personality of teachers in higher education?

Elfreda Grossen: Well, as a former teacher of mine once said to me "It takes all kinds of people to make the world....and they are ALL right here!"Higher education faculty are people. And as such, they come in a diverse range of personalities simply because they are individuals. And as in any group of people, there are some who many find are outstanding individuals and some who most would agree could undergo considerable improvement. Everyone has their own opinions. And some are more vocal and active in expressing their opinions while others are more reserve.Faculty are role models. But just as anything else in life, some are better models than others. And the students also perceive these models using their own standards and criteria to determine the better models from the others.The motivation for getting into teaching in higher education (e.g. post secondary) is also varied and ranges widely from wanting so do something good to plain wanting a pay check doing som! ething that was the path of least resistance.Self-confidence and competence can figure in both positively and negatively depending on how these are projected to and perceived by the students. It's a sort of Goldilocks balance...too much and it an ego trip....too little and there is no credibility....just right and it creates a respectful learning environment where students are encouraged to question without being confrontational.From a faculty mentoring perspective, I should probably add that listening, soliciting student feedback (both positive and negative), being flexible, and being willing to adapt/modify lessons and approaches to create learning opportunities are good ideals for faculty goals. Being a good faculty member is much like being a good parent---a delicate balance of keeping order and discipline will encouraging exploration of boundaries in a respectful way.In the end, for many students, a key point is the match of the personality of the teacher to the pref! erence of the student. A good match usually results in the st! udent considering the teacher "great" and a mismatch results in "lousy".Hopefully personality clashes between faculty and student don't get off the professional level to a personal level. If it does, this kind of oil and water situation should be resolved by separation rather than confrontation. Much better to strive for a win-win than a win-lose or worst yet a lose-lose.Hope this helps. Best wishes....Show more

Ollie Hamiel: I varies widely.I'm taking this on line course in Oragnic Chemistry from this professor who make Mr. Spock look like a human, but he knows his stuff!He wears a bow tieHis daughter did is videoBUT he KNOWS his stuff!So I pay attention to him!...Show more