Teacher’s roles

A.M. Khan

The persona of the teacher evolves with diverse responsibilities in varied contexts, primarily inside the classroom and outside in society. This writing focuses on the roles a teacher performs in school.

The teacher is one who performs in class and leaves an impact. Given the teacher’s needs, it has to perform multiple roles essentially ‘modeling’ in pedagogy and content knowledge.

For the teacher in school is to teach as an educator, act a facilitator and guide, instructor, mentor, counselor, leader, researcher and a reflective practitioner. These tasks become more effective when these roles are smartly aligned in a context during teaching. The contradictions and implications in a setting where teacher’s own philosophy of education is distinct from what curriculum targets to achieve, is yet to find.

It is contributing to innovate one’s own context as a site for designing teaching and resource model for delivering on a variety and level of categories, subjects, and meet set outcomes.

Since the curriculum demands ‘student-centred pedagogy focused on inquiry-based approaches’, it does inform that such teaching theory must be embraced with in classroom.  

Based on John Dewey’s philosophy, inquiry-based approach is the reverse of traditional teaching approach and the ‘order of learning’. The elements central to this approach: Inquire, re-(search) flect, evaluate and construct, are meant to engage students with critical and creative thinking, responding to a range of scenarios (to make real-world connections), questions and problems. Navigating through a question-driven and learner self-directed course of independent investigation, to generate one’s own explanations and arguments, and to communicate (study) findings is testing for the children in some schools. In such a classroom setting facilitating the learning process attains merit.

The great deal of this inquiry process defines the role, or responsibilities, of an instructor to be either a facilitator and guide. Teacher happens to be engaged in action research, enabling inquiry based learning, and acts as a reflective practitioner. It may appear new for some teachers in our context to do research on their own school and classroom but this movement started far back in the US in 1950s, and by the early 1960s and 1970s in Britain.

The pedagogical innovation comes and gains insight when teachers engage in research of their own practice. Therein lies the pedagogical cycle: preparing, instructing, assessing, and reflecting; which marks an ‘upward spiral of learning and comprehension’. At the heart of teaching is the commitment to education, enabling, and help create an enabling environment.

Teacher as a change agent primes learning in class and carries the voice of leadership. Leading through challenging times and enabling rigorous learning is attributed with the teacher both inside and outside classroom. As a leader, teacher embodies the quality of being innovative, collaborative with staff, strategic in decision making, build learning community around, help create a culture of continuous improvement, safe and effective learning environment.

Thus, when we think of a leader many leadership styles come to mind but the pacesetting and empathetic style of teacher leadership has far reaching impact on school and beyond that. Teacher leader envisions inclusivity and collegiality, and remains passionate about sharing one’s knowledge and expertise with both students and fellow teachers.

The crucial role of a teacher as a mentor and counselor is about the close relationship and rapport s/he maintains with his students. Friendly, empathetic and supportive relationship empowers and grow confidence and emotional intelligence in students.

However, imagining every practitioner in the roles of a good teacher and a facilitator, informed guide and instructor, leader, having knowhow of research tools, and modeling on reflection appears to be an over expectation. Bridging a developing divide between the children being educated in well performing private educational institutions and public schools is a curve that teachers can flatten.  

To weather conducive environment in schools, provision of facilities and continuous professional development of teachers empowers them to perform many roles they are supposed to do.