Abstract
Many universities, recognizing the student as the main consumer of college instruction, have begun to seek his views regarding the quality of teaching. In this study the Israeli student's concept of a “good teacher” has been investigated. A sample of second year university students were asked to select the three most important characteristics of a good teacher from a list of fifteen.
It was shown that students attached primary importance to method of instruction. Of secondary importance was the teacher's ability to spark intellectual growth. Research talents, personality, and academic status were of relatively little concern. Social science, life science, law and medical students all concurred in emphasizing the importance of the teacher's ability to communicate ideas, whereas humanities students stressed his ability to stimulate thinking.
It appears that undergraduate students rate teachers by their ability to transmit knowledge rather than according to the university's criteria of research and publication.
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The concepts “good teacher” and “effective instruction” are used interchangeably in this article, although they are not identical.
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Miron, M., Segal, E. “The good university teacher” as perceived by the students. High Educ 7, 27–34 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00129788
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00129788