What makes an inspirational teacher?

I had the honour to be presented with an award for 'most innovative use of teaching methods' at the recent Plymouth University student union SSTAR Awards. The evening was a joyous celebration of teaching excellence, and most importantly, all the award nominees and winners were chosen by the university students. For me and other members of teaching staff, this made the event more meaningful. The programme for the event details all of the categories, but what strikes readers the most is the emphasis that is placed on the relationships and respect that exist between the tutors and their students. But how does someone develop their skills to become an excellent teacher? Let's start with being inspirational.

In their nomination statements, Plymouth University students revealed what they thought were the secrets of becoming an inspirational teacher. By far the most important trait they identified was enthusiasm and passion for the subject. Almost a third of those who voted said they were inspired by those lecturers who were genuinely excited about their subject. One student said about their lecturer: 'He excitedly cites relevant material from memory, rousing students' interest and maintaining their attention as if it were vital to their existence - and sometimes, I am convinced of it.' Another stated: 'His inspirational teaching and enthusiasm for the subject is overwhelming. His lessons are delivered with such passion that you cannot help but leave inspired and with a thirst to learn more.'

Learning is not an easy business, so inspiring students to actually want to learn more is quite a feat. Sometimes studying can be tedious, arduous and can even sap the motivation right out of students. Inspirational teachers intervene at the right point, and know instinctively how to change the emphasis and direction of learning, bringing students back on to track by motivating them to succeed. Many times in my teaching career I have seen the need to sit down with a student and encourage them back in to line, and not to give up. Plymouth students also identified many other facets of inspirational teaching they thought important, including the art of giving good feedback that is constructive and forward looking, offering help outside of the formal lecture and seminar context, giving first rate support and advice, and using a variety of innovative and captivating teaching methods. The SSTAR annual awards not only identifies excellent teaching, but also encourages all of us here in Plymouth to strive to be better, and more inspirational as educators.

Photo by Steve Wheeler


What makes an inspirational teacher? by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.