The College Study

Teacher as a Leader in the Classroom Essay

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Editorial Staff • May 12, 2019  7 minutes read

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A Teacher – A Real Teacher

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Touching more lives, affecting the outcome of so many futures a teacher is the epitome
of a leader. Just as a leader has his or her own style, their way of motivating their
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students, also plays an important part in a student’s success. Spending more time with
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our children then most parents do, a teacher is fundamental in shaping our children. If
they are poor leaders our children suffer. When they shine as leaders our children
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blossom and the universe is wide open to them. As a teacher it is of utmost importance
that you tune your leadership skills and find the best style of teaching for the students
you are teaching. In finding resources for this paper it was interesting to note that all
the information fell under the category of leadership and not teacher qualities.

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 The College Study

The intrinsic characteristics of a teacher can be categorized into a few main teaching
styles or leadership styles. Directing, Participating, Delegating, and Combined styles are
the main forms of teaching and leading. The qualities associated with these styles are
imperative to any teacher. The purpose as teachers is fundamentally the same as
leaders, to provide purpose, direction and motivation while operating to accomplish the
mission in this case to educate. All four of these actions must be present in order for a

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student to benefit.

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Teaching and Leadership Qualities

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A leader or teacher is not born but cultivated through his/her upbringing and

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environment. In my experience as a leader, teaching in Educational. Psychology, being a
parent, I have learned that what you as a leader or teacher bring to your students or

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audience is imperative to their development and learning. A teacher’s personal

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characteristics are also a crucial factor in students’ development and motivation. The

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first principle is purpose, which has to be conveyed to the student. Why do I need to

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learn Math? How will studying History benefit me? Without the why’s we as students

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are lost. A teacher must give the purpose. It is important to you because If this question
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is left unanswered the student will not consider the value of the topic being discussed.

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To move from purely acceptance to questioning and understanding denotes a higher

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level of learning. This is the main objective of teaching.

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t Moving the students from regurgitation to higher realization is the ultimate goal.
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Teachers need to take the time to explain the why’s and in the long run it will benefit
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both the teacher and student.

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How Do Personal Characteristics add to Leadership?

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The direction is tied to purpose. The direction is the steps we are going to take to get to
that important purpose. Without steps or direction, we lack the framework in which to
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learn. By prioritizing small tasks (you must teach numbers before adding them) your
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lessons will be more effective. By conveying the direction or path to your students you
are setting up the checklist for them to follow on to higher learning. Purpose and
direction are essential aspects to convey to your students. Without motivation however
these factors will not be effective. The motivation will give your students the will and
desire to do things.

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 The College Study

You can tell a student the purpose of a task and the direction in which to go but
without the internal motivation of that student, sparked by your personality and learned
tactics in dealing with students, these will be meaningless. Motivation is the drive and
will to do what needs to be done to accomplish the mission. To instil motivation a
teacher has to know his/her students and their capabilities. A teacher must know what
the students can relate to, what tasks the student are capable of, and what method of

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teaching will relate to the students. If a student can handle not being supervised on a

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task, then the teacher doesn’t babysit them.

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Purpose, Moving & Ability

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Some students need a teacher looking over their shoulder at all times; it’s important to

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know which student you have. To instill positive motivation when they succeed – praise

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them; when they fail – show them how to succeed next time. If this is done properly it

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will be a teacher’s strongest tool! Motivation is not just the words you say to your

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students, it is the actions that you do and the example you set for them. The best

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teachers and leaders in my life have made me want to take some of their personality
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traits and copy them. In front of the classroom, who is looked at more than a teacher is

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All of these factors combine to make a somewhat effective teacher or leader, but
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without the right combination of teaching the leadership will be ineffective. Effective

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leaders are flexible enough to adjust their leadership styles and techniques to the

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people they lead. Some students will respond best to coaxing, suggestions, or prodding
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while others may need a chewing out. If you treat all students the same you are
probably being unfair because all students are not the same. You must use the
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directive, participating, delegating, and combined approaches to teaching. Obviously,

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every situation dictates common sense and some adjusting, but you would not want to
use a purely free and laid back approach with a group in a juvenile prison.
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Correlation of Teaching & Leadership

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The directive style of teaching is purely lectured which puts most students and myself to
sleep. This is teacher centered with detailed instructions and no input from the class.
Now this can be done effectively with students who have an innate interest in the
subject but for the majority of those who have no choice but to take this class this
becomes boring. Without the lecture or instruction part of teaching, however, most
students would not be given the instruction for proficiency and understanding that the

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subjects may require. When students don’t have the expertise in a subject, a crucial
aspect of the subject is the introduction itself. in certain subjects like math it is
imperative that formal instruction takes place. The do this to get this approach must
exist. However too purely drown your students with facts and tedious instructions will
turn off the students’ motivation.

