What Makes a Good Teacher?
When Bill Gates announced recently that his foundation was investing millions in a project to improve teaching quality in the United States, he added an interesting backhander to the establishment. ‘‘Unfortunately, it seems the field doesn’t have a clear view of what characterizes good teaching,’’ Gates said. There is almost a fanatical obsession with testing in education without the same rigour invested in determining the right fit between learner and teacher.
Despite the thousands of educational initiatives rolled out globally every year, the fact still remains that the single most powerful influence on student achievement is the quality of the teaching. In essence, when you improve the quality of the teaching, you improve the quality of the learning. This is not rocket science folks!
But what makes a good teacher? There have been many theories and postulations over the years without anything definitive. In my view, the business of great teaching is more behavioural than cognitive. That is, it is more about how they act, than what they know.
Whilst there is no magic bullet in identifying that single “excellent teaching trait”, there are some common things that great teachers do:
- They develop safe and supportive environments;
- They create an atmosphere of mutual respect;
- They provide opportunities for "active learning";
- They make learning interesting and explain things clearly;
- They promote active engagement; and
- They practice regular self-reflection.
Additionally, those who consistently outperform their peers are teachers who creatively subvert the status quo. Moreover, they neither blindly accept the latest initiatives, nor do they activity work against them. What they do really well is adapt these initiatives to meet the individual needs of their students. And a quick note to administrators: when these teachers are given the autonomy to implement their learner-centred approaches, truly amazing things can happen!
The Australian Centre for Educational Research (ACER) suggests that “outstanding teachers create classroom climates in which risks are encouraged and errors accepted. They are more able than merely 'experienced' teachers to deal with complex situations while maintaining a focus on student learning. In guiding learning they seek more information about students-their abilities, experiences and backgrounds-and want to know more about the contexts in which they will be teaching”.
The Australian Government's 10-point agenda for schooling begins by recognising the importance of strengthening the status and quality of teaching as a profession. I believe this will not come from the prevailing discourse which focuses on academic performance, experience and increased remuneration. Clearly greater attention is necessary around the knowledge and skills underpinning outstanding teaching practice. Here’s a thought… rather than trying to create “good students”, energies could be better placed in supporting “great teachers” and removing “bad teachers”. The reality is, a bad teacher’s affects are not merely confined to the classroom. They can extend to the staffroom and poison the motivation of peers and their influence can have a profound affect on the learners’ ongoing enthusiasm for learning.
Marc Ratcliffe
CEO, MRWED Group
Follow Me on twitter: @MRWED_CEO