What does a Teacher Trainer do?

Teacher Trainers are hired by educational institutions, from public schools to private universities and accrediting organizations. They help to assess teachers to ensure an ongoing high quality of instruction. Their assessments are one way you can ensure that instructors are continuing to develop their teaching skills. 

Because Teacher Trainers research and stay up-to-date on the latest educational theories and strategies, they can ensure that your instructors do as well. They are the behind-the-scenes insurance that your teachers are maximizing their classroom instruction time.  

Teacher Trainer skills and qualifications

To qualify for Teacher Trainer careers, candidates will have specific prerequisite skills and qualities. They’ll exhibit qualities such as:

• Proven experience in a teaching role: A Teacher Trainer with significant practical experience in the classroom setting will likely be familiar with the principles of teaching and be able to draw on their past experiences to mentor new teachers effectively. This can include experiences in handling a variety of teaching situations, student behaviors, and classroom dynamics.

• Strong organization skills: Teacher Trainer should be able to manage tasks, resources, and time efficiently. Ideally, being able to prioritize different tasks effectively and create clear and efficient lesson plans can allow them to systematically approach curriculum adaptation, materials development, and instructional management with ease.

• Well-developed interpersonal skills: Teacher Trainers  need to build a rapport with their students. One key way to do so is by listening effectively, communicating clearly, and giving constructive feedback. 

Teacher Trainer experience requirements

Teacher Trainers should have significant teaching experience themselves. This is important because to evaluate other teachers, they’ll need to understand what it is to be in that role. This also gives them more credibility with the instructors they’ll be evaluating. Experience teaching adult students can be particularly beneficial. 

Management experience may also be useful, since evaluating others’ job performance is one of their key responsibilities. 

Teacher Trainer education and training requirements

Teacher Trainers should typically have a master’s degree either in Education or in the field whose instructors they’ll be evaluating. If they’re evaluating teachers in K-12 public schools, teacher certification may be required.

They should also regularly attend workshops and training to stay up-to-date on the latest developments in education or the field they specialize in.

Job description samples for similar positions

Other job description samples are available if this Teacher Trainer one is not quite what you’re looking for.  Look into the following similar job descriptions:

• Training manager

• Training coordinator

• Corporate trainer

Teacher Trainer job description FAQs 

What affective qualities are most important for Teacher Trainers?

One of the most important qualities for Teacher Trainers is diplomacy. As with anyone in a position to evaluate others’ job performance, teacher trainers need to understand the art of tactful phrasing. They must know how to guide and suggest so that their evaluations can be taken in the spirit of improvement.

Another essential quality of successful Teacher Trainers is problem-solving. They’ll need to not only identify problems but suggest solutions.

Besides appropriate degrees, what sort of professional development activities should I look for on successful candidates’ resumes?

Teacher Trainers should regularly keep up with new developments in educational theory and practice.

Look for evidence of professional memberships in educational organizations. For instance, a Teacher Trainer who evaluates English teachers might be a member of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). 

Additionally, your successful candidate will regularly attend educational conferences that sponsor workshops on topics like recent developments in education and peer observation theory.

What are the advantages of employing a Teacher Trainer rather than having an administrator evaluate teachers?

Time and increased objectivity are the biggest advantages to hiring a Teacher Trainer. 

Administrators are often pulled in many directions. Evaluating each of your teachers is time-consuming and ongoing. Also, although most educators attempt to stay current on educational theory and developments, Teacher Trainers do this as part of their job. The time saved in research alone is significant. 

The perception of increased objectivity is another advantage to hiring a Teacher Trainer. The trainer is a pair of fresh eyes. Teachers might receive the suggestions of a Teacher Trainer with more affability than if someone they know and work with daily critiques their teaching.

Should the candidate I’m interviewing for Teacher Trainer be asked to give a teaching simulation in addition to the standard interviews?

Although this is a possibility, such a screening method is less useful than screening candidates on what they will actually do: evaluating instruction. One way to assess how well they are at that is to show them a pre-recorded teaching session and ask them how they would evaluate it and how they would present that evaluation to the instructor.