Student perceptions of effective and ineffective teachers: A thematic analysis of reflective self-assessments

This study explores the high-quality and low-quality teacher characteristics based on students’ own learning experiences. It is based on the input of seven college students who undertook a guided self-reflection with Ormrod’s (2023) “Self-Assessment 1.1.” The study determines key characteristics that are linked to high and low quality teaching. Five high-quality and five low-quality teacher characteristics were determined by the students, with specific examples. Thematic analysis identified that good teachers were most frequently described as caring, patient, interactive, fair, and well-prepared. In contrast, poor teachers were described as disorganized, emotionally unstable, unengaging, unfair, and unclear in their teaching. Although the sample was small and representative of the studied group only, the reflections yielded dense data regarding how students thought and felt about their teachers’ actions. The findings cannot be generalized beyond this sample due to the limited sample size (N=7). The findings highlight the importance of students’ perspectives in establishing good teaching. Given the exploratory nature of this small-scale study, the findings may offer preliminary suggestions for teacher education programs in similar contexts seeking to create teaching approaches focused on relationships, reflection, and students.