Exemplary Teachers

Exemplary Teachers

Introduction

Being an outstanding teacher is critical because it involves the application of teaching skills that make a difference in the life of learners. Teachers play an important role in talent development as well as student motivation. The existence of a supportive student/teacher relationship is what makes individual students to term their teachers as exemplary. Still, then there are significant characteristics, qualities, and practices about the excellent teachers (Hendrikx, 2019). It, therefore, means that teachers have an impact on student achievements hence the need to assess and address teacher effectiveness. Unfortunately, most resources are devoted to quantifiable inputs such as certifications, thus leaving many important policy questions unattended. Focussing on teachers’ efficacy and striving to maximize it can help in understanding the importance of exemplary teachers.

This report explores the subject of exemplary teachers by offering insights on professional experiences. It includes a reflection of teaching as a career right from preparation through to mastery and provides recommendations for what constitutes a great teacher. Professional skills will be used in analyzing teacher effectiveness through reflections, comparisons, and implications for practice.

2. Experiences and beliefs of Exemplary Teachers

A classroom is an essential place where learners obtain knowledge. Students ought to feel safe and take a risk, and exemplary teachers are expected to build on existing knowledge. Teachers always provide support to their students to enable them to accomplish assignments given to them. An exemplary teacher must ensure that the classroom is engaged by planning lessons meticulously to develop an interest (Hendrikx, 2019). Despite planning the appropriate lesson for a specific age group, it is also essential to deal with the learners’ boredom to ensure that they are attentive to the teachings. Experiencing the learning outcome can help in ascertaining whether a teacher is exemplary or not. An outstanding teacher would consider every learner’s individual abilities to hold their interests. Serving the interests of learners helps them to develop a positive attitude towards teachers.

As a young learner, I was inspired by my exemplary teacher. I enjoyed my education as a young student. Even though there were other pressures, such as the urge to excel academically, attending classes of my best teacher boosted my morale. My memories of my childhood experiences at school can never remain vital in the decisions I make in the classroom (Sherriff, 2019). Feeling of liberation and the urge to do better than my educators is what empowers me. Getting the motivation to nourish my brain helps me in transferring what I teach and understanding the learners’ needs. My teachers had a significant influence on me because of the way they practiced their profession. I believe that what I gained from my exemplary teachers creates a difference between myself and my peers. It is, therefore, apparent that there are factors that can influence exemplary teachings.

Besides, social support and relationship with the learners are essential when put at the forefront of teaching. It is easier to apply for social support in practice, which in turn shapes professional identity. A good teacher understands what must be integrated into practice to achieve the best results because it enables the balancing of teaching styles with social relationships.

Ideally, exemplary teachers tend to concentrate on the social processes of teaching. Teachers who focus on the development of appropriate relationships also find it easier to create an environment that promotes children’s wellbeing. Considering the responses from the interviews carried out. Participants A, B, C, and E agree with my take that developing an appropriate relationship with the learners’ is crucial in becoming an exemplary teacher. There is a general feeling that when the teachers create a good rapport with the learners, they are likely to be loved. The participants A, B, C, and D agree that integrating social processes in teaching makes the learners feel that their interests are taken care of by the teachers. A teacher who sacrifices to improve the social level of an educator is regarded as an exemplary because of doing what is above expectation. However, some argued that immediate pedagogies are essential in determining who is an excellent teacher. However, what was clear from the interview is that social relationships in schooling are vital because they shape the learners’ characteristics and perspectives. Appreciating the fact that children learn differently is enough to use an appropriate approach in delivery as a teacher. Also, acknowledging the different capabilities is essential in ensuring that every child gets the input that they deserve.

Collaborating towards professional refinement can help in creating exemplary teachers because it highlights the significance of the educator’s passion. An educator must have a passion for their learners helps in effecting pedagogy and learners’ success (Behrstock-Sherratt et al., 2014). A teacher should also remain open towards their students’ ideas as they reflect on the classroom. If the environment is useful, it enhances a sense of community or togetherness, which in turn promotes quality professionalism (Behrstock-Sherratt et al., 2014) A teacher will find it easier to approach the learners because of the excellent environment. The best way to create a productive learning environment begins with the creation of a sense of community.

