We Need Innovative Elementary Teachers
What is an Innovative Teacher The top personality traits associated with great teachers include: enthusiasm, warmth and humor, credibility, high expectations for success, encouraging and supportive, businesslike, and adaptable (Vontz & Goodson, 2016, pp 19). While I do agree these traits would definitely come to mind when thinking about what really makes a great teacher, I believe the one real personality trait missing here is ‘innovative.” When I look at the world around me, I think about all the changes we are faced with every day and I believe what we really need in our elementary schools are innovative teachers ready to bring our students to the next new-age level. Students should be challenged
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Teachers are utilizing better professional development tools, new content creation, other teaching tools, and the latest research in brain science to adapt and refine their methods. Entrepreneurs are creating both for-profit and social startups that address childhood development, tutoring, learning data analytics, student loans, alumni networking and almost every other area we can think of in an effort to find effective and elegant learning solutions.” He also concludes, “Making an impact in education, both in building our knowledge and skills as well as our understanding towards one another, is worthy of the best and brightest minds. Having better-educated citizens will be the necessary prerequisite to improving many other aspects of society.” His statements drive home the fact we simply need innovative teachers in our elementary classrooms.
Characteristics of an Innovative Teacher When looking to the future of my elementary classroom, I believe part of the learning experience I create for my students should be teaching them how they can impact their own academic achievement. No longer are we living in a world where we have to rely on others to give us important information. We are not our students and we shouldn’t expect them to live by the same standards of education we raised with. Gone are the days of the teacher having all the information. We should revel in the fact that technology is the driving force making knowledge instantaneously
An elementary educator also needs to have a wide personality. By “wide” I mean they should be prepared to multitask, learn not to get distracted easily and really know how to connect with children. Teaching a child is not easy, so they need to demonstrate self-control, concern, independency, tolerance, and flexibility. A good teacher is known as a teacher who is willing to help others and learn how to cooperate.
While there are many ways to be an outstanding teacher, every high-quality teacher should, in my opinion, have these skills and dispositions:
With developments in technology growing exponentially, teachers must show students how to think critically and problem solve, using factual information as a primary resource. By mastering these skills, students become prepared for their college and careers, which will most likely involve some form of technology that has not yet been invented. This will influence many of the decisions I make as a teacher. Instead of assigning a reading passage and then comprehension questions to answer after, I can encourage students to discuss what they read and make connections to their own lives, research a topic for different perspectives or deeper details, or give students opportunities to present what they know to their peers and me in creative ways.
To be an outstanding educator you need to possess many important qualities. The qualities I believe are the most important are flexibility, creativity, and passion. The teachers I remember and relate to the most have those qualities. They are the areas that I believe I have strength in and the areas that will benefit my future students.
More innovative models of teaching have helped increase the ability of teachers to truly impact
In this book, Ron Clark discusses very important qualities that a teacher should have. He stated very good facts and points. After reading his text, it really made me sit back and think about what kind of teacher I wanted to be and what kind of qualities I thought it was important for a teacher to possess. The three qualities that stood out the most to me were balance, confidence and humor.
There are numerous attributes an outstanding teacher exhibits inside and outside of the classroom. Inside the classroom, a teacher is able to offer a positive learning environment, deliver instruction effectively, be fair, and be able to monitor and adjust right away. Outside of the classroom, a teacher actively participates in the community, is an influential teammate, receptive to reinforcement, is an exceptional role model, and is available for communication to parents.
A passion for teaching and a love of kids are essential attributes for being a great teacher. Outstanding teachers have an engaging teaching style and a passion for the subject matter. Children deserve to have a teacher who genuinely enjoys the time spent in the classroom and strives to inspire them in their formative years. Great teachers are positive role models who build trusting relationships with their students and can instill an interest in learning, self-improvement and intellectual development. A good work ethic and a desire to strive for excellence is critical to be successful.
As Pinker stated, “Technology does have a role in education… in science simulations, for example, or to teach students with learning disabilities,” which is viable because students will learn responsibility by understanding how to take more control of their education and figure out the best way for them to learn. Children are creating the future, which will inevitably include the use of technology, therefore growing up in an environment that can enhance their abilities and skills will benefit the future as a whole. Children growing into the technological era have a better chance of furthering their capability to adapt to improved technology, rather than being limited at the start of their educational lives. This new way of learning will help the teachers prepare students for the real world. Students also acquire knowledge including critical decision-making and actually thinking for themselves. It is important that schools keep up with these technological advances in order to keep up with their students, the future of our
As a future educator my views of the future of education are varied based on how I would most like to touch the students in my classroom and ensure they are ready for the ever-changing world after their education. Education must be the foundation of how they learn and more importantly what they learn to make them successful later in life. Technology is a tool to help students gain the knowledge and skills needed to make them successful. Technology is needed in the classroom to ensure the students success, but they also must not become so reliant on the technology that they lose their self-identity or the
The education system around the world has progressed and changed in a plentiful amount of ways, and the concept of knowledge and learning has changed in modern day. For example, certain schools around the globe are moving on to implementing technology in classrooms because it provides many benefits and statistical research that states how students are improving their academic readiness because of the instant access to information, a greater engagement and interactive process in learning, and the personalization that instructors can do towards the educational experience that students receive. The benefits of technology in class can be rather debatable, for there are people who think it's a distraction, but it certainly seems to be beneficial according to the increase of passing percentages in schools.
As we navigate through the 21st century, technology in the classroom is becoming further predominant. iPads are replacing our textbooks, and we can research any desired topic on our smartphones. The impact that technology has had on today’s schools has been utterly momentous. Educators have now seen firsthand the numerous benefits of technology in the classroom. According to a study by IT Trade Association CompTIA, around 75 percent of educators have come to the conclusion that technology has a positive impact on the education process. Educators have also recognized the significance of developing these technological skills in students so they will be prepared to enter the workforce after they graduate (Cox). By incorporating technology in the classroom, teachers are setting our students up for a successful life outside of school. The increase of technology has even changed how teachers teach along with how
Teaching is a difficult occupation. Teachers play an important part in training children, teenagers… So, a good teacher must have some special qualities. They are: knowledge, creation, confidence, empathy, sense of humor and passion.
Modern K-12 schools are tasked with implementing innovative pedagogical practices to meet the needs of today’s digital learners. Consequently, K-12 schools are dedicating a significant amount of time and resources to professional development toward the cultivation of more creative learning environments. Despite such investments, most K-12 schools are far removed from implementing effective teacher improvement programs toward the development of organizational cultures of ongoing learning (The New Teacher Project, 2015). Moreover, many teachers are failing to effectively transfer learning from professional development experiences into creative and innovative pedagogy.
There is some debate about whether great teachers are born or made. Parker Palmer believed that it is “the human heart… [not] technique”, which is the source of a good teacher (Penn, 2008, p. 22). Contrarily, a study done by Dr. Sean Ruday & Dr. Peter Wiens for the journal Issues in Teacher Education, found that specific innate personality traits were not necessary to be a good teacher, rather engaging and relevant work and structure and organization (Longwood University, 2014). I believe that anyone that is enthusiastic and knowledgeable about a subject area already possesses much of what is needed to become a great teacher. Combine this with empathy, patience, creativity, and the ability to listen and one