Sunday, February 10, 2008
What are the characteristics of a successful novice teacher?
I believe there can be many different characteristics of a successful novice teacher because there are so many different ways how any teacher can be successful. First off, novice teachers need to be continuous learners. At times there can be a lot of information thrown at new teachers, and instead of becoming overwhelmed with all this information they need to find ways to use it a learn from it. Teaching is a constant growing experience where teachers learn new things daily. Successful teachers make positive experiences out of the new information they learn. Another characteristic is a teacher who communicates with other teachers and professionals. I know the biggest help my first year of teaching was communicating with members of my department. Any question I had they were willing to help with, and if I needed an idea or some guidance they always pointed me in the right direction. I know this is not the case for everyone because not everybody like the people they work with, but in my case it was helpful. If you don't communicate well with the people in your department it's important to find somebody in the building that you can communicate with and share ideas because it can be a very valuable tool. Finding ways to manage time is another characteristic of a successful teacher. Novice teachers can become overwhelmed with all that is going on when they start teaching and if they don't figure out how to put things in order there's a chance of falling behind. The last characteristic is to make sure that new teachers really enjoy what they're doing because if they don't want to be there it's going to make things impossible to deal with.
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2 comments:
I agree that success can be interpreted as a number of things but the important characteristic is, like you said, one's willingness to continue to be a lifelong learner. Teachers of all experience will always have plenty to learn especially novice teachers. If a teacher is fairly new and feels they have mastered their profession, most likely they are not successful nor will they ever become successful. That attitude will only limit ones ability to improve. I believe success does not come without continuous hard work throughout your career.
I also agree with you about being a life-long learner. New teachers have had training in college (or are going through training at the same time such as alternate route teachers) and are usually struggling with how to implement all of "theories." I also think you are right about having good interpersonal skills. That first year, even if you have been teaching a while and have switched schools, is complicated and confusing. Each school has their own rules, policies, and procedures. If new teachers can find just one friend they can trust and turn to they will be better off. This is not only for help or advice in the classroom, but also for school-wide events or procedures.
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