CHALLENGES AND QUALITIES OF A GOOD TEACHER
ABSTRACT
These days, many people can be a teacher, but the question is if many people can be an effective teacher. Clearly, to be an effective teacher is more complicated and difficult than many people think.
To be an effective teacher does not only involve having a deep content knowledge, but also organizational, management, and communication skills, being able to organize instructions, and providing relevant assessment and fair evaluations. In addition, an effective teacher is responsible to create a… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
The idea of a good teacher for each individual is variable. Students´ perceptions, opinions, and/or experiences about a good teacher are different. A good teacher has been considered, sometimes, as a perfectionist, encouraging, approachable and caring, other times as intelligent, but above all, as enthusiastic, funny, clever, effective and understanding, open, and with a relaxed style while teaching.
Holt (1964) addressed that learning is enhanced by the teachers´ knowledge, enthusiasm, and responsibility towards creating a warm class climate enhancing “the students desire to learn and to accept the challenges of thinking and inquiring into all that is offered by the teacher”. Stronge et al (2004) stated that teaching is vocational and most good and quality teachers are passionate about their chosen profession.
However, he also added that a good teacher is always in a constant learning process due to changes in terms of the students’ characteristics, the curriculum, the community, and finance among many others… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Statement of the Problem
Good teachers are distinguished by their dedication to the students and to the job of teaching and feel responsible for the achievement and success of the students and own professional development. Good teachers really believe that all students can learn, although all learn differently.
They strive to motivate and engage all their students in learning rather than simply accepting that some students cannot be engaged and are destined to do poorly… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Research Objectives
The following are the objectives of this study:
To examine the qualities of a good teacher… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Significance of the Study
The following are the significance of this study:
The result of this study will educate the general public on the qualities of a good teacher and its influence on student performance and behavior.
The findings from this study will form a useful guide for the government and the stakeholders in the education sector on the challenges of the teaching profession with a view of finding a sustainable solution… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Columnist Fransisco (2009 ) in one of his columns talked about the strengthening of teacher education which is initiated by Commissioner Nenalyn Defensor of Commission on Higher Education. Commissioner Defensor emphasized her personal advocacy “Save our Future-Save our Normal Schools”. She identified the nine original normal schools that started as normal schools and are now either integrated with other schools and/or converted into universities.
She enjoined the administrators and deans present to do something to save the normal schools. Teacher Education program is now in state of degradation attributed to poor quality of teachers and therefore the urgent need to strengthen it. Chairman Emmanuel Angeles who delivered the inspirational message reiterated the importance of teacher education in shaping the country and the need to do something to improve the quality of teacher education graduates.
He assured all those present of his full support to strengthen the teacher education program in terms of allocating funds for faculty development, faculty improvement, scholarships, and optimum use of information and communication technology. He exhorted everyone to do much, much more the younger generation if only to prove our love country.
He enjoined everyone present to work together and support the effort of Commissioner Defensor. Various studies and researches have been made in order to identify the factors affecting teacher’s performance and the effect of these teacher’s performance on student’s learning… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Effective Teacher -Professional Skills
Effective teachers are distinguished by their dedication to the students and to the job of teaching and feel responsible for the achievement and success of the students and own professional development. Effective teachers really believe that all students can learn, although all learn differently.
They strive to motivate and engage all their students in learning rather than simply accepting that some students cannot be engaged and are destined to do poorly… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Content Knowledge
For many, including teachers, the most obvious requirement to be an effective teacher is the content knowledge of the subject. Reynolds and Muijs (1999) considered good content knowledge responses to spontaneous and demanding students questioning… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Conceptual Framework
The proposed study is guided by Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological perspective (2001). This theory suggests that human development across the life span is fueled by the complex inter-relationships among characteristics of people, the contexts they are situated in, the processes that take place within those contexts, and the historical and life-course time in which the development is taking place.
Figure 1 systematically presents the conceptual paradigm of the study. It presents a systematic illustration of how the research study will conduct. The inputs or the independent variables are the ways by which the respondent’s profile is to be analyzed, taking into account their personal attributes and insights on a teacher’s personal and professional qualities.
The process is the strategy to be used such as generating data through the use of questionnaires. The possible output or the dependent variable is the teacher’s performance that will be based on their evaluation.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Design
In this study, the researchers used the descriptive method of research to know the Personal and Professional Qualities of a teacher and also the perceptions of the students on their teacher’s performance in terms of the following variables: (a.) Commitment, (b.) Knowledge of the subject, (c.) Teaching Strategies and methodologies, and (d.) Management of learning.
Population and Sampling
This study was conducted at the Gboko Local Government Area, Gboko City Academic Year 2014-2015. The respondents of the study are the Teacher Certificate Program (TCP) students of Section A with 25 respondents and Section C with 15 respondents of Gboko Local Government Area ages 21 – 35 years old.
Instrumentation
The researcher used a survey questionnaire and evaluation form to gather information about students’ related factors such as age, gender, and Field of Discipline… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
This chapter presents the results of the data gathered from the respondents of this study. These results are presented in a tabular form and with narrative interpretation.
Table 1: Respondents of the study
| Population |
Frequency |
Percentage |
| Section A |
25 |
62.50 |
| Section C |
15 |
37.50 |
| Total |
40 |
100 |
Demographic Profile of the Respondents
There were three attributes for the profile of the respondents that were determined in this study. Frequency and percentage techniques were utilized in analyzing these attributes. The results are presented in Table 2.
Table 2: Demographic Profile of the Respondent
| Attributes |
Frequency |
Percentage |
| Age: | ||
| 21-25 |
26 |
65 |
| 26-above |
14 |
35 |
| Total |
40 |
100 |
| Gender: | ||
| Male |
16 |
40 |
| Female |
24 |
60 |
| Total |
40 |
100 |
| Field of Discipline: | ||
| Science |
13 |
32.5 |
| Math |
5 |
12.5 |
| Agriculture |
8 |
20 |
| Management |
6 |
15 |
| Art and Sciences |
5 |
12.5 |
| Computer |
3 |
7.5 |
| Total |
40 |
100 |
Age: The highest percentage rating falls under 21-25 years old that has 26 or 65% out of the 40 respondents, 14 or 35% are stated that they have an age of 26 and above years old. This implies that most TCP students who are taking special program course in NCF have age range from 21-25… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This chapter presents the summary, conclusions, and recommendations derived for the purpose of the study. The discussions were arranged according to the problems presented. The main problems of the study were to determine the personal and professional qualities of THE teachers and also the perceptions of the students on the teaching performance of their teacher in terms of the given indicators.
Summary
Specifically, it sought to answer the following questions;
- What is the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of age, sex and field of discipline undertaken… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Conclusion
To conclude, to be an effective teacher is not an easy task. In fact, it is a complex process. It is not only concerned with success in the short-term, but also with appropriate values and success of long term achievement.
Effective teachers need to have good professional and personal skills. Content knowledge, together with good planning, clear goals and communication, good classroom management and organization, and consistently high and realistic expectations with the students are essential factors to be effective teachers…. (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Recommendations
Based on the findings and conclusions made in the study, the following recommendations are hereby presented:
- Professors and Teachers should maintain in fulfilling their duties and responsibilities;
- Institutions must provide a training program for teachers designed to integrate knowledge, social, skills, and values development so that it creates a stress – free environment… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
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(Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)