Ptlls Unit 1 Essay
Steven Iodice
25th September 2011
Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector Level 4
Theory Assignment 1
Describe what your role, responsibilities and boundaries would be as a teacher in terms of the teaching/training cycle. Reflect on this.
People learn for different reasons. Some to further their career development, others for personal fulfilment or to keep up with modern trends. ‘The pensioner, trying to gain skills so that they can communicate in today’s electronic era’ (Wilson, 2008: 5). For whatever reason, learning is here to stay.
As a teacher, there are some fundamental rules that must be adhered, to enable an optimum learning opportunity. The first is, do not assume (Wilson 2008). Whether you are a veteran trainer or just …show more content…
breaking into the field of teaching: the rule still applies.
There are five basic steps to successful teaching and they can be found in the teaching/training cycle. The cycle sets out identifying needs, planning and designing, delivering, assessing and evaluating.
Utilise all the known and tried tools to structure a bespoke teaching package centred around your learners.
To be learner centred requires a knowledge of the learners, therefore the first stage of the teaching cycle, identifying needs, is used to ensure you have the information to plan successfully. It has to be remembered that the class is made up of a group of individuals and there lies the first challenge: the group and the individuals.
Identifying the needs of the group is marginally simpler as the learners have all got a common goal, which is to learn the subject you are teaching. Group dynamics must be considered as the learners will all be coming from different backgrounds, with varying degrees of educational experience, and likely from diverse social and cultural backgrounds. A good standard for assessing needs is using SPICE. This looks at five areas that could influence learning; social, physical, intellectual, cultural, and emotional.
A variety of tools are available to help the teacher asses the individual needs of the learner. The application can be utilised to gather primary information about the learners current education levels and whether there are any requirements for additional support. An effective way of identifying learning styles is by using the VAK (Fleming, 2001) system which uses multiple choice answers to determine the optimum learning style for each individual. The styles fall into three categories; visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic
(moving/doing).
Your first goal as a teacher is to bring the group together, to break down barriers and form a relaxed atmosphere that will nurture trust and encourage a team spirit.
Ice-breaking activities are a good way for the group to get to know about each other. From experience the ice-breaker can aid a teacher to establish at an early stage which learners are going to be active and which will probably be passive (taking into consideration, shyness and nerves). A good, non threatening ice-breaker activity is for the group to pair up and chat informally to each other, with instructions to gather three pieces of information about the person they have been partnered with. Allow 3-5 minutes for talking then call the group together and ask each member to introduce the person they have been chatting to and reveal the three things they have discovered about them. Remember that whichever ice-breaker you choose, the aim is for team cohesion, promotion of communication and trust. To elevate the likelihood of any intimidation amongst the group you must also be seen to be participating in the exercise (Wilson, 2008).
The next thing you need to consider are professional boundaries. Your place of work may already have these (Gravells, 2010). Ensure sure you are aware of them and have a list of referrals in the event that a learner requires additional support outside of your teachers remit.
Other considerations include ensuring the learners have health and safety information i.e. fire drills, hazards and any risk assessments.
25th September 2011
Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector Level 4
Theory Assignment 1
Describe what your role, responsibilities and boundaries would be as a teacher in terms of the teaching/training cycle. Reflect on this.
People learn for different reasons. Some to further their career development, others for personal fulfilment or to keep up with modern trends. ‘The pensioner, trying to gain skills so that they can communicate in today’s electronic era’ (Wilson, 2008: 5). For whatever reason, learning is here to stay.
As a teacher, there are some fundamental rules that must be adhered, to enable an optimum learning opportunity. The first is, do not assume (Wilson 2008). Whether you are a veteran trainer or just …show more content…
breaking into the field of teaching: the rule still applies.
There are five basic steps to successful teaching and they can be found in the teaching/training cycle. The cycle sets out identifying needs, planning and designing, delivering, assessing and evaluating.
Utilise all the known and tried tools to structure a bespoke teaching package centred around your learners.
To be learner centred requires a knowledge of the learners, therefore the first stage of the teaching cycle, identifying needs, is used to ensure you have the information to plan successfully. It has to be remembered that the class is made up of a group of individuals and there lies the first challenge: the group and the individuals.
Identifying the needs of the group is marginally simpler as the learners have all got a common goal, which is to learn the subject you are teaching. Group dynamics must be considered as the learners will all be coming from different backgrounds, with varying degrees of educational experience, and likely from diverse social and cultural backgrounds. A good standard for assessing needs is using SPICE. This looks at five areas that could influence learning; social, physical, intellectual, cultural, and emotional.
A variety of tools are available to help the teacher asses the individual needs of the learner. The application can be utilised to gather primary information about the learners current education levels and whether there are any requirements for additional support. An effective way of identifying learning styles is by using the VAK (Fleming, 2001) system which uses multiple choice answers to determine the optimum learning style for each individual. The styles fall into three categories; visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic
(moving/doing).
Your first goal as a teacher is to bring the group together, to break down barriers and form a relaxed atmosphere that will nurture trust and encourage a team spirit.
Ice-breaking activities are a good way for the group to get to know about each other. From experience the ice-breaker can aid a teacher to establish at an early stage which learners are going to be active and which will probably be passive (taking into consideration, shyness and nerves). A good, non threatening ice-breaker activity is for the group to pair up and chat informally to each other, with instructions to gather three pieces of information about the person they have been partnered with. Allow 3-5 minutes for talking then call the group together and ask each member to introduce the person they have been chatting to and reveal the three things they have discovered about them. Remember that whichever ice-breaker you choose, the aim is for team cohesion, promotion of communication and trust. To elevate the likelihood of any intimidation amongst the group you must also be seen to be participating in the exercise (Wilson, 2008).
The next thing you need to consider are professional boundaries. Your place of work may already have these (Gravells, 2010). Ensure sure you are aware of them and have a list of referrals in the event that a learner requires additional support outside of your teachers remit.
Other considerations include ensuring the learners have health and safety information i.e. fire drills, hazards and any risk assessments.