What Do Teachers Bring to the Teaching-Learning Process?

Chapter3
Presenting by: Aida Safikhani

Prof: Dr. Salimi

 Introduction
Review ch2 : 4 key factors of the teaching-learning
process: Teacher, learner, task and context

Ch3 focuses on the unique role of teachers in the

learning process.

Emphasizes that knowledge is constructed through

social interactions rather than merely transferred.

Teaching as a dynamic, non-linear process;

both teachers and learners influence each other

Sets the stage for exploring the individual contributions

of teachers and their impact on learning.
Studies in effective teaching Traditional research (process-product)
often attempts to measure characteristics of good teachers and correlate them with
student outcomes like exam results.
Key qualities of effective teachers: clarity, enthusiasm, variety of activities,
achievement-oriented behavior, lack of criticism, structuring comments, guiding
answers, acknowledgment & stimulation, motivating, enjoyable atmosphere,
providing opportunities for learning, personal relationships, demonstrating personal
talents,…
Termed as: “craft knowledge”
findings: fail to help teachers in practice because they are too generalized & open to
interpretations.
Good teachers come in all shapes & sizes.(personality, culture& beliefs differ)
*Radical alternative: inner exploration of oneself rather than outward characteristics
*It is provided by a constructivist approach to teachers and teaching
A Constructivist View of Education
➢ Introduced by: Ernst von Glasersfeld
➢ Education is a means to empower learners to think independently.
➢ Knowledge is seen as meaningful only when applied to specific
Contexts
➢ Students learn best through problem-solving and active dialogue rather than passive
reception.
Advocates: Socrates, John Dewey, Mariah Montessori & Paulo Friere
➢ This approach encourages teachers to guide rather than dictate students’ learning
paths
➢ It fosters an environment where students are motivated to solve problems and explore
concepts independently.
➢ Feelings of competence and self-efficacy can best be gained by problem-solving.
Presenting it in a fun way even increases its impact
➢ Education is helping people to make their own meaning
➢ Meanings must be: personal, significant & viable
Constructivist View of Teaching
➢ constructivism doesn’t prescribe specific teaching method but encourages
teachers to use their creativity and intuition
➢ teaching is about making sense of the classroom context & adapting
accordingly.
➢ teaching is influenced by each teacher’s unique background, experiences
& beliefs. Learners & teachers are influenced by one another.
➢ Successful teaching often involves a continual adaptation to new
challenges, allowing teachers to
expand their understanding
of their role.
➢ Horizons of understanding:
Meanings are constantly
formed within the traditions.
➢ Teachers are indivisible from
what they teach.
➢ No two teachers are ever the same
 The teacher as reflective practitioner
➢ Inspired by Chris Argyris and Donald Schon.
➢ The gap between what professionals say they believe
(espoused theories) & how they actually behave(theories in action)
➢ This gap leads to confusion→ teachers should be self-aware
➢ The notion of critical reflection:
➢ Reflection in action & reflection on action by Schon
➢ Each individual’s knowledge is tacit & implied by their actions
. Reflection on action makes this implicit knowledge explicit with the
help of past experiences and others’ reflections
Schon: students need to become aware of their intuitive understandings and fall into
cognitive confusions
Smyth’s guiding questions: What are:
1.the assumptions 2.roots 3.Expressed social practices
4.embodied views of power 5.interests 6.constrains
 Teachers’ Beliefs
Teachers' beliefs deeply influence their teaching methods and decisions.
➢ These beliefs: are shaped early in life, are difficult to change, affect
how teachers plan lessons and interact with students, form a filter through
which new information is interpreted.

➢ Teachers should reflect on their actions to uncover their implicit beliefs

& better understand their influence on teaching.

