Teachers of Today: Who They Are and What They Need to Know - Essay Example

TEACHERS OF TODAY- WHO THEY ARE AND WHAT THEY NEED TO KNOW TEACHERS OF TODAY Insert name: Insert course code: Instructor’s name: 4 November, 2010. Word count: 3161 Actual word count: 3086 Introduction Over the earlier period of thirty years, there have been fundamental changes in the strategy and social context of teaching that have had considerable implications for the senses of professionalism. Under the pressure of neo-liberal principles along with new administrative technologies – with their privileging of cost-containment, efficiency as well as productivity goals – this period has experienced a growth in the fundamental guideline of work of teachers in addition to an augmented role for quasi-markets centered on the thoughts of choice and competition. As the influence of these substitute modes of management has augmented, so, in several national settings, the extent for professional influence on policy and practice has reduced. On the other hand, apart from facing demands that stem from state regulation and competition, teachers have also had to respond to other demands stemming from wider social changes. These entail bigger community cynicism towards proficient influence combined with a culture of consumerism, burden for community services that are further accessible to varied cultural and communal identities, and changes in information and communications technologies. These shifts have taken on various forms and have been experienced and responded to very differently by teachers working in different settings. For instance, even though trends may be similar, teachers working in the developing economies of South America and Africa are obviously faced with different kinds of demands and challenges from those working in Australia, New Zealand, Europe or even US. Furthermore, the scope for teachers to influence policy and shape their own practice also varies from region to region and from country to country. This drives the urge in me to research on the teachers of today by knowing who they are and what they need to do and know. Another reason for researching on the topic is because there is considerable diversity in the ways in which governments have approached the restructuring of their education systems with diverse implications for teachers’ professional and individual identities and independence. This paper will put into consideration a range of ideas that affect the teacher as they work such as professionalism and ethics, reflective teaching, classroom management and organization, demonstration of teaching skills and many more (Gewirtz, 2009 p. 5). Professionalism and ethics It is important to note that many current proposals for the reform of education seek teacher accountability in part through the development of a professional code of ethics for teachers. All of us know that teaching is by its very nature a highly responsible, socially important and personally demanding profession, and thus any debate on its ethical nature as well as the resultant demands this place on teachers ought to begin from this point. Teachers need to know that teaching displays implicitly the qualities of a profession – the self-forgetting concern for the client, service ideals that make a constant hunt for upgrading imperative, as well as a professional community, mutually serving a community purpose by sustaining professional principles and endorsing professional development. These moral imperatives are fundamental to professional ethics (Thompson, 1997 p. 25). Teachers require the technical skills of communication, management and organization for effective classroom practice. Such skills are meaningful only within larger contexts of professional judgment in which evaluative considerations are paramount. Reflective teaching In the last decade, the slogan of reflective teaching has been embraced by teachers, teacher educators as well as educational researchers all over the world. This is a reaction against the view of teachers as technicians who narrowly construe the nature of the problems confronting them and merely carries out what others, not in classroom, want them to do. Reflective practice requires teacher to be active in formulating the purposes and ends of their work, they examine their own values and assumptions, in addition to playing leadership roles in curriculum development and school reform. It also calls teachers to have ideas, beliefs and theories that can contribute to the betterment of teaching. In order to achieve educational reform through reflection, teachers need to understand that the process of learning to teach continues throughout a teacher’s entire career, a recognition that no matter how good a teacher education program is, at best, it can only prepare teachers to begin teaching. It is important for teachers to note that a reflective teacher: examines, frames, and tries to solve the dilemmas of classroom practice; is aware of and questions the assumptions and values he or she brings to teaching; is attentive to the institutional and cultural contexts in which he or she teaches; takes part in curriculum development and is involved in school change efforts; and takes responsibility for his or her own professional development (Zeichner and Liston, 1996 p. 10). For teachers to acquire the reflective action, they need to attain three key attitudes towards teaching: Open-mindedness Open-mindedness is a vigorous yearning for teachers to listen to more than one side, to give full concentration to alternative possibilities as well as to be aware of the possibility of mistake even in beliefs that are dearest to them. Reflective teachers always ask themselves why they are