DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF A TEACHER
Source: Becoming a Teacher, pp.143-149
While the duties and responsibilities of teachers are clearly identified in the Education Act, the dilemmas for teachers is always properly assessing the scope and limitations of the duties and responsibilities because they are governed by many types of laws
The legal authority of schools, and therefore of teachers, as agents of the schools, is derived from:
• Federal and provincial statute law
• Common law
• Constitutional law
A major role of the teacher is to ensure the safety and well-being of students. When a teacher fails to do so, and is found negligent, the teacher can be held liable if the student is injured.
Some student actions may not only violate school rules, but may also be a breech of the Youth Criminal Justice Act (2003). Examples include theft, assault, drug or weapon possession.
In Common Law, teachers act in loco parentis (“in the place of parents”) except where duties are expressly altered by statute or policy. In Constitutional law, teachers must ensure that they make decisions on disciplinary matters that consider the student’s rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Section 43 of the Criminal Code protects teachers who are required by circumstances to use reasonable force to protect a student from himself, another student, or to protect themselves. It is never acceptable to use physical force on a student in any other circumstance.
If a student is injured while in a teacher’s care, the teacher’s actions to protect the child are considered using a three step analysis to determine if negligence exists:
1. What was the duty of care owed to the injured person? (Notice that this question assumes that there is a duty of care because of the special relationship owed by the teacher to the student.)
2. What is the standard of care required by the person?
3. Was the standard of care breeched?
Teacher’s Federations often provide specific direction to members to limit the occasion for claims of liability. For example, some Federations advise members not to transport students in their vehicles.
Learning is the Teacher’s responsibility
February 1, 2008 by orkthecaveman
This ought to ruffle some feathers….
Reflecting on the technology and boredom issues in the classroom, raised in Michael Wesch’s “A Vision of Today’s Student” (see previous post), I am not going to blame the student, even though they’re an easy target; nor the university system, where the economics pressure inexperienced teachers into the classroom; nor the fat, overindulged American society as a whole; I’m going to side with those who put the ultimate responsibility for daily engagement with students on the individual teacher.
Bruce Wilkinson, in his 7 Laws of the Learner, says the responsibility to communicate rests with the teacher, and lists a lot of excellent tips on how teachers can do that more effectively… even when students don’t seem interested. Though specifically directed to a religious audience I think the principles apply in secular settings as well.
Here are his 7 maxims with my own comments:
Maxim 1: Teachers are responsible to cause students to learn.
Here’s Bruce’s diagram to show that, yes, students must take responsibility for listening, but teachers have the power to unlock and motivate that action through their ******* and delivery and, most importantly in my view, their personal authentic passion for the material. Note that the “cause to learn” function is separate and distinct from the “Words” and *******. Presenting the ******* is not teaching. Teaching is the process of figuring out how to establish the necessary motivation, attention, and human connection to bridge the synapse between the two parties, teacher and student.
For me this attitude was epitomized by Chauncey Veatch, the keynote speaker at the NACAC national conference last fall in Austin. His address was the most moving speech I have ever heard… and he spoke of how he entered teaching as more of a calling and obligation than a career. His description of the impoverished Latino community whose lives he has transformed was absolutely inspiring. You can read a similar address here.
Maxim 3: Teachers are responsible because they control subject, style, and speaker.
Mimi Chenfeld, one of my favorite people who happens to have lightened my life as a folk dance teacher a number of years ago, calls it “Teaching in the Key of Life.”
Maxim 4: Teachers should judge their success by the success of their students
Rafe Esquith, another legendary teacher who I heard at a CASE keynote a few years ago, points to the success of his students as the success of his students. That’s what he focuses on, and that’s what he wants to be judged by. In There are no Shortcuts my takeaway was the long-term impact on the kids who he prods, cajoles, and leads to excellence.
Maxim 5: Teachers impact more by their character and commitment than by their communication.
In addition to my personal observations of Veatch, Chenfeld, and Esquith, this concept reminds me of an interview I once did for Ohio Wesleyan. Philip Meek, a nationally-respected publisher, spoke to me about a prof way back in 1958 or so who had come to class and said (paraphrasing) “I always prepare at least 2 hours before class, and for a variety of reasons I could not do that today… you are dismissed.” Phil said, “That taught me more about commitment to excellence and character than anything else that ever happened to me.”
