Characteristics of an Expert Teacher/Coach

Running head: CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EXPERT TEACHER/COACH

Characteristics of an Expert Teacher/Coach

Janet Carl

Western Kentucky University

After a 20-year career in teaching/coaching the sport of golf, it has become apparent, to me, that there are many different skill levels of teachers/coaches. This paper is a research paper on important characteristics of the expert teacher/coach. I have, for many years, as a teacher of the game of golf, wondered what made the difference in being a good teacher and being an exceptional teacher. I, as a life long learner, have sought these answers over the course of many years and through many channels. Those channels being, but not limited to, research papers and book written on this topic, discussions with teachers in all phases of their career, my work as a mentor with beginning golf instructors, delving into the different methods of teaching a golf swing and through the eyes of students whom take lessons from “expert” teachers in the game of golf. Before we can begin to look at these five characteristics, it is important to establish the definition of an expert teacher/coach. This paper will present the five most important characteristics of an expert teacher/coach will posses, as it relates to a golfing environment: creative and innovative coaching methods, good communicators, continuous learners, sees coaching as an two-way interchange of energies and learning, and lastly understands how to ask questions in a way to direct the learner to self-mastery.

The first thing that needs to be established is the definition of an expert teacher/coach. The definition of an expert, according to the Free Dictionary by Farlex, an expert is “a person with a high degree of skill or knowledge in a certain subject. The definition of a teacher, by the same dictionary is “a person whose occupation is teaching others”. The definition of a coach is “a person who trains or directs athletes or athletic teams”. So if we put this together we...