Lecture one What is a Teacher? WEEK ONE Lecture one What is a Teacher?

What is Teacher ? “All teachers have some theory of what teaching is when they are doing it, even if they are not explicitly aware of that theory...” Gow and Kember, 1993 cited in Biggs and Tang, 2007, p.15.

The Role of a teacher Teaching is a process intended to support learning by inducing a change in the person taught. Teaching is an art of communicating a message that will have impact on your audience. Pedagogy is the art or profession of teaching.

A GOOD TEACHER Are helpful and supportive Take time to explain material in depth Are friendly Understand and know the subject well Use a variety of teaching style and innovative approaches Are fair and have equal standards and expectations of pupils, regardless of test scores

A BAD TEACHER Are mean and unfair Are unwilling to help or explain material and ideas Are judgemental of pupils’ parents and siblings Are unwilling to change their teaching methods Are disrespectful of pupils Are unsympathetic to pupils’ personal problems Are intimidating and verbally abusive

The Task of a Teacher There are six areas to be considered. Setting up an environment for learning, Clarifying Objectives, Motivating Students, Sequencing Subject Matter, Understanding individual differences, Providing for individual differences

Setting learning environment The environment for learning is developed by: The way in which we set up the classroom The way we ask questions Our ability to find the teachable moment

Clarifying Objectives Setting realistic goals Identification and clarification of associated objectives: knowledge skills dispositions

Motivating Students Creating materials and activities to arouse interest Engaging in goal setting with the students Using rewards and (sometimes) competition Providing students with knowledge of their progress

Sequencing Subject Matter Organizing what will happen in the year, in the term, each week Organizing different classes during the day Organizing activities of each class in a way that will encourage students’ learning Connecting new knowledge to the outside world

Understanding individual difference Being able to recognize and understanding differences in your classroom: Gender race culture language social class

Providing for individual Difference Doing something about individual differences means: Taking account of ways in which students’ background impact on how they learn Trying to group students in ways that will maximize their learning Using resources that are appropriate to the range and differences among your students