Being a good teacher is extremely important, and a good teacher is someone who a student will remember and cherish for the rest of their lives. But what really makes a good teacher? There are a lot of things to consider when answering this question. Below we will discuss the top 10 qualities of a good teacher that we believe are most important when it comes to quality teaching and really creating that strong student-teacher relationship.
1. Communication Skills
Effective communication is a critical asset to acquire in both professional and in intimate environments. It is the root of successful and memorable relationships. In the case of teaching, to have strong communication skills as a teacher is an important quality for building teacher-student rapport, and for really creating a trusting environment for the students. Strong communication skills are essential for the objective of teaching itselfs. As a teacher, having the ability to constructively express verbal, writing, visual and body language cues together with the capacity to convert ideas into student understandable structures will deliver knowledge with superior results. Communication skills are on the top of the list of what makes a good teacher. A teacher must be able to communicate the classroom’s curriculum in an effective and organized manner, that the students will be able to understand. This way, the students will know exactly what is expected of them, including understanding due dates for specific homework tasks or assignments. A teacher should do his or her best to explain assignments, so that students can deliver successfully. If for some reason a student does not fully grasp or understand the expectations or directions of a particular task or assignment, it is important for the teacher to communicate them to the best of his or her abilities.
2. Listening Skills
Being a good teacher means having your students listen to you, but also making sure that you listen and give your students the attention that they need by answering all of their questions. The vale of listening lies behind allowing you to better understand your students. Aristotle once said that “those who know, do” and “Those you understand, teach.” The ability to understand your students is one of the keys to being a good teacher, and helps you to understand what works and what does not work in terms of teaching for specific students and your student group as a whole. Each student is different and expresses themselves in their own unique way. By asking active questions and carefully listening to what students have to say, teacher can further improve their communication between themselves and their students. Through strong listening skills, teachers are able to create a stronger, healthier and higher quality learning environment.
3. Friendly Attitude
Having a friendly attitude is one of the most important qualities of a good teacher. Expressing a friendly attitude towards your students makes you more approachable, and is more likely to motivate students to want to learn. By being perceived as more approachable, students will feel more comfortable to ask questions. This will in turn enhance student-teacher communication and create a more positive learning environment. The best teachers tend to be open, friendly, welcoming, and most importantly, secure to approach. Something important that comes with having a friendly attitude as a teacher is the trust that can potentially be created within the classroom. When a student views a teacher as friendly, the student is more likely to open up to the teacher and hence, he or she will be more likely to trust the teacher. A sense of trust will further enhance communication within the learning environment, and is definite to strengthen work and productivity. Students need to feel comfortable in their learning space to perform to the best of their abilities. By having a friendly attitude, you encourage this sense of comfort and trust that can really take your teaching to the very next level. Most importantly, having a friendly attitude can really contribute to making you a memorable teacher, and there is nothing more charming than being able to be that teacher.
4. Patient
Patience is a virtue, and especially in the world of teaching. Being a teacher and handling multiple children at one time is not an easy task, and requires a great deal of patience. Different students will display different levels of aptitude when it comes to learning. It is crucial to take that into consideration, as this will help students to not stay behind and will further the success of the teaching environment. Remember, you are a role model, and showing a lack of patients will only reflect on the teacher in a negative way, showing the students the teacher’s own personal shortcomings. Another factor to note on patience, is that a patient teacher is likely to be more adaptable to different teaching environments. Different individual students and different age groups will express different difficulties when it comes to interacting, communicating, and teaching. By being patient, a teacher will be more willing to understand each of these individual students and overall age groups. Of course, good teaching comes with experience; however, having patience will allow the teacher to learn and better understand what specific tactics work and do not work when it comes to engaging students within the learning process.
5. Strong Work Ethic
Having a strong worth ethic is a significant quality of in our list of qualities of a good teacher. A good teacher never quits, and especially not on his or her students. Having a strong ethic will always reflect on your students and the delivering of their work. As a role model, having a strong work ethic will help your students to develop strong work ethic as well, and is thus an especially key component in out list of qualities of a good teacher. With good work ethic comes professionalism, responsibility, and preparation. If you want to have a good work ethic, you have to be able to take responsibility for a various number of things, including your students’ possible misbehaviour within classroom settings.
