Abstract:
A great teacher is one who facilitates a large volume of learning and achieves adulation from the
students. To aid teachers aspiring for greatness, this study employs personal interviews and questionnaires
to identify the attributes students associate with great teachers, as well as the consequences of
those attributes students value. Results suggest that great teachers are dynamic lecturers and clear
communicators; these two attributes help students focus in class and understand the material. Students
desire to commit to a class, and they find this commitment easier if teachers get to know their students,
exhibit a personable personality, and signal their desire for students to learn. Driving these preferences
is the students' desire to commit to the class, understand the material, and improve class focus.
Teachers who find it difficult to exhibit all of these attributes can instead focus on the attributeoutcomes
students desire, and devise their own strategy for achieving these outcomes that is consistent
with the class size, class topic, and the teacher's personality.
Keywords:
teaching effectiveness, student assessment, teacher attributes, student preferences
 Wilson_December 2010 NACTA Journal-12.pdf | [ ] | 256 kB |
