Subject Knowledge Is Not Enough To Be A Good Educator
Hi everyone. This is my take on a teaching, and (math) education matter.
Introduction
There have been numerous times where I have had teachers, instructors or professors who were knowledgeable in their subject(s) of expertise but the teaching services could have been better. Sometimes I would overhear some students (at university) who would point out to their friends that a certain professor/teacher/teaching assistant "is smart but can't teach".
With this in mind, this got me thinking. Subject knowledge is not enough to be a good teacher for a subject. The teacher/instructor needs to have good soft skills such as teaching skills and communication skills on top of the subject knowledge.
Communication Skills From Educators
Learning about a subject is much different than teaching others about a subject. The teacher has the subject knowledge while the students are new or less familiar with the subject. How a teacher learned about the subject may or may not be the best way of learning for a student. This is because everybody has their own way of learning and digesting information. When a teacher teaches a course in their way, the teacher should keep in mind on the content delivery and the variety of learning styles. Different teaching methods should be implemented to cater to different learning styles.
As an example, teaching negative numbers could be done with the use of a a horizontal number line or an elevator model approach with a vertical line. Another way would be using your hands to illustrate up and down with positive and negative numbers.
Organizational Skills
I once had a professor for a course who was a good, friendly professor and communicator. The problem was that he would occasionally come in late for lectures and some of his lectures were not fully prepared.
I have had other cases from different teachers where assignments or tests were marked and returned late (or almost never). This was somewhat of an annoyance as it was hard to gauge how well you were doing in a class.
Being organized (and punctual) does show to the students that you take the teaching job seriously and that you care about the students. There are demanding students out there who want top service from teachers (especially if there is money involved).
Personality Matters Too
Personality in educators can make a difference. You could have a knowledgeable teacher with a poor personality and/or a boring style of teaching. A mean/arrogant/dictator-type teacher is worse. Many can agree that a good teacher is someone who is knowledgeable, friendly, professional and helpful to the students.
For me, I don't expect my (math) teachers to be super expressive, cheery and show that they love their subject 24/7. If the teacher can teach well enough for me to understand the topics and has a pleasant personality then that is good for me. If a teacher/professor is helpful during office hours then that is a plus too.
Other Considerations
I have not talked about teacher passion here that much. My view is that teachers do not necessarily have to love the subject they are teaching but they have to like it enough to teach that subject. (I believe in the hate, not-hate, not-love, love spectrum.)
Educators, tutors, teachers and professors can have off days or a time period of poor form every once in a while. However, if a teacher/educator does not consistently perform well (given a reasonable sample size/time frame) then that is not a good sign.
A good educator is not only knowledgeable about the subject but he/she needs to be helpful and professional to the students. The educator is the number one person of influence to the students as they (and their parents) expect a great return on their time and monetary investment in education.
I am sadly agree with you that the communication ability of educators is very. Sometimes there are clever educators but can not deliver the material well. This means that an educator has weaknesses.
And there are times when you get good educators. There is a luck factor.
Great post @dkmathstats!
Sometimes you may have to also look up, depend, or at least have an awareness to whom are you teaching, in many aspects i.e. the place, students, and their culture before they perform teaching.
This post will be featured in my latest Steemit Digest issue.
Audience, culture, and environment are important too! Thank you for reading.
You're welcome @dkmathstats!
Here it is:
Steemit Digest Issue #4
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STOPGood post. My first year teaching, I had a veteran teacher tell me something that has stuck with me every since. He said, "They don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care."
Building a rapport with my students was my number 1 classroom management strategy. Once I earned their trust by being fair, honest, but also firm, I'd have a group of 30 students so willing to cooperate it was scary sometimes. And it was always give 'n take. I'd always present it in a way, "If you make my job easier (ie. by listening, taking notes, doing homework, etc.), I could make your jobs easier (ease up on amount of homework, positive behavior interventions, aka you can listen to your music while interdependently working, eat snacks in class, etc.)".
I had to give up some control and power, to gain control and power.
I think giving the students some freedom in how they learn and do their class work is good. Don't force students to do things a certain way. Students are able to listen to music, text in class with minimal interruptions.
Hmm. Showing how you care does include being knowledgeable and good enough to present the information well to the students. Organizational skills and a good personality are important too.