A teacher must be committed to the learning and development of each child in their care. I believe this can be done through a range of different manners, however to help develop, a child needs support. This is why I think that scaffolding is the one of the best approaches in order to support a child. Scaffolding originates in the work of Vygotsky, and means that ‘for learning to take place, appropriate social interactional frameworks must be provided. In the case of the young child learning language, the instructional component consists of the caregiver (normally the mother) providing a framework to allow the child to learn. To do this, the caregiver should always be one step ahead of the child (Vygotsky's zone of proximal development), and by using contexts that are extremely familiar and routinized the caregiver can facilitate the child's learning.(Foley, J. 1993) Using such methods allows the child to become confident; developing ‘a sense of physical, mental and emotional wellbeing’, and also, as it is a familiar environment, that the child is used to, its allows them to have an ‘openness to new thinking and ideas’, be able to freely ‘create and develop’ their ideas, and also feel comfortable to ‘solve problems’. (Scottish Government) It ‘challenges learners to go beyond their current thinking, continually increasing their capacities’. (Eady, S. 2012) This is also effective for teaching in general as it allows the child to feel that they can achieve goals, and be aware of their strengths, and learning styles. It has also been noted that in general, children start to take responsibility for their own learning; ‘As students internalize new procedures and routines, they should take a greater responsibility for controlling the progress of the task such that the amount of interaction may actually increase as the student becomes more competent.’ (Foley, J. 1993)
Discipline is probably one of the most nerve wracking areas for teachers, no one wants to be hated, but of course no one wants to be too friendly and lose respect in the classroom. For these reasons, I think it is one of the fundamental attributes that a teacher must possess, and think that although a lot of how you will act and react will be a natural tendency, it is a skill that must be honed, studied and learnt. Bill Rogers sums up the traits that a teacher must acquire in order to have a happy classroom and maintain discipline: ‘The teacher appears to be self-confident, patient and good-humoured’, ‘The teachers explanations and instructions are clear and pitched at a level likely to “connect”’, ‘The teacher is aware that his or her characteristic voice and actions can significantly facilitate students’ attention, interest, motivation and cooperation.’, ‘the teacher makes a conscious and willing effort to encourage students in their effort and progress and gives thoughtful praise and encouragement’.(Rogers, W.A. 2002. P75-77) To sum this up, I believe that a teacher must have the ‘ability to relate to young people, encourage them in good behaviour and learning, and to deal calmly but firmly with inappropriate or disruptive behaviour’ (HMSO. 1989). Having clear guidelines and positive discipline procedures enable children to have self-respect, to know their boundaries, develop informed opinions, and make reasoned evaluations. They know what is expected of them, and know what the consequences will be if they do not act appropriately. I think it is essential to set these guidelines or ‘class rules’ up in the first week of meeting a new class, and allowing their to be discussion about the rules and let them think for themselves why certain actions aren’t acceptable. This gives the ‘power’ to the children, and allows them to have a sense of control and I think that when the children feel like this, they will be less likely to be disruptive, as they are aware that their actions can and will have an effect on the classroom as a whole. Within the boundaries of the term ‘discipline’ also falls praise, and in my opinion, praise is just as powerful, if not more so, than chastising. Children need to know when they are doing well, not just for physical actions, (the correct answer to a maths problem, or spelling a word correctly) but also for what they say and how they do things. I believe that this shouldn’t always be public, and most definitely not always through the use of gimmicks such as gold stars, stickers etc. A few words of encouragement to a pupil, without the whole class having to hear, are very effective.
Questioning skills are again, an essential component in a teachers’ repertoire, and this skill must be developed. On a basic level, it allows teachers to check their pupils’ progress and understanding .However it must also must engage pupils, allowing them to embrace cognitive thought at both a lower order and higher order, and ‘arouse curiosity, focus attention, identify problems, communicate expectation, encourage reflection, assessment, challenge thinking’. (Eady, S. 2012) Research has shown that ‘many teachers do not plan or conduct classroom dialogue in ways that help pupils to learn…many leave less than one second after asking a question before …asking another question or answering their own question.’ (Black, P et al. 2002. p5) This type of questioning is not effective and allows no scope for thought. An example of effective questioning is explored by a teacher: ‘Instead of showing how to find solutions, a question is asked and pupils given time to explore answer together.’ She also goes on to say that she finds that ‘Pupils are more comfortable with giving a wrong answer. They know that these can be as useful as correct ones’. (Black, P et al. 2002. p6) These higher order questions, allowing for higher order thinking skills and discussion in an open environment are obviously inspiring better results and answers. This relates fully to the four capacities set out by the government, with children having ‘ openness to new thinking and ideas’, secure values and beliefs’, an enterprising attitude’ and an overall ‘respect for others’. (Scottish Government)
Although it may seem somewhat basic compared to the other attributes I list as being essential, being able to ‘plan and deliver a lesson which flows smoothly and holds pupils' attention’, (HMSO. 1989) is probably the first attribute that you must be able to deliver on. From personal experience, it is one of the first things I have learnt about in my ITE course, and in fact the first lecture we received this year was on lesson planning. This speaks volumes about its necessity for teachers. During our microteaching it has become obvious that ‘failing to prepare is preparing to fail’ (Eady, S. 2012) I believe that this is true no matter how long you have been in the profession. It is not only important that the teacher knows exactly what is going to happen in the lesson and what will be learnt, but also the children; ‘Teachers need to separate the task instructions clearly from the learning intention and success criteria, or children can begin their work without knowing clearly the difference between what you want them to do and what you want them to learn’. (Clarke. S 2001:21) If a teacher is prepared and the children know exactly what the task is and what they will be learning it enable there to be the best environment for successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors. (Scottish Government)
It is easy to understand that there are many facets to an effective teacher and that for different people these will differ. It is also clear that there are some qualities that are essential for a teacher to possess, of which I have discussed. Teachers must, firstly and foremost, be child focussed. Their job role is, essentially, to prepare children to become confident, well-rounded, employable people, and by harnessing the aforementioned qualities, will enable them to do this. I also feel it is important for teachers themselves to be confident and well-rounded, as they are leading by example and children and so very impressionable at the primary stages. The four capacities of the Curriculum for Excellence have opened up a whole new way of learning and development for children, that can only be a positive change for both now and the future, and it is our job as teachers to provide children with the correct tools to do so.
Bibliography
Black. P, Harrison. C, Lee. C, Marshall. B, Wiliam. D. (2002) Working Inside the Black Box. London: The Publications Secretary. p5-7.
Clarke, S. (2001) Unlocking Formative Assessment, UK: Hodder & Stoughton.
Eady, S (2012) EDU9E3 Lecture 4, Stirling: University of Stirling
Graham Donaldson. (2010). Teaching Scotland's Future. Available: . [Accessed 26th October 2012]
HMSO. (1989). The Elton Report. Available: http://www.educationengland.org.uk/documents/elton/elton03.html. [Accessed 26th October 2012]
Joseph Foley. (1993). Scaffolding. Available: http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/content/48/1/101.full.pdf. [Accessed 26th October 2012]
Scottish Government. The purpose of the curriculum. Available :. [Accessed 26th October 2012]
William. A. Rogers. (2002). Effective Teaching: Fundamental understandings and skills. In: Classroom Behaviour. London: Paul Chapman Publishing. p75-77.