Characteristics of good mathematics lecturers

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This study aims to determine the characteristics of good mathematics lecturers based on students’ and lecturers’ perspectives and compare the characteristics of good lecturers/ teachers which are in accordance with the findings of some previous studies and theories. This study is a survey study. The Data were collected through questionnaires and interviews. The population consists of some mathematics students from the first level through the third level and some mathematics education lecturers of a private university in West Java. Qualitative analysis was undertaken to examine the results of questionnaires and interviews. The finding shows that the characteristic of good mathematics lecturers is inspiring. They can inspire other mathematics lecturers and educators in general. Based on the student's and lecturers’ perspectives, some characteristics of good mathematics lecturers are mastering the materials well, being on time, being objective, understanding the students, presenting the materials clearly, and being disciplined.

1. Characteristics of good mathematics
lecturers based on students and lecturers
Cite as: AIP Conference Proceedings 1848, 040004 (2017); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4983942
Published Online: 30 May 2017
Trusti Hapsari, Dian Permana Putri and Jajo Firman Raharjo
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AIP Conference Proceedings 1848, 040004 (2017); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4983942 1848, 040004
© 2017 Author(s).

2. Characteristics of good mathematics lecturers based on
students and lecturers perspectives
Trusti Hapsari1,a), Dian Permana Putri2, and Jajo Firman Raharjo3
1,2,3
Mathematics Education, University of Swadaya Gunung Jati Cirebon Jl. Perjuangan, No. 1 Cirebon Indonesia
a)
hapsaritrusti@gmail.com
Abstract. This study aims to determine the characteristics of good mathematics lecturers based on students’ and
lecturers’ perspectivesand compare the characteristics of good lecturers/ teachers which are in accordance with the
findings of some previous studies and the theories. This study is survey study. The Data were collected through
questionnaires and interview. The population consists of some mathematics students from the first level through the third
level and some mathematics education lecturers of a private university in West Java. Qualitative analysis was undertaken
to examine the results of questionnaires and interviews.The finding shows that the characteristic of good mathematics
lecturers is inspiring. They can inspire other mathematics lecturers and educators in general. Based on the students and
lecturers’ perspective, some characteristics of good mathematics lecturers are mastering the materials well, being on time,
being objective, understanding the students, presenting the materials with clearly, and being disciplined. Some other
characteristic mentioned are: teaching eagerly, being unhurried, being friendly, giving exemplary and preparing the
lesson well. These characteristics are not much different from the characteristics described by some previous researchers
and some theories of experts, i.e. mastering the subject matters well, pedagogic, and work wholeheartedly.
INTRODUCTION
The success of the learning process is determined by the role of an instructor. Instructors (in this case the
teachers/lecturers) bring their own power in the classroom. Fennema and Franke [1] state if a teacher has a
conceptual understanding of mathematics, it will affect the class with a positive path. Kahan et al. [2] argue that the
researchers concluded that students want to learn more about the mathematics if they know the math teacher well.
Furthermore, Fennema and Frankle [1] add that if the teacher does not know how to translate abstractions into a
form that makes math students can connect with the things they already know, the students will not learn with
understanding. Strong [3] expressed that a positive or negative competence shown by the majority of educators
determines their effectiveness in the classroom and ultimately have an impact on learners' achievements.
The finding of Hapsari’s study [1] revealed that the level of mastery of mathematics and pedagogical content of
student teachers’ is low. The way of student teachers learn math is by memorizing formulas without studying
conceptually and not developing mathematical thinking. Based on students’ perspective, this happens because the
student teachers are lazy, they use boring learning strategy, they do not care whether the students understand the
subject matters taught, they use unclear teaching method, they lack references, the learning situation is not
conducive and they do not give more motivation to the students. Also, the student teachers get difficulties in
mastering the pedagogical content. This difficulty is due to the student teachers’ lack of inspiring lecturers. Inspiring
lecturers/teachers here means that the lecturers/teachers who are able to teach well. Most lecturers or teachers do not
care whether the students or university students understand to the subject matters taught or not. They also lack
references, focus on conventional methods, have a few motivations, and are lazy to read and study more. This shows
that the student teachers admit that the lecturers or the teachers play an important role in making the learners
(students) successful. Based on the students’ perspective, the majority of the teachers are not able to success the
students. It is implicitly meant that the students want a lot of improvement in the teachers or lecturers’ self.
