Teaching/training cycle

Teaching should be a learning experience for both the teacher and the students; we never stop learning, whether it is the unconscious referral to past experiences that prevents us taking a wrong turn down a well trodden path or a conscious decision to learn a new skill. As teachers it is our role to ease learners through the process of learning, Coffield, F (2008) supports this by stating that teaching and learning are not separate activities but â€Å"intertwined elements of a double sided, interactive process† which is enabled by the understanding and implementation of the key stages of the teaching/training cycle. The 5 Key Stages are: Identify needs, Planning and design, Delivery, Assess & Evaluate. Identify needs: Adult learners bring a wide range of abilities, skills and life experiences to the classroom and these can influence the way they learn. It is a crucial responsibility of the teacher to ensure that learning needs are identified in order that delivery can be planned or adjusted to meet these needs. When delivering short, legislative courses, identification of needs is not always achieved prior to commencement of delivery for many reasons. In some cases enrolment is completed by employers who may not be aware of learners’ literacy, numeracy or special needs, (e. g. dyslexia); some learners may have had previous bad experiences of learning but require the qualification to do their current job, or employees may just â€Å"have been sent† by their employer so may bring a negative attitude. It is the teacher’s role to identify any issues as early as possible and to implement delivery and support strategies ensuring learner needs are met throughout the delivery, at the same time respecting learners’ rights to confidentiality. Planning & Design: It is the responsibility of the teacher to plan and design the course to meet the needs of the learners and the awarding body. Occupation specific courses have very prescriptive learning outcomes, aims and objectives so it may be suggested that the teacher has little involvement in course planning or development. As supported by Armitage et al (2003) even highly prescribed courses still allow some freedom to interpret, resource and emphasise the various course elements in our own way. Every group of learners is different with a wide variety of learning needs and although the base design of the course remains the same each course delivered is adapted with varying resources, exercises, and anecdotes drawn from working experience. Many of these adaptations are made â€Å"on the hoof† in response to the limited learner knowledge prior to commencement of delivery. Delivery: The teacher is wholly responsible for delivery of the learning programme to achieve identified aims and objectives whilst meeting individual learner needs. Delivery should incorporate differentiation to allow for individual learning goals and expectations, competence levels and speed of progress and there should be a variety of learning methods utilised, while the pace of learning should be varied to maintain interest and concentration. Teaching should allow for different learning styles, such as VARK learning models & learning styles identified by Honey & Mumford, active learners should also be encouraged. Responsibility for the safety of the learners lies with the teacher, from both the physical and emotional viewpoint who should ensure that no learners are being discriminated against by themselves, other learners or the organisation as a whole. When delivering occupational training in the workplace an enhanced level of professionalism may be applicable to standards of dress and conduct, the teacher is also responsible for ensuring these standards are met. Assess: It is the teachers’ responsibility to ensure that learners are progressing and achieving throughout the course through a variety of methods of formative assessment. Methods of assessment must be linked to the course delivery and learning objectives supported by a clear idea of what students are setting out to learn and how far down the line they are to mastering that learning, as they progress through the course, this theory is well supported particularly by Minton (2003). The teacher is responsible for roviding timely feedback on learner progress which should be clear, concise and include both positive and developmental comments for learners to focus on. On legislative training courses summative assessment, is carried out in strict adherence to the requirements of the awarding body, however it is the responsibility of the teacher to ensure that all learners are aware of the format and assessment requirements and are provided with any agreed support to ensure equality of oppor tunity. Evaluate: The teacher carries the responsibility for evaluating the effectiveness of the teaching and learning of sessions and the course as a whole. Evaluations should cover content, resources used or needed, teaching methods and learner satisfaction. On legislative training courses, where each session makes up a module of the whole day’s course delivery, it is not always feasible to carry out a formal session evaluation however each course is evaluated in depth to ensure that strengths and areas of improvement are identified for future delivery. Learner evaluations and achievement provide useful feedback on course content, whether learners achieved their individual aims and objectives and whether they believe their learning has helped them in their working role, which is invaluable information when delivering occupational courses, however any changes to delivery must be tempered with any employees needs, as identified in the first stage of the cycle, and requirements of the awarding body. Adult learners already hold diverse life experiences when they arrive to learn. It is the role of the teacher to ensure that their needs are identified & met through planned provision and delivered in a professional manner on order that they can achieve to the best of their abilities and ensure that they are happy with their learning experience.