acting in that manner. Open-mindedness recognizes the strengths and limitations of distinct ways of looking at students, learning as well as schooling. Responsibility The attitude of responsibility as a precondition for reflective action involves careful consideration of the results to which an action leads. The attitude of responsibility entails thinking about three types of consequences of one’s teaching: (a) personal consequences – the effects of one’s teaching on pupil self-concepts; (b) academic consequences – the effects of one’s teaching on pupils’ intellectual development; and (c) social and political consequences – the projected effects of one’s teaching on the life chances of various pupils. This attitude of responsibility has to engross reflection concerning the unexpected outcomes of teaching since even under best conditions; teaching always entails unintended and intended outcomes. Whole-heartedness Teachers who are whole-hearted constantly assess their own assumptions and beliefs as well as the consequences of their measures and approach all circumstances with the stance that they can become skilled at something novel. As teachers, they constantly try to comprehend their own teaching along with the ways in which it impacts their students and they make purposeful efforts to see circumstances from diverse point of view (Zeichner and Liston, 1996 p. 11). Classroom management and organization The major challenge encountered by new educators is their incapability to uphold power in the classroom. All teachers recognize the difficulties of classroom organization and appreciate that this feature of quality teaching is vital. However, an effective teacher plans and prepares for the organization of the classroom with the same care and precision used when designing an excellent lesson. Constituents of the managerial arrangement of a classroom comprise of space management, discipline, creating routines as well as an arrangement to educate learners how their education setting is planned. Teachers need to know that for them to be effective, they should support student learning through instructional techniques, strong curricular materials and rapport with the class as well as creating an overall environment conducive to learning. For teachers to be effective in classroom management and organization, they need to be proactive concerning student behavior in addition to involving students in the process of establishing and maintaining rules and routines (Stronge, 2007 p. 40). Use of a variety of instruction and learning strategies Teachers need to realize that teaching is more than a set of methods. Proper teaching means addressing a set of goals, for a particular group of pupils, at a certain point in the school years, with certain resources, within a particular time frame, and in a particular school and community setting. There are various general strategies that teachers must have for their teaching to be effective. First, the teacher’s decisions should be guided by what he or she wants the students to accomplish. Rather than thinking about the topics you want to teach, focus on learning outcomes: What does the teacher want the students to accomplish after studying the materials and completing their assignments? What knowledge, skills, attitudes and habits of mind do you as a teacher want the students to acquire by the end of the semester? Second, the teacher ought to apply principles that will enhance students’ learning and intellectual development. Thirdly, the teacher should design or revise the course with principles of universal design in mind. Universal design is founded on the premise that barrier-free, inclusive design benefits everyone – those with and without disabilities – and therefore eliminates or reduces the need for assistance and accommodation. Finally, teachers should aim at aligning course elements. Alignment means that learning outcomes, instructional activities as well as assessments of student learning are consistent and reinforce each other. Thus good teaching and learning strategies go hand in hand with good performance of students (Davis, 2009). Demonstration of teaching skills The main task facing teachers is to set up a learning activity that can effectively achieve the learning outcomes intended for each pupil. Before any lesson begins, all teachers are required to have some idea of what learning they wish to take place and how the lesson will facilitate that learning. Teachers ought to be capable of meeting the needs of learners. Teachers need to know that it is their sensitivity to students’ needs that is most important of all the skills involved in teaching. This sensitivity is reflected in the ability of the teacher to plan lessons and adapt and modify their delivery by taking account of how the lesson will be experienced by different students and foster their learning. Teachers should know that it is meaningless to try and evaluate the quality of a lesson plan without taking into consideration how well it meets the needs of students in the context in which it will take place. Teachers should also have competencies in planning. This can be done through selecting the educational objectives for a lesson. In selecting educational objectives, the teacher should specify clear learning outcomes which can usefully be analyzed in terms of the development of students’ knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes (Kyriacou, 1998 p. 22). Knowledge of students and the notion of developmental learning Teachers should work toward making their students achieve the best possible education openings and results. In their free time, teacher should seek new teaching ideas, new resources as well as equipments to advance the