Mathematics, Science, and Computer Science Education (MSCEIS 2016)
AIP Conf. Proc. 1848, 040004-1–040004-6; doi: 10.1063/1.4983942
Published by AIP Publishing. 978-0-7354-1520-1/$30.00
040004-1

3. Struthers [4] states that effective learning comes from: really desiring students to be successful, enthusiast, well
preparation, mastering the materials well, good at conveying the materials (easy to understand), connecting the
subject matter with the topic of the past and the future, applying, encouraging students to pose the questions actively
in or outside of the classroom during working hours. This is supported by Tan [5[ which states that a good lecturer is
a lecturer who is able to do the learning process well. It means that lecturers should be able to convey ideas simply
and clearly, prepare the subject matters as well as possible, conduct good communication that can stimulate two
ways communication. In addition, lecturers should be able to engage students to participate in the classroom. A good
lecturer is also able to attract the students’ attention, funny, dynamic, cheerful and confident. Lecturers also must
have innovative measures and eager to teach. Being eager to teach motivates the lecturers to strive to teach as
effective as possible and ensures that the students learn well. It is proved by the students’ response that the majority
of them appreciate eager lecturers.
During this time, many efforts are made to describe the quality of good educators by enlisting competence;
something that seems highly supported by policy makers [6]This also happens in Indonesia. In Indonesia,
competency list is more commonly known as certification for the teachers. However, there are doubts about the
validity, reliability and practicality of the list as stated by Barnett [7]. In this case, it needs more than a depiction of a
list of competencies. It is important to support the increased quality of educators who reviewed from the standpoint
of theory, educators, and students. Furthermore, the researcher considers necessary to conduct a study on the criteria
of good mathematics lecturer in the perspective of students and lecturers since there is limited number of study
which researches that kind of field. Whereas there are a lot of theories and experts’ perspectives regarding
characteristics of good lecturers. It is expected that the results of this study are not only used by the lecturers in the
universities, but they are also used by the teachers at school.
METHODS
The method used in this study is a survey method. The study was preceded by researching the views of students
and lecturers about the characteristics of the good lecturers through questionnaires. To obtain more data, interview
was conducted to the samples (students and lecturers). The study was conducted at a private university of West Java.
The samples are math education student teachers from the first level through the third level and mathematics
education lecturers. The number of student teachers is 493 and the number of lecturers is 16. The samples were
selected randomly, meaning that the ones selected agree to participate in the study. In addition, the instruments used
are in the form of questionnaire and interview.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Characteristics of Good Mathematics Lecturers based on Theory Perspective
Ristekdikti [8] explores that some competencies that must be owned by the lecturers are pedagogical
competence, personal competence, social competence, and professional competence. Pedagogical competence refers
to the ability in teaching and learning. Social competence refers to the ability to communicate both written and oral.
Professional competence refers to the ability of the occupied areas of science. Personal competence refers to the
ability of attitudes and actions in various situations and conditions. This competence is required in performing the
tasks of education, research, and community service.
Walker’s [9] results of study reveal that twelve characteristics of effective lecturers based on student teachers
and lecturers’ perspective are: having readiness, having a positive attitude, having high expectations, being creative,
being fair, showing a personal touch, developing a sense of belonging, caring, having a sense of humor, appreciating
students, forgiving, admitting mistakes/errors. Further, Walker states that effective teachers are teachers who are
successful in helping students learn. Effective teachers start learning on-time and prepare the lesson well. A positive
attitude refers to seeing the positive side of every situation, having an optimistic attitude about learning and about
the students. High expectations refer to the act which does not set limits on their students and believe all students
could be successful. Developing a sense of belonging is to make students feel comfortable, welcomed and
comfortable in the classroom.
Murray’s [10] study found that the characteristics of good lecturers based on students' views starting from higher
frequency to the lower frequency: explaining very well (81%), providing assistance for each individual (53%),
having positive characteristics (pleasant, kind, caring) (40% ), creating a safe learning environment (students feel
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4. free to ask, the teacher does not make students down) (24%), understanding the students as individuals (24%), being
able to control the classroom (18%), associating mathematics with everyday life (16 %), being unhurried (14%),
knowing how to teach mathematics (9%). Based on the students’ perspective, the reason of why each of them needs
assistance from the teacher is to enable them to comprehend the subject matters and concepts well. Social and
emotional factors in teaching are also important for the students. Forty percent of students reported that good
mathematics teachers have positive characteristics such as caring, respect, and patience. Good teachers are well
appreciated for who they are and how they act. Effective teaching combines the essence of good classroom
management, organization, effective planning, and personal characteristics of teachers.
