Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector Level 3/4 Unit 008 Roles, Responsibilities and Relationships in Lifelong Learning

Every profession has roles, responsibilities and boundaries; governed by copious legislation and directed through company policies/ procedures. These ensure objectives are met and identified persons can be made accountable for their functions. In the teaching/ learning sector however, roles can be blurred and legislation somewhat confusing, suggested by Holtrop (1997) “Obviously teachers wear many hats; friend, counsellor, judge, mentor, hundreds of roles and different roles for different classes, students and extracurricular duties”. Nonetheless, the protection and safety of individuals and groups is the fundamental principle, and can be broken down into three key areas;

A teachers primary role is to deliver information. The 2003 workload agreement (Woodward and Peart, 2013) not only defined the levels of work a teacher could reasonably expect but also defined the roles which would provide a framework of support to the specifics of the teaching role. Though this applies to secondary education the principles can inform teacher roles in the lifelong learning sector. A teacher must develop an awareness, understanding and professional respect of all the roles which support them in their efficacy. In the Institute of Learning's Code of Professional Conduct is states

A legislation is a law made by the government that dictate the general rules. The code of practice is more like how to put in to practice the legislation setting up the standards and the ethics. The work place policies are “rules” made by the employer that may be different from an employer to another but never in contrast to the legislation or the code of practice.

It is possible in my field, (NLP, Presentation Skills and performance enhancement) to present students with opportunities that require them to practice their literacy, language, numeracy and ICT skills in a variety of ways.

This model is centred around principles of rights, rules, respect responsibilities, and relationships. Rogers emphasises the need for teachers to establish a set of student led classroom rights, rules and responsibilities during the establishment period of the year (Killian, Ogden, Shipston, & Facas, 2017). These rights, responsibilities and rules entail the behaviours that are expected in the classroom and protect the student’s rights to; feel safe, be treated with respect and to learn. The rules are to be developed reasonably and provide freedom in the sense students are free to move around the boundaries. As the rules are decided and agreed upon by the students, this develops a sense of understanding and accountability for their own behaviour and learning (Edwards, & Watts, 2008). In order to ensure students are respectful to the rights of students, the teacher must also treat students with respect. The teacher must consider the dignity of the students and their rights in the classroom ensuring they avoid any behaviours they

• What priorities do we have for adding to our classroom resources to ensure that we are honouring all students? • It is also my role as a teacher to ensure I maintain a safe learning environment by following and promoting health and safety legislation-identification of hazards, risks assessments, identifying key health and safety members, recording of emergency procedures currently in place, the safeguarding and protection of vulnerable adults, myself, colleagues and students from harm’s way. I also have a responsibility to stop any damage happening to the premises/building I am teaching in. There is also an expectation in teaching to intervene with any behaviour that might put health and safety to anyone at risk. (2.2) Explain why it is important to promote appropriate behaviour and respect for

Depending on the organisation, your role, responsilbities and boundaries as a teacher will depend on five areas of the teaching/learning cycle.

As a teacher my work is influenced by the following legislations and codes of practice

It is important to establish appropriate behaviour and respect for others in order to fully realise the potential of all within and to ensure each student is safe from both physical and psychological harm. Appropriate behaviour must apply to both student and teacher. I, as a teacher, must follow a Code of Practice in order foster individual growth and learning. The principles of Good Practice are to treat people with care, respect and dignity. To recognise that I, as a teacher, am a trusted representative of my work place. I must ensure communication with students is open and clear and assess the risks to my students of the activities by carrying out a thorough risk assessment before each session.

The teachers’ purpose is to put students’ needs first before themselves. Enforced by the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA), all teachers and education students in Alberta must follow the professionalism code of conduct. By “stipulat[ing] minimum standards,” this regulates the profession as a set of guidelines on ethics to teaching. (ATA, 2015) Using ethos, pathos and logos, the code of conduct discusses how the teacher takes on – to a degree – an authoritative role while having shared values about colleagues and students as they know their restrictions in their profession. Based on an abstract of an article by Elizabeth Campbell, (2000) the ATA Code of Professional Conduct serves to increase awareness of the profession while maintaining limitations.

(1.1) Having been requested to produce a brief on my roles in teaching and professional values whist teaching in this role. I have to deal with variety of personnel from different ability groups and cultures. I often have to deal with ever changing legislation such as the Joint Service Publications (JSP’s) regarding subjects taught at the training wing, as well as the JSP’s we have to work in line

number of students, general behaviour of the group, etc.), the programme’s progression (In this instance, based on an existing standardisation I have found out what had been taught previously and what I had had to teach.). During the session, I started by introducing myself to the group with an explanation of the reasons why I was standing in front of them. This enabled the learners to acknowledge me as their teacher and get ready for the session. Then, I did a diagnostic assessment through an ice-breaker to ascertain the learners had prior knowledge of the subject to be taken, to identify their preferred learning styles, to let them to choose a colour (The colour was used as font for a power point presentation and prints on pastry paper to help the dyslexic learner.) and to enable them introduce each other. I skipped the information, advice and guidance (IAG) procedures because the course is standardised and the group has attended few sessions with my colleague in the past.

Lifelong learning is on-going process. The role and responsibilities in lifelong learning sector is - we should always follow the relevant code of practice, key aspect of legislation & regulatory requirements. We should provide the resources and equipment those requirements of teaching professions. The aim of this unit is to develop our understanding of the roles and responsibilities of a teacher in lifelong learning and the relationship between different professionals in lifelong learning. It includes responsibility for maintaining a safe and supportive learning environment for learners.

In this assignment I will evaluate my own approaches to CPD, weigh up my strengths and developmental needs in relation to literacy, language and numeracy needs. This will be continued to develop my knowledge by using my own reflection and the feedback I have received from others. The outcome will be to establish a plan to identify the opportunities I have and want to take to address my learning needs.

Teaching in the lifelong learning sector encompasses students of many: age ranges, backgrounds and abilities. As a result, the roles, responsibilities and boundaries of the tutor can at first appear to be immeasurable.