An effective teacher can be seen in the following video: Introduction What does being a teacher mean? †¢ Having a vocation for the teaching profession. †¢ Being dedicated. †¢ Being surrounded by a large number of diverse students, each with their own baggage and unique character. Knowledge 1st Characteristic of an effective teacher †¢ Should be transmitted in a unique and fun manner. †¢ One should move from the known to the unknown. †¢ It is not how much one knows, but how much one can deliver. Knowledge Observation 1 †¢ At a particular Boys’ Area Secondary School, it was noticed that the boys had a low IQ. †¢ A highly motivated Maltese teacher used a practical example to help them learn. †¢ He compared the Maltese language to a cocktail. – The different drinks symbolized Italian, Arabic and English. †¢ As a result the children remembered the example more. Adaptation 2nd Characteristic of an effective teacher †¢ One should get to know one’s students to cater for them accordingly. †¢ Scaffolding activities accordingly, ensures maximum learning. â€Å"The wise adapt themselves to circumstances, as water  moulds itself to the pitcher† – Chinese Proverb Environment 3rd Characteristic of an effective teacher †¢ Creates a non-threatening and welcoming environment. Environment – Observation 1 †¢ A Maths lesson in a Boys’ Area Secondary School – The teacher greeted the students by the words ‘hurry up because you are wasting precious time’. – The students were not very friendly towards her and imitated her. – Whilst going out for recreation these students were heard echoing the teacher’s words to their peers who dawdled on their way out. Theory of Observational Learning †¢ The students’ picked up the  teacher’s habit and used it to their advantage. †¢ This can be applied to Albert Bandura’s theory of observational learning. Theory of Observational Learning †¢ Bandura established 4 steps – Attention – characteristics instilled within a person that will affect the way in which he is influenced. – Retention – the ability to remember what one sees and transforms it into visualizations or verbal expressions. – Reproduction – the ability to transform what one has retained into definite behaviour. – Motivation – one has to be given a reason or incentive to reproduce what he has observed and retained. Organisation Good Organisation 4th Characteristic of being an effective teacher †¢ Having good organisational skills. †¢ In order to keep the students focused, the explanation should be sequential to avoid confusion. †¢ The teacher should always follow a lesson plan. Bloom’s Taxonomy for Learning Domain †¢ The last two domains – Synthesis – Evaluation focus on the importance of having a lesson plan as a guidance for the lesson. Importance of a Lesson Plan †¢ A lesson plan is important – to make the lesson sequential. – to ensure the objectives devised were reached. – to assess whether students understood  or not. Conducting a Lesson †¢ The teacher starts off the lesson by correcting the home work, – the students participate and say their answers. †¢ Introduces the topic that will be tackled. †¢ The teacher may write down some notes on the whiteboard. †¢ Class work is given so as to make sure that the students understood the topic. Organisation – Observation 1 †¢ A particular maths teacher at a girl’s school, applied very good organisational skills in her lesson. †¢ She stated the aims of the lesson at the beginning of the lesson in a very clear way. †¢ She managed to do all the things she had  planned. †¢ On repeated observations, it was noted that she always had a well-planned lesson. †¢ Students were always motivated to learn. Organisation – Observation 2 †¢ Another class that was observed in the same school was a Maltese literacy class. – It aids students who find it difficult when it comes to reading and writing. †¢ She involved the students by asking them to continue reading from where she stopped and corrected them wherever they made a mistake. †¢ At the end, she gave them some pages to read at home. Classroom Layout 1 †¢ In the previous incidents mentioned, the desks were  neatly placed and organised in twos. – Students can help each other with any difficulties they might have. †¢ The teacher’s desk was facing the student’s desks. †¢ On some occasions, the teacher may still need to separate desks to avoid misbehaviour and interruptions before starting the lesson. Classroom Environment †¢ When students are already inside the classroom, the teacher should make his / her presence felt. †¢ On the contrary, when students change class, the teacher can alter the classroom layout to suit his/her approach to teaching. Disorganisation †¢ When the teacher is disorganized he/she will  not be able to deliver a well-balanced lesson. – This was noticed in an observation where the class only managed to read a small paragraph from a textbook throughout two whole double lessons. – The rest was random, out of point discussions. †¢ There was poor classroom management together with a lack of discipline. Observation Disorganisation †¢ During a Home-Economics