EDUC5187 PER1 Assignment - Teacher Quality JIN Man 110158709

What makes a good teacher

As the development of education has become an international issue and attracted broad
concern in the world, studies and research on teacher quality has been carried out
extensively for ages. This essay will firstly review some of the resent studies and research
on characteristics of a good teacher in terms of personalities, professional skills and
professional ethics. Then the essay will present a reflection of these characteristic in the
Australian Professional Standards for Teachers in relation to the similarities and gaps.
Finally, the comparison of the characteristics to my initial journal entry about good teachers
and teaching as well as the implications for my own pathway of being a good teacher will be
discussed and concluded in this essay.

Review of the research

The resent research on characteristics of good teachers has take students' voice under
consideration. Experts agree that positive relationships between teachers and students
play important roles in the educational context and have significant impact on both
teachers' development and students' learning achievement (Bullock 2014, p. 3; Gndara &
Santibaez 2016, p. 34; Lnemets et al. 2012, p. 30; Raufelder et al. 2016, p. 34).
Therefore, some important characteristics of good teachers have been identified to help
build and facilitate positive teacher-student relationships. These characteristics can be
divided into three domains: teachers' personal characteristics, professional knowledge and
skills and professional ethics.

Firstly, good personality is important for teachers as it influences students' initial and
general impression of their teachers. According to Bullock (2014, p. 10) and Lnemets
(2012, p. 29) and his colleagues, a good teacher should be kind and patient when teaching
and helping students with problems because students may feel relaxed and safe when
communicating with the teacher. Allied to this, experts have concluded from their studies
that students expect their teachers' sense of humor which may make learning experiences
more interesting (Bullock 2014, p. 10; Benekos 2016, p. 228; Lnemets et al. 2012, p. 29;
Raufelder et al. 2016, p. 36). Furthermore, Bullock (2014, p. 3), Lnemets et al. (2012, p.
29) and Orlando (cited in Benekos 2016, p. 227) state that enthusiasm and being positive
are also an important characteristic for a good teacher because teacher's own passion and
motivation for the subject may encourage students' motivation and involvement in the class
(Raufelder et al. 2016, p. 35). There are other characteristics of good teachers mentioned

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EDUC5187 PER1 Assignment - Teacher Quality JIN Man 110158709

in the research, such as being helpful (Bullock 2014, p. 10) and forgiving (Lnemets et al.
2012, p. 29). It seems that students are more willing to communicate and cooperate with
teachers of good personality and tend to build positive relationships with these teachers.
Therefore the effectiveness of teaching and learning experiences may be enhanced.

Secondly, a good teacher should have considerable professional knowledge and

pedagogical skills to sustain effective teaching and learning. According to Bullock (2014, p.
10), Manchanda (cited in Benekos 2016, p. 227) and Raufelder et al. (2016, p.35), content
knowledge is necessary for a good teacher to have basic understanding of their subjects.
This may determine if the teacher can teach the subjects well to some extent (Lnemets
et al. 2012, p. 29). Moreover, communication skills are essential for a good teacher
(Benekos 2016, p. 227; Lnemets et al. 2012, p. 30) because they may help build good
relationships between the teacher and students, create a open and supportive learning
environment (Lnemets et al. 2012, p. 30) and encourage effective interactions in class
(Leblanc, cited in Benekos 2016, p. 228). Furthermore, Raufelder et al. (2016, p. 35) and
Groundwater-Smith et al. (2015, p. 119) state that a good teacher should not only know the
class as a whole but also consider individual needs and differences. Experts explain that
this is because every student is unique as an individual (Bullock 2014, p. 3) and knowing
each student allows teacher to use various teaching pedagogies and resources to meet
students' needs and improve flexibility, opportunities and possibilities during the class
(Raufelder et al. 2016, p. 36).

Thirdly, a good teacher should be a role model and include professional ethics in
educational context. Experts highlight being respectful as one of the most important
characteristics of a good teacher (Benekos 2016, p. 228; Bullock 2014, p. 11; Gndara &
Santibaez 2016, p. 34; Groundwater-Smith et al. 2015, p. 29). This may include respect
each student as an individual, their differences in social and cultural background and their
right to privacy (Groundwater-Smith et al. 2015, p. 31) and 'having high expectation for
students' (Bullock 2014, p. 11) and so on. Allied to this, a good teacher should be integrity
and treat all students fairly and equally (Bullock 2014, p. 3; Lnemets et al. 2012, p. 30;
Raufelder et al. 2016, p. 36; Groundwater-Smith et al. 2015, p. 31). This means that the
code of ethics indicates teachers' responsibility and how students should be treated which
may influence the quality of teacher-student relationships.

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EDUC5187 PER1 Assignment - Teacher Quality JIN Man 110158709

Appendix A