Teacher as Facilitator - Monitoring & Motivation PDF

Teacher as Facilitator- Monitoring & Motivation “Reflection is generally regarded as a specific and prolonged form of thinking, which if used effectively by professionals can help them to make sense of actions in practice and learn from them.‛ (Hegarty, 2011a, p. 3) Reflection is all about ackno...

Teacher as Facilitator- Monitoring & Motivation “Reflection is generally regarded as a specific and prolonged form of thinking, which if used effectively by professionals can help them to make sense of actions in practice and learn from them.‛ (Hegarty, 2011a, p. 3) Reflection is all about acknowledging your efforts in order to appreciate your success. It is the deliberate thinking of an action with the perspective of improvement so as to move forward successfully. Without reflective practicing, there is very little scope of self improvement. As John Dewey says, ‚We do not learn from experience, we learn from reflecting from the experience.‛ Reflective practicing involves continuous improvement of one’s own self and also with the job that one is related to leading a better learning and self-improvement with continuous self-assessment and evaluation. It aids in the identification of one’s strengths and weaknesses and areas for further research and improvement. Reflective practicing enables you to explore new ideas or ways of thinking or doing things; in a way, it involves new thought process and effort. We gain wisdom by 3 methods – First, by reflection which is the noblest method, second, by imitation which is the easiest and third by experience, which is the bitterest. Hence by involving in reflective practising, you not only improve your own self and your future growth but also do it through the noblest way. Importance of Reflection During reflection as a team, it merges theory and practice by allowing group members to consciously apply knowledge from the literature during the experience of working as a team. It encourages collaborative dialogue of thinking and doing 1|Page through in which we can attain more skilful approaches. It ignites a sense of efficacy that refers to the idea that one can make a difference in the lives of other people. It is a fact that when individuals see positive results for their actions they are further more willing and inspired to do more to help others. Also, in group reflections, one generally gains knowledge of other experiences which enable them to be prepared of any situation and circumstances. ‚..Reflexivity is finding strategies for looking at our own thought processes, values, prejudices and habitual actions, as if we were onlooker.‛ – Gillie Bolton Reflective practicing exposes the individuals to an understanding of his/her learning style and to the development of other learning styles, especially through unconventional approaches involving journals, collaboration, online learning and the use of social media. We become problem solvers and this further aid us plan for future situations and events. It improves our quality of performance, and both our personal and professional judgement; it also enables us to respond better to situations/circumstances and be more positive and adaptable to changes. It is like a self audit where one examines one’s past, present and future actions and mannerisms, set self growth goals and create an action plan to realise those goals through establishing protocols and focused strategies. Reflection is useful for the cultivation of professional knowledge, much of which is gathered through experience. Reflective practicing helps in identifying the passive knowledge of an individual so that they become aware of the repertoire of knowledge that he/she uses to be successful in his/her endeavour so that the same may be repeated in the near future, thereby making a positive difference. For those associated with the education sector, reflective practice is a process by which teachers/educators purposefully pause and reflect upon their teaching practices, techniques and mannerisms in the classrooms. It allows them to 2|Page consciously analyse their decision making and draw upon teaching related theories and relate it to what they do in the classroom. This critical analysis and evaluation re-focuses their thinking on existing knowledge which enables them to generate new knowledge and ideas that help in creating effective teaching approaches and reach their goals and purpose. As Confucius said ‚Learning without reflection is a waste‛ and ‚reflection without learning is dangerous.‛ However, in order to practice reflection, teachers have to experience real life teaching where they are able to interact with students/learners, colleagues and a variety of other people and gather many kinds of experiences; theoretical understanding of the nuances of the teaching methodologies will seldom help the teachers to infer any productive and positive result of their experiences by means of reflection. Hence, it is well understood that active learning is of greater benefit than passive learning. Every teacher fails on a daily basis. Their daily teaching experience is a failure. Teaching is such a job that is ‚so hard that one lifetime is not enough to master it.‛ Therefore, this kind of profession needs commitment and dedication on the part of the educator so that the improvement process can be carried on till the time of retirement. ‚Education is a constant re-organisation, re-construction and transformation of experience‛ – John Dewey. Reflective practice will therefore allow teachers to modify their current teaching strategies, analyse reasons behind learners’ behaviour and re-visit the whole teaching and learning process. It ‚is an approach that enables professionals to understand how they use their knowledge in practical and how they combine action and learning in a more effective way‛ – MIT, Open Commerce Education is not only about student learning but also staff learning. Learning is a function of reflection. ‚Every teacher needs to improve not because they are not good enough, but because they can be even better.