session 3 activity----How the teachers' role in change

Hello Groupmates，
I have read some articles about the role of the teachers. The articles may be helpful for you to understand the role of the teachers.


http://members.shaw.ca/priscillatheroux/teacherrole.html The website show some opinion of the teachers role from different people.
http://www.csun.edu/~meq75037/paper1.html This paper talks about the role of the teachers.


After read these articles I think teachers need to constantly update their professional knowledge and ability of structure students to learn knowledge, in that way teachers in the classroom should change from "teaching" to "study", concerning and respecting for each students, to achieve the goal of really "teaching" and "learning", not only for teachers themselves but also for students all. Actively participate in education training to improve themselves.
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By Andy

session 3 activity ----What is the role of a Teacher?.

In many teaching situations, the role of the teacher is that of facilitator of learning: leading discussions, asking open-ended questions, guiding process and task, and enabling active participation of learners and engagement with ideas. I choose a case from M2 database, http://sitesdatabase.cite.hku.hk/M2/case2/FR002/Index.asp?case_ID=FR002. In this case, the teacher appears as an adviser and a facilitator arranging the conditions of learning and encouraging pupils'self learning and exploration somewhere else that by way of his own mediation. However, the innovation of pedagogy requires the teacher to be able to adopt a range of roles and skills to suit specific situations.

There is an ongoing debate as to whether teachers are becoming redundant as a consequence of the use of ICT in education or whether a teacherless classroom is just a myth. In fact, new educational technologies do not curb the need for teachers but they call for a redefinition of their profession. The role of teachers has changed and continues to change from being an instructor to becoming a constructor, facilitator, coach, and creator of learning environments.

Many documents and articles identify reasons why the role of the teacher must change, such as:

● ICT will cause certain teaching resources to become obsolete. Localised resources such as overheads and chalkboards may no longer be necessary if all learners have access to the same networked resource on which the teacher is presenting information, especially if students are not physically at the same place.

● ICT may make some assessment methods redundant. Online tests, for example, provide the teacher with considerably more information than traditional multiple choice tests.

It is no longer sufficient for teachers to impart content knowledge, but they have to encourage higher levels of cognitive skills, promote information literacy, and nurture collaborative working practices. All these are greatly facilitated by the use of ICTs in teaching, however, a genuine and sophisticated integration is necessary and thus teacher training in this regard becomes crucial.

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From Harden and Crosby: The Twelve Roles of the Teacher , 2000

By Olivia