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Discuss how the issues studied in this course have influenced your understanding of the role of the teacher

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Introduction

Discuss how the issues studied in this course have influenced your understanding of the role of the teacher. During this course I have come across a variety of issues that have influenced my understanding of the role of a teacher, and in this essay I will discuss how these issues have influenced my opinion both positively and negatively and my reasons for this. First of all I will look at a couple of learning theories and whether I feel they are relevant to teaching and how I feel you can apply them to teaching practice. Multiple intelligence theory was developed by Howard Gardner. His thesis was that individuals do not have just one type of intelligence, such as might be measured by an IQ test, but several. He described a number of intelligences, each of which was identified with a different part of the brain. He discovered that there were 9 intelligences, and that all humans possess these intelligences in varying amounts, and so the education system must cater for these varying intelligences because pupils do not learn at the same pace, same time or in the same way. By doing this pupils are more likely to engage with the work and thus "It's not about how smart you are - but how you are smart" Highland learning and teaching tool kit (2005). ...read more.

Middle

For me it also helped me realise that although achieving high grades for my class is important, not all children are going to achieve them and even though some may only achieve a D for them it might be their full potential. As a teacher it is about setting high but achievable targets. If you expect too much then the student could potentially give up because the work is too hard. If targets are too low, then the student will not aim for their full potential and achieve only minimal results. Looking at the topic of special educational needs, I realised that it is very important to know as much as you can about the people in your class who have special educational needs. When teaching I must find out the names and specific needs of each pupils in order that I may address them. For instance I need to know who I need to make worksheets with a large font for, and who needs to sit at front of class because of hearing difficulties as Dean, J (1996, p116-127) discusses in his book Beginning to Teach in the Secondary School. We also came across this, because one student in our lectures requires sheets with a larger font on it, and so we all had to accommodate this when we did our group presentations, otherwise this student would not have been able to learn anything except what was oral presented. ...read more.

Conclusion

During this essay I have discussed my thoughts and feelings about a number of issues that I have studied throughout the course and also a number of other issues I have come across through my own private study and discussed in my learning log. In studying this course I have come across a number of issues I had never thought about before. When I first started this course I thought teaching was all about getting up at the front of the class, talking to them for a bit and then getting them to do some work about what I had just discussed. However I now realise that it is about more than that. I never realised that body language would be so important in the role of a teacher. I also never realised how many other issues you must consider when being a teacher, such as considering special educational needs, how to portray confidence and authority and how and what motivates pupils. It also made me realise what it means to me to be a teacher. For me helping to create bright, intelligent, well rounded individuals and people who can think and decide their own opinions is just as important as them getting the highest possible grades. I want them to become grown adults with qualities that will set them up and help them deal with the trial and tribulations of the real world. ?? ?? ?? ?? Samantha Gornall 1 ...read more.

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