Citing the winner of good teacher program of Waterloo University, Struthers [4] argues that characteristics of
good mathematics lecturers are: being appreciated by the students and colleagues; spending a lot of time to prepare
for the lecture; mastering math and understanding the students; giving impressive lectures; preparing the subject
matters well, being precise, being wonderful, being organized; motivating students to study harder; being able to
convey the beauty and elegance of mathematics. The other characteristics are teaching eagerly and affectionately,
making the material easy to understand, giving a very friendly atmosphere, being happy and enthusiastic to teach
mathematics, ensuring that students truly understand the subject matters taught, having incredible working ethic,
having very wide and deep knowledge regarding the subject matters.
Some Characteristics of Good MathematicsLecturers based on Students and Lecturers
Perspective
Table 1. Some characteristics of good mathematics lecturers based on students’ perspective
No. Characteristic f(%)
1. On time 389 (78,90)
2. Objective 240 (48,68)
3. Delivering the materials clearly 204 (41,38)
4. Giving motivation to the students 185 (37,52)
5. Not stingy in giving scores 164 (33,26) (0733,26)
6. Professional 158 (32,05)
7. Giving the tasks based on the students’ capacity 144 (29,21)
8. Making the lesson interesting 143 (29,01)
9. Giving the chance to pose some questions 138 (27,99)
10. Friendly 135 (27,38)
11. Understanding the students 131 (26,57)
12. Being serious to teach 92 (18,66)
13. Unhurried 90 (18,26)
14. Mastering the subject matters 75 (15,21)
15. Preparing the lesson well 74 (15,01)
Note:
f : Number of students who wrote these characteristics
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5. The following Table 2 illustrates some characteristics of good mathematics lecturers based on the lecturers’ perspective
recorded from questionnaires filled out by the lecturers of mathematics education.
Table 2. Some Characteristics of Good Mathematics Lecturers based on Lecturers’ Perspective
No. Characteristic of good math lecturer f(%)
1. Mastering the subject matters 5 (31,25)
2. Coming to school/classroom on time (based on the schedule time) 4 (25)
3. Putting on polite and neat clothes 4 (25)
4. Understanding the students’ behaviour in an attempt to 3 (18,75)
5. Understanding no stupid students. There is only low, middle, and high student 3 (18,75)
6. Mastering the classroom 3 (18,75)
7. Being open to the critics 3 (18,75)
8. Make students understand 3 (18,75)
9. Being cooperative and understand each other 2 (12,5)
10. Can differentiate between educating and teaching 2 (12,5)
11. Up dating information, challenging and needed 2 (12,5)
12. Preparing the learning media well 2 (12,5)
13. Being discipline 2 (12,5)
14. Being objective in assessing students’ work 2 (12,5)
15. Showing good model 2 (12,5)
Students and lecturers responses towards some characteristics of good mathematics lecturer are not quite different.
Students and lecturers mentioned some characteristics of good lecturers are: mastering the subject matters well, being
on-time, being objective, understanding the students, presenting the material clearly, and being disciplined.
On-Time
Arriving at school or entering to the class on time is considered as the most important criteria of good lecturers.
The results of this questionnaire are also compared to the results of interview. The students stated that being on time
is important to ensure a conducive learning atmosphere and create efficient and effective learning process in the
classroom. This is in accordance with the opinion of Walker [9] “an effective teacher begins the learning process on
time and prepares the lesson well.
Based on the lecturers’ perspective, being at school on time (based on the schedule time) becomes the second
prominent characteristic of good lecturers. Also, based on the lecturers’ perspective, arriving on time is an important
factor because it greatly affects the sustainability of the learning process.
When the lecturers come late, the students’ mood to learn will be affected and their spirit will be decreased
because of waiting in long time. Besides, learning process was also ineffective because the learning time is reduced.
Being on time also reflects the lecturers’ discipline and readiness. This is in line with one of the best lecturers of
Waterloo University [4] He states that “good mathematics lecturers spend a lot of time to prepare a lecture; give
impressive lectures; prepare the lesson precisely/carefully, and organize the classroom beautifully. The lecturers also
mention that discipline is in the thirteenth row of good lecturer characteristic. Discipline is wider than coming to
school on time (based on the schedule time). Discipline is regarding to planning, implementation, and assessment of
learning outcomes.
Objective
Based on the students’ perspective, objective is the second prominent characteristic of good mathematics
lecturers. Objective includes giving students the same opportunities and rights. Objectiveness makes students feel
the same as each other. Objective lecturers motivate students to study harder. Students are aware that if they want to
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6. get good scores, they must learn eagerly. Objectiveness also encourages students to compete objectively. Walker [9]
also emphasizes objectiveness / justice for an effective teacher.
