Perceptions From Intercultural Students at Tiffany Park Elementary of an Effective Teacher

Abstract

Students from around the world are continuing to fill the desk chairs of classrooms in America. These students come in with expectations of how they believe the classroom will operate and how their teacher will teach. Teachers in these schools will know how to better meet the needs of these students when they understand the expectations of that student. A case study was done to see if there was a difference between the types of teachers working in different cultures. Did the student respond better to one teacher opposed to the other? I interviewed two intercultural students at Tiffany Park Elementary, asking them to define what a “good teacher” is. These students were too young to remember much about the school they attended overseas which made it difficult to get a clear picture of where they came from. However, I concluded two things from this research: 1. Each student had things that they expected a good teacher would do or qualities they would possess. Although there were a few differences in their definitions which made that student unique, ultimately what they wanted out of their teacher was similar; a relationship and expectations in the classroom. 2. Although similar expectations surfaced in the interview, every student is different and has different needs. It is so important for teachers to find out the expectations of their cross cultural students, in order to effectively teach. They can do this by spending time with each student to understand what their education experience was like overseas.