What goes into making an exceptional teacher?

The role of teacher nowadays is no more confined to facilitating the transmission of black and white information within the four walls of a classroom. In fact he has a multifaceted role keeping in mind the challenges thrown up by the 21^st century.

The teacher has a central role in shaping the future of the child and the smooth progression and transition of the child towards actualization of his innate potential and is largely attributed to the efforts laid down by the teachers.

To prepare the modern day learner to effectively embrace the challenges of 21^st century, it is the core responsibility of the 21^st century teacher to create a sort of conducive learning atmosphere which in the long run can materialize the acquisition of 21^st skills in modern day learner: be it critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and communication. It is imperative on the part of the teacher to update and fine polish his pedagogical skills to render his students viable and competitive as per need and demand of 21^st century.

Essential Ingredients of a good teacher: In the current scheme of global compulsions, a teacher has the most arduous job to ensure his learners get grossly engaged in learning activities designed and executed by the teacher. In the meaningful classroom teaching –learning transaction, the teacher must have well thought out strategy to arouse interest and ‘readiness to learn’ among learners.

Once the learner is motivated to learn, the job of the teacher becomes easier to disseminate the requisite knowledge with reasonable expectation of attainment of desired learning outcomes. What goes into the making of an exceptional teacher ? What are the hallmarks of a great teacher?

The prerequisite ingredients of a good teacher are:

• Experimenters and innovators of pedagogy: Teachers are supposed to experiment with their pedagogical tools. A versatile teacher is the one who is willing to ‘take the road less travelled by’ despite potential threats and failures when it comes to designing and executing innovative teaching – learning strategies .
• Mastery over technological tools: To render himself as an effective teacher, he has to acquaint himself with all the digital interventions in the realm of education and has to continuously update his technological skills. In the era of Artificial intelligence (AI) , where Augmented reality(AR) and virtual reality (VR) have disrupted the landscape of education, a teacher can not merely relay on past traditional practices.
• Learners as co-creators of knowledge: To remain relevant in the eyes of modern day learner, teacher has to move away from ‘Chalk and Talk method’ to a more inclusive approach. Modern day learners are not empty vessels to be filled with the content irrelevant to their lives. NEP 2020 and National Curricular Framework for school Education 2023 (NCFSE 2023) strongly emphasizes on shifting from behaviorist model of teaching learning to constructivist model of teaching–learning . The constructivist model of teaching–learning vociferously advocates for considering students as co-creaters of new knowledge rather than mere recipients of black and white information.
• Self reflection: Self reflection is truly a catalyzing tool. Teachers constantly need to ask themselves: did my students learn anything today? Is there any area I could have done better? Was pedagogic strategy appropriate and fruitful? Did I collect my students' feedback and thoroughly analyzed it? This kind of introspection and self-reflection will definitely enable teachers to look back and forth and become better educators.
• Socially well-connected: It is responsibility of the teacher to instill in their students a concern for the environment and the weaker sections, and motivate them to get involved in transformative extension and outreach activities with the dream of creating an equitable world. Teachers need to keep this mind that schools do not exist in isolation and therefore have to establish cohesive bond with community to render their institutions as vibrant learning centres.
• Repository of knowledge: The moment a teacher stops learning, he eventually ceases to be a teacher. Professional learning is not an event, it is a continuous journey. Educators must engage in their own learning and then only they can visualize its replication among their learners. A modern era teacher is expected to have in depth understanding not only in his/her subject but in other subjects as well. NEP 2020 strongly denounces hard separation of subjects and prioritizes multi-disciplinary approach. Modern day educator is left with no choice but to read diverse literature to evolve himself / herself as real repository of knowledge. Great teachers are not born, but made.
• Case study and research oriented: Versatile teacher actively engages learners in real life complex problems by giving them relevant case studies and research problems. Case study is truly a dynamic learning methodology as it involves asking students to delve into complex real –world issues and encourages them to propose viable solutions. If executed in its real spirit, case studies can act as a potent tool for learning across diverse disciplines. Case studies act as a crucial link between theoretical knowledge and its practical application, fostering an engaging and stimulating learning experience. Practicing teachers strive to find answers to classroom problems through action research projects needs to overwhelmingly welcomed.