STUDY OF THE QUALITIES OF A GOOD PROFESSOR

This paper studies the qualities desirable in a university professor from the student perspective. So, qualities such as proximity, interaction, etc. are neglected by the traditional evaluation methods and demanded by college students. In order to know what qualities are valued by the students of his university professor, we used a variation of a Thurstone method known as the Law of Categorical Judgment, specially, as rank-ordering method, combined with a qualitative methodology, namely brainstorming. From a sample of students of degree at the University Miguel Hernández, we could rank, using the theoretical review and discussion groups, desirable qualities in a College Professor by order of importance for the student. The indicators expressed were classified in 16 categories: Proximity to the student; Domain of matter; Expository clarity; Communication skills; Implication with the subject; Responsibility of the teacher; Respect for the student; Organization of the course; Teaching resources; Assessment of learning; Sympathy; Group management; Motivator; Teacher image; Opening and Cultural Competence. To obtain the scale values we used the rank-ordering method for large samples. A transformation to a scale 1-16 of the obtained results allows a better interpretation of the position that the categories occupies. We also compared the lists obtained in the four courses that comprise the degree to study the evolution in the qualities desired in a university professor. If the university is now more concerned than ever that their teachers make use of a student-centred teaching with a continuous formative evaluation or teaching and learning, we hope that such simple procedures as proposed become useful tools as sources of inspiration teachers beyond the mere transmission of knowledge.