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Core Module: Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Centre (PTTLS) Level 4 Assignment Produce a report on the roles, responsibilities and boundaries of the teaching role Teacher’s roles, responsibilities and boundaries There are 6 domains making up the overarching professional standards which are: a) Professional standards and practice b) Learning and teaching c) Specialist learning and teaching d) Planning for learning e) Assessment for learning f) Access and progression
The teacher’s role is to value all of their learners as individuals and to treat them equally and to create stimulating and effective opportunities within the class that enable the development and progression of all students. The teacher’s role is also to plan their sessions in advance utilising lesson plans and other preparation materials. Completing attendance records and maintaining records of learner progress through methods such as tutorials and assessments is also vital.
All teachers have a duty of care to their learners which would include, inducting learners to the organisation of the course, carrying out one to one tutorials and reviews with learners. In following these procedures, the teacher must follow professional values and ethics, behave and speak appropriately and standardise their practice. Should a student have particular needs, the teacher must refer them to other agencies where necessary. Self-evaluation is also necessary for the teacher to improve their practice. This may be in the form of research or reviews.
Legislation and codes of practice affecting the work of teachers and how these relate to your specialist subject There is a wide range of legislation, which the teacher must be aware of encompassing: • Equal Opportunities Act • Health and Safety Act • Sex Discrimination Act • Data Protection Act • Every Child Matters • The Education Act • Special Needs and Disability Act • The Confidentiality Act It’s important to keep up to date with these legislations as they evolve, as it is part of the teacher’s responsibility to ensure they are being adhered to and to be able to follow the correct procedure if they are not. As a teacher your responsibility for the safety of your students is a legal requirement. ” Minton (1991) These legislations protect the rights of both teachers and staff while within the learning environment. Within Graphic Design these codes of practice would play a vital part in my everyday teaching. This would extend to ensuring the classroom environment is a safe place to work i. e. electrical plugs have been certified and tested, screens are at a correct position, students do not spend over an hour working at a monitors and there is a correct working environment temperature.
What is the role of initial assessment in teaching and learning and why should you use it? The initial assessment is a crucial part of the learning journey. It provides the information needed to decide a learner’s starting point. It is the benchmark from which learner’s progress and achievement can be measured. By completing the assessment, a learner can see how much they are achieving throughout their course and this allows a more reflective approach to learning to flourish. It should always be a collaborative process to bring the learner on board with their journey and to give them a sense of empowerment: Initial assessment needs to be done with learners rather than to them. It should be of benefit to learners and help them feel positive about themselves and their potential to learn. ” ? Green, M. (2003) Furthermore, the tutor can use this to plan to meet the learner’s needs and establish a starting point in order to review their progress and achievements, further improving the quality of teaching being delivered. Points of referral that teachers can use to meet the potential needs of learners There is a wide range of points for referral and they may take many forms.
One of the most basic ways of identifying a point for referral is within the visual records, i. e. attendance and work progress. Initial assessment can be a point of referral if this highlights learning difficulties. If learning difficulties are found the student may need specialist assistance. For example, a learner who has impaired sight or hearing may need a learning assistant. Students may have religious reasons for not attending classes at certain times of year and this may also require a referral.
The need to take account of the diverse needs of learners and how to promote inclusive learning A teacher must take into account a learner’s specific and additional needs, providing appropriate support, meeting their learning needs and giving them access to fair assessment. One of the central principles of teaching is to provide learners with an environment to learn and flourish. It is upon this principle that the fundamentals of inclusive learning have been established. Another objective of inclusive learning is to share knowledge and skills to in a way which helps all learners achieve their educational goals regardless of background i. . race, gender, sexuality, age and disability. The assessment methods that teachers use in different contexts There are three main assessment methods that enable a tutor to capture a learner’s progress, initial, formative and summative. Initial assessment may start during enrolment to establish learner’s skill sets, interests, experience and motivation. It may also be assessed within a ‘getting to know you’ activity. It needs to be flexible and should feel a seamless part of the group. It should also be adapted to suit the needs both of the individuals within the group and the group as a whole.
Formative assessment is an ongoing process. Its purpose is to give feedback on what the students are learning e. g. for the student to identify their achievements and areas for further improvement. It can also be useful for the teacher to evaluate the effectiveness of the teaching to date and to evolve and adapt techniques where needed. Summative assessment is what students focus on is measuring their own achievement. It is the assessment, usually on the completion of a course or module, which determines whether or not you have ‘passed’.
It is undertaken with reference to all the objectives and outcomes of the course. There should be a record kept of all assessments. The advantages and disadvantages of different ways of embedding functional skills within your subject area There are three main functional skills that should be embedded into all specialist areas. These are literacy, numeracy and ITC (communication technology). These will help the learner to develop transferable skills helping them to work confidently, effectively and independently within their lifetime.
Within my specialist field of Graphic Design there are advantages to functional skills, as they provide a structural basis for learning. The functional skillset within my specialist area is wholly applicable. This could take the form of understanding paper sizes/font sizes for numeracy, literacy in the form of headlines and body copy and ITC skills would be utilised across the board. However, there are disadvantages to applying the three functional skills to everything within my subject. There may be instances where they would not be relevant or could feel constraining.
If we were trying to encourage free creative thought within a lesson or project, trying to include these skills could feel contrived and stifle creative expression. This could become restrictive in some instances where applying the three skills wasn’t a natural fit to the task at hand and could potentially have the knock on effect of making the students feel disengaged with the core aim of the project. What records teachers need to maintain and reasons for keeping them, including their role in providing learner feedback
Keeping records is a vital tool that enables teachers to measure a learner’s progress and is a benchmark with which to measure against the ongoing objectives. Records can be categorised under two broad headings, pastoral and academic. The first area would encompass areas such as attendance, sick notes, and specialist referral i. e. special needs. The second category would include their academic progress, which would include grades tracked across the year. By looking back at the records, a teacher can track a learner’s ongoing progress and, where appropriate, adapt their teaching approach and method to best aid the learner.
Attendance gives an idea of where students may fall behind through non-attendance. Being aware of non-attendance can help flag a problem that may be external to the classroom setting and may need referral to other professionals in order to rectify. Attendance records form an ongoing daily record and are a legally binding audit. Bibliography Gravells, A, and Simpson, S. (2009) Equality and Diversity in the Lifelong Learning Sector Minton, D (2005) Teaching Skills in Further and Adult Education 3rd edition, London: Thompson Learning