The Role of Teachers

Pertemuan 3 s.d 4

Matakuliah : G0454/Class Management and Education MediaTahun : 2006

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I. The English Teacher as Professional

• Professional versus AmateurThe distinction between professional and the amateur is based on consistent differences in performance in the field, involving the quality of preparatory and ongoing learning, standards and commitment.

The amateur does things for fun, for the love of it.Thus, some one who knows English may have a go at teaching it, as an amateur, without any particular training or commitment. He / she may do it well, or badly. But the professional cannot allow himself or herself to “have a go” at teaching or to do it badly.

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Professionalism

This means preparing oneself to do a competent job through learning.

This learning may take the form of pre service or in-service courses, reflection on experience, reading, observation, discussion with colleagues, writing, research – the means are numerous.

Such learning continues throughout the professional’s working life. Similarly, the professional recognizes certain standards: of knowledge ( of the subject and of its methodology ), of dedication and hard work, of behaviour and of relationships with clients ( learners, patients ) and other professionals.

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• Some of these standards are maintained through compulsory examinations and nationally or internationally recognized qualifications.

• There is also the aspect of commitment and responsibility. So, professional teachers are committed to bringing about the best learning they can in their classes.

• One implication of this is that we may not play around and experiment with our classes, trying out new “fads” only because they are fashionable or fun for us : we may only try out new things if we are confident and they will benefit our students’ learning.

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• Professional versus Technician

The technician, craftsman, or artisan performs certain acts with skill and becomes more skillful as time goes on, through practice.

The professional has not only to acquire certain skills, but also to be able to take courses of action that are based on knowledge and thought, as distinct from automatic and consciously designed action, and be able to articulate them, relate them to each other, and innovate.

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The native English speaker is a technician, in the sense that he or she is skilled in speaking English.

The English teacher is in principle a professional : He or she cannot only speak the language, but can also explain why it works the way it does and what different bits of it mean, and knows how to “mediate” it to learners in a form that they can grasp and learn.

The teacher also knows how to manage classrooms and relationships: Again these are not just unthinking skills but thoughtfully evolved and flexible sets of professional behaviours.

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• Professional versus Academic

An academic can be defined as a researcher, lecturer, and writer, usually based in a university.

There is an essential difference between occupation of the doctor, architect, teacher on the other hand, and the research scientist on the other.

The professional is a bringer-about of real world change : the doctor cures patients, the architect designs buildings, the teacher brings about or catalyses learning.

Essentially, the professional priorities real-time action, whereas the academic priorities thought – though of course the professional also thinks about his or her actions, and the academic acts in order to develop his or her thinking.

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The Academic

• Is primarily occupied in thinking and researching.

• Acts (researches) in order to refine thinking.

• Is interested in finding out the truth or more information.

• Is not an immediate agent of real-world change.

• Is evaluated in the short term by his or her publications.

• Is evaluated in the long term by his or her influence on the thought and action of both academic and professionals.

The Professional

• Is primarily occupied in real-time action.

• Thinks in order to improve action.• Is interested in finding out what

works.• Is an immediate agent of real-world

change.• Is evaluated in the short term by the

extent to which he or she brings about valuable change.

• Is evaluated in the long term by his or her influence on the thought and action of both academics and professionals.

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WE ENGLISH TEACHERS.......

Thus, to say that we English teachers are professionals is to imply that :

• We are a community. We are an identifiable group, whose members are interested in interaction with one another for the sake of learning, and also for the enjoyment of exchanging experiences and ideas with sympathetic colleagues.

• We are committed. We are committed to reaching certain standards of performance, and we are aware of our responsibility toward our learners and their learning.

• We publish. We communicate innovatory ideas, whether theoretical or practical, to one another and to the public at large: through in-house seminars, national or international conferences, journals, or books.

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• We learn. We do not just teach: We also learn, continually – about our subject matter, about teaching methods, and about many other things that make us better educated and therefore better educators. We read, we listen, we reflect, we discuss.