‛ – Dylan William 3|Page This kind of practicing enables the building of expertise in which you as a teacher and facilitator are capable of both planning highly effective learning, as well as adapting and re-creating effective strategies, wherever necessary. It facilitates the reflection of being a true professional who really makes a positive and meaningful difference to the students you teach and perhaps even the colleagues you work with. It is the process of analysing a given scenario or practice and coming to a decision on how to go into improving that scenario, based on the strengths and the weaknesses. Reflective practicing in many ways also help the students/learners get the best education that they are entitled to, as the teachers and educators find the various effective and stimulating ways to bring the best out of the students and learners through reflective practicing. There are many approaches to how we might be able to perform the act of reflection based on our practices. If you are willing to upgrade yourself into becoming a better professional and gaining the best outcomes for the efforts that you are putting, then reflective practicing should be done on a regular basis. Reflection is indeed a social, political, professional and action oriented human action. Another way in which reflection helps you as a teacher is that it enables you to comprehend your students/learners’ needs and potential. There are learners of varied age group who all have their different capacities and learning skills; even in a class full of learners of the same age group, the aptitudes of the students differ. Hence, it is only through reflective practice will a wise teacher bring out and put to use the best approaches and techniques applicable for each one of her student/learner. Reflection on experience can be for past action, for the present one as well as for future actions. Kinds of Reflective Practice: 4|Page  Reflection in action – this means the ability of the practitioner to think on his feet at any given moment. When the practitioner is faced with any professional issue, he/she connects with their feelings, emotions, and prior experiences to attend to the issue directly.  Reflection on action – this is the kind of situation when the practitioner, after the experience, gets to analyse their situation once it is over, and explores the reasons behind it and also the consequences to it.  Reflection to action – this is the ability of the practitioner to think of a favourable way of behaviour prior to any action/situation, which generally comes from previous experiences that the practitioner had experiences and as well had reflected on before. The individual will know how to react or behave in a situation so that they get the desirable results. Hence, reflective practicing helps the practitioners in the following way:  Responding to problematic situations  Problem framing  Problem Solving  Priority (based on knowledge/theory) Reflection is a vital component of teaching and training and as educators you intend to engage your learners in the educational process in an effective way and make them learn and absorb their learning in such a manner which they can apply in their personal lives. You need to internalize what is going on in your class to transform into a better teacher/trainer. There are elements which can be easily incorporated into the process of reflection which can surely aid in improving the instructional method:- Make footnotes about your daily teaching 5|Page By noting down the daily activities will help the teacher/trainer to bring clarity at the end of day without missing bout vital information. You can always quickly jot down a few points regarding your class at the end of every lesson. Technology can be great reflection tool Technology has replaced manual work to a large extent and has made life easier even for teaching professionals. You can always take the help of your Smartphone or a tablet to record your thoughts and can get back to those when you are reflecting on your upcoming teaching plans. Cultivate reflection and turn it into a habit Being a reflective practitioner is not an easy job and turning reflection into a daily habit needs a routine to be followed by you on a regular basis. The true power of reflection will become noticeable if it is cultivated and used continuously and it will help in refining your teaching/training and will make you understand your learners better. Types of Reflective Practice:  Maintaining a diary or journal (that may include description of the event, feelings towards it, its evaluation, analysing it, conclusion and action plan that includes the betterment plan/formula)  Talking a session through with a colleague  Creating own individual learning plan  Creating a blog  Peer observations  Reading/ listening learners’ feedback Benefits of Reflective Practice: 6|Page  Teachers will have a deeper understanding of their own teaching style and will know where and what to modify.  Greater effectiveness of the teacher and the time spent on teaching and educating learners  Encourages new ideas and concepts to the teachers Hence, in order to become a good and successful teacher/trainer, looking to provide the best form of education to your students/learners, apart from having the key essential qualities of being a good teacher for instance being dedicated, hardworking and at the same time warm and loving, possessing an understanding nature, engaging in reflective practicing is also quite important in today’s world. We may end the discussion with a great adage by Socrates, ‚The unexamined life isn’t worth living”. Certainly, it isn’t. Role of a Facilitator Generally speaking, a facilitator is ‚a person who is acceptable to all group members, substantively neutral, and has no decision-making authority who helps a group improve the way it identifies and solves problems and makes decisions.