Image by Jared Soto from Pixabay 

What characteristics should individuals possess to be excellent teachers? Do you equate excellent with effective?  

To me, excellent indicates some kind of rating, while effective means that students are learning. I also think what excellent can mean is completely subjective and can be different for administrators, colleagues, parents, and students. Some conditions that should be in place for effective learning include these.

1) Students should feel safe. The classroom environment should be free from bullying, teasing, and judgments. Mistakes are not downfalls or penalties, but paths to learning. If students didn’t make mistakes, then they really didn’t need to take your course. Teachers can help students move beyond mistakes by being approachable and helpful.

2) The teacher should care. Treat students kindly, give second chances (more, if needed), and modify lessons and assessments when appropriate.

3) Students should have opportunities to use their strengths. Having a variety of assignments and assessments allows students to use their personal strengths and express their interests. Music, art, writing, acting, video, coding, movement, and athleticism can all motivate students to work harder and take greater interest in your subject.

4) The teacher and students should enjoy teaching and learning. While using subject-related humor can increase student interest, not all teachers can do it successfully. However, we can make learning less stressful, less onerous, and more of an enjoyable, challenging journey if we take a lighthearted approach to teaching.

Hope this helps!