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What Is Eight Key Qualities That Exceptional Teachers?

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John Hattie as cited by Drew (2011) identifies eight key qualities that exceptional teachers possess, including; “student initiated learning, empathy, warmth, encouragement of higher-order thinking, encouraging learning, adapting to differences, genuineness, and learner-centered beliefs” (p.86). In comparison when identifying my own strengths as a teacher, I believe I am a warm, genuine teacher who possesses strong adaptation and empathy skills and a belief in learner-centered education. However, my cyber-setting does not always allow me to portray these characteristics. Additionally, I understand that in order to be a top-notch teacher, I need to encourage higher-order thinking skills and student initiated activities. Moreover, I need to help Agora to strive for a more STEM-based environment, as well as, eliminated my own biases while improving on my teaching abilities. When considering Agora’s current STEM practices, I would identify the setting as emerging in its understanding of what STEM truly entails. Rigor and high-order learning are encouraged by administration and are essential elements in our lesson plans. Teachers have received professional development on Norm Webb’s Depth of Knowledge, an essential tool that can move students beyond basic recall of facts to analyzing and synthesizing information (Aungst, 2014). However, instructional time is not designated within our teaching scope and sequence to adequately promote higher-order thinking. Many of the

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