The 12 types of teachers (and how they behave)

A teacher is a person whose work focuses on teaching a subject, science or art to one or more students. The figure of the teacher is of great importance, since education is one of the pillars that allow the functioning and order of society. The teachers tend to be, in most cases, specialized in some field of knowledge.

Nevertheless, Beyond the subject that each one teaches, all of them must have pedagogical tools, since their job is not only to transmit knowledge, but also to promote a learning process. This means that the teacher always has to use techniques and resources that help the student to assimilate knowledge in a real way and adjusted to her abilities and learning style.

• We recommend you read: "Learning styles: the 12 different ways of learning that exist"

The power of a good teacher

Along the history, the conception of how teaching should be exercised has undergone variations. In the past, due to influences from currents such as behaviorism, the student was usually conceived as a passive agent who simply had to absorb literal information from the outside. However, over the years the knowledge about how we learn has been expanding, thanks to research in fields such as psychology or pedagogy. Today, it is known that both teacher and student are active elements in the teaching-learning process.

In this way, it is currently conceived that learning is much more than memorizing content in an imposed way. The contemporary teacher is one who stimulates the cognitive and personal development of his students, encouraging the use of the resources of each one of them and the information available to them. Furthermore, teaching is an exercise that cannot be separated from the social context in which it occurs. Thus, the teacher must not only teach content, but train skills such as responsibility, tolerance, collaboration or justice.

The importance of the work of teachers lies in their enormous responsibility when educating different generations and, more generally, to society. Only through quality teaching can human beings be developed with a reflective, critical capacity and a sense of responsibility.

Despite all that has been said, the truth is that teachers do not always meet all the requirements that they should and, therefore, do not offer quality teaching. In this article we have decided to collect the different types of existing teachers, as well as their respective characteristics.

What kinds of teachers are there?

In general terms, we can find three types of teachers:

1. Indifferent

This type of teacher is one who he does not demand anything from his students. In the same way, it is a teacher who does not demand anything of himself, so there is no progress in the learning process. Generally, teachers who show this type of attitude do not show motivation towards their work since they lack a real vocation.

2. Authoritarian

This profile corresponds to those teachers who overstretch their students without applying the same standard to themselves. These are teachers who do not self-criticize or reflect on how they could improve their teaching practice. However, even if they do not put effort on their part, they tend to have misaligned expectations about the students.

Thus, it is common for students to feel frustrated and there are high failure rates, since meaningful learning does not take place. This type of category could include those teachers who associate the number of failures to the prestige of their subject and those who include ambiguous questions or not addressed to class in the exams.

3. Demanding

Demanding teachers are those who, Although they demand a lot from their students, they also do the same with themselves. These types of teachers tend to achieve significant learning in their students, as long as the levels of demand for both parties are kept at reasonable levels.

These types of teachers are continuously monitoring themselves and are concerned about performing their teaching in an effective and appropriate way. In addition to these three essential types, we can also find other more specific types:

4. Presenter teacher

Teachers of this type are characterized by carrying out what is known as master classes. I mean, this exposes their knowledge without encouraging student interaction or participation. This teacher profile wants to keep the reins of the classroom under his control and does not encourage student collaboration for fear of losing it. Generally, this dynamic in the classes tends to lead to an evaluation that is very focused on the final exams, since as there is no interaction, it is not possible to evaluate the students on other merits.

5. Technology teacher

This type of teacher is one who bases its teaching methodology on new technologies. He often uses tools such as online tests to monitor student progress and encourages the use of digital resources by students.

6. Interactive teacher

The interactive teacher is the polar opposite of the presenting teacher. This type of teacher tends to stimulate teamwork through group dynamics. When evaluating, he opts for procedures such as self-evaluation or co-evaluation. In addition, it avoids depositing the entire load in a single exam, using tasks and projects that stimulate teamwork as a complement.

7. Social teacher

This type of teacher is one who try to contextualize your classes today. In his classes, debates on various topics, work with weekly news or critical thinking training will be frequent. Beyond the theory and knowledge of textbooks, he will try to encourage complete personal development in his students. In this way, he will try to train his empathic capacity, his civility and solidarity, etc.

8. Innovative teacher

This professor will use the most advanced methodologies to carry out his work. It is about a teacher who seeks to make the student the central agent of their learning process. He will flee from monotony and will try to vary in his way of working while stimulating the students' capacity for autonomous organization. In some cases, very frequent changes can be counterproductive and generate stress for students, as there is no basic structure that provides a sense of order.

9. Distant professor

This kind of teacher avoid creating emotional ties with your students, conveying coldness and antipathy. He conceives teaching as a mere transmission of knowledge and nothing more. His only objective is to carry out his work without major implications, which is why it is usually linked to the profile of the presenter teacher that we have already commented on.

10. Friend teacher

The friendly teacher is that teacher who emphasizes the personal development of its students versus the acquisition of content. He is a figure that is more like a friend than a teacher, since his main objective is to be a reference for them and give them tools for life.

11. Rigid teacher

This type of teacher is one who he rigorously complies with the established plan regarding the curriculum and class dynamics. He does not know how to adapt and flex in favor of the diversity of his students, so he can fail to support those with special educational needs. In addition, he himself may feel a great level of anxiety because he cannot adjust to the changes that are emerging.

12. Vocational teacher

This profile is the one that corresponds to the teacher who loves his profession, who lives devoted to his work and tries to carry it out in the best possible way. He tries to get involved academically, but he also tries to make his students grow as people and citizens of society. The only point against this type of teacher is that, at times, it can be too invasive.

Conclusions

As we can see, there are multiple types of teachers. Although perfection does not exist, the truth is that it is essential that there is a balance to achieve an adequate teaching exercise. It is important that the teacher is able to balance the academic and personal aspects, as well as He adjusts his class to real life outside and emotionally bonds with his students without being intrusive.

There is no ideal methodology or magic formula for teaching. However, today we know that a good teacher is one who, in the first place, is capable of adapting to the diversity of his students and the particular characteristics of each one of them. In addition, he does not overflow before changes or challenges, but he knows how to manage conflicts and unforeseen events that may appear.

A good teacher knows how to transmit his knowledge in a clear and understandable way, but is not limited to making monologues. On the contrary, he knows how to involve his students, invites them to reflect and debate, all in order to that these are not less repeaters of information but agents capable of analyzing reality in a way review.

In addition, a good teacher must also keep up to date. His vocation, when it is real, makes him want to know more every day, trying to know the advances that are taking place in the field of pedagogy and teaching. In short, the good teacher is one who knows how to get involved by moderating all levels of their profession, in order to promote the constructive learning of their students.