Maxim 6: Teachers exist to serve the students.
Just a few weeks ago I was interviewing Dick Lucier, an emeritus economics prof from Denison, and he said:
“Teaching is so damn time-intensive and labor-intensive… and I never found a shortcut that would work.” And then he goes on for 4 minutes, tossing off nuggets about valuing students and coming prepared and keeping the subject fresh in his own mind.
The good teacher is more than a lecturer: the twelve roles of the teacher
An extended summary of AMEE Medical Education Guide No 20 R M Harden and J R Crosby
Published in Medical Teacher (2000) 22, 4, pp 334-347
The full text of this guide comprises 20 pages and 84 references and is available from:
Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE), Tay Park House, 484 Perth Road, Dundee, DD2 1LR
Guide Overview
This guide provides an overview of the different roles of the medical teacher in the context of the many changes taking place in medical education. Twelve roles are presented in the model provided. This role model framework is of use in the assessment of the needs for staff to implement a curriculum, in the appointment and promotion of teachers and in the organisation of a staff development programme.
Some teachers will have only one role. Most teachers will have several roles.
All roles, however, need to be represented in an institution or teaching organisation.
The twelve roles of the teacher
Medical education has seen major changes over the past decade. Integrated teaching, problem-based learning, community-based learning, core curricula with electives or options and more systematic curriculum planning have been advocated.
While the increasing emphasis on student autonomy in medical education has moved the centre of gravity away from the teacher and closer to the student, the teacher continues to have a key role in student learning. A good teacher can be defined as a teacher who helps the student to learn. He or she contributes to this in a number of ways. These are described in the guide.
Each of the six roles described (see Figure 1) can be subdivided into two roles, making a total of twelve roles. Roles to the right in the figure require more ******* expertise or knowledge, and roles to the left more educational expertise.
The information provider
The lecturer: A traditional responsibility of the teacher is to pass on to
students the information, knowledge and understanding in a topic appropriate at the stage of their studies. This leads to the traditional role of the teacher as one of provider of information in the lecture context. The lecture remains as one of the most widely used instructional methods. It can be a cost-effective method of providing new information not found in standard texts, of relating the information to the local curriculum and context of medical practice and of providing the lecturer's personal overview or structure of the field of knowledge for the student.
The clinical or practical teacher: The clinical setting, whether in the hospital or in the community, is a powerful context for the transmission, by the clinical teacher, of information directly relevant to the practice of medicine.
Good clinical teachers can share with the student their thoughts as a reflective practitioner, helping to illuminate, for the student, the process of clinical decision making.
The role model
The on-the-job role model: The importance of the teacher as a role model is
well documented. The teacher as a clinician should model or exemplify what should be learned. Students learn not just from what their teachers say but from what they do in their clinical practice and the knowledge, skills and attitudes they exhibit.
The role model as a teacher: Teachers serve as role models not only when they teach students while they perform their duties as doctors, but also when they fulfill their role as teachers in the classroom, whether it is in the lecture theatre or the small discussion or tutorial group. The good teacher who is also a doctor can describe in a lecture to a class of students, their approach to the clinical problem being discussed in a way that captures the importance of the subject and the choices available. The teacher has a unique opportunity to share some of the magic of the subject with the students.
The facilitator
The learning facilitator: The move to a more student-centred view of learning has required a fundamental shift in the role of the teacher. No longer is the teacher seen predominantly as a dispenser of information or walking tape recorder, but rather as a facilitator or manager of the students' learning. The introduction of problem-based learning with a consequent fundamental change in the student-teacher relationship has highlighted this change in the role of the teacher from one of information provider to one of facilitator.
The mentor: The role of mentor is a further role for the teacher. The mentor is usually not the member of staff who is responsible for the teaching or assessment of the student and is therefore off-line in terms of relationship with the student. Mentorship is less about reviewing the students' performance in a subject or an examination and more about a wider view of issues relating to the student.
