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Good Teacher and Teaching Through The Lense of Students - Research Journal
Good Teacher and Teaching Through The Lense of Students - Research Journal
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qualities of a good teacher and teaching. A spite of their expertise. However, Renshaw
plethora of research works is available in and Power (2003) argue that in the Asian
this connection (McGreevy, 1990; Kanan region, the classroom practices still depicts
and Baker, 2002; Dinham, 2006; Darling- the old traditions of respect for teachers and
Hammond & Baratz-Snowden, 2007; Harris transmission of knowledge. Giving respect
& Sass, 2009). Some qualities of a good to a teacher is good but students should not
teacher were: open-mindedness, humor, forget their right to ask questions. Usually,
willingness to share a "personal side," caring students are expected to be diligent and
for students and spontaneity in the receptive rather than questioning and
classroom (McGreevy, 1990). creative (Renshaw & Power, 2003), and to
accept teachers as the main source of
The needs and expectations of students have
knowledge and to be hesitant in questioning
been continuously changed. Accordingly,
the teachers (Biggs & Watkins, 1996).
pedagogies require changes. There is a
Fortunately, most of the present teachers
radical shift in a pedagogical engagement
enjoy their democratic classroom. They save
like student-centered inquiry and problem-
and promote the essence of democracy in
solving and which had been widely
their class.
advocated by educators for the past few
decades (Edgerton, 2001). These pedagogies "Every teacher and educationist of
are basically student-centered and train them experience knows that even the best
to acquire knowledge-economy attributes. curriculum and the perfect syllabus remain
This, in turn, helps the students to develop dead unless quickened into life by the right
the understanding of concepts, increase their method of teaching and the right kind of
skills in communication, critical thinking, teachers" (Secondary Education
and creativity. Moreover, it helps in Commission). The qualifier ‗right' may
attaining positive attitudes towards learning include teacher's way of teaching,
and prepares the students to work in teams presentation style, expertise in subject
(Handelsman et al., 2004). In this knowledge, etc. It may connote personality
environment, mutual learning takes place traits of a teacher viz., punctual,
where the where the teacher acknowledges hardworking etc. There is space available
the views and ideas shared by the students in for a teacher and researcher to know what
students expect from their teachers. What is students and willingly volunteered in the
their liking and disliking for a teacher? study. A questionnaire was administered to
There is need to explore ‗right kind of collect responses from the students. The
teachers' through the lens of students. The questionnaire contained two open-ended
present paper would give insights on the questions both in Hindi and English. While
qualities of a good teacher and teaching. administering the questionnaire, students
were instructed not to disclose their identity
by writing their name, gender, etc on the
Method response sheet.
The sample of the study comprised thirty Analysis and Interpretation of Data
students (15 girls and 15 boys) of eleventh- Students‘ responses were analyzed
grade of age group 15-17 years. The sample qualitatively. They were asked to write
was selected on a random basis from two co- about the teacher to whom they liked most
ed schools located in west Delhi (India). The in the school. They were prompted with
research proceeded with the goal to uncover statement as- ‗My good teacher is _______
qualities of a good teacher and teaching as because_______‘. The students‘ responses
perceived by students. Getting true were coded and classified into themes.
responses particularly from school students Analysis of the data and interpretations are
about their present teachers were not too presented in the following two sections: (A)
easy. This goal was accomplished with the Personal qualities of a good teacher and (B)
cooperation of two trainee teachers or the teaching of a good teacher.
interns who had a good rapport with the
A. Personal Qualities of a Good Teacher
Individual characteristics of a good teacher as reported by students are depicted below (Table 1).
In general, nine individual qualities of a good teacher emerged. These are discussed below:
activities, feel self-confident, and adhere to The second most frequent responses were
a particular task. A plethora of text is put under heading ‗listener‘. About 28.57%
available on motivation either in the form of
students responses fell in this category. A assignments etc. Some of the verbatims
student stated: were as follows:
Around 25.32% students reported a good contributions from students were used for
includes freedom of speech in the These findings of the study was consistent
classroom, gets an opportunity to express with the idea of the skills possessed by a
their views, the freedom to choose learning
good teacher in the twenty-first century
classroom, institutions must include the should have at least two kind of talent: a
ideas of Mayer, Luke and Luke‘s (2008) talent to deal the subject knowledge, and
views on the characteristics of ‗world talent to deal the students. The subject
teacher‘ and continuously equip themselves matter knowledge is directly linked to good
and their students modes of intercultural teaching and gaining confidence and has a
capital, ―knowledge and dispositions that positive effect on student‘s achievement
have exchange value and power in the (Jadama, 2014).
intrinsically intercultural exchanges of new
5. A good teacher has friendly nature
social fields of teaching and learning, work
and everyday life‖ (2008, p.97). Around 23.81% students mentioned that a
teacher is good because of friendly nature.
Some of them pointed outs as:
skills; the skills are used to establish the ―He is very smart teacher in my
quality relationship with the students (Jones, school‖.
Bailey, & Jacob, 2014). The teacher should ―He put his dresses in a good
be approachable to students. A student manner. He puts on formal and jeans
stated: both‖.
"If a student asks any problem in ―She is very beautiful and intelligent
science, she always ready to solve the too. ………I also like her dress up.
problem". She wears saree and suits both.‖
A good teacher is one who is easily About 19% students in the present study
accessible or approachable to their students. reported that the good teacher was good
This implies that the teachers need to show looking and well-dressed. Focusing on the
eagerness, politeness, and availability for significance of dressing style of a teacher,
their students. ―Good teachers are those who Phillips & Smith (1992) cited Goebel and
know how little they know. Bad teachers are Cashen‘s findings that ―the unattractive
those who think they know more than they teachers are perceived to be less friendly,
don‘t know‖ (Verdi cited in Chud, 2009). less organized, less likely to encourage
interaction between students, and less likely
6. A good teacher is good looking
to have high expectations of their students‖.
A teacher is good due to attractive face as
The clothing one wears influences
well as his/her dress style. Some of the
perceptions of observers (students). The
related responses were as follows:
attractiveness influence observers confirmed
―She is very pretty which keeps the by research studies conducted (Goebel &
concentration in the class. Her Cashen cited by Phillips & Smith, 1992).
subject is my favorite subject. She The students of the present study were 11th
teaches computer very nicely. So, Graders adolescents; they liked well-dressed
asserted that students prefer a mentor who is ―I like him because he has no
honest, forgiving and fair. proud‖.
9. A good teacher is a light-hearted ―He has no attitude‖.
personality
"She has a happy attitude".
Around 4.76% students wrote that a good
The term attitude they used to describe light-
teacher possesses a positive attitude towards
hearted personality; one who is happy,
students. The qualifiers they used for a good
intended to be entertaining and not all
teacher were: absence of proud and attitude;
serious by look while teaching.
a smile on face, happy attitude, not serious
face. Some of their responses were as
follows:
Clear Explanation
About 31% students reported that good ―I enjoy a lot his teaching and joke. I
teaching includes a clear explanation. A can‘t say how quickly time passes.‖
good teacher knows how ―to make students
―Sir tries to make us laugh and have
understand‖. They know how ―to explain
fun in the class‖
things clearly‖. A student reported-"He
explains everything properly with the simple Sound Content Knowledge
genuine approach".
Around 17% of students reported their
Fun and Humor in Teaching teachers‘ expertise in the knowledge of the
subject. The students loved these qualities as
About 19% students reported that the
a good of teaching. Some of the students‘
teaching was good and interesting. It was
responses were as follows:
not monotonous but full of fun and humor.
Their teaching was live (active). A good ―He teaches every topic with depth
teaching includes ―fun and joy‖; a good and makes the thing interesting.
teacher lighter the moment while teaching ……I enjoy the class while attending
complex content with the ―use of humor‖. lecture….‖.
Some of the responses were as follows:
―She teaches Physics. She is my
―His class is too much interesting. I favourite teacher because she clears
enjoy his class. He makes us laugh‖ my all doubts‖.
―………is my favourite teacher. She Students like live examples; such examples
teaches well. In a simple word, she help in anchoring new information
describes everything". meaningful which make teaching live and
interesting.
Share and Discussion
Conclusion
About 7% of students perceived that the
The present research work revealed that a
teachers shared their experiences and also
good teacher through the lens of students is
made the classroom more interactive. This
a motivator, patient listener, hardworking,
allowed the students to share their
friendly by nature, good looking, unbiased,
experiences and relate interact their views
man/lady of principle, light-hearted person and
and opinions in classroom discussions.
have a student-centered attitude. The analysis
"She studies [teaches] with enjoying of the students‘ response revealed that
[joyful] stories and involve us in content knowledge is essential for quality
plays of many types in the class". teaching. A good teacher has command over
his/her subject matter. Hudson (2008)
Relate Concepts with Natural World
emphasized that teachers are required to be
Around 7% of students reported that the competent in their knowledge, skills and
good teacher gave live examples from professional proficiency in their field. A
natural (students‘) world. Students‘ good teacher is capable to identify and
responses were as follows: understand the strength and weakness of the
students. A good teacher who shares their
―While teaching, she gives examples
experience makes the students to see the
from our surroundings. She uses the
things in different perspective, which in
concept to relate it to our daily
future helps them to solve their issues.
lives".
Jadama (2014) in his study discussed that
―He always relates physics with the the teacher‘s conception of subject matter
real world phenomenon.‖ knowledge has a strong influence on the
active participation of students. He further
A good teacher relates subject knowledge
argues that it will impact on their learning.
with students‘ surroundings while teaching.
The findings showed that a good teaching the National Symposium organized by the
involves teacher‘s mastery of subject Department of Education, SPM College,
knowledge, clear explanation of concepts, University of Delhi, India in 2014.
fun and humor in teaching, and presenting
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