Participants B, C, E, and F felt that a teacher must be enjoyable to help in learning different things hence the need to teach not for money. Teaching for money can make educators forget about the need to deliver quality service and concentrate on money-making. Loving the job enhances service delivery to the learners. A teacher ought to be creative and remain helpful to the students according to the participants A, C, and E. Learners must feel the energy from the teacher who is expected to teach with enthusiasm. Compassion and understanding were also regarded as critical in driving the point home to the learners and being honest by participants A, B, C, and D. Fairness and understanding of the learners for their benefits. Learning what is workable can help the teachers achieve their objectives without pressurizing the learners or scaring them.

The participants A, C, and E further agreed that an exemplary teacher must have an excellent academic career. A good teacher also should strive to make lessons easier for learners and gain full attention. The classroom session should have the learners talking more than the teacher. It is crucial to ensure that those who are taught are relaxed while insisting on having the lessons more enjoyable. The teacher must also be able to protect the balance between silence and noise and must not lose control or interest during class.

Literature Review

A study conducted in 2011 by Simpson and Mengi in which they were studying the characteristics of a good teacher. They used students who study English at the School of Languages at Sabanci University (SU). From the study, the perfection of effective teaching differs from one participant to the other. Teacher qualities were regarded as significant by both the students and teachers and that the teachers’ cultural background meant a lot to the learners more than the educators. Besides, the management and the environment were essential for both learners and students (Siahaan et al., 2019). Another study conducted by Chaharbashloo et al. (2020) investigated the practical knowledge of primary school exemplary teachers in an educational reform setting in which data was collected through detailed classroom observation, and the findings suggested that the participants possessed eight categories of practical knowledge. The types of practical experience which included subject-matter, learners, classroom management, learning environment, school, curriculum, pedagogical, and self were identified as having an actual knowledge base of exemplary teachers (Chaharbashloo et al., 2020). Another interesting study was that conducted by Gentry, Steenbergen-Hu, and Choi (2011) investigated the role of teachers in the development of talent and in the attitude of students toward school in which they concluded that teacher enthusiasm, feedback, and content knowledge were crucial in promoting student motivation. A supportive student-teacher relationship also helped in creating an exemplary teacher. The follow-up research looked into the characteristics of excellent teachers by considering what and how they teach (Siahaan et al., 2019). From the studies, it is apparent that the student/teacher relationship plays a significant role in a teacher’s productivity.

3. Implications

From the reflections, teaching influences learners’ positively in case it is flexible and uses different practices. Creativity and adaptability are also important factors that motivate students. Taking into account the learners’ needs and expectations also positively influences student learning. However, teachers’ personal qualities and their professional education also proved to be important in motivating the learners. Other studies showed that exemplary practice depends on how teachers respond to the context in which they teach in terms of interaction with the elements that influence student and school outcomes. Understanding the background of learners can enhance the absorption and retention of knowledge. A teacher should always exercise tolerance and optimism while in the classroom to create a safe and secure environment for the learners. When a teacher is optimistic, the students are also likely to be confident, thus making the learning process an enjoyable one.

Teachers also ought to apply excellent communication skills while communicating with the students. If the communication is excellent, teachers can create a rapport with the learners, thus making it easier for the students to raise any concern they may have with the lesson or the teacher (Lane, 2018). This way, practice becomes interactive. A student would consider a teacher as exemplary if the educator exercises openness to ideas. Openness to ideas is what leaners need to be free from tension and threat that may hinder them from interacting with their educators. A student should be free from fear; otherwise, it is not easy to actively participate in classroom activities. Excellent communication and openness to ideas, as per the reflection and the feedback from the participants, can help in shaping the attitude of the learners towards an educator.

A teachers’ reflection is a continuous process that is constant and embedded. The reflection should be treated as a different element of teaching; instead, it is that which is integrated into the teaching practice (Hendrikx, 2019). Besides, teachers tend to problematize their practice by collecting information such as the work of other learners then test the data against learning objectives. Carrying out fruitful reflection is an indication that the teacher does well in practice.

