Shawana Simpson

EDSO 3102 - The Social Context of Education

Date : 04/24/2022
Student ID: 400007730

Examine any THREE (3) critical attributes of effective teachers; and discuss how EACH of these
attributes can be nurtured among Caribbean teachers today. Word length 1500-2000 words.

There are many different attributes that teachers must have in order to truly be considered

effective. Furthermore, these attributes can be described as critical, as they are absolutely

necessary in order to be a good educator. These attributes can be developed through the use of

various practices and activities that not only benefit a teacher and students but also other

teachers, parents and even a school as an entire body. Caribbean teachers should be encouraged

to have these attributes, as they are very beneficial to the education system as a whole.

One critical attribute of effective teachers is creativity. There are many definitions and

interpretations of what creativity is, as well as creativity in the classroom. Simply put creativity

can be defined as using one’s imagination or ideas to develop/create something. Thus, creativity

is a necessary characteristic for teachers to have as it allows them to give students opportunities

to incorporate fun activities into essential everyday learning activities. Namely, creativity allows

students to reach their curriculum goals as well as facilitate their own individual interests.

Being creative includes many activities, this can include letting students, sing, dance, draw,

paint, tell stories in the classroom and even allowing students to actively participate in skits.

By this definition and explanation, the need for creative teachers can be seen clearly as they

make the teaching and learning process easier for themselves and also their students. There are

two ways that creativity can be nurtured among Caribbean teachers. The first way is by engaging
in more teacher collaboration. Many times in Caribbean schools, different teachers and their

individual groups of students can have a very distant relationship. This distance is extremely

evident even in classes that are in the same age group, despite being taught the same subject

matter as they share a syllabus and similar short term as well as long term goals. Students are

always encouraged to work together, as collaboration allows for better experiences and more

effective results, yet many teachers do not practice what has been proven to be effective. It is

only natural that teacher collaboration would have many benefits, just like student collaboration.

Collaboration between teachers can be a major facilitator of everyday problem solving that

teachers face on their own, where solutions can even be discovered faster as well as with less

trial and error. By working together teachers can be more creative as they can share ideas, past

experiences, discover each other's different teaching styles in relation to different topics, share

activities and even do joint class activities. Thus, creativity is nurtured within educators when

they work together as their effectiveness and understanding can be enhanced.

Another way creativity can be nurtured in Caribbean teachers is by encouraging teachers to

model what they are teaching their students. As scholars, Scott Barry Kaufman as well as

Carolyn Gregoire wrote in their book entitled ‘Wired to Create: “ Creativity isn’t just about

making art, it’s about living creatively. Thus, being creative is implied to be a way of life. A

creative teacher inspires their students to be the same. A teacher showing their passion with

positive emotion is very essential in a classroom. This passion can be singing, writing, drawing

or even acting. Teaching in itself is creative, so to nurture creativity, a teacher should express

their ideas, animatedly engage with learning material and express their creative ideas as well as

their ways of thinking( Davis, 2018). A teacher's creativity is nurtured when they let themselves

be creative, as they integrate what is interesting to themselves. Instead of sitting by the sidelines
when doing a creative task, such as a skit or singing, a teacher should join along making

themselves active participants in the fun activity.

Another characteristic of effective teachers is that they are reflective decision-makers.

Every day teachers are faced with many decisions, some more difficult than others but

all-important. These decisions can range from deciding whether to do an assessment, a reflective

activity, a physical activity or to even just letting their students play. These decisions are

important as they affect the direction of the class as well as how the students are taught.

Reflective decision-makers are important as they aspire to improve their decision-making skills.

They consider many factors and also weigh them in order to face problems with the most

practical and efficient solutions. The teachers who are reflective decision-makers create

judgments based on factors such as the specific situation, what information is incomplete, past

information, their own bias as well as the outcome they are aiming for (Matthews, 2021). The

ability to make reflective decisions is built upon experiences and the acquisition of knowledge,

thus it can be nurtured among Caribbean teachers. One way teachers can nurture the skills of

being better reflective decision-makers is by allowing their students to play a role in the

decision-making process. Students can describe what they like, what they dislike and even what

they are not bothered by. Therefore this information can be critical as it can allow a teacher’s

overall teaching to become more informed. Furthermore, it is often said that student feedback is

important, but feedback is also important for teachers alike. Like their counterparts, feedback can

help teachers to learn and grow. It can identify the weaknesses and strengths of a teaching

approach, allowing for better decisions to be made. Feedback can even motivate students and

teachers alike, as it allows educators to make better decisions. Additionally, another way

Caribbean teachers can become better decision-makers is by doing research. The more
knowledge one has the more likely they can make better considerations which leads to better

decisions and most likely better outcomes. Thus knowledge is a key component in decision

making and research is the best way to obtain this knowledge. Teachers can engage in their own

research to help them become better decision-makers. This research can be done through

discussion with other teachers, looking at trends, observing children, asking them their

preferences and even discussing with their parents. Following this, the information collected

from these active and passive research techniques can be interpreted and analyzed to make

decisions. Consequently, these decisions the teacher makes will be much more informed as well

as efficient as it considers many different factors.

