Embedded Files
Teacher personality. Professional activity of a teacher
Plan
Profession of a teacher
Skills to be a good teacher
New methods of teaching
Profession of a teacher
With the constant technological development and globalization of our world, many professions have to keep up with these changes.
Teachers are ones of them. They take responsibility not only for themselves but also for their pupils as their main task is to prepare their students for an independent life.
Teachers have the ability to change lives and develop well-educated and respectable students; they can help with not only their knowledge growth but personal improvement, too. Teachers have an incredibly rewarding career and the long holidays are a huge plus, too!
Good educators are high in demand, but to be an effective teacher, you need to have a diverse set of professional skills to complete the package.
Skills to be a good teacher
Here is a list of the 25 top skills needed to be a successful primary or secondary school teacher.
1. Leadership
A great teacher has the ability to lead and guide their classroom; they can manage a number of different personalities, including misbehaving children, and steer them in the right direction. With their leadership skills, they set a good example and are an important role model in their students’ lives.
2. Organization
Teachers have to juggle a number of tasks, from lesson planning to activities and marking. In order to succeed in their role, they are required to have exceptional organization skills. They need to be able to keep on top of these tasks and complete their duties in a timely manner.
3. Multitasking
Teaching is not only about following the curriculum and marking exam papers; it’s also about multitasking. A good teacher needs to have eyes in the back of their head and should be able to monitor their pupils’ behavior and keep their attention while completing their class. After the class, they will need to plan their following week, as well as create and mark tests and assignments.
4. Teamwork
Part of being a teacher is the ability to work as part of a team, as well as alone. They’ll need to make their students feel like they are part of a team to enhance the learning experience. Furthermore, they must network with fellow teachers to solve problems and create plans regarding the overall teaching scheme.
5. Ability to teach
This is a given, but being a teacher is not just about the credentials you hold to educate others. It takes multiple skills, including instructive ability, your own style of teaching and being able to explain and demonstrate clearly, so that concepts that are not easy to understand are simplified using memorable examples or props.
Teachers must have remarkable communication abilities. They must be able to interact with people of all ages, including colleagues, pupils, parents, and managers. Educators should effectively deliver information, understand the different points of view from other people, and explain the rationale for the choices they make in regard to their teaching.
7. Adaptability
Being adaptable to unforeseen situations is one of the key soft skills for teachers. You never know what will happen in your classroom each day, and you will need to handle each circumstance appropriately and come up with quick solutions. For example, if one of your pupils is really sick or injures themselves, you’ll need to remain calm and come to the rescue.
Strong people skills can turn an average teacher into a great one. An educator that is inclined towards helping others will create warm relationships that, in turn, boost learning. A pleasant teacher who has an engaging personality creates attentive and enthusiastic students. You will also be adept at handling students that may have learning difficulties or other disabilities that need special attention.
9. Self-evaluation
To develop professionally and provide quality education, you’ll constantly need to self-evaluate and reinvent yourself. You will have to push your pride aside and analyze where you have gone wrong and what can be improved within your classes.
However angry or upset you get, you need to have the ability to control your emotions and maintain positive body language — otherwise, you too will turn into a complete wreck.
Teachers need to solve a number of different problems, often on a tight deadline. This frequently involves answering difficult questions on the spot, solving conflicts, creating new lesson plans, teaching games, and dealing with other personal issues between pupils or colleagues.
12. Commitment
You can’t stroll into your classroom when you feel like it and take a personal day because you just can’t be bothered. If you want to be a good educator, you must be committed to your job and your classroom. You need to have the passion to teach and change your pupils’ lives for the better.
13. Computer skills
In the Digital Age, computer literacy is one of the top skills needed to be a teacher. From preparing electronic presentations and spreadsheets to grappling with printing software and attendance systems, teachers should be comfortable with computer use.
While creativity can’t be taught, creative thinking can be developed. Trying to look at everyday things with new eyes can elevate your teaching experience. For example, a box of coloring pencils could be used to visually explain multiplication to your second graders by laying out rows of pencils and counting them.
Some states require certain members of staff to know first aid. However, as day-to-day life can become unpredictable, we encourage teachers (and not only teachers!) to have at least an understanding of what they should or shouldn’t do in emergencies. Knowing how to act if someone injures a joint or has an asthma attack can prevent the condition from worsening.
16. Time management
Effective lesson planning will help you enter the classroom confidently and stay on track. Identify your main learning objectives and keep an eye on the clock, allocating a predetermined amount of time to each objective.
The way teachers handle the situation can have a positive or negative effect on everyone in the room. Controlling your own emotions is vital, and so is acknowledging a student’s upset. To defuse, steer the conversation away from opinions and toward reason.
Nowadays the population is becoming more and more diverse. As a teacher, you will meet students from various backgrounds and, even if you’re not familiar with some cultures, making them feel seen is imperative. A safe environment can also teach kids acceptance and empathy.