practical session a disorganised teacher was observed. †¢ The teacher did not guide and assess the students. †¢ They ended up asking each other what to do next and did not learn any skills. Discipline Behaviourism †¢ Constant motivation is  compared to behaviourism – researched by B. F. Skinner. †¢ He called his research ‘The Operant Conditioning Theory’. †¢ Theory states that a particular behaviour can be increased by positive / negative reinforcements (praise / punishments). Bad Discipline Observation Ineffective Teacher †¢ Observation A particular teacher, instead of correcting the students in a gentle manner and explaining what was wrong, the teacher sent the students out of class together with their desk and chair. †¢ It was observed that most of the teachers reprimanded the students whenever they got something wrong. †¢ Students are demoralized and in consequence show no interest in learning. Albert Bandura †¢ Throughout our observations, one thing was particularly noticed. †¢ When a teacher scolds students, their actions turn out to be counterproductive as that same action is repeated by the students. †¢ This is backed up by the Social Cognitive Theory researched by Albert Bandura. †¢ The Bobo-Doll experiment – Children imitated what was seen both verbally and physically. Influential Teachers †¢ A teacher’s behaviour contributes to classroom management . Henry Adams once stated: â€Å"A teacher affects eternity; one can never tell  were the influence stops. † Good Discipline Observation – Effective Teacher 5th characteristic of being an effective teacher †¢ Keeps the same discipline methods with all students regardless of their gender, race, ability or religion. †¢ Positive reinforcement: praises students and corrects their mistakes. †¢ Greets the students. †¢ Prepares the things needed for the lesson beforehand and waits for the students to settle down. †¢ Goes around the students to check whether everyone is paying attention. †¢ Removes distracting materials such as any irrelevant writing on the board will be rubbed off. Communication of Ideas 6th Characteristic of being an effective teacher †¢ Ability to communicate ideas effectively. †¢ This is done through the use of a variety of resources. †¢ This is explained in Benjamin Bloom’s book – Taxonomy of Learning Domains. Resources Motivation †¢ A teacher should always motivate students in a fun way – that is what keeps them going; Albert Einstein once said: â€Å"It is the supreme art of a teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge. † Observation †¢ During a science lesson, one of us observed one such characteristic, †¢ The science teacher used a variety of interesting  resources such as: – – – – PowerPoint presentations Worksheets Information handouts Textbooks †¢ These resources enabled students to be enthusiastic and motivated. Importance of Resources Something commonly observed: †¢ Very few teachers made use of resources, †¢ Most of them used the traditional resources; white board and textbooks, †¢ Students ended up bored and disinterested throughout the lesson. Edgar Dale †¢ In the 1960’s he put forward the theory: †¢ Students retain more information by what they â€Å"do† as opposed to what they â€Å"hear†, â€Å"see† or â€Å"observe†. †¢ He devised the ‘Cone of Experience. ’ †¢ â€Å"Learning by doing† is nowadays known as â€Å"experiential learning†. Cone of Experience Ineffective Resource 1 Textbooks †¢ By time, textbooks become outdated. This means that more money has to be forked out by the school and parents to update them. †¢ Textbooks should be used as a reference for studying, revising or even further notes. Ineffective Resource 2 Whiteboard †¢ Teachers still rely on such a sole type of pedagogy application, †¢ Disadvantage: The teacher may not write clear and big enough for the students to read, †¢ There can be cases of impairment; eyesight problems. Positive Environment  7th Characteristic of being an effective teacher †¢ The ability to create a positive classroom environment. †¢ A positive classroom environment is boosted further by using: – the appropriate type of humour – at the appropriate time. Humour †¢ Teachers should foster the praxis of using humour as it is an effective technique. – This removes any tension in the relationship between the teacher and the student. – This leads to a better performance in the students’ academic life. Negative Attitude †¢ Students will learn less if the teacher uses a negative attitude towards them. †¢ This includes factors such as  sarcasm. Sarcasm †¢ Sometimes teachers confuse good humor with sarcasm. – The use of sarcasm may harm the teacherstudent relationship since what some think as funny others may find to be offensive. – Sarcasm is humiliating for students. What makes a bad teacher? Video – Ineffective Teacher †¢ An ineffective teacher can be seen in the following video: Conclusion †¢ A teacher should be a life-long learner which is committed to the teaching profession striving to reach and teach’ students. Plato claimed that â€Å" The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future life†.