Admiral Teaching Traits

Today my class was given an assignment to chose an article from a list that my teacher gave us and make a post about it. The article that I have chosen is called Admiral Teaching Traits. The article talks about different characteristics that administrators look at when they are hiring a new teacher. Here are the fifteen characteristics that they list with a brief description they have given.

1.Exhibit enthusiasm: If you seem eager about teaching it will help to make your students more motivated to learn.                                                                                                                     

2. Know your content: Keep up with your field of study.

3. Be organized: If you are organized it allows you to spend more time with your students than looking for papers that you have misplaced. Also, if you have a daily routine that you stick to it will help your class run more smoothly.

4.Teach actively: Being actively involved with your students and other staff shows that you are an effective and hard working teacher.

5. Show a good attitude: Have a positive attitude. You need to be aware of what you say and your tone of voice.

6. Establish successful classroom management: Establish rules the first day of class. Discipline and structure are essential for students to be on task.

7. Pace instruction: Plan out a time line of what you are going to teach for the year. This prevents getting to the end of the year and realizing that you don't have enough time to teach everything you wanted to.

8. Maintain good people skills: Administrators look for people who work well with others. If people don't like your behavior as a teacher they won't want to be around you.

9.Communicate clearly: In order to be a good teacher you have to be able to give information clearly.

10. Question effectively: Ask questions directed to the whole class and also to individuals. When asking a question to an individual do not call out their name then the question because if you call on one student before you ask the question the other students won't pay attention because they know that they aren't going to be called on.

11.Differentiate instruction: Teachers need to mix auditory, visual, and hands-on learning techniques in order to target children with different learning techniques.

12. Build success into your classroom: When students are not successful it is important provide further instruction or simplify the task because when students become frustrated it can result in behavioral problems or a loss of effort.

13. Hold high expectations: Administrators want teachers who expect their students to learn.

14. Create a pleasant atmosphere: Bright and fun classrooms help to stimulate learning.

15. Be flexible: In order to be a good teacher you have to learn to role with the punches. Not everything is going to go according to plans but you have to learn to go with it.

I think that all of these characteristics are right on point. In my opinion you have to possess a little of each trait to become a successful teacher.

Comments

[Lani]

Hi Mary,

I think that you are right. I think that an accomplished teacher would possess each of those traits.

I am wondering now that I read through the list, which of the traits would be most difficult to master? And then maybe that's not most important? Do you think it might be more important for me to ask which of those traits most impacts student learning? I guess I am asking myself these questions so I might envision how, if I had the opportunity to begin my career all over again, where I would start and why. Where do you think you might start and why?

Best,
Lani

[Mary]

Hey Lani,
I just want to thank you for your comment. It really made me think about the questoins you had. I think that I might start at showing enthusiasm. I think that if you show entusiasm from the very begining it will show your students that you are excited to teach and it could make your students excited to learn.