The final critical attribute of effective teachers that can be nurtured in the Caribbean is an

attitude that facilitates learning and genuine relationships. An educator has many relationships,

this includes a relationship with their students, other teachers, parents, other students and the

auxiliary staff of a school. These relationships are important, thus an overall good attitude can

make a teacher's job much easier as well as less problematic. There are many different ways this

characteristic can be developed and strengthened by teachers. First off, teachers may strengthen

their relationships with students, by engaging in meaningful conversation, incorporating humor

into lessons, showing interest in their lives and even making special efforts for them. Students

always remember their teachers as they play a huge role in their lives, influence not only their

self-esteem and confidence but also their self-worth. Therefore, it is imperative that teachers

keep this in mind as they try to create a safe space for their students where they can communicate

successfully. Similarly to students, teachers should practice communicating with other teachers.

As previously stated, teacher collaboration can give rise to many benefits, but it is important to

mention the relationships teachers share should be honest to ensure the comfort of all involved.
Having honest relationships results in strong bonds that benefit all involved, thus teacher

collaboration not only helps them but also students. Similarly, teachers can nurture the

characteristics of having positive attitudes along with strong relationships, by interacting more

with parents. Often times the only time a teacher speaks with parents is during semester meetings

or when a student’s behavior has been distracting to a class. Strong relationships cannot be built

upon such weak fleeting interactions, as teachers and parents often fail to relate to one another

regardless of the fact that they are both responsible for students. Thus, teachers should aim to

strengthen these weak bonds to make communication easier. A teacher can do this by seeking to

build relationships early, as opposed to waiting until teacher meetings. The first few days when a

semester starts can be a great time for teachers to interact with parents, as they can share their

values and give a brief about how they will approach teaching the children. Additionally,

teachers can encourage parental involvement. Parents, just like students have a wide range of

interests and skills. These skills are, of course, much more developed and can have an impact on

students as they can support a school’s community. Generally, these parents can act as volunteers

or spearheads for particular programs. This involvement of parents can bring teachers and

parents together, as they strive for common goals thus strengthening their relationship.

In conclusion, there are various necessary attributes that an effective Caribbean teacher

should possess. Three of these attributes are creativity, the ability to make reflective decisions

and also having a good attitude that not only facilitates the learning process but also encourages

strong positive relationships. These attributes can be fostered in many different ways. These

ways include things such as teacher collaboration, teacher research and even self-reflection.

These activities have various benefits, should be practiced and are essential to helping teachers

have traits they desire.

 References

Davis, L. (2018, December 17). Creative Teaching And Teaching Creativity: How To

Foster Creativity In The Classroom. Psych Learning Curve.

http://psychlearningcurve.org/creative-teaching-and-teaching-creativity-how-to-fo

ster-creativity-in-the-classroom/

Kaufman, S. B., & Gregoire, C. (2016). Wired to Create: Unraveling the Mysteries of the

Creative Mind (Reprint ed.). TarcherPerigee.

Matthews, D. (2021, October 1). Reflective Decision-Making: Thinking Your Way to a

Better Decision. The Resolve Blog.

https://www.resolve.blog/articles/reflective-decision-making

McGuire, D. (2017, November 16). Five ways teachers can improve their relationships

with their students’ parents . The Second Line Education Blog.

https://secondlineblog.org/2017/11/five-ways-teachers-can-improve-their-relation

ships-with-their-students-parents/#:%7E:text=%20Five%20ways%20teachers%20

can%20improve%20their%20relationships,often%20and%20vary%20the%20com

munication.%20As. . .%20More%20
Salleh, H. (2014, February). Why Should Teachers Do Research? SingTeach.

https://singteach.nie.edu.sg/2014/01/08/issue46-bigidea/#:~:text=The%20

advantage%20of%20teacher%20research%20is%20that%20it,%E2%80%

93%20Hairon%20on%20the%20benefit%20of%20doing%20research