Teacher

====Enthusiasm====

[[File:Ashs-teacher-and-students.jpg|thumb|A teacher interacts with older students at a school in New Zealand.]]

It has been found that teachers who showed enthusiasm towards the course materials and students can create a positive learning experience.<ref>Teaching Patterns: a Pattern Language for Improving the Quality of Instruction in Higher Education Settings by Daren Olson. Page 96</ref> These teachers do not teach by rote but attempt to invigorate their teaching of the course materials every day.<ref>Motivated Student: Unlocking the Enthusiasm for Learning by Bob Sullo. Page 62</ref> Teachers who cover the same curriculum repeatedly may find it challenging to maintain their enthusiasm, lest their boredom with the content bore their students in turn. Enthusiastic teachers are rated higher by their students than teachers who did not show much enthusiasm for the course materials.<ref>Barkley, S., & Bianco, T. (2006). The Wonder of Wows. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 42(4), 148-151.</ref>
[[File:Mr. Shake Amargosa.jpg|thumb|A primary school teacher on a picnic with her students, [[Colombia]], 2014]]
Teachers that exhibit enthusiasm are more likely to have engaged, interested and energetic students who are curious about learning the subject matter. Recent research has found a correlation between teacher enthusiasm and students' intrinsic motivation to learn and vitality in the classroom.<ref name="auto">Patrick, B.C., Hisley, J. & Kempler, T. (2000) "What's Everybody so Excited about?": The Effects of Teacher Enthusiasm on Student Intrinsic Motivation and Vitality", The Journal of Experimental Education, Vol. 68, No. 3, pp. 217–236</ref> Controlled, experimental studies exploring intrinsic motivation of college students has shown that nonverbal expressions of enthusiasm, such as demonstrative gesturing, dramatic movements which are varied, and emotional facial expressions, result in college students reporting higher levels of intrinsic motivation to learn.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Brooks|first1=Douglas M.|title=The Teacher's Communicative Competence: The First Day of School|journal=Theory into Practice|date=1985|volume=24|issue=1|page=63|doi=10.1080/00405848509543148}}</ref> But even while a teacher's enthusiasm has been shown to improve motivation and increase task engagement, it does not necessarily improve learning outcomes or memory for the material.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Motz|first1=B. A.|last2=de Leeuw|first2=J. R.|last3=Carvalho|first3=P. F.|last4=Liang|first4=K. L.|last5=Goldstone|first5=R. L.|title=A dissociation between engagement and learning: Enthusiastic instructions fail to reliably improve performance on a memory task|journal=PLOS ONE|date=2017|volume=12|issue=7|page=e0181775|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0181775|pmid=28732087|pmc=5521834|bibcode=2017PLoSO..1281775M|doi-access=free}}</ref>

There are various mechanisms by which teacher enthusiasm may facilitate higher levels of intrinsic motivation.<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.in/dr-anil-k-rajvanshi/all-of-us-should-be-teachers-even-if-just-for-one-day/ All Of Us Should Be Teachers, Even If Just For One Day] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009112708/http://www.huffingtonpost.in/dr-anil-k-rajvanshi/all-of-us-should-be-teachers-even-if-just-for-one-day/ |date=9 October 2016 }}, Huffington Post, 27 September 2016</ref> 
Teacher enthusiasm may contribute to a classroom atmosphere of energy and enthusiasm which feeds student interest and excitement in learning the subject matter.<ref>Amatora, M. (1950). Teacher Personality: Its Influence on Pupils. Education, 71(3), 154-158</ref> Enthusiastic teachers may also lead to students becoming more self-determined in their own learning process. The concept of mere exposure indicates that the teacher's enthusiasm may contribute to the student's expectations about intrinsic motivation in the context of learning.  Also, enthusiasm may act as a "motivational embellishment", increasing a student's interest by the variety, novelty, and surprise of the enthusiastic teacher's presentation of the material. Finally, the concept of emotional contagion may also apply: students may become more intrinsically motivated by catching onto the enthusiasm and energy of the teacher.<ref name="auto"/>