Matakuliah
Tahun
: G0454/Class Management and Education Media
: 2006
The Role of Teachers
Pertemuan 3 s.d 4
I. The English Teacher as Professional
• Professional versus Amateur
The distinction between professional and the amateur is based on
consistent differences in performance in the field, involving the
quality of preparatory and ongoing learning, standards and
commitment.
The amateur does things for fun, for the love of it.
Thus, some one who knows English may have a go at teaching it, as
an amateur, without any particular training or commitment. He / she
may do it well, or badly. But the professional cannot allow himself or
herself to “have a go” at teaching or to do it badly.
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Professionalism
This means preparing oneself to do a competent job through
learning.
This learning may take the form of pre service or in-service courses,
reflection on experience, reading, observation, discussion with
colleagues, writing, research – the means are numerous.
Such learning continues throughout the professional’s working life.
Similarly, the professional recognizes certain standards: of
knowledge ( of the subject and of its methodology ), of dedication
and hard work, of behaviour and of relationships with clients (
learners, patients ) and other professionals.
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• Some of these standards are maintained through compulsory
examinations and nationally or internationally recognized
qualifications.
• There is also the aspect of commitment and responsibility. So,
professional teachers are committed to bringing about the best
learning they can in their classes.
• One implication of this is that we may not play around and
experiment with our classes, trying out new “fads” only because they
are fashionable or fun for us : we may only try out new things if we
are confident and they will benefit our students’ learning.
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• Professional versus Technician
The technician, craftsman, or artisan performs certain
acts with skill and becomes more skillful as time goes
on, through practice.
The professional has not only to acquire certain skills,
but also to be able to take courses of action that are
based on knowledge and thought, as distinct from
automatic and consciously designed action, and be able
to articulate them, relate them to each other, and
innovate.
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The native English speaker is a technician, in the sense that he or
she is skilled in speaking English.
The English teacher is in principle a professional : He or she
cannot only speak the language, but can also explain why it works
the way it does and what different bits of it mean, and knows how
to “mediate” it to learners in a form that they can grasp and learn.
The teacher also knows how to manage classrooms and
relationships: Again these are not just unthinking skills but
thoughtfully evolved and flexible sets of professional behaviours.
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• Professional versus Academic
An academic can be defined as a researcher, lecturer, and writer,
usually based in a university.
There is an essential difference between occupation of the doctor,
architect, teacher on the other hand, and the research scientist on
the other.
The professional is a bringer-about of real world change : the doctor
cures patients, the architect designs buildings, the teacher brings
about or catalyses learning.
Essentially, the professional priorities real-time action, whereas the
academic priorities thought – though of course the professional also
thinks about his or her actions, and the academic acts in order to
develop his or her thinking.
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The Academic
•
•
•
•
•
•
Is primarily occupied in thinking and
researching.
Acts (researches) in order to refine
thinking.
Is interested in finding out the truth or
more information.
Is not an immediate agent of realworld change.
Is evaluated in the short term by his
or her publications.
Is evaluated in the long term by his or
her influence on the thought and
action of both academic and
professionals.
The Professional
•
•
•
•
•
•
Is primarily occupied in real-time
action.
Thinks in order to improve action.
Is interested in finding out what
works.
Is an immediate agent of real-world
change.
Is evaluated in the short term by the
extent to which he or she brings
about valuable change.
Is evaluated in the long term by his or
her influence on the thought and
action of both academics and
professionals.
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WE ENGLISH TEACHERS.......
Thus, to say that we English teachers are professionals is to imply that :
• We are a community. We are an identifiable group, whose members
are interested in interaction with one another for the sake of learning,
and also for the enjoyment of exchanging experiences and ideas with
sympathetic colleagues.
• We are committed. We are committed to reaching certain standards
of performance, and we are aware of our responsibility toward our
learners and their learning.
• We publish. We communicate innovatory ideas, whether theoretical
or practical, to one another and to the public at large: through inhouse seminars, national or international conferences, journals, or
books.
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• We learn. We do not just teach: We also learn, continually – about
our subject matter, about teaching methods, and about many other
things that make us better educated and therefore better educators.
We read, we listen, we reflect, we discuss.
