The Elements of Teaching

What are the characteristics of a great teacher? What qualities of mind and spirit are necessary to help others acquire the knowledge through which they can understand and live a good life? In this text the authors draw on their experience as teachers to set forth the intellectual, moral and emotional capacities that they believe the best teachers must possess. Their aim is to provide a guide to current and future schoolteachers and to college and university professors. Arguing that teaching is art, Banner and Cannon aim to help teachers understand its components. They analyze the specific qualities of successful teachers and the ways in which these qualities promote learning and understanding. Throughout, they illustrate their discussion with portraits of fictional teachers who exemplify - or fail to exemplify - a particular quality. This book assesses what it takes to teach and should encourage teachers to consider how they might strengthen their own level of professional performance.