education of their learners. They should aim at improving their teaching skills, their knowledge concerning the subjects they teach, their relationship with students as well as their management of the schools in which they work. Teacher ought to seek professional growth that responds to such concerns as continuity, progression, differentiation, the inclusive curriculum, assessment, teaching and learning activities as well as resources to support teaching and learning. Continuity as a concern of teachers requires the systematic coordination of the professional activities of the teachers on both sides of the four structural divides: kindergarten – primary, primary – compulsory secondary, compulsory secondary – senior secondary, and senior secondary – tertiary. It entails the implementation of the official curriculum written for students of five to seventeen years in education systems divides on the basis of age. Teacher seeking professional development is also concerned with progression with respect to curriculum. This is the quality that makes steadily greater demands on students and which involves the continuous raising of the requirements laid on students over the duration of their schooling. Another concern is the differentiation or making sure that the learning expectation of a student at a given time is closely focused on the current learning skills and attainment status of that student, and that the prior experiences, knowledge, interests, concerns and values of the students are taken into account in teaching (Bell and Gilbert, 1996 p. 1). Positive class environment Teachers ought to understand that establishing a positive classroom environment is one of the fundamental components in a well-run, orderly classroom. In this environment, students can be safe, comfortable, and engaged apart from setting stage for student success. Teachers should be well aware of the three main elements of a positive classroom environment: keeping students safe, arranging the physical space into a workplace, as well as maintaining a brisk, businesslike pace, all prevent a great deal of misbehavior by sending and affirmative message to students. In a positive classroom environment, several minor annoyances that may slowly erode the orderliness and productive atmosphere that should exist are eliminated. Conclusion As much as the historical examination of teacher purposes and means show a pattern of continuity, it also reveal changes that demand consideration. There has been a move in the direction of superior emphasis on subject matter and acquisition as well as use of basic skills. There is also a shift from universalism toward more of an emphasis on individual development due to changes in the larger context of education as discussed above. These shifts have taken on various forms and have been experienced and responded to very differently by teachers working in different settings. However, teachers are obliged to know these issues discussed above so that they can be effective in their work. BREFLECTIVE COMPONENT Writing this paper was not a small task but it was accomplished through hard work and determination. I have spent a lot of time researching and reflecting on the issues that teachers of today are going through and what they need to do and know. There various reasons as to why I selected the ideas that I have discussed in my paper. There have been fundamental changes in the strategy and social context of teaching that have had considerable implications for the senses of professionalism. Under the pressure of neo-liberal principles along with new administrative technologies – with their privileging of cost-containment, efficiency as well as productivity goals – this period has experienced a growth in the fundamental guideline of work of teachers in addition to an augmented role for quasi-markets centered on the thoughts of choice and competition. As the influence of these substitute modes of management has augmented, so, in several national settings, the extent for professional influence on policy and practice has reduced. On the other hand, apart from facing demands that stem from state regulation and competition, teachers have also had to respond to other demands stemming from wider social changes. These entail bigger community cynicism towards proficient influence combined with a culture of consumerism, burden for community services that are further accessible to varied cultural and communal identities, and changes in information and communications technologies. These shifts have led me to handle the main areas that I felt are very important when addressing the things that the current teachers must understand and practice for them to be effective in their teaching. This paper was to put into consideration a range of ideas that affect the teacher as they work such as professionalism and ethics, reflective teaching, classroom management and organization, demonstration of teaching skills and many more, because there is considerable diversity in the ways in which governments have approached the restructuring of their education systems with diverse implications for teachers’ professional and individual identities and independence. Thus there was need for me to look into these main ideas. In the course of writing this paper, I have come across several reading materials that have guided me. These materials have been of great help to me as I have gained a lot of knowledge concerning the field of teaching. In fact, my knowledge on how to become an effective teacher have been greatly increased and I feel I can now handle students in a better way then before. I have appreciated the work done by the writers for it is good. I feel that if all teachers can access the