BPT1501
Assignment 02
Name: J BARNES
Student no.: 65460812
Question 1:
1.1.
Interpreter and designer of learning programmes and materials:
In light of the new section in the curriculum of one of Cynthia’s senior classes,
Cynthia constructed a new activity – a ‘role-playing’ exercise’ – that she had learnt
from attending a course. Cynthia also made a worksheet for her learners, regarding
the learning material, for the next day’s lesson. This information tells us that Cynthia
was able to understand and interpret material and design her own activities
according to the context of the learning programme.
Leader, administrator and manager:
As soon as Cynthia is at school, the first thing she does is clear out her pigeonhole
and have a look at what has been addressed to her. From this we can tell that she is
organized and responsible. She is also involved in assemblies, a curriculum
committee as well as a career planning speech for the senior learners. Cynthia also
spends time adjusting her plans for the next day’s lessons once she has had the
current day’s classes – this is a good management technique to ensure she knows
exactly what to do the next day.
Scholar, researcher and lifelong learner:
This can be shown in the case study when it mentions that there is a new addition to
the curriculum of one of Cynthia’s senior classes. It says that Cynthia had done a lot
of reading and preparation for this new section of work.
Community, citizenship and pastoral role:
The case study mentions that after Cynthia has heard that there was violence in the
school hostel, she ‘thinks she should speak to her register class about it’. This shows
us that Cynthia is concerned about encouraging others to have a sense of respect
and responsibility with regards to others in all sectors of society. She is also said to
have spoken to her colleagues several times throughout the school day, from this we
can assume that she has good relations with her colleagues – a factor that is vital in
community.
Assessor:
Cynthia decides she wants to go over a section of work in one of her classes as the
learners did not do well in the assessment. She also keeps a ‘continuous assessment
of reports’ for the learner’s previous terms results. Once the day is over, she takes
her marking home with her as to complete it for the next day.
1.2.
Learning mediator:
Cynthia might struggle at times to pass on her knowledge of her subject’s content.
This is shown by the meeting she has to attend with the HOD and the parents of one
of her students’ as he/she failed her subject in the previous term. As well as the fact
that her students did poorly in one of the tests and she had to go through the
section with her class again.
Learning area/subject/discipline/phase specialist:
Cynthia seems to only refer to textbooks as a resource of teaching. This may be why
her learners aren’t excelling in her subject – being a learning mediator means that a
teacher acknowledges that all learner’s needs are diverse and providing a learning
environment that inspires them and where communication is present. Cynthia is not
approaching the content in this way and this may be why her learners are either
failing or not doing as well as they should.
1.3.
1) The ability to develop relationships with their learners is encouraged by the role of
‘scholar, researcher and lifelong learner’ as this role is the notion that teachers are
always learning, researching and studying new material that may have been added
to the curriculum or new ways of approaching the content. This places them in a
similar position as learners - a good teacher will be able to incorporate this
understanding into their classrooms and help to establish relationships with their
learners.
2) We can compare the role of ‘community, citizenship and pastoral care’ to the
quality of being patient, kind and having a caring personality as these attributes will
enable the teacher to be someone that the learners can look up to or feel
comfortable to confide in – something that is vital in both community as well as
pastoral care.
3) One quality of a good teacher is their ability to have an understanding/knowledge
of their learners. This quality influences a couple of roles. (1) ‘Interpreter and
designer of learning programmes and materials’ – the teacher will be able to use her
understanding of her learners to help her approach the way in which she teaches the
content of her subject (using textbooks, visuals etc.) as well as how quickly she/he
will be able to cover the work that needs to be covered. (2) ‘Leader, administrator
and manager’ – the teacher will be able to make the appropriate decisions that will
benefit her learners as well as accept that she/he may need to adjust certain aspects
of her/his approaches while supporting and encouraging learners.
4) The teacher’s role of an ‘assessor’ is one of many that can be linked to the quality
of being dedicated to teaching. Although teachers are required to set assessments
and mark the work of their learners, this is not involved in their ordinary school day,
meaning that they are expected to ‘assess’ in their own time – after the school day
has finished. They are also required to keep detailed records of how their learners
performed. This shows their dedication to their subject as both of these
requirements take time. Teachers will also need to prep their classes which also
requires a lot of time and effort as they assess the content of the work and
brainstorm ways in which they can help the learners achieve a better understanding.
5) Teachers need to be able to engage their students in learning. This may be done
through the effective use of several roles. (1) ‘Learning mediator’ – teachers are
expected to teach in a way that all learners will be able to understand the content of
the subject as well as create an environment that inspires and motivates the
learners, one where communication is present. (2) ‘Learning
area/subject/discipline/phase specialist’ – the educator uses her knowledge of the
subject, skills, resources and discipline to help learners gain a deep understanding of
the content. Approaching the work differently according to the needs of his/her
class.
1.4.
2.
All seven roles are vital in order to achieve the level of competence. However, I
believe several play a more crucial role. First of which is being a ‘learning mediator’.
This role emphasizes the need for teachers to establish an understanding of the
needs of each student in order to effectively pass on their knowledge of the subject
(using a variety of resources, skills and activities best suited for their specific needs).
As well as to create an environment that is not only encouraging and inspirational for
the students, but also suited to the subject, for example, a tourism class may have
clocks with the times of different countries. Another important role is being a
‘leader, administrator and manager’. Educators need to enforce all 3 roles in the
classrooms and around the school. They need to be able to lead their students and
support them when it is needed; manage what happens during their classes as well
as execute their respective duties. They also need to be conscious of what situations
may occur and how to either prevent them or adjusting their approaches. The role of
‘community, citizenship’ and being ‘pastoral’ is critical in terms of teaching.
