How can a teacher become the better version of oneself?

Abstract

In order to improve professionally, teachers need to question themselves throughout their teaching because one can get feedback from oneself as well instead of listening to others’ comments, suggestions or questions. On the other hand, getting feedback from colleagues and learners is invaluable for professional improvement. This study was conducted as a self-study by a novice teacher. It was aimed at exploring the teaching practice of the teacher by focusing on the motivation issue specifically. Two critical friends actively participated in the study whereas the students of the teacher were passively involved in this self-study, too. The data were collected through weekly diaries, Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale, Student Trust in Teacher Survey and written reflections of critical friends. Content analysis was utilized to analyses qualitative data and quantitative data were analyzed through SPSS, descriptive statistics were computed to reveal quantitative results. The findings showed that teacher self-efficacy is crucial to sustaining a productive teaching environment and a healthy teacher-student relationship. In addition, it was found out that teachers have various roles and responsibilities, which may sometimes overlap, both in and outside the classroom. Regarding the self-study methodology and critical friendship, it was concluded that conducting a self-study is extremely helpful for professional development of a teacher because evaluation and criticism allow teachers to question themselves in a critical manner and investigate what has been done and what could have been done for the betterment of their teaching and professional being.