Could someboby proof this please.

Lesson from the Classroom/Teacher Role and Responsibilities (PTLLS)



1. Roles, responsibilities and boundaries of a teacher.

Roles are varied but below is a brief list regarding my experience within an FE establishment:

Subject leader

Curriculum developer

Union member

Personal tutor

Assessor

Information and advice giver

Administrator

Liaison with external bodies

Record keeper

Interviewer

Verifier



These roles and responsibilities are shaped by legislation (for example, health & safety), institutional policies, and situation requirements.



Boundaries can be divided into personal boundaries and professional categories. In April 2008, a Code of Professional Practice was introduced covering the activities of teacher in the Lifelong learning sector. The Institute for Learning (Ifl) is responsible for enforcing the code which is focused six key areas:*

· Professional integrity

· Respect for others

· Care of learners

· Continuing professional development

· Disclosure of criminal offence

· Responsibility towards Ifl



A key responsibility of a teacher in the lifelong learning sector is checking and reporting learner attendance and achievement. This is necessary for the monitoring progress of learners and in order for the organisation to report accurately to funding and inspection bodies. Largely though, the responsibilities are relating to a professional attitude, for example:



· Treating all learners fairly with equal respect (Equality and diversity)

· Giving learner the opportunity to participate on equal terms and with equal expectation of success (Equality)

· Engaging all learners and involving them in relevant activities (Inclusion)

· Acknowledging and celebrating the diversity in the group of learners (Differentiation)

· Planning to meet the needs and styles if individual learners (Personalisation)

· Keeping up to date with subject developments

· Being well prepared

· Returning marked work in a reasonable time







2. Current Legislative requirements.



Whilst some legislation and codes of practice are at least in part subject related there is a considerable body of legislation that applies within the lifelong learning sector as a whole. ‘Every Child Matters: Change for Children’ (ECM) and the related provisions in the Children Act 2004 provide an example of this. In the wake of the inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbie, the government sought a strategy that would promote the well-being of children and young people aged 0-19. Five outcomes sought by the ECM are:



· Be healthy

· Stay safe

· Enjoy and achieve

· Make a positive contribution

· Achieve economic well-being



Although ‘child’ is in the title, all institutions within the life long learning sector that deal with learners up to the age 19 have to comply with the ECM and one of its criteria against the inspectorate body Ofsted judges the performance of FE colleges. Allied to this is, The Protection of Children Act 1999 (PoCA), and The Protection of Vulnerable Adults 1999 (PoVA), whereby teachers who come into contact with children or vulnerable adults, (all ESL/EFL students are classed as vulnerable adults) are subject to the Enhanced Disclosure check by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB).



These are merely two example of legislation; the list below provides other examples:



1. Legislation relating to Health & Safety – the responsibility to provide a safe environment, both physical and psychological:



· Health & Safety at Work Act 1974

· Manual Handling Operations regulations 1992

· RIDDOR – Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995

· Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999

· COSHH – Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002



2. Legislation relating to Disability – the responsibility to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ for learners.



· DDA – Disability and Discrimination Act 1995

· DDA Part 4 Code of Practice 1995

· SENDA – Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001



3. Legislation relating to Human Rights – including the responsibility to ensure equality on the basis of gender/ethnicity/disability/age/religion/sexual orientation:



· Sex Discrimination Act 1975

· Race Relations Act 1976 (amended 2000)

· Human Rights Act 1998

· Equality Act 2006



In more general terms, legislation such as The Copyright Design and Patents Act 1988 and The Data Protection Act 1998 also impact on working life and habits within the sector.

3. My strengths and weaknesses as a teacher.



My strengths are adapting material to cater for individual learners’ styles (personalisation) and to encourage all students to make a positive contribution. I have a good classroom presence and keep the students engaged. I notice students that are bored or not contributing which allows me to draw them into the class (inclusion). Having spent the last 18 years working with people from lots of different cultures and backgrounds, I have an underpinning knowledge of most cultures and often traditions in their education allowing me to acknowledge where people may have certain preferences to study styles (differentiation). I can use teaching techniques such as eliciting, modelling, drilling asking instruction and concept checking questions. These techniques enable teachers to ensure that all the members of the class are included at all different levels (equality).



My weaknesses are that my delivery pace is too slow and needs to be quickened to keep the lesson more beneficial to the faster students. I need to analyse language points deeper, particularly with the subtleties in the English language. I sometimes find it difficult to anticipate learner difficulties and questions that they ask. I am still working on my grammar knowledge and lack confidence answering questions that I haven’t anticipated. Because of the fore mentioned weaknesses my concentration is sometimes diverted to these worries, therefore I am less aware of students bags causing trip hazards than when teaching lessons where I am more comfortable. I need to tune my ear to the stressing and intonation incorrectly used by the students.



4. The impact legislative policies and procedures have on the classroom in observations.



I have witnessed a register being taken at the start of the lesson to document attendance. With many students arriving for classes late that can become difficult to keep track of as timekeeping is also recorded (attendance policy/immigration legislation).



I have seen a teacher asking student to ensure that their bags are out of the way so that students can move around the classroom without having any trip hazards. This is particular important when doing freer practice as many people will be moving around the room at the same time (health and safety).



Many teachers ask students in controlled practice to discuss traditions of their culture/traditions with other students. This not only personalises the subject for the students but also celebrates the diversity within the group (differentiation).



In all of the lessons I have observed, all students have been treated with equal respect (equality and diversity), whilst teachers have taken a lot of effort to learn students’ names with the correct pronunciation (personalisation). This is important as the students will take their lead from the teacher and follow the examples they have seen.



Areas and techniques I need to work on and develop.



I have never been good at remembering names and have to try hard to remember students’ names when the attendance is so varied. This is something that I continue to practise and will develop through practice.



My knowledge of the English language has greatly improved whilst I have been studying, although it has got a long way to go. I am studying using a grammar book (Murphy – English Grammar In Use) and also assist EFL/ESL students on a English forum website. I need to research further the subtleties of the language and put them into my lesson plan.

Being aware of trip hazards in the classroom is something that I do naturally when I carry out training, however sometime I am less aware of them when teaching English. I think as my knowledge of English improves then I will be more relaxed to think of things outside of the subject.



I model, and drill words and stresses on those words but must model and drill the grammar more. I am showing the formulas to the students but need to model the stresses and intonation within the complete sentences. I must also remember to include the negatives when modelling the grammar. More careful lesson planning should help me remember this.



In Sarah Nava’s lesson I remembered her asking the students who finished their guided discovery task first to become ‘private teachers’ for the students who were finding the task more difficult. This not only created peer correction it creates movement around the classroom, strengthens relationships between the students and creates a motivating fill in for the faster students.