Review_What_Your_Role,_Responsibilities_and_Boundaries_Would_Be_as_a_Teacher_in_Terms_of_the_Teaching_Training_Cycle.

Review what your role, responsibilities and boundaries would be as a teacher in terms of the teaching/training cycle. Analyse different ways in which you would establish ground rules with your learners which underpin appropriate behaviour and respect for others. The roles and responsibilities of a teacher is to facilitate learning to everyone, to continually reassess development and change during the course and create a seamless transition to ensure a smooth delivery to the learners. As the learner develops a better understanding of the aims and objectives, their needs change and this must be reflected in continual reassessment. It is a teachers’ responsibility to monitor, educate and improve the quality and effectiveness of their delivery by taking into account the students changing needs. The course structure and its delivery are responsibilities which require flexibility to reflect newly identified needs as seen in the teacher/training cycle. A teacher should identify the learner’s needs and establish what they want to gain from what they are being taught. It is important to establish if any of the learners have any special needs or requirements, this can be done on a one to one basis or a group discussion. Records of the learners need to be maintained to ensure that the correct learning for each part of their skill has taken place and been understood. It is the responsibility of the teacher to accommodate different learning styles as people learn in different ways, such as visual, auditory and kinaesthetic. “Fleming claimed that visual learners have a preference for seeing (think in pictures; visual aids such as overhead slides, diagrams, handouts, etc). Auditory learners best learn through listening (lectures, discussions, tapes, etc). Tactile/kinesthetic learners prefer to learn via experience - moving, touching, and doing (active exploration of the world; science projects; experiments, etc)” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_styles). The teacher must motivate the learners as a group and should prepare and provide materials to enable the learners to carry out their work to the best of their ability, this should be incorporated as part of the planning process. A teacher not only has roles and responsibilities but also has boundaries which must always be adhered to. Teachers must remain professional, maintain confidentially and be aware not to overstep the line “You will have professional boundaries in which to work and its important not to overstep these” (Gravells, 2008). You must remember that the learners are not your friend and a professional relationship must be maintained at all times. It is also important to have a good relationship with the students in order for them to feel comfortable and adequate within the class, their privacy must always be respected. A teacher must never give out any personal information and if they have any issues you must always point them in the right direction so that their issues can be addressed. This can be covered in the first lesson and as part of an icebreaking exercise. It is important to plan lessons so that the learners have a clear understanding of what is expected of them and also of the teacher, but also so that they find their work interesting fresh and exiting. There are many ways to do this such as using visual aids (DVD’s, posters, worksheets), talking about the subject so that they are clear of what is expected of them, and using the ‘hands on’ approach so to let them get involved with the practical side of the skill which will help them to learn and develop their understanding. “Students need activities which encourage them to process new material. Activities that make students use – and hence develop a personal restructuring of – the ideas you are trying to teach them will make them learn more efficiently than passive activities such as listening” (Petty, 2006). The delivery of lessons needs to be interesting to the learner. By delivering lessons in sections the learner gets enough information to digest but not too much that they find it boring and stale. Different techniques can be used to keep the lesson exiting but with a consistent flow e.g. at the beginning of the lesson a refresher of the previous lesson could be covered by brainstorming and working in small groups. Flash cards could be used which could also contain pictures and demonstrations could be carried out. A question and answer session could be used as an opportunity for the learners to quiz the teacher or the group on areas that they need further clarity on. The second half of the lesson could be the practical side giving the learners an opportunity to put into practice what has been taught in the first half of the lesson. By structuring the lesson in this way it gives the learners something to look forward to and lets them be creative, it also gives the teacher the opportunity to observe the learner to ascertain if they have understood the first half of the lesson. At the end of the lesson the teacher needs to assess how the lesson was received. Feedback from the learners could be obtained and also by assessing their practical work will indicate if the lesson was understood. Not only does the teacher need to assess the learners but the teacher needs to assess themselves, could anything have been done differently' What worked well and what didn’t' How can the lesson be made more exciting' The teaching/training cycle provides a cohesive structure which roles, responsibilities and boundaries can be assessed and reflected upon. Teaching is a very skilled job, there are many factors which have to be considered and put into place before a lesson can take place. One of the key factors is motivation, if the teacher is motivated and has a passion for what they do this will be clear to the learner and help the lesson run smoothly. As long as the teacher and the learners are clear on the roles, responsibilities and boundaries from the start then the teacher will be seen as an authoritative figure and role model. It is important to establish ground rules with the learner from day one, if there are no ground rules set from the beginning then learners will not know their boundaries with the teacher and with in the class. Ground rules establish the foundations in any lesson between the teachers and the learners. One way to show ground rules to the learner is to provide a copy of the college contract that they can keep on them at all times. Another example of establishing ground rules between teachers and learners is to have a ‘teacher and learner contract’ e.g: • A learner must arrive on time to their lesson/a teacher must start their lesson on time • Treat people how you would expect to be treated yourself • Do not have mobile phones on during lesson time unless agreed for personal reasons • Listen to the teachers comments/the teacher must listen to the learners comments • Do your work on time/mark work on time • Be enthusiastic and willing • No shouting or talking over other learners, learn to respect peoples comments • No food or drink to be eaten in class unless agreed at breaks This could be covered during the very first lesson so that the class could be involved and to ensure that the teacher and the learner have the same understanding of what is expected during class time. This will enable everyone to put their thoughts and opinions forward and give the learner a chance to agree or disagree with what has been discussed before the agreement takes place. This will also start to bring the group together, which is a positive icebreaking exercise and can then be displayed on the wall as a reminder of what has been agreed between everyone as a group. This should result in the learners behaving appropriately. It should also be talked about what would happen if these rules were to be broken. There must be a punishment which should be followed through e.g: if the rules were broken and after several warnings, the whole group of learners could be punished not just the rule breaker. Breaking rules only wastes valuable learning time and the learners must be made aware of this. A teacher should always follow the ground rules which have been made, as this will set a good example towards the learners. They should always praise and encourage learners during lesson time and keep the lessons fresh and exiting as this will help to stop any rule breaking as the learners will enjoy their lessons and look up to the teacher who is then seen as having authority and control in the lessons but also seen as being positive and fair. References http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_styles accessed on 10th October 2010 Teaching Today a Practical Guide (Fourth Edition): Petty, G: 2006 Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector: Gravells, Ann: 2008