7 TEACHING SKILLS AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The teaching skills are a number of skills, knowledge and attitudes that teachers need to master to be able to carry out their work satisfactorily. Those teachers who have them will be able to face all kinds of situations and challenges within the classroom.

Teaching competencies are at the midpoint between theory and practice. Therefore, to acquire them it is necessary both to have a series of previous knowledge obtained through study, and to be able to apply them on a day-to-day basis according to the work context.

Because the conditions of education are continually changing, teachers cannot be content to apply what they learned during their university training. On the contrary, it is necessary that they continue to learn continuously, so that they can acquire new skills year after year.

Main teaching competencies

In the old days, teachers didn't have to worry too much about the way they delivered their lessons. Since formal education was practically the only way to acquire knowledge, most of the students were content with being able to attend class.

However, today this situation has changed radically. Currently anyone can access a huge amount of information through the Internet, so teachers have to be able to contribute something extra to the simple transmission of knowledge.

For this reason, today it is considered that the knowledge of teachers has to be multidisciplinary, covering different areas such as teamwork or attention to diversity. Next we will see which are the most important teaching competencies.

Set goals and design learning situations

Unlike in the past, where knowledge was scarce and the learning difficulty was in finding it, today we have the opposite problem.

Due to the excess of existing information, one of the main problems for students is deciding what they really need to learn.

Therefore, one of the main skills that a good teacher must master is to establish a series of clear objectives that mark the way for their students.

At the same time, it must act as a facilitator so that they can successfully carry out their task as learners.

Plan the progression of what has been learned

Closely related to the previous competence is the need to make a plan in which knowledge is acquired gradually.

Although the Ministry of Education establishes what knowledge is necessary, the teacher has to be able to decide when and in what order to work each section.

In this way, students will acquire their new knowledge based on their previous skills. Done correctly, the level of challenge will always be right to keep students motivated and eager to learn.

Mastering the subject

The teacher not only has to know the subject he is teaching, but must be an expert in it. This is because, in order to teach about a specific topic, it is necessary to have very deep knowledge about it.

Therefore, it is recommended that teachers only teach classes in subjects that they are passionate about and in which they have extensive knowledge. Otherwise, it is your duty to catch up and learn what is necessary to be able to give good classes.

Constantly improve

Because education is a fundamental process in people's lives, teachers must commit to trying to do their job a little better every day.

Nobody is born perfect, so there is always room to improve no matter how good basic skills are.

This can involve a multitude of aspects, such as attending courses on the application of new techniques in the classroom, or practicing communication skills to be able to understand each other more effectively with students.

Manage the class

One of the biggest challenges teachers face is control over students. In a class of 20 or 30 students, each with their concerns, interests and personal problems, it is very easy for the situation to get out of control and it is impossible to impart the knowledge scheduled for the day.

Because of this, a good teacher has to be able to control his students and manage the problems that may occur in the classroom. This will require skills such as assertiveness, persuasion, and effective communication.

Set an example

Children do much of their learning by modeling their families and teachers. Therefore, in the classroom context, teachers have to be aware of what effect their way of acting has on their students.

If a teacher uses physical violence or threats to control students, they are setting a terrible example of how to deal with problems.

On the contrary, if you treat all students with respect but firmly, children will learn a lot about the proper way to behave in a difficult situation.

Attend to diversity

Each student is totally different from the rest, and as such has specific and concrete needs different from those of the others.

The teacher, as far as possible, has to know how to attend to these differences without neglecting the common learning objectives.

This can be very complicated, and requires great decision-making skills to know what needs to be paid attention to at all times.

Other considerations

This list of teaching competencies is far from including all the skills necessary for a person to become a good teacher.

However, only by acquiring these seven competences will the teacher be able to defend himself quite effectively in the classroom.

The other aspect to keep in mind is that no one is able to do their job properly without a good union of theory and practice.

Therefore, studying what the fundamental teaching competencies are is as important as trying to put them into practice on a day-to-day basis.

References

1. "What are teaching competencies?" in: Edu22. Retrieved on: May 15, 2018 from Edu22: edu.siglo22.net.
2. "The 10 competencies of the modern teacher" in: GoConqr. Retrieved on: May 15, 2018 from GoConqr: goconqr.com.
3. "5 competencies that every teacher of the XXI century must have" in: Universia. Retrieved on: May 15, 2018 from Universia: noticias.universia.net.co.
4. "Teaching skills: the challenge of higher education" in: Scielo. Retrieved on: May 15, 2018 from Scielo: scielo.org.mx.
5. "10 competencies of the new teacher" in: Slideshare. Retrieved on: May 15, 2018 from Slideshare: es.slideshare.net.