The assessor
The student assessor: The assessment of the student's competence is one of the most important tasks facing the teacher. Most teachers have something to contribute to the assessment process. Examining does represent a distinct and potentially separate role for the teacher. Thus it is possible for someone to be an expert teacher but not an expert examiner. All institutions now need on their staff some teachers with a special knowledge and understanding of assessment issues.
The curriculum assessor: The teacher has a responsibility not only to plan and implement educational programmes and to assess the students' learning, but also to assess the course and curriculum delivered. Monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the teaching of courses and curricula is now recognised as an integral part of the educational process. Evaluation can also be interpreted as an integral part of the professional role of teachers, recognising teachers' own responsibility for monitoring their own performance.
The planner
The curriculum planner: Curriculum planning is an important role for the teacher. Most medical schools and postgraduate bodies have education committees charged with the responsibility for planning and implementing the curriculum within their institution. Teachers employed by the school and members of the postgraduate institution may be expected to make a contribution to curriculum planning. Curriculum planning presents a significant challenge for the teacher and both time and expertise is required if the job is to be undertaken properly.
The course planner: The best curriculum in the world will be ineffective if the courses which it comprises have little or no relationship to the curriculum that is in place. Once the principles which underpin the curriculum of the institution have been agreed, detailed planning is then required at the level of the individual course or phase of the curriculum.
The resource developer
The resource material creator: An increased need for learning resource materials is implicit in many of the developments in education. The new technologies have greatly expanded the formats of learning materials to which the student may have access and make it much easier for the student to take more responsibility for their own education. The role of the teacher as resource creator offers exciting possibilities. At least some teachers possess the array of skills necessary to select, adapt or produce materials for use within the institution.
The study guide producer: The production of study guides is a further role for the medical teacher. Study guides suitably prepared in electronic or print form, can be seen as the students' personal tutor available 24 hours a day and designed to assist the students with their learning. Study guides tell the student what they should learn - the expected learning outcomes for the course, how they might acquire the competences necessary - the learning opportunities available, and whether they have learned it - the students assessing their own competence.
Multiple roles of the teacher
While each of the twelve roles has been described separately, in reality they are often interconnected and closely related one to another. Indeed a teacher may take on simultaneously several roles. However, a good teacher need not be competent in all twelve roles. It would be unusual to find, and unreasonable to expect, one individual to have all the required competencies. Human resource planning should involve matching teachers with the roles for which they have the greatest aptitude.
A questionnaire which can be used to assess the teacher's perception of the importance of the twelve roles and their current personal commitment and preferred personal future commitment to each role is given as Appendix 1.
This has implications for the appointment of staff and for staff training. Where there are insufficient numbers of appropriately trained existing staff to meet a role requirement, staff must be reassigned to the role, where this is possible, and the necessary training provided. Alternatively if this is not possible or deemed desirable, additional staff need to be recruited for the specific purpose of fulfilling the role identified. A role profile needs to be negotiated and agreed with staff at the time of their appointment and this should be reviewed on a regular basis.
The role model framework is of use in:
the assessment of the needs for staff to implement a curriculum
the appointment and promotion of teachers to meet educational needs within the institution
the organisation of staff development activities
the al******** of teaching responsibilities to staff
teacher evaluation by staff and students
self assessment by teachers of their optimum role
construction by a teacher of a teaching portfolio
What is Meaningful Learning - ML?
In order to effectively integrate technology into a meaningful learning experience in on-line classes, we must first have a clear understanding of what a meaningful learning experience is. Meaningful learning (ML) occurs when learners actively interpret their experience using internal, cognitive operations. ML requires that teachers change their role from sage to guide, from giver to collaborator, from instructor to instigator (Ó Murchú, 2003). Since students learn from thinking about what they are doing, the teacher’s role becomes one of stimulating and supporting activities that engage learners in critical thinking (Bhattacharya, 2002). Teachers must also be comfortable that this thinking may transcend their own insights. Meaningful learning requires knowledge to be constructed by the learner, not transmitted from the teacher to the student (Jonassen, et al., 1999).
According to Jonassen, et al. (1999), meaningful learning is:
Active (manipulative): We interact with the environment manipulate the objects within it and observe the effects of our manipulations.
Constructive and reflective: Activity is essential but insufficient for meaningful learning. We must reflect on the activity and our observations, and interpret them in order to have a meaningful learning experience.
