Lecture 9. General description of the teaching profession.

The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional qualifications or credentials from a university orcollege. These professional qualifications may include the study of pedagogy, the science of teaching. Teachers, like other professionals, may have to continue their education after they qualify, a process known as continuing professional development. Teachers may use a lesson plan to facilitate student learning, providing a course of study which is called thecurriculum.

A teacher's role may vary among cultures. Teachers may provide instruction in literacy and numeracy, craftsmanship orvocational training, the arts, religion, civics, community roles, or life skills.

A teacher who facilitates education for an individual may also be described as a personal tutor, or, largely historically, agoverness.

In some countries, formal education can take place through home schooling. Informal learning may be assisted by a teacher occupying a transient or ongoing role, such as a family member, or by anyone with knowledge or skills in the wider community setting.

Teaching may be carried out informally, within the family, which is called homeschooling, or in the wider community. Formal teaching may be carried out by paid professionals. Such professionals enjoy a status in some societies on a par with physicians, lawyers, engineers, and accountants (Chartered or CPA).

A teacher's professional duties may extend beyond formal teaching. Outside of the classroom teachers may accompany students on field trips, supervise study halls, help with the organization of school functions, and serve as supervisors for extracurricular activities. In some education systems, teachers may have responsibility for student discipline.

Around the world teachers are often required to obtain specialized education, knowledge, codes of ethics and internal monitoring.

There are a variety of bodies designed to instill, preserve and update the knowledge and professional standing of teachers. Around the world many governments operate teacher's colleges, which are generally established to serve and protect the public interest through certifying, governing and enforcing the standards of practice for the teaching profession.

The functions of the teacher's colleges may include setting out clear standards of practice, providing for the ongoing education of teachers, investigating complaints involving members, conducting hearings into allegations of professional misconduct and taking appropriate disciplinary action and accrediting teacher education programs. In many situations teachers in publicly funded schools must be members in good standing with the college, and private schools may also require their teachers to be college peoples. In other areas these roles may belong to the StateBoard of Education, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the State Education Agency or other governmental bodies. In still other areas Teaching Unions may be responsible for some or all of these duties.

Pedagogy and teaching

In education, teachers facilitate student learning, often in a school or academy or perhaps in another environment such as outdoors. A teacher who teaches on an individual basis may be described as a tutor.

The objective is typically accomplished through either an informal or formal approach to learning, including a course of study and lesson plan that teaches skills, knowledge and/or thinking skills. Different ways to teach are often referred to as pedagogy. When deciding what teaching method to use teachers consider students' background knowledge, environment, and their learning goals as well as standardizedcurricula as determined by the relevant authority. Many times, teachers assist in learning outside of the classroom by accompanying students on field trips. The increasing use of technology, specifically the rise of the internet over the past decade, has begun to shape the way teachers approach their roles in the classroom.

The objective is typically a course of study, lesson plan, or a practical skill. A teacher may follow standardized curricula as determined by the relevant authority. The teacher may interact with students of different ages, from infants to adults, students with different abilities and students with learning disabilities.

Teaching using pedagogy also involve assessing the educational levels of the students on particular skills. Understanding the pedagogy of the students in a classroom involves using differentiated instruction as well as supervision to meet the needs of all students in the classroom. Pedagogy can be thought of in two manners. First, teaching itself can be taught in many different ways, hence, using a pedagogy of teaching styles. Second, the pedagogy of the learners comes into play when a teacher assesses the pedagogic diversity of his/her students and differentiates for the individual students accordingly. For example, an experienced teacher and parent described the place of a teacher in learning as follows: "The real bulk of learning takes place in self-study and problem solving with a lot of feedback around that loop. The function of the teacher is to pressure the lazy, inspire the bored, deflate the cocky, encourage the timid, detect and correct individual flaws, and broaden the viewpoint of all. This function looks like that of a coach using the whole gamut of psychology to get each new class of rookies off the bench and into the game."

Perhaps the most significant difference between primary school and secondary school teaching is the relationship between teachers and children. In primary schools each class has a teacher who stays with them for most of the week and will teach them the whole curriculum. In secondary schools they will be taught by different subject specialists each session during the week and may have ten or more different teachers. The relationship between children and their teachers tends to be closer in the primary school where they act as form tutor, specialist teacher and surrogate parent during the course of the day.

This is true throughout most of the United States as well. However, alternative approaches for primary education do exist. One of these, sometimes referred to as a "platoon" system, involves placing a group of students together in one class that moves from one specialist to another for every subject. The advantage here is that students learn from teachers who specialize in one subject and who tend to be more knowledgeable in that one area than a teacher who teaches many subjects. Students still derive a strong sense of security by staying with the same group of peers for all classes.

Co-teaching has also become a new trend amongst educational institutions. Co-teaching is defined as two or more teachers working harmoniously to fulfill the needs of every student in the classroom. Co-teaching focuses the student on learning by providing a social networking support that allows them to reach their full cognitive potential. Co-teachers work in sync with one another to create a climate of learning.

The duties and responsibilities of a Teacher shall include the following:

Overall Functions

• To teach and educate students according to guidelines provided by the National Curriculum Framework under the overall guidance of the competent education authority;

• To teach and educate students according to the educational needs, abilities and attainment potential of individual students entrusted to his/her care by the Head of School or Head of Unit. Main Responsibilities

• Planning, preparing and delivering lessons to all students in the class;

• Teaching according to the educational needs, abilities and achievement of the individual students and groups of students;

• Adopting and working towards the implementation of the school development plan of the particular school they are giving service in;

• Assigning work, correcting and marking work carried out by his/her students;

• Assessing, recording and reporting on the development, progress, attainment and behaviour of one’s students;

• Providing or contributing to oral and written assessments, reports and references relating to individual students or groups of students;

• Participating in arrangements within an agreed national framework for the appraisal of students’ performance;

• Promoting the general progress and well-being of individual students, groups of students or class entrusted to him/her;

• Providing guidance and advice to students on educational and social matters and on their further education and future careers; providing information on sources of more expert advice;

• Communicating, consulting and co-operating with other members of the school staff, including those having posts of special responsibility and parents/guardians to ensure the best interest of students;

• Reviewing and evaluating one’s own teaching and learning strategies, methodologies and programme/s in line with the National Curriculum Framework guidelines;

• Advising and co-operating with the Head of School, Assistant Head, Heads of Department, Education Officers, and other teachers in the preparation and development of courses of study, teaching materials, teaching programmes, methods of teaching and assessment and pastoral care arrangements;

• Ensuring high standards of professional practice and quality of teaching and learning of the subject/s. Through effective dialogue, participating in reciprocal peer review and observation of class teaching practice by the Head of Department (subject/level) concerned;

• Participating in In-Service education and training courses as well as in continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities, and taking part in action research exercises; • Maintaining good order and discipline amongst students under one’s care and safeguarding their health and safety at all times;

• Participating in staff, group or other meetings related to the school curriculum or pastoral care arrangements, for the better organization and administration of the school;

• Contributing to the professional development of new teachers and student teachers according to arrangements agreed with the Head of School;

• Providing the necessary information and advice to the designated personnel in the school and/or College and to provide all the necessary information regarding requisitions and arrangements in connection with the teaching of the subject/s assigned to him/her;

• Ensuring the safe custody and optimum use of equipment normally used by oneself during lessons and sees to its regular servicing and maintenance;

• Participating in school assemblies;

• Registering and monitoring the attendance of students under one’s care;

• Sharing in any possible and reasonable way in the effective management, organisation, order and discipline of the school;

• Nurtures a culture where teachers view themselves essentially as facilitators of learning and reflective practitioners;