Critical Soft Skills Every Teacher Needs (and Other Important Competencies)

Written by Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur

Importance of Teaching Skills

Teachers work in classrooms and other educational settings to help students learn and to make a positive impact on students' lives. Great teachers should be enthusiastic about the subjects that they teach and share that love of learning with their students. It is an incredibly important role in that they have the opportunity to help develop minds and influence lives. It can be incredibly rewarding to watch a student who has been struggling in a class or with a concept come to understand the material. Teachers can challenge students to expand their knowledge in new and interesting ways. In the process, teachers themselves are always learning something new. Over the course of a year in a classroom, teachers get to see young people grow and develop. They have the personal satisfaction of knowing that they were an integral part of that process.

Teachers need to have the hard skills necessary for their job, such as maintaining a great deal of knowledge about the particular subject area, as well as pedagogical knowledge about how to present material in an engaging manner and how to manage a classroom effectively. Teachers usually have had to obtain a bachelor's degree in education in order to obtain their teaching license and pass a certification test, such as the PRAXIS exam, the CBEST test, or the TEXES exam. In some cases, they have earned master's degrees. However, in addition to these educational teaching skills that they learn in the college classroom, there are critical soft skills every teacher needs to be a success in the classroom.

Some of these soft skills include having good communication skills, excelling at managing various projects, being creative, having patience, being able to lead others, possessing self-confidence, working well with others, having conflict-resolution skills, and being able to offer constructive feedback on student work.

What are Teaching Skills?

Teachers are expected to fill a great many roles in the classroom. While their primary job is to impart subject knowledge to their students and to help cultivate the minds of the students in their care, their day-to-day responsibilities encompass much more than that.

In the course of a given day, a teacher may need to:

• Create and implement lesson plans
• Obtain any needed materials for a lesson and make sure students have the necessary tools to complete their lessons
• Prepare any audio-visual and technological supplements that students might use
• Manage transitions in the classroom, such as the start of the day, going to other classrooms, and going to lunch or recess
• Supervise any assistant teachers assigned to their classroom
• Encourage students in their work and keep students on task
• Provide appropriate feedback to students on their work
• Communicate with parents or caregivers
• Collaborate with other teachers
• Manage any behavioral issues that students might have
• Assist in conflict resolution between students
• Attend any required school meetings

With so many tasks and responsibilities, teachers need a variety of teaching skills in their personal and professional toolbox to be able to handle whatever happens on a given day. They need to be both proactive and reactive. To do this, they need the hard teaching skills that they were taught in college that enable them to educate their students and share their love of learning. They also need soft skills such as communication and time management to be able to manage their classrooms and work together with other teachers, staff, administration, as well as parents and caregivers to create a positive learning environment for students.

These teaching skills are beneficial for both the teachers themselves and the students that they instruct. Teachers without the teaching skills necessary to do their job well will soon find themselves overwhelmed and stressed out. In addition, one would not want teachers who do not have the knowledge of the subject material to be teaching. Parents and guardians, as well as the students, rightfully expect that math teachers would have a solid understanding of mathematical concepts as well as the pedagogical knowledge needed to present and explain those concepts to others.

By the same token, English teachers should understand and use correct grammar correctly at all times, and they be able to read and write at a high level of competency. The same holds true for all other subjects. Students can only learn well from teachers who have the knowledge needed to teach well.

What are Soft Skills?

Soft skills are interpersonal skills that are not tied to any one job or profession. Instead, they are qualities that a person possesses that they carry with them and that they are able to use in any personal or professional situation that they might find themselves in.

Hard skills, on the other hand, tend to be job-specific knowledge that may or may not be transferable to other situations. Such knowledge might include technological skill related to a particular software program used in a given workplace. Another example is the subject knowledge that a teacher is expected to possess in order to then teach that material to others.

Some soft skills are an inherent part of an individual's personality. For example, some people are simply better at communicating than others. Others have better time management skills. Still others might be natural peacemakers and excel at conflict resolution.

Within a workplace, employers often look for candidates to possess a wide variety of soft skills such as exhibiting a willingness to learn and an ability to thrive in a team environment. Soft skills allow employees to grow in their jobs and to adapt to new situations and challenges. It also helps employees work better with other employees, creating a more positive work environment. It also allows employees to move more easily between positions, providing both the employee and the employer with more value and allowing an employee to stay in the workplace on a long-term basis.

But even if a given person is not naturally prone to certain interpersonal characteristics, in most cases soft skills can be learned and acquired. The main way to do this is by observing and modeling others who have strong interpersonal soft skills in the area in which a person needs to improve. There are often trainings available as part of professional development programs within a workplace as well as programs individuals can take on their own.

Someone struggling with written communication might want to take a training to help improve their understanding of grammar and paragraph construction. An individual who has difficulty with verbal communication might take a public speaking class or a workshop on helping resolve conflicts. If someone has a hard time with time management, they can take a class that helps them develop the ability to prioritize and use time well. There are many opportunities to improve interpersonal soft skills that can help throughout life in both the home and workplace.

Examples of Soft Skills

Soft skills cover a wide variety of traits and abilities. Some of these include the following.

Communication

Both verbal and written communication are part of this soft skill, but the skill goes beyond the ability to write and speak clearly and correctly. Communication also includes the ability to convey a message in an appropriate way so that the listener can understand and be open to the message.

Problem-Solving

Life and work are full of challenges. There are going to be problems that come up in the course of every day. These may include times when events do not happen as planned, when someone else doesn't do what they were supposed to, when technology doesn't work as expected, or when expectations are not met for whatever reason. Problem-solving allows an individual to move beyond the challenge, to develop a different course of action, and meet the needs of the day in an alternate way.