Educators need to emphasize the importance of respecting others and being
responsible for them. This ensures that the rights of all citizens, according to the
constitution, are being taught and adhered to. Teachers also need to establish
relationships with learners and construct environment that display support, comfort
and empowerment. Being an ‘assessor’ is also an essential role, teachers need to be
able to set assessments appropriately, keeping in mind the level and the purpose of
each assessment. In regard to giving the learners their results – teachers need to be
able to give their learners constructive feedback in addition to keeping detailed
interpretations of the assessment’s results.
1) Learning mediator – It sates in the Norms and Standards for Educators that ‘the
educator will mediate learning in a manner which is sensitive to the diverse needs of
learners’. This ‘diverse needs of learners’ tells us that teachers need to use resources as
well as brainstorm ideas that will be able to interpret the content of the subject for ALL
kinds of learners. For example, a teacher may use an appropriate article for
reading/writing learners, draw a diagram or use appropriate films and videos for visual
learners, use appropriate music for auditory learners and incorporate a physical activity
such as role playing, for kinesthetic learners.
2) Interpreter and designer of learning programmes and materials – It states that
teachers should ‘prepare suitable textual and visual resources for learning’. This implies
that this role in specifically set out for reading and writing learners (textual resources)
and visual learners (visual resources).
3) Leader, administrator and manager – This role is said to ‘demonstrate
responsiveness to changing circumstances and needs’. Which means that this role
targets all kinds of learners – reading/writing, visual, auditory and kinesthetic – as it
says that teachers need to be able to understand the needs and circumstances of their
learners (how their students learn best) and make the necessary changes that will be
beneficial to the learners understanding of the subject. For example, the teacher may
only prepare textual resources for the learners at the beginning of the year, however,
she/he notices that some of the students are battling to understand so she/he
incorporates diagrams and pictures as well as a song relating to the topic and as a
result, the learners are gaining a deeper understanding and performing better in the
assessments.
4) Scholar, researcher and lifelong learner – This particular role is highly dependent on
the way the educator learns as this role concerns the ongoing growth in knowledge the
teacher acquires through extended research. Therefore, the teacher needs to know
which of the 4 types of learning works for him/her best and apply it when doing his/her
additional research.
5) Community, citizenship and pastoral role - It states in the description of this role
that ‘the educator will demonstrate an ability to develop a supportive and empowering
environment for the learner and respond to the educational and other needs of
reamers’. Therefore, the teacher is aware that each student has different ‘needs’, in
this case, the different needs would be the different ways in which they learn best. The
teacher needs to determine which style of teaching will be most effective in teaching
each child and incorporate all styles into her lessons, ensuring that each child will be
able to grasp the topic in at least one way.
6) Assessor – The type of assessment is highly dependent on what subject it is that the
teacher is teaching. For example, a drama assessment may either take place as a
practical – which will benefit the kinesthetic learners – or as a written assessment –
which will benefit those learners who may be better at reading/writing; it is similar to
the subject or visual arts, assessments may take place as a practical – which will benefit
visual learners – or as a written assessment – which will benefit learners who are better
at reading/writing; music will also have a practical – beneficial to auditory learners –
and a written assessment – more suited for learners who achieve better results due to
their ability to learn better with reading/writing. However, most assessments that occur
in school are written and students results will be determined by their ability to use their
type of learning and apply it in the assessment – e.g. visual learners will draw mind
maps and use colour, reading/writing learners will write notes in a more formal way.
7) Learning area/subject/discipline/phase specialist – It says that ‘the educator will
know about different approaches to teaching and learning and how these may be used
in ways which are appropriate to learners and the context.’ Hence, good teachers will
be able to teach their subjects content targeting each learning type which will be
beneficial to all the learners as they will all be taught in a way that may be better for
them to understand the material.
3.
Diagram of what it entails to be a ‘reflective practitioner’:
1) Self-evaluation/
reflection.
2) Assess your method of
teaching by researching
solutions to problems you
may be experiencing.
3) Make use of literature – the authors
would have done plenty research and
their writings may be able to assist with
more effective approaches to teaching.
4) You, as the educator, need to be firm and confident in
your values and beliefs about your approach to teaching.
However, you need to assess whether you are being too
narrow minded and ensure that you are being flexible
enough with your approaches in order for your learners to
fully engage with the topic.
5) Exchange your reflections with other as they
will be able to give you constructive feedback as
well as different ideas/perspectives that will
ultimately benefit you.
6) Offer a variety of approaches to your teaching
method as this is more likely to keep your learners
interested, motivated and engaged.
7) Assess whether you are being flexible with
your methods of teaching as you need to be able
to accommodate the needs of your students.
8) Assess what your attributes are and use them
effectively to enhance your teaching.
9) Remember that the world is always changing,
therefore society is always changing – you need
to assess whether your teaching practices are
still proving to be successful, if not, be open to
researching new approaches.
References:
1. B Hegarty, ‘Strategies for Reflective Practice’, WikiEducator,
http://wikieducator.org/Learning_and_Teaching_in_Practice/Reflective_practice/Str
ategies_for_reflective_practice [accessed 27 February 2019]
2. Norms and Standards provided document - http://www.polity.org.za/
3. Case Study provided – ‘A day in the life as a teacher’
4. C Nakano, ‘The Four Different Types of Learners’, Prezi Blog,
https://blog.prezi.com/the-four-different-types-of-learners-and-what-they-mean-toyour-presentations-infographic/ [accessed 27 February 2019]