1: PASSION – Great teaching is as much about passion as it is about reason. It’s about motivating and teaching students how to learn. Convey that passion to everyone, especially your students.
2: KNOWLEDGE – Great teaching is treating your students as consumers of knowledge. Great teachers immerse themselves in their field and stay on top of areas inside and outside your area of expertise. Bridge the gap between theory and practice.
3: LISTEN AND QUESTION – A great teacher listens, questions, is responsive and remembers that all students are different. It’s about pushing a student to excel regardless of their weaknesses and insecurities.
4: FLEXIBILITY – A great teacher is not fixed to an agenda or rigid in their approach. They are flexible, open and experimental in dynamic situations. A great teacher is not afraid to deviate from the daily schedule when there is more and better learning elsewhere.
5: STYLE – Should great teaching be entertaining? Of course! Work the room and every student in it. You are the conductor and the class is the orchestra. Use as many resources and teaching aids to fill the symphony.
6: HUMOR – Don’t take yourself too seriously. Tell a clean joke, even at your own expense. This is an ice breaker for better learning in a relaxed environment.
7: SERVICE – A great teacher is about caring, nurturing and developing minds and talents. Devote time, often invisible, to every student. It’s about thankless hours of marking, preparing and thinking to enhance learning.
8: SUPPORT – A great teacher has support from strong leadership, resources and personnel. It’s about what is done, not said. Be the support to those in need.
9: EXAMPLE – A great teacher is an example and mentor in all areas of life and is recognized by peers and especially students. They all look up to you.
10: HAVE FUN – Great teaching is about having fun, experiencing pleasure and intrinsic rewards. As learning begins, watch thoughts being formed, the person becoming better and a small smile across a face. Watch a connection develop while improvement and understanding takes place. A great teacher doesn’t practice out of need, or for money, but because they want to! There is no greater calling in this world, than that of a teacher.