Describe_Your_Role,_Responsibilities_and_Relationships_in_the_Lifelong_Learning_Sector

As teachers, our role is to encourage the development and progression of all learners. This we do through recognising, valuing and responding to individual motivation, experience and aspirations. We use opportunities to highlight the potential for learning. This is to positively transform lives and contribute to effective citizenship. Also, we encourage learners to recognise and reflect on ways in which learning can empower them as individuals and make a difference in their communities. On issues of equality, diversity and inclusion, teachers are responsible for applying principles to evaluate and develop their own practice in promoting equality and inclusive learning and engaging with diversity. Establishing a purposeful learning environment where learners feel safe, secure, confident and valued is a responsibility for teachers. Another responsibility for teachers is to establish and maintain procedures with learners. These should promote and maintain appropriate behaviour, communication and respect for others, while challenging discriminatory behaviour and attitudes. This creates a motivating environment that encourages learners to reflect on, evaluate and make decisions about their learning. Providing learning activities that meet curriculum requirements and the needs of all learners is another responsibility for teachers. They have to use a range of effective and appropriate teaching and learning techniques to engage and motivate learners and encourage independence. Also, teachers have to implement learning activities that develop the skills and approaches of all learners and promote learner autonomy. Teachers will need to communicate effectively and appropriately using different forms of language and media. This includes written, oral and non-verbal communication and new and emerging technologies to enhance learning. They are also to use listening and questioning techniques appropriately and effectively in a range of learning contexts. Teachers have to ensure that knowledge of their own specialist area is current and appropriate to the teaching context. They are to provide opportunities for learners to understand how the specialist area relates to the wider social, economic and environmental context. To convey enthusiasm, teachers should implement appropriate and innovative ways to enthuse and motivate learners about their own specialist area. They are to apply appropriate strategies and theories of teaching and learning to their own specialist area. This is done by working with learners to address particular individual learning needs and overcome identified barriers to learning. It is the responsibility of teachers to plan coherent and inclusive learning programmes that meet learners’ needs and curriculum requirements. These should promote equality and engage with diversity effectively. Teaching sessions also should be planned to meet the aims and needs of individual learners and groups. It can be done by using a variety of resources, including new and emerging technologies. Plans that are prepared have to be flexible session plans that can be adjusted to the individual needs of learners. It will be important to include learners in the planning process. Teachers need to plan for opportunities for learner feedback to inform planning and practice. They are also to negotiate and record appropriate learning goals and strategies with learners. There are ways teachers can evaluate their own role and performance in planning learning. This they do by evaluating the success of planned learning activities. They can evaluate the effectiveness of their own contributions to planning as a member of a team. It is essential to use appropriate forms of assessment and evaluate their effectiveness in producing information useful to the teacher and the learner. They should devise, select, use and appraise assessment tools, including where appropriate, those that exploit new and emerging technologies. Also, they should develop, establish and promote peer and self assessment as a tool for learning and progression. On issues of equality and diversity in assessment, they need to apply appropriate methods of assessment fairly and effectively. On the concept of validity, reliability and sufficiency in assessment, teachers will have to apply appropriate assessment methods to produce valid, reliable and sufficient evidence. They are to design appropriate assessment activities for their own specialist area with regards to the principles of assessment design in relation to their own specialist area. It is important that they ensure that learners understand, are involved and share in responsibility for assessment of their learning. Also they will ensure that access to assessment is appropriate to learner need. Learners are to be referred to information on potential current and future learning opportunities and appropriate specialist support services. They are to be provided with appropriate information about the organisation and its facilities and encourage learners to use the organisation’s services, as appropriate. There are boundaries of a teacher’s role in supporting learners. Teachers should provide effective learning support, within the boundaries of the teaching role. In terms of progression and career opportunities within their own specialist area, teachers will need to provide general and current information about potential education, training, career opportunities in relation to their own specialist area.