Teaching and Learning

There are number of requirements and responsibilities that every teacher and professional in the lifelong learning sector must meet. As a learning coach in the sixth form department in Reading College I must always expect that all students can and will achieve their set goals. I treat all students as individuals who learn at different rates and in different ways. My responsibility is to prepare appropriate lesson plans that would facilitate learning process and identify additional learning requirements for my students. It is also my responsibility to provide adequate support that will help learners overcome barriers to learning.
Teachers motivate students by exhibiting expertise in the subject they are teaching. My responsibility is to present material in enthusiastic manner and install hunger in my students to learn more on their own. It is therefore, my responsibility to be highly knowledgeable and up to date in subject I support, but still willing to learn from my students. It is expected from me to promote equality addressed not only in classroom settings but also outside the educational institution. I support my students in their learning experience and teach them skills necessary for future development. I teach students time management skills, organisational and note taking skills that will allow them to pass their course, find work and sustain employment. Teaching students those skills will promote equality outside and inside Reading College. It is my responsibility to value diversity and promote equality by creating a lesson plan that does not preclude the involvement of student with special educational or physical requirements but foster their inclusion. It is therefore, my responsibility to adhere to the Equality Act 2010 (www.gov.uk, 2010) which protects individual characteristics such as religious beliefs, sex, age, disability, race, sexual orientation, gender, marriage and civil partnership. Even so my teaching experience is only limited to supporting students in their learning process I am obligated to adhere to roles and responsibilities of those of qualified teachers. I am responsible for the number of students from different cultural and educational backgrounds. I ensure the high quality of sessions. One of the ways for me to make sure I stay impartial is through the language I use when referring to learners. The words I use, I choose carefully with consideration of all aspects of equality; for example businesswoman, male nanny. What is more, teacher must continuously reassess development and change during the course and create transitions to ensure smooth delivery of material taught. They must take into account learner’s changing needs and reflect on newly identified needs. My responsibility is to provide students with a clear tasks, goals and requirements and inform them of progress made. It is my androgological responsibility to encourage students to think, make connections, to reinforce, learn from other learners and be able to make mistakes for which they would not be ridiculed. I promote student’s active participation through problem solving, open ended questioning and group activities. I use breaks to engage students in active thinking when I recognise that their attention is reduced. I often turn to research and my colleagues for fresh insights into strategies of learning and relate them to my sessions. Moreover, it is teacher’s responsibility to conduct initial assessment where needs and abilities are identified. However, interaction times and observations of students allow me to assess their needs personally. Individual learning profiles and previous achievements guide me to support my students to my best abilities. Sometimes, I would have to put in place additional targets and individual learning plans to support students to reach their potential. I would liaise with relevant professionals and colleagues to ensure their awareness of individual plans or targets when necessary.
Responsibilities towards other professionals.
My responsibilities towards other professionals include being punctual, manage student's behaviour accordingly and report any behavioural issues. I must role model appropriate behaviour and follow code of conduct to present clear conformity between staff members. I often work with other teachers and support staff to ensure their awareness of student's assessments, targets set up by me and for example student's parents or tutors. What is more, teacher responsibilities do not end when working hours finish. On average, teachers spend seven to ten hours every week doing extra-curricular activities. Those activities might include staying later one evening to interview students who applied to College. I always make sure that my colleagues can count on me in situations like this. I make myself available to support them.
Analysis of the boundaries specific to my role.
Teachers should develop respectful relationship with students and other professionals. Teacher’s behaviour must demonstrate integrity, good judgement and maturity especially in understanding professional boundaries. As a professional working closely with students and teachers I have a set of boundaries and policies I must follow. Some of the boundaries I follow are for example never to exchange personal contact details or spending excessive amounts of time alone with a young person or vulnerable adult. I refuse gifts from young people, vulnerable adults, parents or carers. I would also never meet with student outside scheduled college time. However, if any of these situations were unavoidable, they should only occur with the full knowledge and consent of my line managers, parents or guardians. Practice never to be sanctioned by myself and other staff members include allowing or engaging in any form of inappropriate touching or provocative games. Never to allow or encourage the use of offensive language and behaviours, this includes sexually suggestive comments. I would never reduce individual to tears as a form of control or do things of personal nature that young person or vulnerable adult can do for themselves. I must always challenge and record all allegations made by a young person or a vulnerable adult under relevant legislation, national guidance and local procedures (Reading College Safeguarding Young People and Vulnerable Adults Policy, 2011). As a professional I would never contact individual student from my own personal social media accounts, disclose private details or invite young person or vulnerable adult unsupervised to my home. I am obligated to never disclose confidential information about a student or member of staff to third parties except in accordance with workplace policies and procedures. These are all boundaries and ethical issues which are at the core of every professional working in education. However, understanding when a student requires further support beyond teachers remit is one of the boundaries that I must utilise in my learning sessions.
The teaching cycle provides a cohesive structure within which roles, responsibilities and boundaries can be assessed and reflected upon, where balanced teacher will multitask in constantly evolving way. As a learning coach I also maintain boundaries by introducing ground rules that allow my student and I maintain professional relationship and avoid disruptive or inappropriate behaviours. Discussing and agreeing ground rules with students teaches young people responsibility for their actions and behaviours.