Intentional: Human behavior is naturally goal-directed. When students actively try to achieve a learning goal that they have articulated, they think and learn more. For students to experience meaningful learning, they must be able to articulate their own learning goals and monitor their own progress.
Authentic (complex and contextual): Thoughts and ideas rely on the contexts in which they occur in order to have meaning. Presenting facts that are stripped from their contextual clues divorces knowledge from reality. Learning is meaningful, better understood and more likely to transfer to new situations when it occurs by engaging with real-life, complex problems.
Cooperative (collaborative and conversational): We live, work and learn in communities, naturally seeking ideas and assistance from each other, and negotiating about problems and how to solve them. It is in this context that we learn there are numerous ways to view the world and a variety of solutions to most problems. Meaningful learning, therefore, requires conversations and group experiences.
To experience meaningful, authentic learning, students need to do much more than access or seek information—they need to know how to examine, perceive, interpret and experience information and think critically at all times.
Meaningful and Soulful Learning
To the ancient Greeks the root word for “soul” is the same as the word for “alive”, and to them the soul was what made living things alive. Plato considered the soul to be the “essence” of a person that reasons, decides and acts. He considered the soul to be a separate entity from the living body and to be immortal. In early Hebrew thought, “soul” represented the life force. However, over time it began to be seen as something independent of the physical being. According to the Hebrew bible, when God created Adam, he “breathed” into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. The Hebrew word for “breath” is often used to mean “spirit” and “inspiration”. “Soulful learning” is therefore defined as being the essence of breathing life into transformative reflection, which comes from the inside –out (Sorensen & Ó Murchú, 2005).
Learning for learning's sake isn't enough. We may learn things that constrict our vision and warp our judgment. What we must reach for is a conception of perpetual self-discovery, perpetual reshaping to realize one's goals, to realize one's best self, to be the person one could be. (Gardner, 1983)
The concept of “meaningful learning” may be defined from several perspectives. From the point of view of Colaizzi (1978), “meaningful learning” is authentic learning. In agreement with Colaizzi, Wiske (1998).
Source: Becoming a Teacher, pp.143-149
While the duties and responsibilities of teachers are clearly identified in the Education Act, the dilemmas for teachers is always properly assessing the scope and limitations of the duties and responsibilities because they are governed by many types of laws
The legal authority of schools, and therefore of teachers, as agents of the schools, is derived from:
• Federal and provincial statute law
• Common law
• Constitutional law
A major role of the teacher is to ensure the safety and well-being of students. When a teacher fails to do so, and is found negligent, the teacher can be held liable if the student is injured.
Some student actions may not only violate school rules, but may also be a breech of the Youth Criminal Justice Act (2003). Examples include theft, assault, drug or weapon possession.
In Common Law, teachers act in loco parentis (“in the place of parents”) except where duties are expressly altered by statute or policy. In Constitutional law, teachers must ensure that they make decisions on disciplinary matters that consider the student’s rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Section 43 of the Criminal Code protects teachers who are required by circumstances to use reasonable force to protect a student from himself, another student, or to protect themselves. It is never acceptable to use physical force on a student in any other circumstance.
If a student is injured while in a teacher’s care, the teacher’s actions to protect the child are considered using a three step analysis to determine if negligence exists:
1. What was the duty of care owed to the injured person? (Notice that this question assumes that there is a duty of care because of the special relationship owed by the teacher to the student.)
2. What is the standard of care required by the person?
3. Was the standard of care breeched?
Teacher’s Federations often provide specific direction to members to limit the occasion for claims of liability. For example, some Federations advise members not to transport students in their vehicles.
Learning is the Teacher’s responsibility
February 1, 2008 by orkthecaveman
This ought to ruffle some feathers….
Reflecting on the technology and boredom issues in the classroom, raised in Michael Wesch’s “A Vision of Today’s Student” (see previous post), I am not going to blame the student, even though they’re an easy target; nor the university system, where the economics pressure inexperienced teachers into the classroom; nor the fat, overindulged American society as a whole; I’m going to side with those who put the ultimate responsibility for daily engagement with students on the individual teacher.
