Cooperating Music Teachers’ Opinions Regarding the Importance of Selected Traits, Behaviors, and Skills as Predictors of Successful Student Teaching Experiences

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of cooperating teachers regarding the importance of certain teacher traits, behaviors, and skills as predictors of a successful student teaching experience. The sample consisted of teachers who had served as cooperating teachers ( N = 519). Participants rated a list of 40 teacher traits, behaviors, and skills based on their (perceived) importance as predictors of student teacher success. I constructed ranked lists for each demographic grouping of respondents by the mean score for each item, and these lists were examined using a method put forward by Teachout. Results revealed that the highest-rated items regardless of demographic grouping variables were demonstrating appropriate social behavior, stress management, fostering appropriate student behavior, establishing a positive rapport with others, and enthusiasm. All participant groups rated personal traits, behaviors, and skills as most important; followed by teaching traits, behaviors, and skills; then musical traits, behaviors, and skills. Content analyses of open-ended questions revealed that no items had a universal meaning among participants in this study.

Trajectories of Teacher Traits: Professional, Administrative, and Social Roles

Teaching in higher education has undergone numerous paradigm shifts from teacher-centred authoritative to learner-centredcritical and culturally responsive/relevant pedagogies. Further, single method-boundedness has been substituted by theintegration of pedagogies via eclecticism in the post-method contexts. Further, virtual learning and paperless classroom,which were not dreamed in the past, has become realistic because of the innovative practices in the domain of informationand communication technology in education in general and the pandemic situation created by COVID19 specifically. Theseshifts have sparked tremendous changes in the teaching field. Based on these presumptions, this article aims to envisageteachers’ multifarious roles to play and tasks to perform. To achieve this aim, I have adopted a document analysis methodthat lies within the typology of the qualitative approach. Moreover, I have found three main categories of teachers’ rolesincluding professional, administrative, and social. These roles present a portrait of wholistic teacher traits inside and outsidethe classroom. The study implies that teachers should be capable of negotiating their roles and tasks based on the contextsthey encounter.

Exploring Teacher Traits in Classroom Practices

Teachers play a key role to proliferate the educational system as they are at the implementation level of educational acts, rules and regulations. Their traits are at a flux because of temporal and contextual variations encountered in different settings. This context led this study to explore teacher traits in real classroom practices. To achieve this goal, phenomenological research design, as a type of qualitative inquiry, has been adopted. The population of the study comprised the stakeholders of Bachelor of Mountain Tourism Management (BMTM) programme conducted in Janapriya Multiple Campus, Pokhara. The tool for collecting information was non-participant class observation, in which three classes were observed. The results of the study reveal that teacher traits can be measured by triad roles like professional, administrative, and social dimensions. The study implies that teachers should be aware of these triad roles; and the current pedagogical trends and practices.

Karakter Guru Inovatif Berdasarkan Surah al-Kahfi

Teachers are individuals who make a significant impact on student learning. The teaching of innovative teachers is believed to effectively convey the meaning and content of the lessons to the students with various kind of behaviour. This article discusses the character of teacher and innovator found in surah al-Kahfi. Prophet Khidir is an example of teacher, while Zulkarnain is an example of an innovator. This study was qualitatively conducted using content analysis methods on four tafsir books, namely Tafsir al-Qurtubi, Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Munir and Tafsir al-Azhar. The analysis was performed on the two figures to uncover the traits they had based on the tafsir books so that the theme can be formed. The findings show that Prophet Khidir has 13 traits as a teacher and Zulkarnain has eight traits as an innovator. The combination of the two figures’ traits creates the conceptual framework of the Innovative Teacher Traits. Abstrak Guru ialah individu yang memberikan kesan yang besar terhadap pembelajaran murid. Pengajaran guru inovatif diyakini mampu menyampaikan maksud dan isi pelajaran kepada kepelbagaian murid secara berkesan. Artikel ini membincangkan tentang karakter guru dan inovator yang terdapat dalam surah al-Kahfi. Nabi Khidir adalah contoh guru, manakala Zulkarnain adalah contoh inovator. Kajian ini dilakukan secara kualitatif menggunakan kaedah analisis kandungan terhadap empat kitab tafsir, iaitu Tafsir al-Qurtubi, Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Munir dan Tafsir al-Azhar. Analisis dilakukan terhadap dua tokoh tersebut untuk merungkai karakter yang ada pada mereka berdasarkan kitab-kitab tafsir sehingga tema terbentuk. Dapatan menunjukkan terdapat 13 karakter yang ada pada Nabi Khidir sebagai guru dan lapan karakter yang ada pada Zulkarnain sebagai inovator. Gabungan karakter dua tokoh tersebut membentuk kerangka konsep Karakter Guru Inovatif.