‛ - adapted from Roger M. Schwarz Traditional training involved the teacher taking on an active role and responsibility in the classroom for learning with the learner on the other hand, taking on a passive role. However, this is no longer effective in the present learning environment. Facilitation is a collaborative process and the concept of facilitation refers to enhancement of a response through effectiveness which is slowly making its presence felt in the world of education. ‚I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think‛ – Socrates 7|Page This is precisely what the job of a facilitator entails. The whole process of facilitation is a marriage between someone watching the process and the other, generally a tutor, focusing on the context. Hence, the facilitator is definitely not a kind of educator who comes to the classrooms to give information and impart knowledge and educate the learners only, but is someone who develops and helps the students in the learning process as well as examines the new set of knowledge and skill that is being imparted to them. Their roles differ from traditional teachers and educators and are specially trained to guide and assist learners to encourage full participation from all learners encouraging them to share their thoughts and perspectives and allowing them to take responsibility for their own learning. Nevertheless, in this age of stiff competition and modern teaching approaches, teaching roles have been constantly evolving and tremendous revolution in knowledge sharing, the role of facilitators has gained prominence. A successful educator is also an effective facilitator who keeps the students actively engaged in the classroom, by keeping the lessons relevant and informative as well as enjoyable and simulative. These new age educators need to comprehend when to step down from the limelight and let the students take the stage. The role of the facilitators is to change the thought process of traditional teaching and make it more students centric as opposed to teacher centric by introducing student friendly teaching techniques. This also involves a lot of physical activities, visual aids like power point presentation, flipcharts, white boards, etc which will make learning innovative and interesting. The role of the facilitator is to:  Encourage full participation from learners  Promote mutual understanding and interaction  Bring about faster inclusive solutions in the classroom 8|Page   Cultivate shared responsibility  Clarify roles and responsibilities of a classroom  Introduce new technology in the classroom  Resolve any conflict in a positive manner Importance of a facilitator in an educational setting The motto of facilitation is ‘Keep it simple’. However, we all need to understand the importance of a facilitator whose role is much more than information-dispensing. An effective facilitator first gathers information and then designs the process that would yield the best results. Facilitation is a kind of revitalising the learning process where technology plays a major role. It involves using each other as resources and helps the learners achieve all goals. "The facilitator's job is to support everyone to do their best thinking. To do this, the facilitator encourages full participation, promotes mutual understanding, and cultivates shared responsibility."—Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision- Making by Sam Kaner, et al. The facilitator is a moderator in an educational setting who by being impartial and neutral to all in the classroom assists the students to do their best thinking and help them accomplish elements which they cannot accomplish on their own. Therefore, a facilitator focuses on how you do what you do. A facilitator should ideally be loving, caring, passionate, motivating, enthusiastic and sincerely concerned for the well-being of the students, attentive, willing to try different approaches, and knowledgeable. He is a guide on the side to help the learners achieve a greater performance. He always maintains that there is no dominancy in the classroom or training sphere. He/she must possess a treasure trove of skills, tools, measures and techniques that will help the learners to move from one point to the desired point. 9|Page A Certificate Course in Teaching and Training will help and guide the learners to imbibe lifelong learning process that would be beneficial for them in the long run when they enter the professional domain. The course caters to all age groups and to all working professionals includes teaching professionals as well as corporate grooming experts who are looking forward to serve the role of a facilitator that involves solving problems to managing classrooms or group of learners, to communicating information to all on a training platform. Teaching diverse learners as a facilitator Certificate in Teaching and Training is a tailor-made program crafted meticulously to bring in focus the exact role of a facilitator and how he/she can deftly deal with a wide range of learners. They are generally categorized into two divisions – Young learners and Adult learners. As a facilitator, it is not always the knowledge that can be put to use but a complete package of skills, attitude and behaviour that make a greater impact as this role seems to be diverse. Young learners are quite inquisitive, they are still developing both socially and emotionally, they have difficulties with interaction, and hence teaching them with the aid of visuals is highly recommended. The facilitators who plan to deal with young learners will learn various techniques that work for young learners. Facilitating when it comes to young learners is all about stepping outside structured curriculum and implementing strategies that are effective, fun and strengthens the bonding with your learners. On the other hand adult learners come with experience, they are argumentative, self- conscious and prefer to stay in their comfort zone and are goal oriented and collaborative. As a facilitator, your job will be to help them overcome their drawbacks and bring out the best out in them by creating an environment that would stimulate them to think and help them in achieving their goals. 10 | P a g e Hence, this program is highly recommended for all teachers as well as those eyeing to be grooming experts in the corporate world or even managers with training responsibilities. 11 | P a g e