Roles_and_Responsibilities

Preparing to Teach in the Life Long Learning Sector. :-Review your role, responsibilities and boundaries as a teacher/ in terms of the teaching training cycle. There are many different roles and responsibilities that are taken on as teacher. The word teacher is the overall title, but within this many of us find that we are also counsellors, mentors, assessors and life coaches. In today’s culture of learning we find ourselves within a very different world from what we may have experienced during our own education. Personally my own experience at school was not as pleasurable as it should have been. At that time teaching did not cater for the child learner who was unable to learn things as quickly as others. Presently, the training of students has seemed to improved greatly. The profile of each student is known before they even walk into the first session, an initial assessment would have taken place and I will then know what cohort of student I am going to encounter. Within this initial assessment I would hope that there is a line of questioning to understanding of any religious, cultural or any physical disabilities that the learners may have, or whether any of the students have a learning difficulty. All of the information that has been gathered on the students will assist me in how they will design their course and at the correct level. The first part of Kolbs’ learning cycle (Petty 2004) ‘Concrete Experience’ may be one of the criteria of the initial assessment. In one of the first sessions I would ask the students to write about why they are interested in the course and why they would like to do it. This would not only ascertain the literacy skills of the learner but also the motivation and commitment to learning. ‘Concrete Experience’ would also help me in the brickwork workshop to assess the practical ability of the new students as some students may have worked within the industry and already have a basic understanding of the subject. When the course has started I will continue to challenge the students at all levels taking into account the different learning styles that we all have. Also assessing the students on a variety of work giving them positive constructive feedback so that they can reflect upon their own learning and adjust to what they need to change for a better outcome. This would refer to stage two of Kolb’s learning cycle. As Kolb (1984) suggests “the more people are able to reflect on what they have done, the more they will learn”. Some students may require more support from the myself or a LSA. A LSA is something that I would like to develop within the brickwork section as not only does it encourage the students to ask questions it gives another point of contact in which the student can reflect. ILP’s or tutorial sessions would also be used to help encourage the learner to keep on track with their studies. Part three of this cycle is the formulation of abstract concepts & generalisations. As a teacher I believe this is where the teaching takes place. The student has already used the knowledge that they have on the subject and may have possibly failed with the task set, with the feedback given by myself or their own peers, they would have tried to move on, the greater knowledge that is required for this to occur will come from many different resources but for the student to get the correct knowledge he/she should get clarification from myself. Through the ILP’s I can understand what stage the learner is at and should guide the learner onto the correct path giving the learner positive encouragement to keep the enthusiasm of the subject after the initial set back. Now that the learner has revised their perception of the subject they can move forward trying the new strategies shown to them by myself to develop and learn more. They now would have completed Kolb’s learning circle, where the cycle would begin again but at a higher level. There are many considerations that would have not been picked up within any assessment or throughout the time a student is within a learning cycle. There are many outside influences in all our lives that can contribute towards the way we learn. There may be a lack of confidence from the learner from a previous bad learning experience, like myself or there may be discipline/ behaviour problems/ lack of support from the students’ family. If the student does have one of the above characteristics then it would be my role to engage the learner and support were the support can be given. This could be done in many different ways from just a simple conversation each week through to bringing in outside resources through student services or contacting the relevant agencies or organisations. There may be a world of problems that we, the teacher may never know or be able to help with but should be sympathetic toward the learner and try and offer support where we can. All of the students that are taught within any educational establishment reserve the right for respect and dignity and at no point should they be discriminated in any way in the classroom or workshops. This may mean that the tutor might have to challenge his own personal values, attitudes and beliefs from time to time. Equally all students should also treat their teacher with the same respect as they wish to receive. References Petty, G. (2004). Teaching Today (3rd Ed.) Cheltenham, UK: Nelson Thornes Ltd. Kolb D.A 1984 Experimental Learning: Experience as the source of learning and development Prentice-Hall Inc.