Organization

When someone is organized, they are able to find what they need when they need it. This can include both the organization of physical spaces as well as digital environments. This is key both at home and at work.

Time Management

Time management skills enable a person to get done what needs to be done in a given day, while allowing for set times for relaxation. It includes prioritizing tasks so that the most important needs are met first. It means keeping tracking of appointments and when things should happen throughout the day. It can also include the use of analog and digital calendars and alarms to help remind the user of appointments and tasks that need to happen.

Adaptability

Life is always changing. It is important to be able to adjust to change, whether those are small changes such as a change in the time of an appointment, or large changes, such as a change of job or moving to a new area.

Ability to Accept Criticism

No one enjoys being criticized but being able to accept negative feedback on one's work and learn from it is an important soft skill. Constructive criticism should not be taken as a personal attack. Instead, it can be an opportunity to adjust one's work and improve.

Teamwork

Both at home and work, people need to live and work with other people. Even though some people work better independently, it is vital to be able to work well with others when needed. This often requires good communication and a willingness to share responsibilities and learn from others.

Critical Soft Skills Every Teacher Needs (And Other Important Competencies)

Within a classroom or other educational environment, teachers have the challenge of working with students, other teachers, staff, administration, parents, and other caregivers. They also need to meet the needs of the classroom itself and fulfill the requirements of their jobs. There are critical soft skills every teacher needs (and other important competencies) in order to do their job well.

Motivating Students

Students do not always want to learn. It can be hard for them to see the relevance of their schoolwork to real life. They may be struggling with issues outside of school in their families or with their friends that make it hard for them to focus. They may have learning challenges that make the actual learning of the work more difficult.

Teachers need to be able to motivate students, to encourage them to learn, and to bring out the best in them. They need to present the material in an engaging manner and assign projects that interest the students. They also need to relate to their students on a personal basis, so that they can help them focus on their schoolwork even when outside challenges, like mental health issues, are vying for their attention.

Conflict Resolution

Whenever a number of people are in the same place together, there is going to be some level of conflict. Students are not always going to get along with each other, and bullying in the classroom is an issue most teachers will face. Teachers may have differing opinions on how best to present material or deal with a behavioral issue in class. Parents and teachers may disagree on how to teach a student or what the expectations should be for a given student.

It is important for teachers to be able to deal with conflict in a peaceful, constructive manner. They should work to come up with collaborative solutions where all involved parties feel as if they have had at least some of their needs and goals met as opposed to win/lose scenarios. It can also be helpful to give those involved a cooling-off period to help diffuse brewing conflicts over temporary problems.

Providing Feedback on Student Work

Teachers regularly need to provide feedback to their students as well as parents and other caregivers. This feedback is necessary for students and their families to know how well the student is doing in the classroom and what extra help might be needed to help support the student. It is important that teachers are able to provide this feedback in a clear manner, including both positive comments and areas where improvement is needed. It should be specific, offering particular areas where more work is needed, rather than a generic broad statement that leaves students and their families unsure how to move forward.

This feedback should be given in such a way that it encourages the student to persevere rather than disheartens them, causing them to not want to try in their schoolwork because it seems futile. Good communication skills are essential for providing feedback well.

Examples of Soft Skills for Education

There are additional soft skills for education that are important for teachers to possess to succeed in the classroom.

Ability to Manage Multiple Projects

Project management skills are most often associated with the corporate world, but teachers need to have these skills as well. Teachers are responsible for many tasks during the day. They need to keep track of various lessons, assignments, materials, and the learning progress of multiple students. While some of these, such as a one-time lesson on a particular topic, take a relatively short amount of time and may require only minimal management. Others, such as supervising a semester-long project, require a great deal of planning and breaking down large tasks into smaller parts.

Creativity

Teachers also need creativity to succeed in the classroom. Depending on the grade level and subjects they are teaching, they may need creative skills in the traditional sense of being able to create art projects or play music. Creativity, however, can be understood in a broader sense. It takes creativity to come up with exciting lesson plans that will keep students engaged with the work. It can be challenge to meet the different needs of the variety of students in a classroom. What works for one student may not work for another. Creativity allows a teacher to adapt lessons to reach various students where they are.

Self-Confidence

It is important for teachers to have self-confidence in their ability to do their job well. They need to be confident enough to not beat themselves up when they have a bad day or make a mistake. Self-confidence is also necessary to engage in the public speaking that is inherent in being a teacher.

Self-confidence is a trait that is often developed early in life, but it is possible to improve one's confidence. A key way to do that is to be prepared. College education programs can provide teachers with the hard skills that they need to teach, such as knowing their subject matter and different ways to present materials to appeal to different learners. But teachers can also benefit from ongoing preparation. When they do the work necessary to prepare for the day's lessons, being sure to have all the materials ready and to have some alternate plans available in case circumstances change, they can be more confident stepping into the classroom.

Students pick up on a teacher's confidence or lack thereof. A self-confident teacher is a positive role model who helps their students be more confident in their schoolwork and lives as well.

Empathy

Empathy means trying to understand why the other person is acting or feeling the way that they are. Teachers need empathy when dealing with both students and teachers. Often, circumstances in family life can impact a student's behavior and academic performance. Students may also be struggling with learning challenges or interpersonal issues with other students that make learning in the classroom difficult. Some populations, such as LGBTQ+ students, students with autism, and students with disabilities, can all do with a bit more empathy, and taking the time to speak with the student as well as to observe social interactions in the classroom can go a long way toward helping the teacher understand what is going on in a student's life. With this understanding, the teacher is better able to support the student and help them with their academics.