Supporting Teachers (Language Curriculum)
- 1. Supporting Teachers Prepared by: Marxxx
- 2. The Teacher’s and Student’s Place in the Curriculum • Teaching is usually regarded as something that teachers do in order to bring about changes in learners. • A central component of teaching is how teachers view their place in this process. • The following are some of the roles that teacher may assume in the classroom: – Needs Analyst – Provider of student inputs – Motivator
- 3. • Cont’.. – Organizer and controller of students behavior – Demonstrator of accurate language production – Materials Developer – Monitor of students’ learning – Counselor and friend • These self-imposed roles may provide the basis from which some teachers develop personal views of what a good teacher is.
- 4. • An equally important set of issues for teacher concerns the questions of how the learners view their place in the learning process. • In general, the place of learners in the curriculum will relate to their preferences with regard to concepts like the following: 1. Learning approaches 2. Attitudes toward learning 3. Learning styles 4. Strategies used in learning 5. Learning activities
- 5. • Con’t… 6. Patterns of interaction 7. Degree of learner control over their own learning 8. What constitute effective learning 9. The nature of effective learning • Where conflicts are identified between how learners and teachers view such things… may: – help to convince students of the efficacy of strategies, – help teachers to see the students’ point of view, and – help both groups move toward a compromise on these issues.
- 6. Helping Teachers to Teach • On the basis of their background, training, and experience, teacher will determine what techniques and exercises to use in setting up the learning experiences that they believe will best help bring about learning. • Teachers should continually think about and discuss teaching issues so that assumptions that guide their teaching will always be clear to them.
- 7. • Willing (1985)… 1. Suppose a total stranger walked in and observed one of your classes. What aspect of your teaching style would give that person clues as to your basic personality? 2. What aspects of your teaching style might mislead that same person about your personality? 3. Who does best in your classes? How would you describe a typical “excellent learner” for the sort of teaching you do? 4. Have you ever gone through a major change of your teaching style?
- 8. • Ultimately, the main role of the curriculum in terms of helping teachers is to ensure that they have everything they need because what occurs in the classrooms lies on their shoulder. • Only teachers who are in daily contact with the learners will have any hope of creating an atmosphere and make use of materials that they think are best in maximizing learning and chooses on what way will they handle students base on their styles and personality.
- 9. Providing a Framework of Support • This support may come in the form of: Administrative Support Curricular Support
- 10. Administrative Support • Administrators can help by providing the teachers with buffers between them and negative aspects of the world outside the program, eliminates unnecessary paperworks, and by ensuring to provide necessary resources for their teaching. • Providing “buffers” means protecting teachers from external influences that might interfere with job performance.
- 11. • “Protecting teachers” may refer to making sure that teachers are not disturbed in their classrooms by needless interruptions. • Such buffers can also be considerably more complex, including issues like; 1. making sure that the teachers are supported against the arbitrary bureaucratic change at higher levels; 2. fighting for adequate salaries, full-time employment, or daycare for teachers’ children; and 3. securing an adequate budget to support instruction.
- 12. • One part of the teacher’s job deserves special attention, that is, the area of paperwork. • The teacher’s job is to teach, but classroom activities generates large amounts of paperworks. • Curriculum development will necessitate compiling and sharing of information will probably done through paperworks. • The last but most important administrative support involves ensuring that reasonable resources be provided to the teachers.
- 13. Curricular Support • Teachers should not develop all the curriculum elements for their courses in isolation. • The more these processes draw on the combined energies of the entire staff, teachers and administration alike, the more effective and supportive the process will be.
- 14. DEALING WITH POLITICS • The idea that politics impacts language programs is denied by some teachers who apparently feel that they should be above such petty concerns • If one takes the view that politics is one of the important means by which curriculum is implemented, politics can be viewed positively and handled in such a way that the overall curriculum will benefit.
- 15. Curriculum Implementation • Every situation will vary in terms of how politics must be handled. • Brown (1994) suggest general guidelines so that curriculum developers can increase their chance in avoiding problems in implementing a program. – Involve all the participants in the process of curriculum development. – Avoid taking the position of an “omniscient” expert.
- 16. – Make only reasonable demand on the time and energy of the people involved. – Remember that any group of people may be entrenched and resistance to change. – Avoid making people threatened or defensive. – Remember that the teacher may have been absolutely independent and all-powerful in the classroom until the curriculum started changing around them. – Try not to threatened the “turf” staked out by administrators. – Remember that much more can be accomplished through discussion and compromise than dictated policy decisions and inflexibility.
- 17. Program Management • Pennington (1983, pp. 30-31) had pointed to the following as program characteristics that administrator should foster: 1. To provide a good quality instruction (an objective shared with ESL teachers) a. Maintain High Standards b. Have well-defined, testable objectives c. Have systematic and consistent placement and advancement of the students
- 18. 2. To have everything run smoothly a. Avoid frequent major changes b. Device a curriculum which is easy to implement c. Please supervisors, teachers, students, themselves.