Important Principles of Teaching – A Complete Guide

Written Bypoulomi ganguly
Approved By poulomi ganguly
Last Updated on11 Feb, 2025
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Teachers are the torch bearers of education that lights up the path for students to explore the wonderful journey of learning. What is it that makes teachers a favourite amongst students?

It is some principles of a teacher that ushers students towards success and help recognise their unique talents.

This article will list down the 7 principles of a teacher that makes them stand out from the crowd.

But first, let’s understand about….

Teaching Principles

Teaching principles are a set of guidelines that each teacher must follow to improve the kind of experiences that a student is having in class.

The principles are some of the ways to make the most out of the classroom by making each participant learn better.

What are the 7 Principles of Teaching?

The 7 principles of teaching emerged after many years of research on teaching and education that had its first mention in the book titled “Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education”.

This book was written back in the 1980s by Arthur W. Chickering and Zelda F. Gamson, that offered certain guided methods to follow for teachers and defined what it means to have a good education.

Principle 1: Creating Connections between Students and Faculty

A teacher should not simply aim to be perfect but also a favorite person for all so that it becomes quite easy to take counsel whenever necessary.

Talking in a friendly way is the key to have students narrate their stories and also show their problems.

Students display no sign of eagerness in reaching out when the teacher is not that approachable.

Teachers can also share their personal stories so that the connection happens both ways instead of getting reduced to a one way sharing.

If professors have a natural instinct to show more empathy that is guided by good practices, the entire classroom will equally dive into them.

Principle 2: Fostering Teamwork

Competition is good but knowing how to move beyond selfishness and still trying to be the best is what every child must aim for.

It is always the work of an exemplary teacher who takes all along and makes everyone work together in harmony.

While striving to be the best is important, teamwork always teaches that peers must look upto growth for everyone who is in the journey of a healthy competition.

Empathy is a must if the goal is to become a better human being more than a student with good grades.

Principle 3: Boosting Active Learning Process

Students mostly serve out as passive listeners where teachers go on with their teaching. Active learning is a way to make students an inclusive participant in performing more than simply witnessing

By boosting their morale and supporting them to deal with “what-if” events, their thinking powers will find a new direction.

Presenting their work to the class and role modelling are other ways to bring out the “active performer” in them.

Principle 4: Prompt Review

Students can only invest in more effort when teachers relay them if the work they did so far is worthy.

Simply cancelling out the errors in exam papers or assignments is not enough and therefore, by making an effort to have a session where these faults can be discussed is the need of the hour.

Rechecking the alterations made following a review class is the final step in having feedback that is complete by all means.

Additionally, when all the students are asked to write down a summary of all the things that were taught, the teacher will have enough insight into the teaching methods and student’s response.

Principle 5: Managing Time Well

Time management skills apply to each human being as it is useful in education as well as in the world of career. Teachers as well as pupils must be more realistic while trying to set time limits.

A teacher should learn to prepare and present lessons within time and a student equally must learn to submit work within the schedules.

Therefore, the significance that time management holds is beyond limits and therefore each one must try to perfect it out.

Also read: How can Students Improve Time Management Skills

Principle 6: Boosting Student Morale

No matter the grades each student brings, it is always better to set standards that are high enough. Teachers must always give enough support to boost the growth and make them do better than before.

By letting them push harder to stay at the top, teachers will have students realise that dreaming big has all the time better rewards to deliver.

Principle 7: Introducing Varied Learning Styles and Respecting Diverse Talents

Learning styles must be varied so that various students find it easy to adapt. These styles should be complementary that bring newness in activities that are taken up.

Also, students who are separate from the majority in terms of culture, race can be asked to share their ideas.

To provide the rest of the crowd with more information on the minorities, courses can be integrated with knowledge about them.

Also Read about: Role of Schools in Nurturing Cultural Awareness

Conclusion

The principles of a teacher helps to realise that teaching is beyond simply churning out answers and giving lessons.

It is more in terms of having a relationship that students can look up to and seek guidance when the time calls for it.

Following these 7 principles while teaching is a good way to help a student fare better beyond studies and the happiness and contentment that a teacher will feel is beyond definition.

Overall, these 7 guidelines are a reminder that if teachers want, they can make a student’s life way better through some actionable steps and goodwill.

FAQs

All the principles in teaching, be it making connections, encouraging activity or teaching important time management skills, have individual contributions to make that is important for all students to be at their best.

The main principles of teaching are many and are exemplified through teachers who teach out of pure concern and care more than a routine. Teaching should not be limited to a profession and instead an ideal way to transform students to help them follow good practices in life.

Teaching becomes golden when the teacher moves beyond solving doubts to show more fairness and reach out to students who are not very good in studies and are looking for more help. It is also about keeping everyone within view so that no one feels ignored.

The good qualities of a teacher must have empathy and patience at the top so that students learn to connect in a way that makes it apparent that they feel free to state their problems and knows by heart that absolute guidance will always be there.

Teachers should be kind enough for having students not approach them with fear and be a sympathetic ear to them so that problems can be worked out though. Plus, all students must be equal in the eyes of the teacher where each one will learn about good values.

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