Unfortunately, not all students will have the same attention span or the same level of discipline concerning their attitudes and behaviors. Teachers have to be patient and remember that this is an inevitable part of teaching. By having a strong work ethic, teachers can more effectively become aware of what works and does not work in their specific teaching environment, pertaining to the students. If something does not seem to be working, teachers must try their best to find a solution that works, for the objective of teaching itself
It is important for potential teachers to express their strong worth ethic in their interviews. This includes avoiding frequently drinking water or another beverage, checking your phone, leaning either forward too closely or stepping too far away from the webcam, or yawning
Additionally, it is important to attend both an interview and a virtual class on time. We recommend that teachers enter the classroom setting at least five minutes prior to the class’s starting time. This gives teachers the necessary time needed to test their equipment, and to warm up with students who join the classroom setting early. This also means that teachers are expected to end the class at the time that it ends, and not earlier. Teachers are also required to have no absences. Make sure to watch out for the time zone differences and keep in mind that China does not have daylight savings.es to engaging students within the learning process.
6. Organizational Skills
Teachers must be good organizers. Being organized plays an essential role in being a good teacher, and is a very important quality of a good teacher. Without organizational skills, a teacher could really lose grasp of deadlines, expectations, and tasks. Most teachers tend to take notes after their class is completed, with key points to keep in mind for their next class. This way, a teacher can easily prepare the necessary material for the next class, and will also know exactly where he or she left off. Poor organization could potentially lead to educational waste, and a waste of time. Being an organized teacher means that a teacher knows exactly where his or her students stand, and that he or she is ready to begin the class with lessons that are effective to enhancing student learning. This way, teachers are able to better inform students of what is expected of them.
7. Preparation
Preparation is a crucial characteristic of what makes an exceptionally good teacher. Preparation goes hand in hand with organization. It is important for teachers to prepare for their classes beforehand, by reviewing all of the class material that he or she will be presenting. In our platform here at OET Jobs, teachers have the ability to preview their class materials in the classroom on the teacher portal. Teachers can do this 6-12 hours in advance, prior to their class. Preparation gives teachers the time to effectively set clear and realistic expectations. This way, teachers can communicate these expectations to their students in a more constructive manner.
8. Discipline Skills
To answer what makes a good teacher, one has to really take discipline into mind. A teacher who has strong and effective discipline skills will be able to promote positive behaviours within the classroom. Maintaining classroom discipline is important for creating a positive learning environment, which promotes learning. Teachers can do this by expressing and maintaining a list of classroom learning standards.
9. Kid Friendly Teaching Environment
Having a kid friendly teaching environment in your classes is truly a must. As a teacher, you are your students’ role mode; thus, you will want to set the best example that there is possible. This means that teachers should not eat, smoke, or drink alcohol at anytime during their class. Additionally, teachers must not be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Going against this not only disrupts the classroom system and setting, but it could cause serious harm to the students well-being, both physically and psychologically.
Teachers are expected to wear proper professional teaching attire, that is appropriate for teaching environments. It is important to keep in mind that a teacher is a reflection of the organization that he or she is working with and for.
10. Respectful Attitude
Respect is everything, in every field of work and most importantly, in life. Teachers cannot threaten, mock, insult or tease children in any shape or form. Doing so is bullying, and is disrespecting not only the student, but yourself and the classroom. It is critical to be respectful to each and every student, as well as the teaching environment as a whole. Showing any form of disrespect is not only damaging to a child’s psychology, but can also danger your job and reputation; teachers who treat their students with disrespect could become blacklisted. The ESL teaching circle tends to be smaller than most might think it to be. Internal recruiters, are also known to often move around different ESL companies. It is crucial to be respectful and responsible for your actions as an individual, and most importantly, as a teacher.
Apart from respect in relation to students and the teaching environment, it is critical to show respect to the company that you are working for, by making sure to not speak in dispraise of the company. Popular sayings worldwide claim that respect is something that is earned rather than given. If you are a respectful teacher, you will most likely be treated with respect by both your company, your co-workers, and most importantly, your students. It is important to treat your students with the same respect that you expect them to treat you with.