teacher functions

UNIT- II

ORGANIZATION OF TEACHING
PREPARED BY 
BISHWAJEET BISWAS

INTRODUCTION

Concept of teaching:

Teaching is process which usually takes place in the class room situations. It is more of formal processes. In the class room situations we see that the teacher has something in his mind and he wants to convey it to the students.  For this purpose, he takes the help of teaching.  He makes all efforts to make the students understand it.  His teaching is successful if the students are able to grasp it fully.

Need of Teaching:

Through teaching, the teacher aims at:-

Ø  Giving some knowledge to the students

Ø  Passing some information to them

Ø  Making the students acquire some skill

Ø  Changing the attitude of the learners

Ø  Modifying the behavior of the students

Ø  Giving some experiences of life; etc.

Teaching in the class depends upon how the teacher performs his duty of teaching. A sincere and hard working teacher always comes out all successful.  He makes every effort to achieve the desired ends.  He always goes well prepared in every way.  In his class room teaching, there is always a very good class room interaction.  He faces the class clearly and boldly.  He is always facing to case with the students while speaking in the class.  Naturally, that type of teacher will be able to impress the students fully. Such a teaching can be called effective teaching.

Teaching may also take place outside the class rooms.  The students come in contact with their teacher in the corridors, in the staff room, in the canteen, in the playgrounds; in the school assemble grounds etc., the process of teaching surely goes on there also which is more of informal type.  Learning by the students through informal contacts with the teacher is many a time more sound and lasts longer. In fact, teaching is an art of educating other people.  In this age of science and technology when there is explosion of knowledge, the process of teaching has reached new dimensions.  It is no longer a simple art of imparting information to the students.  It is now tending to become a technology by itself instructional television, computer assisted instruction, teaching machines, etc. Teaching is an activity which goes on between the two parties i.e. the giver and the receiver.  Here the giver is the teacher more matured person with more experiences of life.  The receiver may be an individual, a small group or a big group.

Teaching is not a mechanical process. It is an intricate, exacting, challenging job. Teaching can’t be boiled down to a convenient formula of “telling and testing”.  It is the complex art of guiding pupils through a variety of selected experiences towards the attainment of a widening field of learning.

Definitions of teaching:

            According to Rabindra Nath Tagore, “A Teacher can never truly teach unless he is still learning himself.  A lamp can never light another lamp unless it continues to burn its own flame.”

                    H.C.  Morrison (1934): “teaching is an intimate contact between a more mature personality and less mature one which is designed to further the education of the latter.”

            N. L, Gage(1962): “Teaching is a form of interpersonal influence aimed at changing the behavior potential of another person”

.                  B.D. Smith (1961): “Teaching is a system of actions intended to induce learning.”

           John Dewey: “One might as well say he has sold when no one has bought, as to say he has taught when no one has learned.”

Nicholas Sparks, Dear John: “They inspire you, they entertain you, and you end up learning a ton even when you don't know it”

MEANING OF TEACHER

T: Trains
E: Enhances skills
A: Adheres to values
C: Concerned
H: Harnesses latent power in students
E: Extends him/herself
R: Rises to all occasions

TEACHER FUNCTIONS

In teaching process, the active or functional part is played by the independent and dependent variable. Mainly following three types of functions are performed by these variables:

Ø  DIAGNOSTIC FUNCTIONS

Ø  PRESCRIPTIVE FUNCTIONS

Ø  EVALUATIVE FUNCTIONS

DIAGNOSTIC FUNCTIONS:

The goal is to bring desirable changes in the behavior of students. The initial task needs a proper diagnosis for the prescription of appropriate treatment (the actual attempts) for bringing desirable behavioral changes in the students. Accordingly, a teacher has to perform the following diagnostic functions:

1.      He has to diagnose the entering behavior of the student. The initial potential of the student in terms of cognitive, cognitive and affective abilities should be properly diagnosed with the help of some diagnostic tests.