➢ Recognizing these beliefs helps teachers align their practices with their
values and enhances their understanding of the learning process.
 Beliefs about learners
Ronald Meighan suggests that learners can be construed in a continuum
such as:
Heavily teacher dominated: instruction is the natural function of the teacher
1.Resisters: not willing to, are made to, force or punishment are included
*Bruner: children do not start with “will to learn”
An alternative by Glasser: children start school full of desire, school pins the label of failure
on them
Instead of punishment more effective ways which can foster a lifelong love
of learning are required
2.Receptacles: to be filled with knowledge “Jugs & Mugs”, purely instruction & information
giving 03
→Learners IQ matters!
Freire: Banking conception of education
3.Raw materials: like clay to be moulded into a fine work of art
Danger of manipulating learners but it is in favor of social interactionism
Followings involve increasingly active participation of learners:

4.clients:emphasizes the identification of educational needs

Changes the nature of teacher-student relationships
Can be found greatly in ESP, with fee-paying adults in lg schools
Rare in involving school children for doing so

5.learner as partner: shifting from consultation to negotiation

For the teacher: taking the role of student wherever possible(Freire)
Assumptions: teacher is also a learner, sharing but not equality!

“Deciding together how we can all benefit from our time”

Mutual trust & respect leading to growth for both sides.
Compatible with humanist teachers like Carl Rogers
Process syllabus goes well with it!
 Radicals
“6.Lerner as individual explorer & 7.individual as democratic explorer”
➢ Teacher: a facilitator working from a Piagetian perspective
Learners explore for themselves with minimum prompting from the teacher
Back in 1976, Teachers of young children in UK also followed a lg teaching based on input
& acquisition
➢ Democratic exploration: learning groups set their own agenda, decide
on preferred way of working
➢ Meighan favors this approach at least with mature learners but difficult
to put into practice with young learners
➢ Compatible with: Task-based approaches & community lg learning
The extent to which teachers feel able to work with any of the items on the continuum depen
d on factors outside of their control
They need to identify the frustrations & inconsistencies to bridge the gap
 Beliefs about learning
Teachers' beliefs about learning shape their teaching approaches.
Setting clear goals for teaching: what do we want them to achieve
Gow & Kember categorize approaches to learning into overlapping descriptions:
a)Reproductive approaches
1.Quantitative increase in knowledge (e.g. grammar rules)
2.Memorisation (e.g. vocabulary, verb tenses)
3.Acquisitions of facts & procedures which can be used in practice (e.g. guessing the meaning
from its context)
b)Meaning based approaches
1.The abstraction of meaning (e.g. task-based listening) 2.interpretative process for understanding
reality(e.g. tasks requiring meaningful interaction)
3.some form of personal change(e.g. Learning to think/learning social skills)
*Social constructivism puts emphasis on affective & cognitive dimension*
 Teacher’s beliefs about themselves
➢ Teacher's self-concept impacts their approach to teaching.
➢ Teachers with a positive self-image are more likely to create a supportive
learning environment. Teaching involves expressing values besides content
Pupils feel the personal emotional structure of the teacher long before
feeling the content offered by that teacher.
➢ Implications for us:
✓ It’s impossible to build self-esteem of others when you lack it.
✓ Conveying a sense of confidence while using the lg is as important
as respecting learners attempts in expressing themselves.
✓ Permissiveness: permission to be oneself; freedom to have ideas
➢ Humanistic teaching is person-centered: In every teaching act, teachers
define themselves as a person. Teaching behavior reflects their essence as a person.
A teacher’s sense of self influences their ability to foster a safe & engaging
environment, which is crucial for effective language teaching.
 conclusion
✓ No single formula for being a good teacher

✓ Traditional studies on effective teaching often fall short because

they don't address the unique, personal elements teachers bring
to the classroom.

✓ A more fruitful approach focuses on understanding teachers’ beliefs

about learning, learners, and themselves, ensuring that their actions
align with these beliefs.

✓ The most effective teachers are those who continuously adapt &
grow in response to their experiences and interactions with students.
 D
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Thanks for your time & attention!