Bruce Wilkinson, in his 7 Laws of the Learner, says the responsibility to communicate rests with the teacher, and lists a lot of excellent tips on how teachers can do that more effectively… even when students don’t seem interested. Though specifically directed to a religious audience I think the principles apply in secular settings as well.
Here are his 7 maxims with my own comments:
Maxim 1: Teachers are responsible to cause students to learn.
Here’s Bruce’s diagram to show that, yes, students must take responsibility for listening, but teachers have the power to unlock and motivate that action through their ******* and delivery and, most importantly in my view, their personal authentic passion for the material. Note that the “cause to learn” function is separate and distinct from the “Words” and *******. Presenting the ******* is not teaching. Teaching is the process of figuring out how to establish the necessary motivation, attention, and human connection to bridge the synapse between the two parties, teacher and student.
For me this attitude was epitomized by Chauncey Veatch, the keynote speaker at the NACAC national conference last fall in Austin. His address was the most moving speech I have ever heard… and he spoke of how he entered teaching as more of a calling and obligation than a career. His description of the impoverished Latino community whose lives he has transformed was absolutely inspiring. You can read a similar address here.
Maxim 3: Teachers are responsible because they control subject, style, and speaker.
Mimi Chenfeld, one of my favorite people who happens to have lightened my life as a folk dance teacher a number of years ago, calls it “Teaching in the Key of Life.”
Maxim 4: Teachers should judge their success by the success of their students
Rafe Esquith, another legendary teacher who I heard at a CASE keynote a few years ago, points to the success of his students as the success of his students. That’s what he focuses on, and that’s what he wants to be judged by. In There are no Shortcuts my takeaway was the long-term impact on the kids who he prods, cajoles, and leads to excellence.
Maxim 5: Teachers impact more by their character and commitment than by their communication.
In addition to my personal observations of Veatch, Chenfeld, and Esquith, this concept reminds me of an interview I once did for Ohio Wesleyan. Philip Meek, a nationally-respected publisher, spoke to me about a prof way back in 1958 or so who had come to class and said (paraphrasing) “I always prepare at least 2 hours before class, and for a variety of reasons I could not do that today… you are dismissed.” Phil said, “That taught me more about commitment to excellence and character than anything else that ever happened to me.”
Maxim 6: Teachers exist to serve the students.
Just a few weeks ago I was interviewing Dick Lucier, an emeritus economics prof from Denison, and he said:
“Teaching is so damn time-intensive and labor-intensive… and I never found a shortcut that would work.” And then he goes on for 4 minutes, tossing off nuggets about valuing students and coming prepared and keeping the subject fresh in his own mind.
The good teacher is more than a lecturer: the twelve roles of the teacher
An extended summary of AMEE Medical Education Guide No 20 R M Harden and J R Crosby
Published in Medical Teacher (2000) 22, 4, pp 334-347
The full text of this guide comprises 20 pages and 84 references and is available from:
Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE), Tay Park House, 484 Perth Road, Dundee, DD2 1LR
Guide Overview
This guide provides an overview of the different roles of the medical teacher in the context of the many changes taking place in medical education. Twelve roles are presented in the model provided. This role model framework is of use in the assessment of the needs for staff to implement a curriculum, in the appointment and promotion of teachers and in the organisation of a staff development programme.
Some teachers will have only one role. Most teachers will have several roles.
All roles, however, need to be represented in an institution or teaching organisation.
The twelve roles of the teacher
Medical education has seen major changes over the past decade. Integrated teaching, problem-based learning, community-based learning, core curricula with electives or options and more systematic curriculum planning have been advocated.
While the increasing emphasis on student autonomy in medical education has moved the centre of gravity away from the teacher and closer to the student, the teacher continues to have a key role in student learning. A good teacher can be defined as a teacher who helps the student to learn. He or she contributes to this in a number of ways. These are described in the guide.
Each of the six roles described (see Figure 1) can be subdivided into two roles, making a total of twelve roles. Roles to the right in the figure require more ******* expertise or knowledge, and roles to the left more educational expertise.
