Ptlls_Assignment_1.1

OCR Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector Level 3 Assignment 1 –Roles and Responsibilities of a Teacher Assignment Brief: Produce a written report (500 words approx) that describes the role and responsibilities of a teacher within an organisation and the possible boundaries of the teaching role. Where possible include real-life examples of your own experiences and knowledge. Refer to the teaching and learning cycle and the 6 domains contained within the prfessional standards for teachers, tutors and trainers in the life long learning sector and to your notes. How do/might these fit into teachers’ contractual obligations' Refer to the assessment criteria 1.1, 1.2 and knowledge a, b, c,d . Roles and Responsibilities of a Teacher Within this assignment i will explain what i believe the roles and responsibilities of a teacher within an organisation and possible boundaries which i may come up against. Where possible I will link it to my own personal experiences and knowledge. I will attempt to describe teaching roles both related and non related, i will also make references to the 6 domains contained within the professional standards for teachers, tutors and trainers in the life long learning sector and also to the teaching and learning cycle. I believe further education teaching can be split into two sections, a teachers role and the teacher related roles. From my experience teaching roles will be taken on by Assessors and Tutors where as the teacher related roles will mainly be handled by administration staff, and senior management. A teachers role can be referred to as “a role which contains limitied teaching responsibilities and a role which represents the full range of responsibilities performed by those who are expected to attain the status of a qualified teacher” – New overarching professional standards for teachers, tutors and trainers in the life long learning sector handout (NOPS) A teaching related role is to me to be referred to as “ supporting other teachers and trainers through coaching, supporting learning, or management” – NOPS. In my opinion the responsibility of a teacher/tutor is to nurture any person from someone who knows nothing about the trade and turning them into someone who has both the practical and theoretical skills to be a bricklayer with a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) level 3 at the end of their apprenticeship. But the responsibility of staff who occupy the teacher related role will be taking care of things like filing, ensuring paperwork is upto date and correct, and making sure there are no complications with regards to placements/funding for learners. Entry Requirements A bricklayer will be required to work with large quantities of diverse materials and interpret a range of information sources including written specifications and technical drawings. Therefore, during the selection process you may be required to undertake an initial assessment in Numeracy and an initial assessment in Literacy. To be accepted onto an Apprenticeship programme you will probably have to achieve: • Numeracy Level 1, and Literacy Level 1 You will also be required to attend an interview, during which your suitability, commitment and interest will be determined. You should bring with you to the interview any evidence you have of previous academic achievement. You may also wish to present other documentation that supports your application. This can include evidence of other activities that you have participated in, sports, hobbies, work experience etc. To me an initial assessment is essential as you can then see what different levels your learners may be at and you can hopefully you can then get a better idea as to what stage you should start your teachings from, These assessments should be continuous throughout the apprenticeship so you can check that learners are progressing in the areas that they should be. If not the correct measures can then be put into place to help them catch up with others. I understand that every teacher/tutor has contractual obligations to abide by with regards to whatever programme they are teaching, these will be a guideline from your employer but also you have a rather strict code to work to from awarding bodies such as Constructive Awards Alliance (CAA) or City and Guilds (C&G). Every tutor/teacher will have the same contractual obligations to abide from with these but they may vary with your employer as everyone likes to put there own mark on apprenticeships. The teacher related roles are to include things like checking all documentation and information on students is correct and upto date, ensuring students are registered with the correct learning bodies so there are no complications when starting/completing apprenticeships. Providing statistics/schedules of a learners attendance, achievements, and time keeping. But in my opinion many of the teacher related roles can be undertook by either the teacher/tutor or admin staff as there is not a set rule book as to who can do what. Further to this there is the contractual obligation of completing regular assessments and reviews with both learner and employer as it is imperitive the employer knows what stage a learner is at. I shall now in my own opinion try to explain the roles and responsibilities by reading and extracting information from my NOPS handout. I believe the key purpose of being a teacher is to be able to create a safe, fun yet hardworking