• We are autonomous. Nobody else can tell us what to do; we ourselves are responsible for maintaining professional standards. In principle, therefore, a professional body should set requirements for accreditation at different levels and should act as “gatekeeper”, ensuring that teaching is not performed by ill-qualified amateurs.

• We are responsible for training new teachers. It is the professional teachers who should be organizing courses and teaching the next generation of practitioners, whether through school-based, college-based, or university-based courses.

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II. ROLES to PLAY in the CLASSROOM

1. The T as controller

2. The T as assessor

3. The T as organizer

4. The T as prompter

5. The T as participant

6. The T as a resource

7. The T as investigator

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A CLINE OF CONTROL AND FREEDOM

The roles of Controller The roles of Facilitator

Controlling Facilitative

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T as CONTROLLER

Controlling FacilitativexTeachers as controllers are in complete charge of the class. They control not only what the students do, but also when they speak and what language they use.

T as ASSESSOR

Controlling Facilitative

X Xcorrection gentle correction

A major part of the teacher’s job is to assess the students’ work, to see how well they are performing or how well they performed.

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T as ORGANIZER

Controlling FacilitativeX

The most important and difficult role the teacher has to play is that of organizer. The success of many activities depends on good organization and on the students knowing exactly what they are to do.

T as PROMPTER

Controlling Facilitative

XOften the teacher needs to encourage students to participate or needs to make suggestions about how students may proceed in an activity when there is a silence or when they are confused about what to do next. This is the role of prompter.

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T as PARTICIPANTControlling Facilitative

X

There is no reason why teacher should not participate as an equal in an activity especially where activities like simulations are taking place. Teachers should not be afraid to participate since not only will it probably improve the atmosphere in the class, but it will also give the students a chance to practice English with someone who speaks it better than they do.

T as A RESOURCE

Controlling Facilitative

XThe teacher should always be ready to offer help if it is needed.

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T as TUTOR

Controlling Facilitative X

The teacher as a tutor acts as a coach and as a resource where students are involved in their own work, and call upon the teacher mainly for advice and guidance.

This tutorial role – which approximates to a counselling function – is often appropriate at intermediate and advanced levels. It is a broader role than the others because it incorporates parts of some of the other roles, i.e. organizer, prompter and resource.

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T as INVESTIGATOR

All the roles we have mentioned so far have had to do with the teacher’s behaviour as it relates to the students.

But teachers themselves will want to develop their own skills and they will hope for a gradually deepening insight into the best ways to foster language learning.

The best way to do this is by: investigating what is going on, observing what works well in class and what does not, trying out new techniques and activities and evaluating their appropriacy.

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Teachers may find the job of teaching becoming increasingly monotonous if :

they do not investigate the efficiency of new methods and do not actively seek their own personal and professional development.

Teachers will find the teaching of English constantly rewarding if :they constantly seek to enrich their understanding of what learning is all about and what works well.

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III. Methods of EFFECTIVE Classroom Managers

1. Readying the classroom : Classroom space, materials and equipment are ready at the beginning of the year.

2. Planning rules and procedures : Teachers make sure students understand and follow rules and procedures.

3. Teaching rules and procedures : Rules and procedures are systematically taught and reinforced.

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4. Consequences : Consequences for not following rules and procedures are clearly established by the teachers, there is consistent follow through.

5. Beginning of school activities : The first few days are spent getting students ready as a coherent and cooperative group.

6. Strategies for potential problems :

Strategies for dealing with potential problems are planned in advance.

7. Monitoring : Student behaviour is closely monitored; the teacher does not lose audience contact; student academic work is also monitored.

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8. Stopping inappropriate behaviour :

Inappropriate or disruptive behaviour is handled promptly and consistently – before it worsens or spreads.

9. Organizing instruction : Teachers organize instructional activities at suitable levels for all students in the class.

10. Student accountability :

Procedures have been developed for keeping students accountable for their work and behaviour.

11. Instructional clarity : Teachers provide clear instructions; these help keep students on task and allow them to learn faster, while reducing discipline problems.