Role_of_Teacher

Role of the Teacher Introduction Over the course of my employment I have always been involved in teaching or training of some kind, whether it is training people how to cut hair or how to use different types of computer programmes. My current role as Hairdressing Manager for MIT Skills involves teaching a range of learners from the ages of 14-25 years. MIT Skills is a work based training provider, taking on Apprentices who are in employment and visit the centre 1 day a week, Young Apprentices who are at school, as well as 16–18 year olds who are unemployed and who normally have some kind of barrier to learning. I am currently studying the PTLLS course to aid me to develop the way that I teach, understand the training needs of my learners and put more structure into the way that I deliver my course content. Role, Responsibilities and Boundaries Over the course of my experience I have identified a distinct difference between my previous roles in training and my current role as a teacher. When my involvement was purely that of an industry trainer, I delivered content to learners/trainees; this is where my role began and ended. Now I am involved in teaching, I find my role has greatly increased and diversified to that of mentor, role model, facilitator and more. The role as a teacher involves a variety of aspects from preparing course content to delivering content to learners. Put in simple terms, the role of the teacher is to facilitate learning. A key focus of a teacher is to ensure that the learners gain the skill or qualification that they are working toward and have set out to attain. This is accomplished by meeting the following; ensuring that the learners meet the standards set out by the awarding body as well as seeing that they meet the criteria that the teacher has set out in the lesson plan. These goals would be achieved by meeting the needs of the learners and delivering the course in such a way to target a variety of learning styles. Harden and Crosby identify that the varied role of the teacher can be broken down into 6 different sections and from then split into a further 6, see the diagram below. (www.medev.ac.uk date accessed 12/06/10) A good place to start for the teacher would be to establish the needs of all involved. As a course manager I must prepare schemes of work and as a teacher I would design individual session plans. These would be based upon a range of things such as the needs of the learner, the organisation and the syllabus set out by the awarding body. The environment in which learning will take place must also be planned and prepared, it should be suitable for the course that is being delivered as well as to the learners and people who will be present. Harden and Crosby identify the teacher’s role as being a developer and resource material creator; the role is also one of planning, session proforma’s must be prepared as well as the organisation of resources (handouts, presentations, demonstrations, etc). Teaching should be delivered in a suitable manner, i.e. in a way that maximises communication about the subject matter and facilitates learning. All learners should be valued equally and individually. Each learner should be able to develop and progress as a result of the standard and quality of the way in which a teacher delivers the lesson content. Before teaching a lesson the teacher must make sure that they have a sound knowledge of the subject matter, this will make them feel more mentally prepared and at ease. There must be full understanding of learner’s needs and never an assumption of the extent of the knowledge of the learners with regard to the subject that is being taught. As soon as the teacher has recognised the learner’s needs then they can adapt and plan accordingly and the lesson plans would be designed in a way to meet the required learning styles. Preferred Learning Styles By using a model like the Honey and Mumford questionnaire it is possible to determine preferred learning styles and from these the teacher can adapt the way they approach their teaching to best fit their learners styles. Another good model is the VAK Learning Styles Self-Assessment Questionnaire; through asking the candidate specific questions it diagnoses the learners into 3 different categories. • Visual The Visual learner’s preference would be to see pictures, films, diagrams, flip-charts, etc. These kinds of learners would prefer to see demonstrations, sit back and observe or read instructions. • Auditory The Auditory learners would prefer to listen, either to noises, sounds or the spoken word. Usually these learners can happily take directions over the phone and can normally recite the words to songs that they have heard. • Kinaesthetic Kinaesthetic learners will favour a more hands on approach, they like to touch and feel things and analyse objects by holding them in their hands. Most of the time people generally will have a “preferred” learning style, but usually this will be a mix of all 3 styles. Some will have a strong inclination toward one style in particular whereas others will have an even blend of two or less frequently 3 styles. Once the preferred style is discovered then the learner and the teacher can work together, they can fit teaching styles to preferred learner styles in order to maximise the learning potential. When designing a lesson plan it is important and it is the responsibility of me as a teacher that lessons are put together with a variety of learning styles in mind so that sessions not only cater for different learners but are interesting and educational. The teacher should be able to assess that learning has taken place i.e. that the learners have taken on the required knowledge and skills. The teacher should be able to obtain feedback from the learners and evaluate how and why things have occurred in order to adapt/improve delivery/course content for the future. The role of the teacher should constantly be developing, there are always new ways to teach, learn and motivate learners, things are changing all the time and the teacher must remember this. Another aspect of the teacher’s role is that they have a duty of care for their learners. The teacher should always behave in a professional manner, their practice should be standardised and they should be ethical and fair at all times. The teacher should not only evaluate themselves by looking at their delivery and the needs of their learners (both individually and in groups), but reflect on how they delivered, how the learners responded and find out if learning has taken place in order to improve. This can be done by a range of methods which might include reviews, assessments, interviews, one to one’s, feedback sessions and more. The teacher must maintain and remain up to date with their knowledge of points of referral for learners. As previously mentioned, another role of the teacher is that of a mentor to their learners; a learner may need extra tuition on certain aspects of the course, they may need additional time to focus on a functional skill such as Maths, English or Communication. There are a number of situations or circumstances in which a teacher would have to recognise an issue, address and then either manage or signpost/refer to appropriate support needed (agencies, training providers, care workers, etc). A role that Harden and Crosby do not cite is that of authority; the teacher must at all times have a certain degree of control and authority over a class of learners. If the teacher doesn’t maintain this authority then the teacher may struggle to get across the educational benefits to the learners and therefore the session will loose its effectiveness. An important responsibility of a teacher would be to maintain their knowledge and skills of the subject matter that they are teaching; whether it is a new subject or one that they have been teaching for some time. As time goes on there is always new aspects of a subject to consider and lesson content and the teacher’s knowledge and/or qualifications can become stale or out dated if not maintained. The teacher can do this by attending refresher courses, day events and reading industry news to see what is going on in their sector. The teacher not only has to know about the subject they are teaching but they should have other knowledge to back up their delivery i.e. Maths, English, communication, I.T skills, etc. All teaching resources (presentations, learner handouts, etc) should be spellchecked for spelling errors and grammatically sound. The teacher must make sure that they have the attributes and skills which are necessary for a position in the teaching profession i.e. adaptive, positive confident, diplomatic, fair, patient, supportive, prepared, trustworthy and energetic to name a few. There are boundaries to consider for a teacher; as a teacher you must remember that you are ever the professional, you are there to support the learning needs of the learners and there is a line that should never be crossed. Learner-teacher relationships should be kept at a professional level and the teacher should never get involved emotionally with their learners. Ann Gravells refers to boundaries for the teacher in ‘Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector’, “…you might feel it sensible to make a telephone call to a learner who has been absent but making regular calls would be inappropriate.” (Gravells, 2008,11). Gravells suggests that by requesting assistance by others in your organisation to make sure that an equal and positive learning experience is accessible to all. As well as being a role model to learners as Harden and Crosby suggest, the teacher should always maintain a professional distance between themselves and the learners and be careful not get overfriendly or over familiar with them. If this happens professionalism is lost and it is no longer a teacher-learner relationship which can be dangerous and unadvisable territory. The law provides that confidentiality is maintained at all times and the organisation within which the teacher works will have its own requirements with regard to confidentiality, processes, and conduct that must be followed.