In the modern system of higher education, the personal and professional development of a future specialist largely depends on the teaching staff. A teacher, in a certain sense, can be considered as an instrument with the help of which the personality of a future specialist is processed (cultivated). That is, a university teacher is built into a certain “technological process” for the production of personnel [1].

In the traditional educational process, the role of the teacher is to convey information declaratively. In the learning process using pedagogical innovations, the teacher performs the functions of an organizer of the cognitive process in which information is transmitted [2].

The main role of the teacher is teaching and learning. In this role, the teacher acts as a subject of organizing knowledge transfer and a subject of knowledge transfer, as the main component of the knowledge transfer system. This role correlates with those sections of the university’s program and normative documents that are related to the educational and methodological work of the teacher, and the improvement of the educational process. Already this first role is multifaceted, requiring the performance of a number of very complex functions.

However, before talking about them, it should immediately be said that in this very role of the teacher in a modern university there is an important change, a systemic transition. The current era urgently requires replacing the “knowledge-based” approach to teaching with a “competency-based” approach. If yesterday, as a normative requirement for his activities, a teacher could regard the requirement to transfer knowledge to students in the subject, in the discipline that is assigned to him by the department, and this was enough, now the teacher must perceive as a normative requirement the need to develop competencies in students and help them become competent, that is, achieve competence. That is, it turns out that even the first role, which seems obvious to us, is actually being transformed into a more complex role in the modern era. This is a role not only for the transfer of knowledge, but also for the formation of competencies/competencies. The formation of competencies presupposes the real connection of knowledge with the person who masters this knowledge, and, accordingly, the achievement by this person of the ability to competently use this knowledge in practical activities [3].

Today, the teacher acquires other roles and functions in the educational process, no less significant than in a traditional school, but much more complex. One of the conditions for the formation of a self-determining personality is the existence of an educational space that gives each student the opportunity to systematically develop the ability to consciously correlate “I want” and “I can.” Every teacher should create such a space for learning activity with the active participation of his students.

The specificity of pedagogical activity lies in the fact that it is an integral part of the learning process, which consists of teaching and learning (learning = teaching + learning). The learning process is the activity of students who have their own motives, their own goals and their own means. They strive for their own results, which may not coincide with the results expected by teachers. In the lesson space, individuals are collected whose activities need to be “brought to a common denominator,” to the norm of activity that the teacher knows and sets. Thus, there is some contradiction between the norm of activity that the teacher sees, plans and sets in a given lesson, and the norm of activity of each individual student.

Understanding what components make up educational activities, the teacher must effectively manage: goal setting of students, motivation and stimulation of their activities, the formation of skills, general and professional competencies, the creation of feedback “teacher” – “student”, the creation of problem situations, the comfortable well-being of all participants’ educational process.

For a professionally working teacher, it is obvious that all this should be in his field of vision, under his managerial influence.

For a teacher, due to the specifics of the object and subject of his work, the personal and business qualities of a teacher merge into a single psychological and pedagogical competence. A teacher’s understanding of the purpose, meaning, purpose of his work, his self-esteem affects not only his own professional self-determination and development, but also the culture, value orientations, moral standards, needs and abilities of the individual he teaches.

In modern literature devoted to the analysis of the qualities that are most significant in a teacher’s work, researchers, for various reasons, identify the following (Table 1):

Table 1

The most significant qualities in teaching work

The effectiveness of a teacher’s work, as many believe, depends on the personality of the teacher, on his personal qualities. The personality of the teacher is the main factor in the formation of a certain attitude in students towards the academic discipline, towards learning, and cognitive activity in general. Practice shows that students’ hobbies are determined by which teacher teaches the discipline [4].

Professional pedagogical activity of a teacher of a higher educational institution is carried out in the following areas:

— educational;

— methodological;

— scientific research;

— educational.

All these areas are closely interconnected, complement each other, and, in our opinion, cannot exist separately.

In professional activities for quality teaching, the teacher not only provides the student with educational material on the subject, but he is also responsible for helping in finding and analyzing the information found by the student. At the same time, the tasks are also: to jointly analyze the material, push different points of view, and also form the student’s personal opinion and idea. In addition, during the learning process it is necessary to create motivation for students. Unfortunately, students do not always understand why they are studying certain topics, and sometimes even the subjects themselves, so it is important to convey the practical benefits and value of the information received so that the learning process is effective [5].

Undoubtedly, the educational work of a university teacher in the structure of his professional pedagogical activity occupies a fundamental place: meeting with students during direct training, and using the potential of a specific academic discipline, the teacher teaches students to analyze all possible ways of solving professional problems, to find the most suitable option among them and apply a creative approach when analyzing various situations.

When preparing teaching material for the disciplines taught, the teacher is guided by the potential capabilities and needs of the student, and tries to make it as interesting and understandable as possible for students.

When implementing a research direction, the teacher not only personally engages in research, but also involves students in this process. Under his guidance, the student more consciously approaches the choice of research problems, engages in social design, and is more willing to take initiative [6].

A student who has entered a higher education institution has already formed his own system of views and opinions. It is necessary to select an approach to each student in order to preserve existing values, not try to change them, and be tolerant.

Direct contact between the teacher and the student forms such qualities as [5]:

— responsibility for one’s actions;

— ability to think creatively and critically;

— ability to give an objective assessment;

— patience with other people’s worldviews;

— communication skills in a team;

— independence;

— ability to adapt to changing situations, etc.

To summarize, it is worth saying that the role of the teacher in the educational process is significant. In the process of direct communication, the teacher can present educational material to students, taking into account their individual characteristics. Human contact or contact learning contributes to a successful learning process.