information in these books, they too can be in a better position to disseminate their duties more effectively. After accessing the reading materials, the can be able to solve some of the difficulties they face on daily basis as well as improve their outcomes. I feel that teachers will be able to work toward making their students achieve the best possible education openings and results. If in their free time, teacher can seek new teaching ideas, new resources as well as equipments to advance the education of their learners, they can manage to improve their teaching skills, their knowledge concerning the subjects they teach, their relationship with students as well as their management of the schools in which they work. Furthermore, teacher will be able to seek professional growth that responds to such concerns as continuity, progression, differentiation, the inclusive curriculum, assessment, teaching and learning activities as well as resources to support teaching and learning. The organization of my work is as a result of my teacher’s effort as well as my effort in my course. I was able to organize this work because I have followed the teachings of my educators. This reminds me that some qualities are learnt through observing what your role models or mentor do. Since my teachers are my mentors, I have followed the way they organize their work. There were some changes in the process of writing this paper. These changes were shifts from dwelling much on the current challenges that teachers face towards writing about what the teachers need to know and do so as to become effective in their work. The paper has mainly dwelt on the ways by which the teacher of today can become more successful in achieving their objectives. In every idea that I have written about, I have shown how a teacher can be effective in that area. Thus I consider the paper very resourceful even to the teachers. The main reason for this change was the urge to know and also make others know how teaching can be more fruitful despite the many problems that teachers face on daily basis. I wanted to show that for teachers achieve educational reform, they should be committed to internalize the character and skill to improve their teaching and develop to be better teacher over time, being dedicated to take accountability for their own professional growth. The most difficult thing that I encountered when writing this paper was drawing the cutline between teacher from different regions and countries. This is because teachers face different challenges depending on their location. This further led me not to clearly state the distinct challenges that teachers are facing, but I focused more on how all teachers worldwide can become effective regardless of their location or the level of technology in their country. The level of technology in every country poses its own challenges and thus teachers face different challenges depending on their country’s level of advancement. The assessment of the paper can have various aspects. I feel that the aspect of time will not be a problem as the work had enough time. The paper was well research and written so I expect high performance on the paper which will help me in achieving my academic goals. I fell that the assignment has increased my knowledge on various aspects of being effective even in other areas. References: Bell B. and Gilbert J.K. (1996). Teacher development: a model from science education. UK, Routledge. Retrieved November 3, 2010 from http://books.google.com/books?id=fmJ8YoPciUMC&pg=PA1&dq=teachers+of+today+in+relation+to+Knowledge+of+students+%26+the+notion+of+developmental+learning&hl=en&ei=iB7TTPmVC8qZOpe4peYP&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false Davis B.G. (2009). Tools for Teaching. MA, John Wiley and Sons. Retrieved November 3, 2010 from http://books.google.com/books?id=dKq7GGi9RIMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=teachers+of+today+in+relation+to+teaching+%26+learning+strategies&hl=en&ei=sLjSTLPrGs7tOYX9_cUP&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false Gewirtz S. (2009). Changing teacher professionalism: international trends, challenges and ways forward. Ney York, Taylor & Francis. Retrieved November 3, 2010 from http://books.google.com/books?id=v3tAJa1z84C&pg=PA31&dq=teachers+of+today++Professionalism+and+ethics&as_brr=3&client=firefoxa&cd=3#v=onepage&q&f=true Kyriacou C. (1998). Essential teaching skills. Cheltenham, Nelson Thornes. Retrieved November 3, 2010 from http://books.google.com/books?id=zcFESecBUgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=teachers+of+today+in+relation+to+Demonstration+of+teaching+skills&hl=en&ei=iAzTTO6fBtO4jAeO2838DQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=false Stronge J.H. (2007). Qualities of effective teachers. VA, ASCD. Retrieved November 3, 2010 from http://books.google.com/books?id=0qi4i1las8C&pg=PA39&dq=teachers+of+today+in+relation+to+classroom+management+and+organization&hl=en&ei=PanSTMX2CYOeOuPmxaIP&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=true Thompson M. (1997). Professional ethics and the teacher: toward a General Teaching Council. Oakhill, Trentham Books. Retrieved November 3, 2010 from http://books.google.com/books?id=YIeCfJD4SVYC&pg=PA25&dq=teachers+of+today++Professionalism+and+ethics&as_brr=3&client=firefoxa&cd=6#v=onepage&q&f=false Zeichner, K.M. and Liston D.P. (1996). Reflective teaching: an introduction. UK, Routledge. Retrieved November 3, 2010 from http://books.google.com/books?id=zRLkUhgIssMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=teachers+of+today+in+relation+to+reflective+teaching&hl=en&ei=plDSTKSVIsmCOr6s3YMP&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false Read More