2.      He has to diagnose and formulate specific educational objectives, the type and amount of behavioral changes he wants to introduce in the student in the light of the entering behavior and environmental conditions.

3.      He has to analyze the content, instructional material and environmental facilities available for carrying out his task.

4.      He has to diagnose his own potential and capabilities and bring desirable improvement in his own behavior for the success of his own mission.

PRESCRIPTIVE FUNCTIONS:

On the basis of diagnosis, the teacher takes decision about the needed prescription for achieving the stipulated objectives. Accomplishment of objectives needs an appropriate interaction between the teacher and the student which, in turn, needs proper management of the intervening variables by the teacher. Accordingly, he has to perform the following functions;

1.       Selecting appropriate contents and organizing them into proper sequence.

2.       Selecting proper teaching techniques, strategies and feedback devices in view of the individual difference among the students.

3.       Seeking essential cooperation from the students for a purposeful interaction.

In the performance of prescriptive functions also, the teacher is likely to be more active than the students.  The prescription is made for the student to bring desirable changes in his behavior.  He has to work for the purposeful interaction and give his sincere cooperation for the teacher in exercising the various prescriptive functions. 

EVALUATIVE FUNCTIONS:

Evaluative function concerned with the tasks of evaluating the progress and outcomes of the prescriptive functions that may be decided in the form of realization of the stipulated objectives.  The failure in the realization of the objectives is essentially a failure in the prescriptive functions either due to improper diagnosis or some serious mistakes in prescribing or carrying out the treatment (actual teaching) task.

Various evaluation devices in the form of tests, observations, interviews, rating scales, inventories and unstructured projective techniques are help in exercising evaluative functions. In contrast to diagnostic or prescriptive functions, the student remains more active in the evaluative functions. He has to respond and evaluate his own progress in terms of the abilities acquired and behavior changes occurred. He is taught and helped by the teacher in bringing improvement in his behavior on the basis of his entry behavior and potentialities. Now, it is this turn to see how far the treatment prescribe for done by the teacher is helpful for him. If the prescription suits him he can go ahead with it.  If it does not, he must give his full cooperation to the teacher (just like a patient who has to consult his doctor and seek his advice for further diagnosis and subsequent prescription in order to get maximum advantage for bringing improvement in his behavior.)

SOME OTHER FUNCTIONS OF TEACHER

Ø  Student’s motivation. Motivation is essential for learning to take place. The learner has to be ready to receive the presented information.

Ø  Adequate input of information. Input of information is essential in order to teach something. The incoming information must not overload short-term memory, because the informational flow has to allow making the relationships between old and new bodies of information and within the new one.

Ø  Securing time and space for information processing. The implicitly given information has to be made explicit, so the construction of learner’s original body of information can take place.

Ø  Storing and retrieving of information. Some information will be stored and made retrievable for later use. Memorization is achieved by rehearsing and by linking new information with already stored information.

Ø  Securing applicability of knowledge. The reason for learning is the application of knowledge in solving problem in future practice. Transfer of knowledge to new problem engages generalization of general principles to a pertinent problem, and competence of comparisons between different situations. So the students should be given the chance, early in their study, to practice arts of generalization and comparison in solving problems.

Ø  Monitoring of students activities. Finally, the learner’s activities need to be controlled and, if necessary, directed.

CONCLUSION

Teaching, as an activity, can be either effective or not when student’s learning is concerned. If the teaching act is student-directed, it should adequately influence learning process that is happening in the learner. For desired learning to take place, all teaching functions (effects) should be realized. Teacher can make his/her teaching more effective by considering the following points:

REFERENCES

1.     Sharma K. Yogendra, (2007), Fundamental Aspects of Educational Technology, Kanishka Publishers, New Delhi

2.     Mangal S. K and Mangal Uma, (2011), Essentials of Educational Technology, PHI Publishers, New Delhi