The Evolving Role Of The Teacher

The society is changing. The technology is developing. The workplace is growing. The students are dynamic. The classrooms are expanding. Because of that the role of the teacher must evolve as well. Teachers are assigned with the great responsibility of strengthening their students for the future. Therefore, teachers should effectively represent the flexibility and talent that will be needed of their students. Students will always need teachers and mentors, so teachers will not be replaced by technology. However, to remain competent, teachers need to modify their own role to accommodate the call of educating their tech-savvy students.

For planning, teachers should prioritise on planning collaboratively using an agreed system and the planner where appropriate instead of planning individually. Teachers should engage students in planning for their own learning and assessing instead of the teacher making all the decisions. When we are planning, the planning should start from students’ prior knowledge and experience instead of ignoring students’ prior knowledge and experience. The planning should acknowledge a variety of levels of language competency instead of assuming a single level of language competency.

For teaching, teachers should use a variety and balance of teaching strategies instead of over-reliance on a limited set of teaching strategies. Teachers should use multiple resources interpreting multiple perspectives instead of over–reliance on one teaching resource from one culture. Teachers should engage students actively in their own learning instead of viewing them as passive learners.

For assessment, teachers should view planning, teaching and assessing as one complete process instead of viewing planning, teaching and assessing as isolated processes. Teachers should use a variety and balance of assessment strategies and tools instead of over-reliance on one assessment strategy or tool. Teachers should engage students in self- and peer-assessment instead of viewing assessment as the sole right of the teacher. Teachers should assess the levels of students’ current knowledge and prior knowledge before starting on new learning.

The teacher must be aware with child development and learning, be responsive to the needs and interests of the individual student, and be familiar of the cultural and social contexts in which the student lives and learns. The role of the teacher is to assist the progress of connections between the student’s prior knowledge and knowledge available through new experiences. In doing so, teachers need the support of the parents because it is the student’s environment—the home, school and the community—that will form the student’s experience.

The teacher needs to arrange a secure learning environment in which the individual student is appreciated and respected so that the communication students create with each other and with adults, which are of main importance to development and learning, will develop. The student is best helped when the connections between the teacher and the parent, and between the school and the home, are mutual and supportive. Teachers should welcome parents as partners, with a clear role to take part in promoting the school and their own children.

Teachers should design an educational environment that promotes students to take responsibility for their own learning. This means that resources must be supplied for each student to become engaged in self-initiated inquiry, in a manner appropriate to each student’s development and modalities of learning.

In the classroom, the teacher assists the development of the process of students becoming initiators rather than followers by providing opportunities for and supporting student-initiated inquiries; by asking carefully open-ended questions; and by strengthening students to ask questions of each other as well as of the teacher. It goes without saying that the teacher must also value and model inquiry.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Thornburg, D.). (2010). The Changing Role of the Classroom Teacher: Part 1, MD: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Thornburg, D.). (2010). The Changing Role of the Classroom Teacher: Part 2, MD: Author.

Making the PYP Happen: A curriculum framework for international primary education. Cardiff, Wales GB CF23 8GL, United Kingdom. International Baccalaureate Organization. Retrieved from http://occ.ibo.org/ibis/documents/pyp/p_0_pypxx_mph_0912_2_e.pdf