Mastering the subject matter
Based on the lecturers’ perspective, mastering the subject matters has been the most prominent characteristic of
good mathematics lecturers. The lecturers state that when the teachers/lecturers do not master the material, the
learning process does not run well and the students do not pay attention to what they teach. Additionally, the
lecturers do not focus on the students. In the interview, the lecturers stated that mastering the subject matters is the
most crucial characteristic of being good lecturers. This is in accordance with Fennema and Franke [1] statement “if
a teacher has a conceptual understanding of mathematics, it will affect the class with a positive path. Kahanet al. [2]
argue that the researchers concluded that students want to learn mathematics more if their teachers understand the
math more.
Delivering the subject matters clearly
Based on the students’ perspective, delivering the subject matters clearly is the third prominent characteristic of
good mathematics lecturers. In addition, the lecturers also mention that delivering materials clearly is one of
characteristics of good mathematics lecturers. The lecturers believe that to be able to explain the subject matters
clearly, the teachers/lecturers need to master the subject matters and pedagogical competence deeply. These
characteristics are consistent with the results of Murray’s [10] study “81% of students said that presenting the
materials clearly is the characteristic of good math lecturers.
Delivering the subject matters clearly is also related to another characteristic of good math lecturer mentioned by
students and lecturers; that is understanding students. During the learning process, the lecturer needs to consider the
degree of readiness and students’ interest. In addition, it is also associated with another characteristic mentioned by
the students, that is giving the tasks based on the students’ ability. Students feel depressed and stressed when being
given a task that is beyond their capacity. Giving some tasks which match the students’ ability is able to motivate
Giving motivation to the students
Based on the students’ perspective, motivating students to learn mathematics is another characteristic of good
math lecturer. In this case, students will be eager to receive the lessons. Students wish some motivation from the
lecturers/teachers in every learning process. The motivation can be encouraging students to be enthusiastic in
learning. It also could be providing some objectives of the study in each meeting. For example, a certain subject
matter being taught can be applied to a profession. Based on the students’ perspective, motivation could be in the
form of giving good score to the students. Students feel discouraged when the lecturers give them low score. Also,
the lecturers must show their enthusiasm in teaching, because the enthusiasm will give good impact on the students.
Struthers [4] also stated enthusiasm is a very crucial characteristic in doing effective learning process.
Professional
Another characteristic of good math lecturer is being professional. Professional attitude in this case is defined as
an attitude of doing jobs as well as possible and having high competence. Professional lecturers are capable of doing
a good job. Ristekdikti [8] states that some competencies that must be owned by professional lecturers are
pedagogical competence, personal competence, social competence, and professional competence.
CONCLUSIONS
Based on the students and lecturers’ perspective, some characteristics of good mathematics lecturers are
mastering the materials well, being on time, being objective, understanding the students, presenting the materials
with clearly, and being disciplined. Some other characteristic mentioned are: teaching eagerly, being unhurried,
being friendly, giving exemplary and preparing the lesson well. These characteristics are not quite different from the
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7. characteristics described by some findings of previous studies and the theories from some experts, i.e. mastering the
materials and pedagogic well and working wholeheartedly. Additionally, the lecturers realize that they have not
eagerly tried to be a good lecturer. They admitted that they still do not prepare the lesson well, do not understand the
students well, and do not show their totality in teaching and educating. They also realize that being a good lecturer is
not easy. Working hard, being serious, improving capacity, and working wholeheartedly are really needed to be a
good lecturer.
REFERENCES
1. T. Hapsari, Tingkat Penguasaan Matematika dan Konten Pedagogik (Pedagogical Content Knowledge) Calon
Guru Matematika (Studi Kasus pada Mahasiswa PPL Sebuah Universitas Swasta di Jawa Barat). Thesis
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia. (2013).
2. E.B. Turnuklu, & S. Yesildere, Journal IUMPST. Vol 1. 1-13, (2007).
3. J.H. Stronge, Qualities of Effective Teachers. 2nd editions, Association for Supervision & Curriculum
Development.( USA, 2007)
4. C. Struthers, Great University Math Teaching. (University of Waterloo, Canada, 2011).
5. V. Tan, 7 Habits of the Highly Successful (Math) Tutor, Ideas on Teaching. ( National University of Singapore,
Singapore, 2005).
6. B. J., Becker, M. M.,Kennedy, S. Hundersmarck, Hypothesis about ‘quality’: A decade of debates. Paper,
Presented on the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association. (2003).
7. F. A.J. Korthagen, Teaching &teacher education, 20. 77-92, (2004).
8. Ristekdikti. Naskah Akademik Buku Pedoman Akademi Serdos Terintegrasi. (Jakarta, 2016)
9. Walker, Education Horizons, 61-68, (2008).
10. Murray, AMT 67 (4). 14-21, (2011).
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