Task_One__Review_What_Your_Role,_Responsibilities_and_Boundaries_as_a_Teacher_Would_Be_in_Terms_of_the_Teacher_Training_Cycle.

The teaching /training cycle has five stages and most teachers/trainers will start by identifying the needs of the learner. 'Initial assessment needs to be done with learners rather than to them...' Green, M. (2003) It establishes a starting point from which suitable lesson plans can be drawn up to establish a learner’s progress. 1. Identify Needs The role of a teacher is to use initial or diagnostic assessment to identify previous knowledge, skills and expectations which students may have. An icebreaker will help students get to know one another, and perhaps followed by writing a short essay to help the teacher gather information about the students. A responsibility of a teacher is to discover any special needs students may have and their preferred learning styles. This might be done by meeting the student beforehand, or alternatively, a discussion by telephone. We might usefully consider 4 basic "learning styles": Activist - Pragmatist - Theorist - Reflector. (Honey and Mumford). A teacher must also respect students and be aware of boundaries that cause students to withhold information of a sensitive or personal nature. Confidentiality of student information must be paramount at all times. I have found that Discussion over the ‘phone with a new student before taking them out on the road identifying their needs works well for me. 2. Plan and Design At this stage it is the teachers’ role and responsibility to plan a structured scheme of work using suitable resources and methods of teaching to capture the students attention and maximise the learning curve and taking into account special needs of any students. 'You will need to decide what is essential to be taught (the must), what is important (the should), and what is helpful (the could). (Gravells 2008) An exception to this would be when delivering an accredited course which must follow specific guide lines. When creating lesson plans, teachers must always be aware of boundaries or legal issues which may apply to their individual areas. A teacher must help students but not go beyond the boundaries of good teaching practice and begin acting as a social worker. This is not the responsibility of a teacher. In the planning stage, any potential Health and Safety issues which might occur in a classroom or out in a classroom and out in a car should be anticipated. 3. Deliver/Facilitate The teacher takes on the role of facilitator or coach delivering the course and taking into account the individual needs of students. Power Point, white boards and flip charts may be used for illustration purposes. Teachers have a responsibility to keep their learners safe carrying out a risk assessment beforehand but a careful lookout must be made for unexpected dangers particularly when equipment is being used. It is expected of teachers that they will dress appropriately for the type of course they are delivering and keep a professional distance from their learners without appearing too distant or unhelpful as the teacher/student relationship should always be based on mutual trust. I have a responsibility to be aware of health and safety issues when carrying out driver training in a car. My drivers and my vehicle must be legal and safe and I am responsible for the safety of both my driver and other road users who we are sharing the roads with. 4. Assess During the course, the teacher takes on the roll of assessor and has a responsibility to ensure that the students are making progress and should check this with formative assessment. Students should be made clear about the requirements of assessments and how to meet the criteria if they are for an awarding body. Progress and achievement should always be recorded so that along with summative assessment, the teacher is later, able to evaluate their own performance. 5. Evaluate The teacher should take on the role of evaluator providing summative assessment to review the effectiveness of the course content, resources, delivery, and also student satisfaction. Lesson evaluations will show up areas where improvement might be made in the future. Students could give verbal feedback, or evaluation forms could be used. ‘Role, responsibilities and boundaries are evolving qualities within the teacher which are assessed and reflected upon using the teaching/training cycle; a cycle of assessment, planning and review.’(Wayt, 2008) Teachers/trainers should be constantly assessing their own role, responsibility and the boundaries as part of their continuing professional development. BIBLIOGRAPHY Gravells, A. (2008) ‘Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector’ 3rd Edition, pp 92-95 ‘Course evaluation.’ pp 97-99 ‘Continuing professional development.’ Exeter, Learning Matters Ltd Gravells, A. (2008) ‘Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector’ 3rd Edition, pp 38-39. ‘Individual Learning’ Exeter, Learning Matters Ltd Gravells, A. (2008) ‘Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector’3rd Edition, pp 45-48 ‘Schemes of work and Session plans’ Exeter, Learning Matters Ltd Gravells, A. (2008) ‘Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector’3rd Edition, pp 111-113 ‘Scheme of Work, Session Plan and Self Evaluation.’ Exeter, Learning Matters Ltd Green, M. (2003) Initial Assessment: A learner-centred process. Learning and Skills Development Agency, p5. Why is Initial Assessment important' Hampshire County Council's website, Hampshire Learning, Initial Assessment - Establishing your learners starting points' http://www3.hants.gov.uk/hampshire-learning/hl-tutors/hl-guidance/hl-initial-assessment.htm (Accessed: 10 September 2011) Honey and Mumford. Learning styles http://www.brainboxx.co.uk/a2_learnstyles/pages/learningstyles.htm Accessed: 10 Sept 2011 HSE (Rev 2003) Health and safety regulations - a short guide. http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/hsc13.pdf (Accessed: September 8th 2011) Kolb learning styles http://www.businessballs.com/kolblearningstyles.htm (Accessed: 10 September 2011) VAK learning styles http://www.businessballs.com/vaklearningstylestest.htm (Accessed: 10 September 2011) Wayt, S. (2008) Describe what your role, responsibilities and boundaries would be as a teacher in terms of the teaching/training cycle. http://www.balance-therapy.co.uk/Assignment%208.1.1.pdf (Accessed: September 8th 2011)