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On the opposite extreme of teaching, the delegating style would be employed. The

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delegating style involves giving students the power to solve problems and make
decisions themselves, without checking with the teacher in most circumstances. This can

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be effective with very mature students in whom a teacher wants to create independence
and expand their thinking. This simply stated is the teacher giving a problem, minimal

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instructions, and expecting the student to find the solution. In some aspects, this can be

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effective only if the students have a basic understanding and the foreknowledge of how

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to solve the problem. With too little amount of instruction this will be a disaster!

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Qualities Teacher’s Innovative Ability Involving Styles

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The participating style centers on both the students and the teacher The teacher gives
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the students a problem, gives instruction solutions, and asks the students for input. The

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teacher, although dependent on recommendations from the students, makes the final

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solution however. This is most effective for teachers who have time as their advantage,

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which many do not. When this style is used, the students feel as though they are at least

t a part of the discovery process and it gives them a sense of ownership of the final plan.
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Again the factor here is time, so this can be ineffective when there are strict time
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constraints and many lessons to accomplish.

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The most effective teaching style is the combined approach. Just as the name implies it
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uses all of the benefits of the delegating, participating, and directive approaches. It is a
flexible and transformational tool for any given situation. To become an effective
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teacher you must learn when, to what degree, and how to use this approach. This
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approach is best used when you have students with a conglomeration of experiences,
knowledge, motivations, and maturity. This may sound like common sense, but too
often do when have those pure lecture teachers, or those who are on the other extreme
and let the students learn on their own.

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 The College Study

With all the styles of teaching and leading, who the teacher is plays a significant role in
what the student learns. As I sat in the first day of Educational Psychology I noted how
many times the teacher looked at the clock. She noted when there was one minute until
the class was to start and has promptly kept the same attention to time since that first
day. This shows two of the characteristics – awareness and perception – that a teacher
needs to bring to the classroom.

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Importance of Awareness & Perception

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Other characteristics include: listening receptively to what others have to say, accepting
others and having empathy for them, foresight and intuition, awareness and perception,

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highly developed powers of persuasion, an ability to conceptualize and to communicate

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concepts as well as establish goals, empowering people, using multiple options

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thinking, and being passionate about what they are teaching. These are forged by our

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personal beliefs, and just as important our life experiences. Having these combined with

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the right approach; purpose, direction, and motivation are the key to effective teaching

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and leading. Leaders can’t be trained, but they can be developed. Development needs
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to be ongoing and highly personalized in its nature.

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Other Qualities

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Teachers, true leaders, are so strategically important that schools cannot afford not to

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provide them with the support and developmental resources they need to grow. But
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not everybody is capable of being an outstanding leader. However, it is going to be the

key to better education in a world of change, complexity and uncertainty. As I look back
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on the semester, I remember how it started. Never have I been in a class where the
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classroom students taught the instruction. What a weird, bizarre, and radical way of
teaching. I have to admit, ! hate to work in groups and I didn’t like this idea at all. In
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light of my stubbornness and repulsion I see why this had to happen. To me the process
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was not really about learning the material but bluntly seeing how you can be inspired
put to sleep, or appalled at other students, or yourself. The fundamental concept is not
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really about what you are teaching, but how. “The with-it-ness of the teacher makes the
student learn or care about the subject. The lack of enthusiasm in an instructors voice,
the laziness as they slouch on the podium or smack their gum, or the sheer brilliance of
their presentation is what inspires and motivates a student to learn. The Army is the
same way with winning wars and making heroes. Many civilian corporations have
emulated the leadership principles applied in the Army doctrine and regulations.

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 The College Study

Conclusion
Also, I feel that beyond the regular courses that teachers take they should be shown
how to develop their leadership skills. They need to be shown which style to teach
which students and how to be flexible. Teachers also need to have and develop some
personal qualities that will make them successful. Without the characteristics mentioned
they will not be successful teachers. The leaders of the most powerful army of the future

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need to be shown how to lead. They need to know how to give to their students

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meaning by showing the purpose, providing the direction and the motivation while they
accomplish their mission, to educate. Teachers need to use different approaches to

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teaching based on the students and they need to be flexible in their approach.

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Sometimes it is okay to think (teach) in the box and sometimes we need to think (teach)
out of the box but I believe we can think both ways at the same time.

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