The Roles and Responsibility of a Teacher

The role of a teacher is primarily to facilitate the learning process, in a structured and coherent way. Being able to convey your subject matter to a group of learners can be difficult and It forms part of the teacher’s responsibility to be able to approach a lesson in a engaging and professional manner. It is essential that a teacher has an enthusiastic approach, this way they will be able to convey their knowledge to the learners in an engaging and motivational fashion, as pointed out by Anne Gravells “your main responsibility will be to your students” (Gravells 2012). The teacher may also have the added pressure of taking into consideration any particular requirements of any learners that may be within a group. It will form part of their responsibility to deliver the lesson in a manner that can be understood by that group and not impart any prejudice to any individual/individuals within the overall class. The teacher will generally pay special attention to the following when formulating a lesson plan: Identifying the needs of the learner/learners – It is the responsibility of the teacher to identify the exact needs of the learners to be able to perform their role properly. The initial assessment is vital to being able to deliver the content of the syllabus in a fashion that can be absorbed and retained. Planning the learning – putting together a scheme of work that will be engaging and informative, taking into account the syllabus and any special needs.

Identifying the particular learning style or styles that would benefit the group and give them the most out of the lesson. Facilitating learning – to be able to facilitate the learning process by giving guidance and advice along the way. Using handouts and doing role play can motivate the learners in a more engaging fashion. Assessing learning- intermittently checking the learners’ skill set to ascertain the knowledge gained is critical. This can enable the teacher to identify areas of improvement for future lessons. Evaluation- after assessing the learners and having identified the areas of improvement, we can use this information in the evaluation process. Whilst carrying out our evaluation it is vital to be able to recognise our failings and to make corrections where necessary. This reflective process would give us the ability to make the necessary corrections for the future. The roles of a teacher can be varied.

Whilst performing their primary role and delivering the lesson, they often have other issues to consider. Although the teacher has set boundaries to implement any help they feel a learner may need, they could be faced with several issues, these could range from welfare, financial, physical and the ethnic background of the individual, the teacher must be diverse and equal at all times; if faced with any one of these issues, the teacher should facilitate the contact between the learner and the appropriate professional/professionals needed. For example, if a learner was absent from class for a period of time, the teacher could arrange to have a meeting to discuss any issues that the individual may be experiencing, as stated by L.B. Curzon “without communication, teaching is impossible” (Curzon 1997). They may be struggling financially, so therefore couldn’t afford the bus fare, or may be facing safeguarding issues, such as physical abuse at home. After a brief reflection on my own experiences, although limited at present, sometimes it can be extremely difficult for an individual to admit to having a problem, equally it can be just as difficult to identify if a problem exists at all. Ultimately, it is the role and responsibility of the teacher to be able to impart the required knowledge to the learner and recognise that there interaction can have a lasting and profound effect on the rest of the learner’s life.

References

Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Sector 5th Edition, Anne Gravells 2012 p16 Teaching in Further Education 5th Edition, L.B. Curzon 1997 p150