The Make-up of an Excellent Teacher

Jerome D. Odom, Department of Chemistry

I first discovered how much I enjoyed teaching when I was a Red Cross Safety Instructor in my hometown of Burlington, N.C., during the summer between my freshman and sophomore years in college. To see the joy and excitement which young children as well as middle-aged adults experienced when they learned to swim gave me a feeling of satisfaction which I had never felt before.

Thirty years later, I still enjoy that same feeling of satisfaction when I see students in my general chemistry class begin to grasp and understand the principles which are taught in the beginning semester of freshman chemistry. My feeling is no less intense when I explore with my graduate students the results of experiments which they are performing for their dissertations. I love teaching and having a university position that allows me to teach and do research makes mine an extremely satisfying career.

I have been very fortunate to have been honored by students and faculty at the University of South Carolina with two campuswide teaching awards: the AMOCO Outstanding Teaching Award and the Michael J. Mungo Undergraduate Teaching Award. I have been asked many times what makes an excellent teacher and why I think I am considered one. In my own case, I feel that I am a good teacher because of the feelings I described in the beginning of this article and because I truly enjoy interacting with people. However, these questions and my experience serving on the AMOCO Award Selection Committee subsequent to my winning the award have led me to reflect at length on the make-up of an excellent teacher.

Perhaps we can gain some insight by examining not the good teacher, but the opposite person. In The Aims of College Teaching (San Francisco: JosseyBass, 1983), Kenneth Eble suggests that there are seven deadly sins of college teaching: arrogance, dullness, rigidity, insensitivity, vanity, self-indulgence, and hypocrisy.

Actually, not only do these qualities cause problems for teachers, they will almost surely lead to the downfall of almost anyone in any profession. From the time that I read these "sins," I have endeavored to bring the opposite qualities to my teaching. In particular, I have tried to be enthusiastic, sensitive, and compassionate. I do not think that one can be taught to be an excellent teacher, but I do believe one can learn to be an excellent teacher. We all have different personalities and possess different skills and qualities. However, we are all intelligent enough to know what works for us and to alter our behavior so that we use our strong points to transmit knowledge to someone else in such a way that she or he can learn it. It is important that we understand that becoming a teacher is an undertaking that should persist throughout our entire career. We are never a finished product.

If I were asked what are the most important qualities that lead to a person becoming an excellent teacher (presupposing professional competence in the subject being taught), I would answer that a demonstration of caring about the student as an individual and a sensitivity to that person's feelings are most important. Once a student understands that there exists a true concern about whether he or she learns the material being presented, that student will work harder, and an excellent learning environment can be established.

Students want to be treated as individuals and yearn to know that the professor cares about each of them as a person. This will involve personal contact. Get to know the names of your students. In small classes this is not difficult. In large classes, it is still very important to know as many students' names as possible. The positive impact that a professor can make by calling a substantial number of students by name in a large class is enormous. Excellent teachers invent ways of learning names in large classes. This may involve attending recitations and/or laboratories where there are smaller numbers of students, if these are part of the course. It may involve setting up smaller study groups or requiring that a student visit you during office hours. However you do it, make every effort to get to know your students.

A final thought needs to be conveyed about the symbiosis between excellent teaching and research. The University of South Carolina is a comprehensive institution. Research is expected and required. However, in no way should this diminish the effort that we put forth to be excellent teachers in the classroom. We should remember that research is learning by asking questions. What is teaching? Isn't it the same thing? The ultimate goals are identical. Teaching and research should blend seamlessly. Active scholars should be passionate about their subjectboth in the research environment and in the classroom. While I have been a faculty member at the University, I have always had an active research program. My research has been funded externally by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Petroleum Research Fund, and the Environmental Protection Agency. I have published almost 150 refereed publications and have always directed a relatively large research group.

However, I am only one in many. Our University has a substantial number of excellent scholars who are also excellent teachers. These people are scattered throughout our departments and colleges. Seek them out. Find out what works for them and how you might adapt their teaching and research strategies to make you a better faculty member. That will ultimately result in something we all want -- a better University of South Carolina.