The teaching/training cycle is an invaluable model that should inform the practice of any teacher, of any subject. The beauty of it is that it provides a structure so that both teachers and trainers can assess and refresh their practice and, at the same time, review their role, responsibility and boundaries. By following the training cycle, teachers should be able to instill greater understanding of the course that is being taught and to afford students greater enjoyment and satisfaction.
At the beginning of the cycle is the assessment. The teacher’s role in this case is that of an assessor and a reviewer. Assessing entails finding out the students’ preparedness in terms of t any learning disabilities heir existing knowledge; their literacy and numeracy level; their preferred learning style any also learning disabilities. This initial assessment will be invaluable for the planning of the course and for catering for all participant students. The initial assessment can take up to three weeks however, some colleges / institutions may interview students before the beginning of the course to ascertain their suitability etc. Irrespective of prior assessment, teachers should do a proper assessment when they meet with their students and continue throughout the teaching cycle.
During the assessment process teachers may find a whole host of needs that need to be catered for, or barriers to learning. They could range from physical needs such as disability or dyslexia, to social needs deriving from the inability of interacting with the student community or intellectual stemming from the lack of previous academic experience or from the length of time required to process information, and include cultural needs too, expressed in terms of beliefs and values. In this first stage teachers