• We are autonomous. Nobody else can tell us what to do; we
ourselves are responsible for maintaining professional standards. In
principle, therefore, a professional body should set requirements for
accreditation at different levels and should act as “gatekeeper”,
ensuring that teaching is not performed by ill-qualified amateurs.
• We are responsible for training new teachers. It is the
professional teachers who should be organizing courses and
teaching the next generation of practitioners, whether through
school-based, college-based, or university-based courses.
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II. ROLES to PLAY in the CLASSROOM
1.
The T as controller
2.
The T as assessor
3.
The T as organizer
4.
The T as prompter
5.
The T as participant
6.
The T as a resource
7.
The T as investigator
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A CLINE OF
CONTROL AND FREEDOM
The roles of Controller
Controlling
The roles of Facilitator
Facilitative
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T as CONTROLLER
Controlling
Facilitative
x
Teachers as controllers are in complete charge of the class. They
control not only what the students do, but also when they speak and
what language they use.
T as ASSESSOR
Controlling
Facilitative
X
X
correction
gentle correction
A major part of the teacher’s job is to assess the students’ work, to
see how well they are performing or how well they performed.
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T as ORGANIZER
Controlling
Facilitative
X
The most important and difficult role the teacher has to play is that of
organizer. The success of many activities depends on good
organization and on the students knowing exactly what they are to do.
T as PROMPTER
Controlling
Facilitative
X
Often the teacher needs to encourage students to participate or needs
to make suggestions about how students may proceed in an activity
when there is a silence or when they are confused about what to do
next. This is the role of prompter.
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T as PARTICIPANT
Controlling
Facilitative
X
There is no reason why teacher should not participate as an equal in an
activity especially where activities like simulations are taking place.
Teachers should not be afraid to participate since not only will it
probably improve the atmosphere in the class, but it will also give the
students a chance to practice English with someone who speaks it
better than they do.
T as A RESOURCE
Controlling
Facilitative
X
The teacher should always be ready to offer help if it is needed.
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T as TUTOR
Controlling
Facilitative
X
The teacher as a tutor acts as a coach and as a resource where
students are involved in their own work, and call upon the teacher
mainly for advice and guidance.
This tutorial role – which approximates to a counselling function – is
often appropriate at intermediate and advanced levels. It is a
broader role than the others because it incorporates parts of some
of the other roles, i.e. organizer, prompter and resource.
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T as INVESTIGATOR
All the roles we have mentioned so far have had to do with the
teacher’s behaviour as it relates to the students.
But teachers themselves will want to develop their own skills and
they will hope for a gradually deepening insight into the best ways to
foster language learning.
The best way to do this is by:
 investigating what is going on,
 observing what works well in class and what does not,
 trying out new techniques and activities and
 evaluating their appropriacy.
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 Teachers may find the job of teaching becoming increasingly
monotonous if :
they do not investigate the efficiency of new methods and do
not actively seek their own personal and professional
development.
 Teachers will find the teaching of English constantly rewarding if :
they constantly seek to enrich their understanding of what
learning is all about and what works well.
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III. Methods of EFFECTIVE Classroom Managers
1.
Readying the classroom :
Classroom space, materials and equipment are ready at the beginning of
the year.
2.
Planning rules and procedures :
Teachers make sure students understand and follow rules and
procedures.
3.
Teaching rules and procedures :
Rules and procedures are systematically taught and reinforced.
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4.
Consequences :
Consequences for not following rules and procedures are clearly
established by the teachers, there is consistent follow through.
5.
Beginning of school activities :
The first few days are spent getting students ready as a coherent and
cooperative group.
6.
Strategies for potential problems :
Strategies for dealing with potential problems are planned in
advance.
7.
Monitoring :
Student behaviour is closely monitored; the teacher does not lose
audience contact; student academic work is also monitored.
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8.
Stopping inappropriate behaviour :
Inappropriate or disruptive behaviour is handled promptly and
consistently – before it worsens or spreads.
9.
Organizing instruction :
Teachers organize instructional activities at suitable levels for all students
in the class.
10.
Student accountability :
Procedures have been developed for keeping students accountable for
their work and behaviour.
11.
Instructional clarity :
Teachers provide clear instructions; these help keep students on task and
allow them to learn faster, while reducing discipline problems.
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