While no one expects teachers to have an aptitude for writing, being able to put concepts into words is important. When marking papers, creating presentations or preparing learning materials, use of good spelling and precise wording is desirable.
20. Prioritization
Start by dividing your objectives into two categories: urgent and important. Think carefully about this and start off the lesson with your top “urgent” topic. If interruptions occur (and they will!) write down your train of thought before dealing with anything else, so that you can pick up right where you left off.
Staying in charge in a room of over 20 kids can be difficult. Some will fret, some will giggle, and some will daydream. An effective teacher is consistent in their ways, from how they speak to how they enforce rules. Consistency is key in maintaining authority! Setting up a reward system is another example of good classroom management skills.
22. Virtual teaching
Some believe online teaching to be the future of education. If you haven’t already, familiarizing yourself with video conferencing apps may be a smart move. Working on enhancing your skills, including your time management and communication, will also prove beneficial in a virtual setting.
23. Classroom management software
Knowledge of classroom management software would be beneficial. Classroom management software allows teachers to receive digital assignment submissions, track students’ progress and activity, and communicate with parents.
24. Negotiation
Negotiation is one of the most important teaching skills, as it helps establish expectations and minimize disputes in the classroom. Knowing how to negotiate will not only create a motivational setting for students, it will also help you maintain healthy relations with parents and coworkers, too.
By embracing lifelong learning, you not only provide consistently high-quality teaching to your students, you also set an example for them to approach life with curiosity. After all, sharing meaningful outlooks on life with younger generations is what makes teaching such a rewarding career path.
New methods of teaching
Pedagogy as a science has existed in ancient Greece yet, so teachers have been refining teaching methods for not one century already. With the development of society, teaching methods have been also changing. Modern methods mostly reflect an improved understanding of the psychology of children as well as acceptance of the technological leap forward. Modern teachers prefer such new methods as:
Only a dozen years ago most of the schools were committed to factual learning. The main evidence of good knowledge was the ability to repeat learned information by command. Everything has changed since that time, as now pupils have to analyze, find pros and cons, make conclusions and find evidence but not only memorize. This method has made schooling more productive and appealing.
2. Various approaches
The modern school has little in common with traditional lectures that were considered the main kind of lesson in the past. Modern lessons differ much as the variety of approaches used impresses even adults, who finished school not so long ago. Apart from lecturing, teachers use storytelling, group work, individual assignments, games, presentations and numerous other activities within one lesson. Constantly changing the activities on the lessons they manage to promote a working atmosphere in the class and lessons do not seem to last so long.
Of course, there are numerous arguments about advantages and disadvantages of various devices in education, but still, their benefit makes them useful for the lessons. They enhance the learning system making it developed and contemporary. Children have acquired various new tasks that are available on the Web, can learn through video conferences or live chats, receive notifications from teachers etc. Parents have also appreciated the contribution of the innovative devices into the schooling as now they can control their children’s grades online and visit school less often. Teachers also use modern aids as they simplify the preparation process and add color and diversity to simple lessons. Any device like a speaker, online streaming video, interactive whiteboard, visualizer, projector, educational software, CD player can be useful for teaching and is used by tutors at the lessons making them more appealing to modern pupils.
Some high school educators try to avoid active learning projects as they lose a sense of silence and students’ obedience when those ones start their discussions. At the same time, active learning makes the student think, talk and share information. This way of learning involves peer instruction, discussion groups and collaborative solution of the problem. Using this innovative method, students get the most of schooling and inspiration for further development.
5. A desire method
A typical teacher uses a standard procedure to start the lesson. He welcomes pupils and tells what they are going to learn today. But these statements can’t grab students’ attention from the very beginning, so scientists offer to use headlines, some kids of promise. Formulating the statement in a completely different way teacher shows his students how they can benefit from the content of the lesson and as a result students’ desire to listen to the teacher increases.
6. VAK teaching
Learners are divided into three main types: visual, audio and kinesthetic. Of course, it is impossible to gather learners of the same type in one class, but a teacher can take this fact into account presenting information. Some students need to see new data, the second ones – to hear and the third ones – to feel. That means that the same material should be presented in different ways. Each student will percept his amount of new information, while the others will have a chance to repeat what they have already learned.
These are only some of the innovative methods used by modern teachers. Many of them are unique for each field of study. Nowadays, teaching has gained many new features and continues to develop.
Questions:
Why do teachers have to keep up with modern changes?
What is the most important skill to be a good teacher? Why?
What is the most useful method of theaching? Why?
References:
The top 25 skills needed to be a teacher. [Электронный ресурс]. – Режим доступа: https://www.careeraddict.com/teacher-skills. Дата доступа: 22.01.2023
Modern Teacher: Skills and Methods to Improve the Educational Process . [Электронный ресурс]. – Режим доступа: https://blog.noplag.com/modern-teaching-skills-and-methods. Дата доступа: 22.01.2023
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse