Our understanding of what ‘teaching’ is, is based on our past experience. Our earliest experience was in school, where the teacher standing in front of the class, telling us what to do and what to learn. Some of us experienced the same kind of ‘teaching’ at college. ‘Teaching is helping other people to learn’. The job of ‘teaching’ has four elements:
1. The teacher has to decide what students should learn. The
students may take part in this decision, but all are guided by the same
principle: it is
the job that people have to do, that determines what they should learn.
2. The teacher has to help the learners to learn.
This does not mean
that the teacher spoon-feeds the students, as if they were babies. Teaching
sessions or classes have to be planned carefully, taking into account the
learning styles, the language and the background of the students.
3. The teacher has to make sure that the students have
learnt. He has to assess them. Assessment helps teachers and
students to see how well the students are progressing, so that they can attend
to any weaknesses. Assessment
must be carefully planned so that it supports the
learning we want to see. We know that students learn what they
believe they need to pass the exams, and leave out the rest.
4. The teacher has to look
after the welfare of his students. Teachers try to ensure that the
general living conditions and environment of their students are adequate. They
also provide opportunities for personal counselling for them. Teachers need to cultivate an open and
trusting relationship with their students
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