Exemplary teachers do specific activities or have certain behaviors that make them stand out among their peers. It is about doing that which many professionals do not do. Being the best teacher is never an easy task (Hendrikx, 2019). Your level of practice must exceed the regular teaching that any teacher can offer. Exemplary teachers have high cognitive, which includes driving the learning of the curriculum content because classroom experiences can challenge users intellectually (Behrstock-Sherratt et al., 2014). Apart from high cognitive, high effective is another factor that exemplary teachers can relate to by nurturing the class as a learning community. Such teachers believe that there are classroom practices that can build a community and motivate the students to take a risk. Finally, exemplary teachers can use scaffolding learning, which insists on giving leaning the priority.

Building a professional identity is essential in bringing personal values into the profession. Usually, professional identity continually changes, but what matters is ensuring that it begins early because it defines how an individual becomes a teacher. It also describes how an individual teaches and react to educational changes. Professional identity is about both the internal self and the outer self. Theories, attitudes, and beliefs about self and personality are the internal self that determines professional identity (Caza & Creary, 2016). The outer self is actions and interactions within a particular situation, such as how an individual relates to others. Culture, historical interactions with my teachers have helped in shaping my professional identity. However, the changes in my profession, especially approach, continues to change as I pick some valuable experiences along the way and integrate with the practice. I would always want to appear as the best teacher professionally while also appealing to the learners and the community at large (Caza & Creary, 2016). Focussing on professional, determination, reflectiveness, friendliness, passion, courage, respect, and compassion are some of the qualities that I feel can make me an exemplary teacher and define my professional identity.

Conclusion

Being an exemplary teacher requires that a teacher goes beyond the comfort zone and ensuring that the learners are satisfied with everything about the educator. An enjoyable classroom is what both a learner and a teacher need to get motivated. If the relationship between the teacher and the students is excellent, and the educator is motivated and happy, there is a likeliness that the teacher is outstanding. Developing a professional identity at the earliest stage is also necessary for creating values that are appealing to the learners and the community. Every teacher should, therefore, strive to be the best in practice, and reflection should be a continuous process for the teachers because it helps in improving service delivery to the students.

References

Behrstock-Sherratt, E., Bassett, K., Olson, D., & Jacques, C. (2014). From Good to Great: Exemplary Teachers Share Perspectives on Increasing Teacher Effectiveness across the Career Continuum. Center on Great Teachers and Leaders.

Caza, B. B., & Creary, S. (2016). The construction of professional identity. In Perspectives on contemporary professional work. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Chaharbashloo, H., Gholami, K., Aliasgari, M., Talebzadeh, H., & Mousapour, N. (2020). Analytical reflection on teachers’ practical knowledge: A case study of exemplary teachers in an educational reform context. Teaching and Teacher Education, 87, 102931.

Gentry, M., Steenbergen-Hu, S., & Choi, B. Y. (2011). Student-identified exemplary teachers: Insights from talented teachers. Gifted Child Quarterly, 55(2), 111-125.

Hendrikx, W. (2019). What we should do vs what we do: teachers’ professional identity in a context of managerial reform. Educational Studies, 1-17.

Lane, S. (2018). Professionalism and professional identity: what are they, and what are they to you?. Australian Med Stud J, 8(2), 10-15.

Sherriff, B. K. (2019). How Exemplary Teachers Promote Scientific Reasoning and Higher Order Thinking in Primary Science. Edith Cowan University.

Siahaan, H., Mawengkang, H., Efendi, S., Wanto, A., & Windarto, A. P. (2019, June). Application of Classification Method C4. Five on Selection of Exemplary Teachers. In Journal of Physics: Conference Series (Vol. 1235, No. 1, p. 012005). IOP Publishing.

Simpson, A. J., & Mengi, E. (2014). The characteristics of an exemplary teacher: what are they? Journal of Teaching English for Specific and Academic Purposes, 2(1), 89-99.

Appendix-Summary of Participants