The information provider
The lecturer: A traditional responsibility of the teacher is to pass on to
students the information, knowledge and understanding in a topic appropriate at the stage of their studies. This leads to the traditional role of the teacher as one of provider of information in the lecture context. The lecture remains as one of the most widely used instructional methods. It can be a cost-effective method of providing new information not found in standard texts, of relating the information to the local curriculum and context of medical practice and of providing the lecturer's personal overview or structure of the field of knowledge for the student.
The clinical or practical teacher: The clinical setting, whether in the hospital or in the community, is a powerful context for the transmission, by the clinical teacher, of information directly relevant to the practice of medicine.
Good clinical teachers can share with the student their thoughts as a reflective practitioner, helping to illuminate, for the student, the process of clinical decision making.
The role model
The on-the-job role model: The importance of the teacher as a role model is
well documented. The teacher as a clinician should model or exemplify what should be learned. Students learn not just from what their teachers say but from what they do in their clinical practice and the knowledge, skills and attitudes they exhibit.
The role model as a teacher: Teachers serve as role models not only when they teach students while they perform their duties as doctors, but also when they fulfill their role as teachers in the classroom, whether it is in the lecture theatre or the small discussion or tutorial group. The good teacher who is also a doctor can describe in a lecture to a class of students, their approach to the clinical problem being discussed in a way that captures the importance of the subject and the choices available. The teacher has a unique opportunity to share some of the magic of the subject with the students.
The facilitator
The learning facilitator: The move to a more student-centred view of learning has required a fundamental shift in the role of the teacher. No longer is the teacher seen predominantly as a dispenser of information or walking tape recorder, but rather as a facilitator or manager of the students' learning. The introduction of problem-based learning with a consequent fundamental change in the student-teacher relationship has highlighted this change in the role of the teacher from one of information provider to one of facilitator.
The mentor: The role of mentor is a further role for the teacher. The mentor is usually not the member of staff who is responsible for the teaching or assessment of the student and is therefore off-line in terms of relationship with the student. Mentorship is less about reviewing the students' performance in a subject or an examination and more about a wider view of issues relating to the student.
The assessor
The student assessor: The assessment of the student's competence is one of the most important tasks facing the teacher. Most teachers have something to contribute to the assessment process. Examining does represent a distinct and potentially separate role for the teacher. Thus it is possible for someone to be an expert teacher but not an expert examiner. All institutions now need on their staff some teachers with a special knowledge and understanding of assessment issues.
The curriculum assessor: The teacher has a responsibility not only to plan and implement educational programmes and to assess the students' learning, but also to assess the course and curriculum delivered. Monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the teaching of courses and curricula is now recognised as an integral part of the educational process. Evaluation can also be interpreted as an integral part of the professional role of teachers, recognising teachers' own responsibility for monitoring their own performance.
The planner
The curriculum planner: Curriculum planning is an important role for the teacher. Most medical schools and postgraduate bodies have education committees charged with the responsibility for planning and implementing the curriculum within their institution. Teachers employed by the school and members of the postgraduate institution may be expected to make a contribution to curriculum planning. Curriculum planning presents a significant challenge for the teacher and both time and expertise is required if the job is to be undertaken properly.
The course planner: The best curriculum in the world will be ineffective if the courses which it comprises have little or no relationship to the curriculum that is in place. Once the principles which underpin the curriculum of the institution have been agreed, detailed planning is then required at the level of the individual course or phase of the curriculum.
The resource developer
The resource material creator: An increased need for learning resource materials is implicit in many of the developments in education. The new technologies have greatly expanded the formats of learning materials to which the student may have access and make it much easier for the student to take more responsibility for their own education. The role of the teacher as resource creator offers exciting possibilities. At least some teachers possess the array of skills necessary to select, adapt or produce materials for use within the institution.
The study guide producer: The production of study guides is a further role for the medical teacher. Study guides suitably prepared in electronic or print form, can be seen as the students' personal tutor available 24 hours a day and designed to assist the students with their learning. Study guides tell the student what they should learn - the expected learning outcomes for the course, how they might acquire the competences necessary - the learning opportunities available, and whether they have learned it - the students assessing their own competence.
Multiple roles of the teacher
While each of the twelve roles has been described separately, in reality they are often interconnected and closely related one to another. Indeed a teacher may take on simultaneously several roles. However, a good teacher need not be competent in all twelve roles. It would be unusual to find, and unreasonable to expect, one individual to have all the required competencies. Human resource planning should involve matching teachers with the roles for which they have the greatest aptitude.
