Understanding Roles and Responsibilities in Education and Training

This extract comes from the fourth edition of our best-selling text A Complete Guide to the Level 4 Certificate in Education and Teaching by Lynn Machin, Duncan Hindmarch, Sandra Murray and Tina Richardson. 

PROFESSIONALISM: UNDERSTANDING ROLES AND
RESPONSIBILITIES IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING

What are your roles as a teacher?
As a teacher, one of your main roles is to motivate your learners to develop their ability and aspiration to learn. You may read about delivering training and facilitating learning, but in reality, you do much more than that. Your role is not just about teaching your subject or preparing learners for assessment. The focus of your role relates very much to inspiring your learners to change and develop their personal, social and professional skills to the best of their ability. In this respect, your ultimate aim is to enable your learners to understand how to take responsibility for their own development. You can do
this by planning and preparing teaching and learning activities that take account of the needs and well-being of individual learners as well as groups of learners.

Some key aspects of your role as a teacher may be:

○ developing expertise in your field by keeping up to date with the latest developments in your subject area;
○ carrying out initial and/or diagnostic assessments;
○ clear communication with your learners, other professionals and stakeholders;
○ promoting appropriate behaviour and respect for others;
○ identifying and meeting individual learners’ needs;
○ being aware of the support services available;
○ being organised;
○ being reflective, by learning from successes as well as mistakes.

What are your responsibilities as a teacher?
As a teacher, a primary responsibility is to ensure that learners are enrolled on the correct course, in terms of meeting their needs, abilities and aspirations. Further to this, you need to ensure they are on the appropriate course in terms of compliance with award and organisational requirements. You will therefore probably have responsibility for the following:

○ promoting a safe and supportive learning environment;
○ promoting inclusion, equality and diversity;
○ adhering to key legislation, regulatory requirements and codes of practice;
○ modelling professional behaviour at all times to inspire your learners;
○ taking responsibility for your own professional development;
○ working with colleagues and external stakeholders to improve the experience and achievement of your learners;
○ designing or contributing to the design of the course curriculum;
○ negotiating appropriate learning targets for the group and individuals as appropriate to their needs, aspirations and course aims;
○ planning learning activities based on the needs of your group and specific individual needs within the group;
○ designing or amending learning resources that are varied, appropriate to the award aims and challenging for your learners;
○ keeping accurate and legally compliant records to contribute to your organisation’s quality improvement strategy. This will include your group’s recruitment, retention, achievement and progression data, as well as evaluation of how performance can be improved;
○ keeping accurate records of individual learners’ progress and future needs. This is often referred to as an individual learning plan;
○ providing learners with appropriate points of referral as required.

With regard to this last point, your primary aim is to enable each learner to achieve to the best of their ability through working in a safe and supportive environment. It is therefore your responsibility to know who should be contacted if they need any additional support or specialist information, such as for finance, health, study skills or counselling issues.

What are your rights as a teacher?
Your rights as a teacher will be set out in your employment contract. Your employer will also be subject to the Equality Act 2010, meaning that you should not be subject to discrimination, harassment or victimisation. Your organisation is likely to have a recognised trade union, such as the University and College Union (UCU, 2023) or National Education Union (NEU, 2023), that provides advice and guidance on contracts and rights.

Find out more about A Complete Guide to the Level 4 Certificate in Education and Teaching by Lynn Machin, Duncan Hindmarch, Sandra Murray and Tina Richardson at our website www.criticalpublishing.com. 

Available in Paperback, EPUB, PDF, and on Kindle

ISBN : 9781915713544

4th Edition, 230 pp

Jan 2024

Buy Me

Buy Me on Amazon

---

Sign up for news and special offers

Demystifying the Microteach

Being able to plan and deliver a strong microteach is an essential skill for any teacher, whether aspiring, new or experienced.  This skill will be utilised in a range of situations, for example, when applying for a job; for a place on a teaching course or as part of ongoing assessment on a teaching qualification. This blog will provide insight into how you can master the microteach and draw on content in key chapters from A Complete Guide to the Level 5 Diploma in Education and Training. 

What is a microteach? 

A microteach involves the delivery of a short self-contained lesson to demonstrate your skills and potential to an observer.  The observer may be a member of an interview panel or your tutor on a teacher training course.   The length of a microteach can vary; however, it typically ranges from 10 to 30 minutes.  Whilst a microteach will typically include a presentation of some sort, it is not just a presentation.  It should have all the key elements of a longer lesson.  You should make sure that it is well planned, that you have a range of activities and effectively assess learning.   

Planning for Teaching, Learning and Assessment 

The planning stage of the microteach is essential to a positive outcome.  Don’t think you can wing it – an observer can easily distinguish a well-planned and considered lesson from one that is put together at the last minute.   Think carefully about what you want to teach and start the session with clear objectives or learning outcomes.  Think about what activities might be appropriate in teaching your subject specialism, these might be activities that your learners to develop knowledge (cognitive domain), skills (psychomotor domain) or attitudes (affective domain).  For a formal microteach as part of a teaching qualification, you will be required to complete a lesson plan, for an interview, however this can vary.  It is good practice, even if not asked to provide a lesson plan to provide one to the observer.    

Communication 

During the microteach you should carefully consider your methods of communication. There will usually be an expectation of a PowerPoint to enhance communication and to demonstrate your digital skills.  For any resources you use, check them for accuracy and clarity and make sure that the language used is of the appropriate level.   

One of the key factors that can influence the effectiveness of your communication is your familiarity with the content.  Communication is hindered if you just read from PowerPoint slides or your notes.  Use these only as prompts and ensure that you are confident in what you say.  Rehearse with friends and family to iron out any possible problems and to check your timing.   

Assessment principles, practices, and processes 

Assessment is a key element of every lesson, whether a microteach or a full lesson.  You might use questions to check prior knowledge or understanding during or at the end of the microteach.  Alternatively, you could check the impact of any activities that you have used.  Remember that learning is at the heart of what a teacher aims to achieve.  It is assessment that is used to check that learning has taken place. 

Critically Reflect and Evaluate your Own Practice 

All teachers are expected to be reflective practitioners, to continually think about their teaching and how they might improve.  Following a microteach, you will often be asked to consider what you did well, not so well and would do differently if you were to teach the session again.  You should ensure here that you do not come across overly confident or too lacking in confidence.  Try to find a balance between the two.  There may also be an opportunity to receive feedback from the observers, so you should be willing to listen and take on board what is said. 

The microteach is a fantastic opportunity share your passion for teaching and for your subject.   Make sure you take on board all the above advice, plan your session well and most of all enjoy the experience! 

Sandra Murray, co-author of A Complete Guide to the Level 5 Diploma in Education and Training