environment for students thus giving all students the same opportunities to excel in the trade as i have. Domain number 1 in NOPS covers “ Professional values and practice” this explains the values which teachers in the lifelong learning sector should meet or exceed in to achieve their responsibility to me the following value shows how a teacher has the responsibility to ensure all learners are learning as a whole thus ensuring all are learning at the same pace knowing all they need to know to succeed, i believe the following statement from NOPS explains this “ Encourage the development and progression of all learners through recognising, valuing and responding to individual motivation, experience and aspirations”. Domain number 2 in NOPS covers “learning and teaching” to me there are so many different responsibilities with regards to learning and teaching for example progression, development, goals and aspirations of all which will endeavour to enhance the experiences they bring to learning, i believe the following statement from NOPS explains this “Create a motivating environment which encourages learners to reflect on, evaluate and make decisions about their learning” Domain number 3 in NOPS covers “specialist learning and teaching” when completing an Apprenticeship a strict framework is to be adhered to, we as teachers must ensure all aspects of the framework are to be covered and to achieve this i believe i must ensure i am upto date with the current teachings in my trade which links me to this quote from NOPS “ensure that knowledge of own specialist area is current and appropriate to the teaching context”. Domain number 4 in NOPS covers “planning for learning” which to me is an imperitive part of teaching which in my profession is very important as one wrong learning or misunderstanding can lead to serious harm or even death but i understand that these teachings may require special attention to detail. This quote from NOPS i believe explains this “plan coherent and inclusive learning programmes that meet learners’ needs and curriculum requirements, promote equality and engage with diversity effectively”. Domain number 5 in NOPS covers “assessment for learning” i believe you must be willing to carry out consecutive assessments so as to see where learners are and where they should/could be in future months thus ensuring everyone within the organisation can see the progress of students which leads me to the following quote from NOPS “Contribute to the organisation’s quality cycle by producing accurate and standardised assessment information, and keeping appropriate records of assessment decisions and learners’ progress”. Domain number 6 in NOPS covers “ access and progression” this to me says we must have sufficient information and advice/guidance to support a learners needs and also make learners aware of various in house services which may be available to them which leads me to the following two statements from NOPS “refer learners to information on potential current and future learning opportunities and appropriate specialist support services” and also “ provide learners with appropriate information about the organisation and its facilities, and encourage learners to use the organisation’s services, as appropriate” Evaluation: i believe there are many factors which lead to being a successful teacher, you need to be a very broad minded and self sufficient person, who needs to be patient and understanding to whatever task/obstacle is put in front of them, you need to be aware of constantly changing rules, regulations and criteria surrounding your specialist subject. You need to be honest, have a positive mental attitude and have very high expectations of your learners, but also need to be aware that there are going to be students who need the extra help and support from you to complete the course. I need to be able to provide easy yet still challenging lesson plans. As a good teacher i need to make myself very approachable to all who require my attention, this will include learners, other tutors, office staff and management but also internal and external verifiers. I was alays treat with the utmost respect whilst completing my apprenticeship and my tutors were always honest with me, sometimes brutally but that gave me reason to believe in what i was doing and made me want to further my skills even more so to impress my tutor but also gain my qulification at the end of my apprenticeship. I understand there may be certain aspects of the courses i’m going to teach which i am going to have to re-teach myself so students will grasp things first time and i’ll have to relive my days as a student to gain all the pros and cons from the way i was taught therefore gaining an understanding of how to make my lessons as effective as they can be. I believe the role of teaching requires my personality and character to be the vehicle of knowedge. I know things will be hard and at sometimes baffling but that is what life is all about, knowing what you want and having the will to reach your goal. So all in all I believe there are many factors with regards to striving towards being a successful Teacher in my profession but i believe I have everything it takes to succeed and i’m willing to do so. References New overarching standards for teachers, tutors and trainers in the life long learning Sector (NOPS) – Course handout Teaching and learning cycle – Course handout Word Count Document: 1785 Report: 1644