A questionnaire which can be used to assess the teacher's perception of the importance of the twelve roles and their current personal commitment and preferred personal future commitment to each role is given as Appendix 1.
This has implications for the appointment of staff and for staff training. Where there are insufficient numbers of appropriately trained existing staff to meet a role requirement, staff must be reassigned to the role, where this is possible, and the necessary training provided. Alternatively if this is not possible or deemed desirable, additional staff need to be recruited for the specific purpose of fulfilling the role identified. A role profile needs to be negotiated and agreed with staff at the time of their appointment and this should be reviewed on a regular basis.
The role model framework is of use in:
the assessment of the needs for staff to implement a curriculum
the appointment and promotion of teachers to meet educational needs within the institution
the organisation of staff development activities
the al******** of teaching responsibilities to staff
teacher evaluation by staff and students
self assessment by teachers of their optimum role
construction by a teacher of a teaching portfolio
What is Meaningful Learning - ML?
In order to effectively integrate technology into a meaningful learning experience in on-line classes, we must first have a clear understanding of what a meaningful learning experience is. Meaningful learning (ML) occurs when learners actively interpret their experience using internal, cognitive operations. ML requires that teachers change their role from sage to guide, from giver to collaborator, from instructor to instigator (Ó Murchú, 2003). Since students learn from thinking about what they are doing, the teacher’s role becomes one of stimulating and supporting activities that engage learners in critical thinking (Bhattacharya, 2002). Teachers must also be comfortable that this thinking may transcend their own insights. Meaningful learning requires knowledge to be constructed by the learner, not transmitted from the teacher to the student (Jonassen, et al., 1999).
According to Jonassen, et al. (1999), meaningful learning is:
Active (manipulative): We interact with the environment manipulate the objects within it and observe the effects of our manipulations.
Constructive and reflective: Activity is essential but insufficient for meaningful learning. We must reflect on the activity and our observations, and interpret them in order to have a meaningful learning experience.
Intentional: Human behavior is naturally goal-directed. When students actively try to achieve a learning goal that they have articulated, they think and learn more. For students to experience meaningful learning, they must be able to articulate their own learning goals and monitor their own progress.
Authentic (complex and contextual): Thoughts and ideas rely on the contexts in which they occur in order to have meaning. Presenting facts that are stripped from their contextual clues divorces knowledge from reality. Learning is meaningful, better understood and more likely to transfer to new situations when it occurs by engaging with real-life, complex problems.
Cooperative (collaborative and conversational): We live, work and learn in communities, naturally seeking ideas and assistance from each other, and negotiating about problems and how to solve them. It is in this context that we learn there are numerous ways to view the world and a variety of solutions to most problems. Meaningful learning, therefore, requires conversations and group experiences.
To experience meaningful, authentic learning, students need to do much more than access or seek information—they need to know how to examine, perceive, interpret and experience information and think critically at all times.
Meaningful and Soulful Learning
To the ancient Greeks the root word for “soul” is the same as the word for “alive”, and to them the soul was what made living things alive. Plato considered the soul to be the “essence” of a person that reasons, decides and acts. He considered the soul to be a separate entity from the living body and to be immortal. In early Hebrew thought, “soul” represented the life force. However, over time it began to be seen as something independent of the physical being. According to the Hebrew bible, when God created Adam, he “breathed” into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. The Hebrew word for “breath” is often used to mean “spirit” and “inspiration”. “Soulful learning” is therefore defined as being the essence of breathing life into transformative reflection, which comes from the inside –out (Sorensen & Ó Murchú, 2005).
Learning for learning's sake isn't enough. We may learn things that constrict our vision and warp our judgment. What we must reach for is a conception of perpetual self-discovery, perpetual reshaping to realize one's goals, to realize one's best self, to be the person one could be. (Gardner, 1983)
The concept of “meaningful learning” may be defined from several perspectives. From the point of view of Colaizzi (1978), “meaningful learning” is authentic learning. In agreement with Colaizzi, Wiske (1998).
0 comments:
Post a Comment