A National Study of the Differential Impact of Novice Teacher Certification on Teacher Traits and Race-Based Mathematics Achievement

In this study, differential prediction of student outcomes by race and teacher traits relative to the certification levels of novice teachers was assessed. Overall, algebra achievement was higher for students who were taught by teachers with standard certificates relative to students who were taught by novice teachers with nonstandard certificates. The most conservative estimates show that findings are equivalent to approximately 8 months of additional instruction for students who were taught by teachers with standard certificates. However, the benefits of being taught by a teacher with standard certification did not translate to underrepresented racial groups. Overall, there were several differences in dispositions across certification conditions. With respect to underrepresented racial groups, only one disposition was significantly different across conditions. Teachers with nonstandard certificates reported higher emphasis on increasing mathematics interests. For underrepresented racial groups, relationships between both certification conditions and achievement were underwhelming. Recommendations to improve teacher effectiveness are provided.

Identifying Good Teachers: Expert vs. Ordinary Knowledge

While much has been written about the effects of standardized testing on student achievement, less work has addressed how this information is taken up by parents. Drawing on the results of a survey of 286 parents in a diverse urban school district, our research illuminates three aspects of parental response to test score information and efforts to link that information to teacher quality concerns: 1.) How parents relate various teacher traits to quality teaching; 2.) How parents know if their child has a good teacher; and 3.) How parents think teachers should be evaluated. We find that test score data are perceived as both imperfect and incomplete with regard to measuring teacher quality and that parents often rely more on “ordinary” forms of knowledge. This raises questions about the value of existing standardized test score data as an informational spur to reform.

Thai pre-service music educators and their future in music education and its role in society

The purpose of this investigation was to acquire a better understanding of the decision-making process of Thai pre-service music education students and their expectations of their post-graduation professional activities. Demographic data was gathered as well as self-reported participant influences regarding choosing to major in music education. A free response question sought participants’ perception of their role as a music educator in their community. Results tended to mirror those of previous research. Emergent themes from the free response question included teacher behaviors, teacher traits, and student outcomes. These data may help to provide a better understanding of the pre-service music educators’ influences to become music educators, and their post-graduation expectations, as well as providing important information that may lead to possible revisions in current music education curricula in Thailand. Immediate and future relevance of the data and areas for further research were discussed.

What Makes a Great Resident Teacher? A Multicenter Survey of Medical Students Attending an Internal Medicine Conference

Background Residents have a critical role in the education of medical students and have a unique teaching relationship because of their close proximity in professional development and opportunities for direct supervision. Although there is emerging literature on ways to prepare residents to be effective teachers, there is a paucity of data on what medical students believe are the attributes of successful resident teachers. Objective We sought to define the qualities and teaching techniques that learners interested in internal medicine value in resident teachers. Methods We created and administered a resident-as-teacher traits survey to senior medical students from 6 medical schools attending a resident-facilitated clinical conference at McMaster University. The survey collected data on student preferences of techniques employed by resident teachers and qualities of a successful resident teacher. Results Of 90 student participants, 80 (89%) responded. Respondents found the use of clinical examples (78%, 62 of 80) and repetition of core concepts (71%, 58 of 80) highly useful. In contrast, most respondents did not perceive giving feedback to residents, or receiving feedback from residents, was useful to their learning. With respect to resident qualities, respondents felt that a strong knowledge base (80%, 64 of 80) and tailoring teaching to the learner's level (83%, 66 of 80) was highly important. In contrast, high expectations on the part of resident supervisors were not valued. Conclusions This multicenter survey provides insight into the perceptions of medical students interested in internal medicine on the techniques and qualities that characterize successful resident teachers. The findings may be useful in the future development of resident-as-teacher curricula.

Descriptors of Quality Teachers and Quality Digital Games

Quality teachers and quality digital games (video and computer) are dynamic resources that experience ongoing changes based primarily on their interactions with learners. Characteristics of these resources have been, and will continue to be researched and identified in order to discover ways to improve student learning. This chapter uses the descriptors of one of these resources, quality teachers, to illustrate how the same characteristics are integral to effective digital games. North American youth now spend more time on digital gaming activities than they spend watching TV or reading (Greenberg, 2004; Prensky, 2005), prompting educators to become familiar with the ‘quality teacher’ traits of digital games that keep learners on task and learning. By using the descriptors of quality teachers to evaluate digital games, educators will gain a better understanding of why digital games are effective learning tools.