CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EXCELENT TEACHER

  Characteristics and Qualities of an Excellent Teacher  Excellent Communication Skills You'd think that the most important quality for a teacher to possess would be knowledge, since that's what the job is all about, after all: sharing knowledge. But no matter how knowledgable a person is, if they can't convey what they know to others in a way that is not only understandable but engaging, the knowledge itself is useless. If a teacher's communication skills (verbal, nonverbal, and visual, which involve speaking, writing, imagery, body language, and the organization of ideas into understandable structures) are good, they can convey knowledge with better skill and results. Since a large part of good communication is knowing when the audience has understood, these teachers notice when they have communicated effectively and when they have not. They will often paraphrase, illustrate, or take another tact entirely when it becomes apparent that their communication has fallen fl...

  The Competent Teacher “Competencies.” This word is increasingly being used in education circles today. It is a description of one’s ability, a measure of one’s performance. What are the competencies that matter among educators? And are these the same qualities that will be valued in the teachers of tomorrow? A person’s competencies may be defined in terms of one’s knowledge, skills and behaviours. To understand the competencies required of a teacher, we must first define the job of a teacher. The task of a teacher is closely tied to the nature of the classroom. Today’s classrooms call for teachers to “prepare virtually all students for higher order thinking and performance skills once reserved to only a few” (Darling-Hammond, 2006, p. 300). Researchers and practitioners are becoming increasingly aware that the character of the 21st century classroom – and thus the demands on both students and teachers – is undergoing significant change. The Role of an ESL Teacher: What DO They Ac...