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Writer's pictureJulien Morizio
Mar 13 min read

Qualities of Effective Teachers

Opinion Piece

As a field supervisor and former school principal, I have come to find a quality most common among effective teachers, whether experienced or just beginning their career. Undeniably, it is the desire to do better. This quality can be broken down into the following character traits:

  • Being a lifelong learner

  • Seeking feedback and mentorship

  • Being curious and open to trying new things

Being a Lifelong Learner


Research shows that having a growth mindset is common among professionals who excel in their field. It is no different for the teaching profession. Carol Dweck's foundational work on growth mindset, detailed in her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, provides extensive evidence that individuals who adopt a growth mindset are more likely to embrace challenges, persist in the face of setbacks, and achieve greater success over time compared to those with a fixed mindset​ (Leaders.com). I have seen this firsthand. The great teachers I have had the pleasure of working with always see room for improvement. They reflect on their performance and sincerely address any shortcomings when they arise, not to diminish their efforts but to learn from them to achieve a new level of expertise.


Seeking Feedback and Mentorship


Another common character trait among both aspiring and experienced teachers is humility. They have a healthy level of confidence in their ability while still seeking guidance and input from colleagues to improve. From my experience, these teachers look forward to being evaluated, discuss their practices openly with colleagues, and seek instructional advice from their admin team. As a field supervisor, I remember an occasion where a student teacher conducted an amazing lesson during her evaluation. During our debrief afterward, I had mostly praise to share with her. The student teacher’s response, after a quick thank you, was to question which areas she could improve and even point out moments and pedagogical decisions she made, debating whether they were the best choices.


Being Curious and Open to Trying New Things


Effective teachers possess a pedagogical eagerness, an adventurous inclination that drives them to develop and implement new approaches to better reach their students. They desire to meet the students where they are and render the learning outcome in a way that takes them to the next level. This can mean exploring how complicated a task or concept students can handle, even at early levels. One example comes to mind. I had a student teacher who was completing her second-to-last internship, where she found herself in charge of a mixed Grade 1 and 2 class. She introduced her students to the scientific method through an inquiry-based lesson on bears’ hibernation. This hands-on learning experience, featuring visual representations of bears’ energy exertion using butter cubes shaken in mason jars, not only engaged students but also prompted them to re-evaluate their hypotheses. May I remind you that these students were in Grades 1 and 2!? The student teacher went on to win the Phyllis Shapiro Award for “excellence in teaching” (McGill University).


To quote Parker Palmer, “We teach who we are.” Ultimately, the traits shared among effective teachers are also those we desire our students to adopt. Perhaps it is the modeling of these attributes that leads these teachers to have the greatest impact after all.


Sources


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