I was perusing Facebook, saw this article on TeachThought, 8 Characteristics of a Great Teacher, and immediately shared it with our FB Community Group. Next thing you know, the article was being shared multiple times and got many likes! So, the next logical thing was to create a podcast about it. Here, we go over each of the 8 Characteristics while providing our opinions and offer some more of our own!
1) They Demonstrate Confidence: fake it ’till you make it (unsure of what is going on, but be determined to figure it out), know your end goals for your lessons.
2) They Have Life Experience: it’s important to have perspective and experience to connect with students. Sharon’s parents’ 1st language was not English, so she had a hard time understanding figurative language as she read classic literature in high school. Therefore, she’s able to empathize with her second language learners by telling her story as well as being mindful in her lesson plans. Fred uses pop culture to connect with his students.
3) They Understand Each Student’s Motivation: know your students as people and individuals, develop relationships. Check out our interview with Krista Inchausti in Episode 26 as she talks about the importance of getting to know your students.
4) They’re People, Not Heroes: show your emotions in front of your class. Sharon got worked up and cried in front of her class after showing students pictures of the after affects of an earthquake. She hopes that she is seen as more of a human in the eyes of her students and in turn, more able to connect to them.
5) They’re Technologically Capable: fixed vs. growth mindset- Carol Dweck. Be willing to learn, be open-minded and ask for help. Instead of saying “I can’t do it”, say “I can’t do it…yet”.
6) They Model Risk Taking: be authentic, model for students, try things out, be willing to fail (First Attempt In Learning), and learn as we go.
7) They Focus on Important Stuff: focus on learning, not little stuff, look at the big picture, use informal assessment more than the formal assessment that takes too much time to grade for the undesired outcome, be sure kids enjoy learning
8) They Don’t Worry Too Much About What Administrators Think: be confident, know your goals, need trust between administrator and teachers, have the intention to be authentic and share with others, help others
Ones that we think should be added to this list!
9) Be Flexible: helps keep things going, listen to this episode- Teaching on the Fly!
10) Try Something New: refresh old units to keep things fresh- if you’re bored, then your students will probably be bored
11) Have Fun/Sense of Humor!
12) Collaborate with Others: use your networks to ask for help, especially our Teaching Bites Community Group
13) Trust Your Instincts: to help drive lesson plan, stop lesson then ask for help to revisit it
Music from Jukedeck – create your own at jukedeck.com
