Do smarter people make better teachers?

[bjornart]

As to the OP I'd say it depends on ones definition of smart. I'd say the important thing is being interested in what you're going to teach and in how to explain it to those who struggle and having the IQ and EQ to improve your knowledge and skills.

A lot of research show the factor with the greatest correlation to student performance* is a good student-teacher relationship, but I suspect kids wont relate as well to a teacher who doesn't know what he's doing.

*Tied with student ability

 

[gumboot]

I would have thought the answer would be a most resounding no, mostly because smarter people are less likely to want to be a teacher (at least not in any modern western school below tertiary level).

 

[bjornart]

I would have thought the answer would be a most resounding no, mostly because smarter people are less likely to want to be a teacher (at least not in any modern western school below tertiary level).

Do you believe there's a correlation between being smart and not enjoying being a teacher or between being smart and preferring money to job satisfaction? I moved from a job in programming to a lower paying job teaching high school and I'm much more satisfied now.

I'll admit I definitely didn't want to be a teacher when I left high school, but once I discovered through experience that helping others learn something new was something I enjoyed more than the rest of my job the choice was easy.

 

[ShadowSot]

Usually, in my experience it's not so much smarter people, but people who have experience in the field they are teaching that make the best teachers.

Also, many of my best history teachers I've had were ex-military.

 

[Jono]

People who are smart on how to teach make better teachers than those who are 'not so much'.

 

[Jeff Corey]

Do you believe there's a correlation between being smart and not enjoying being a teacher or between being smart and preferring money to job satisfaction? I moved from a job in programming to a lower paying job teaching high school and I'm much more satisfied now.

I'll admit I definitely didn't want to be a teacher when I left high school, but once I discovered through experience that helping others learn something new was something I enjoyed more than the rest of my job the choice was easy.

Nominated.

 

[USEagle13]

In my experience they do.


http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/07/20/why.quit.teacher/index.html

From the article:


and




My favorite and best teacher, Mr. Lesher, was my HS physics teacher. Why was he the best? He knew his stuff. Inside, outside, and upside down; he knew his physics.

I was a teacher for 7 years, and in my experience the answer to the question is yes.

I taught 5th grade (10-11 years old) and all the subjects. I have an elementary ed license, and a license in each of the disciplines in middle school: math, sci, SS, and English.

I know my stuff. (Granted, if I didn't know, we looked it up as a class. The students like to see the teacher learning!)

We had a teacher who also taught 5th, and she new nothing. We had basic ratios we were working one day, and she borrowed a sheet from me.

3/4 = x/16

After about 10 minutes of giving her the sheet, a student came from her class, "Do you have an answer sheet for Mrs. so-and-so."

Here in NC, we have EOGs, End of Grade tests. Most states have them and call them different things, but, here, its the EOG.

Her scores were always the worst in the school.

I had the second highest scores in the school(96.5% passing rate) and my friend Theresa had the highest (98%)


So...do smarter people really make better teachers?

Is it easier to explain something to somebody else if you know it like the back of your hand, or foot, or the inside of your eyelids?

Any studies on this?
(I gave a quick google of, "do smarter people make better teachers" and I couldn't find anything.)

The wife is giving me a look now, so I'm gonna end this here. (Sadly, it isn't a "come here big boy" look. )

Yeah they do but in my country (USA) they get awesome jobs and all the dumb ppl become the teachers.....

 

[USEagle13]

Um, I would need to see a large scale regression analysis, why would IQ be related to the skills a teacher needs, there is no established basis.

Example #1 for my factual claim

 

[Yithmas]

Not necessarily. Sometimes they get the facts but are not good at breaking it down so the kids can understand.
I've been a teacher myself and I know a few science teachers (especially in phyics for some reason) who know a lot and you can have brilliant conversations with them, but for some reason, they cannot explain it to the kids.
Maybe my sample size is too small and my evidence is anecdotal anyway but that's the impression that I get.

 

[kowalskil]

The term "smart person" is not well defined.

Breach of rule 6 removed.

Replying to this modbox in thread will be off topic  Posted By: Cuddles

 

[kowalskil]

The term "smart person" is not well defined.

Ludwik Kowalski (see Wikipedia)
.

P.S. Who is a smart person? See the link below.

OOPS, I AM NOT YET ALLOWED TO POST LINKS

How do you know who is smart? Some of the responses:

* A smart person reads fast.
* A smart person raises his hand a lot.
* A smart person answers a lot of questions.
* A smart person is a good speller.
* A smart person knows a lot about science.
* A smart person gets a lot of problems right in math.
* A smart person knows a lot of words.
...

 

[Jeff Corey]

Number 2 and 3 only count if the person is correct or nearly so.

 

[C_Felix]

I feel shame for not defining "smart."

*shame*

 

[Jrrarglblarg]

Define "smarter".

Precisely!

 

[timhau]

So in short, teaching is in itself a skill. Whether it's music, physics or how to ride a bicycle. The art of persuading a human mind to adapt itself to this new skill, is in itself a skill which is independent of how much you, as a teacher, master the subject itself.

Exactly. In other words, better teachers make better teachers. You can't be dumb as a brick and be a good teacher, but I you don't need to be super-intelligent to be one.