A mentee’s reflection on what makes a “good educator”:

The Success of any Educationalist is to have confidence in oneself and the ability to build confidence in those we teach. This week lecture was on self-efficacy and ethical teaching.

Self- efficacy is believing that I have the ability to perform a task. I realise that this is very important. It determine a person’s success in life. Believing that I can do something given to me to do. Having that confidence can boost my performance.

The ability for an educationalist to build confidence in the people they teach that they can do what they are told to do is very important. The question is how do I build self-efficacy in the people I teach. I believe that respecting individual difference and getting them to start from a familiar task will go a long way in building self-efficacy. Starting with what a person is good at can build self-efficacy. This can be used as a starting point to develop upon by way of introducing them to next task. This do not necessarily mean that they are going to get it right first time. The ability of the teacher to know the right words and way to correct them is very important. This issue bring us to the word ethical. The culture of teaching, the teaching pedagogy by doing what they are good.

Ways are very powerful. The ability of a teacher to say the right word to encourage a falling student and to be able to praise them when they do well is very important.

This can create the right frame of mind for success or failure as it affect the relationship between the student and the teacher. As we know that teacher student relationship is very important to learning.

In conclusion, an educationalist has to be a good facilitator. Someone who the student can easily relate to, talk to and feel free around them. One who can bring out the best in their student by way of respecting individuality, encouraging, appraisal and be able to take them to a next level through careful consideration of who they are, what they can do and how to harness that and expand that knowledge they already have to a next level.

More advice on what “effective pedagogy” is can be found here – a NCRM quick start guide.