Teachers as Facilitators
“The teacher must work with the pupil, not for him. Take his hand, beguile the tediousness of the way, allow proper rest, and do not hurry or overstrain him; but see that he walks, do not carry him” (Landon, 1908)
The notion of guiding a child instead of leading them becomes a much easier task for a teacher who is prepared. In Moral Education and the Need for Teacher Preparation, Hersh and Mutterer state that, “When children are challenged to perceive contradictions in their own thinking they will try to generate new and better solutions...” (Hersh & Mutterer 1975) A teacher must be able to differentiate between teaching and guiding a student and spoon feeding information. They can plan ahead to appropriately communicate information in a way that promotes learning and discovery. An effective lesson gives the students the tools to find the answers and the knowledge of how to use the tools to get the answer themselves. Learning is a more meaningful experience when the student can reach the conclusions by themselves.
Teachers can facilitate a student’s self imposed learning by using techniques like; peer to peer learning which is when students are left to their own means of discovering the answers to their exercises. After a lesson is introduced students can attempt to learn together and try to help one another solve the problems. Another useful tool for community learning in the classroom is reading or literacy circles. Students are given guidelines and challenged to find the answers as a group. Working together takes the pressure off of an individual and encourages shared learning. The teacher’s job is to introduce concepts, ask questions about the subject and show them what route to take but the students get to the answers by themselves.
K.D
Landon, J. (1908). The principles and practice of teaching and class management (7th ed.). London: Alfred M. Holden.
The notion of guiding a child instead of leading them becomes a much easier task for a teacher who is prepared. In Moral Education and the Need for Teacher Preparation, Hersh and Mutterer state that, “When children are challenged to perceive contradictions in their own thinking they will try to generate new and better solutions...” (Hersh & Mutterer 1975) A teacher must be able to differentiate between teaching and guiding a student and spoon feeding information. They can plan ahead to appropriately communicate information in a way that promotes learning and discovery. An effective lesson gives the students the tools to find the answers and the knowledge of how to use the tools to get the answer themselves. Learning is a more meaningful experience when the student can reach the conclusions by themselves.
Teachers can facilitate a student’s self imposed learning by using techniques like; peer to peer learning which is when students are left to their own means of discovering the answers to their exercises. After a lesson is introduced students can attempt to learn together and try to help one another solve the problems. Another useful tool for community learning in the classroom is reading or literacy circles. Students are given guidelines and challenged to find the answers as a group. Working together takes the pressure off of an individual and encourages shared learning. The teacher’s job is to introduce concepts, ask questions about the subject and show them what route to take but the students get to the answers by themselves.
K.D
Landon, J. (1908). The principles and practice of teaching and class management (7th ed.). London: Alfred M. Holden.