First of all we should specify, what the role is. As we each adopt different 'roles' in everyday situations, these roles change with the situation. We all have numerous roles in life so the teacher has many roles during a lesson. The teacher is manager, controller, organiser, assessor, prompter, participant, tutor, facilitator, resource, model, observer, monitor, motivator. The teacher is circulating, redirecting, disciplining, questioning, assessing, guiding, directing, fascinating, validating, facilitating, moving, monitoring, challenging, motivating, watching, moderating, diagnosing, trouble-shooting, observing, encouraging, suggesting, watching, and clarifying during the lesson.

PAST

The situation with the role of the teacher has not been the same all times. Traditionally, teaching was a combination of information dispensing, custodial childcare and sorting out academically inclined students from others. The underlying model for schools was an education factory in which adults, paid hourly or daily wages, kept like-aged youngsters sitting still for standardized lessons and tests.

Teachers were told what, when, and how to teach. They were required to educate every student in exactly the same way and were not held responsible when many failed to learn. They were expected to teach using the same methods as past generations, and any deviation from traditional practices was discouraged by supervisors or prohibited by myriad education laws and regulations. Thus, many teachers simply stood in front of the class and delivered the same lessons year after year, growing grey and weary of not being allowed to change what they were doing.

The fact is, lessons consisted primarily of lecturing to students who had sat in rows at desks, dutifully listening and recording what they had heard, rather then offers every child a rich, rewarding, and unique learning experience. Information was bound primarily in books and Students were just consumers of facts and not the active creators of knowledge.

This situation rapidly changed in last years. The most respected teachers have discovered how to make students active and passionate participants in the instructional process by providing project-based, participatory, educational adventures. Students work harder when teachers give them a role in determining the form and content of their schooling -- helping them create their own learning plans and deciding the ways in which they will demonstrate that they have, in fact, learned what they agreed to learn.

PRESENT

"A good teacher knows when to act as Sage on the Stage and when to act as a Guide on the Side. Because student-centred learning can be time-consuming and messy, efficiency will sometimes argue for the Sage. When students are busy making up their own minds, the role of the teacher shifts. When questioning, problem-solving and investigation become the priority classroom activities, the teacher becomes a Guide on the Side." (The WIRED Classroom Jamie McKenzie)

The teacher nowadays is still on the move. The teacher checking over shoulders, asking questions and teaching mini-lessons for individuals and groups who need a particular skill. Support is customized and individualized. The Guide on the Side sets clear expectations, provides explicit directions, and keeps the learning well structured and productive.

Here are brief explanations of any roles listed above.

• Organizer - probably the most important role of teacher, because teacher has to organize the whole lesson, bring and initiate activities and feedback activities. Any problems with lesson organizing lead to chaos in the class
• Prompter - teacher should become a prompter when students are stuck for ideas or have problems with communication. Teacher in this role should be very careful not to take initiative away from the student
• Tutor - this role is more or less employed when students are working individually and need support or help and guidance. Often intruding should be avoided.
• Assessor -Students want feedback from the teacher just like teacher wants feedback from the students and this is where teacher needs to act as an assessor. Teacher has to correct and evaluate students Teacher in this role must be fair and sensitive to the students reaction.
• Observer - Teacher becomes observer when he wants to find out what is going on in the classroom, if students are fine with given activity, make notes for later correction. Teacher in this role should keep a matching distance from the students not to distract them from their activity
• Participant - In any parts of the lesson there is a chance for teacher to participate in activity as an equal, not as a teacher. It is very useful to motivate, encourage and help students from inside the working group.

Irena KOUDELKOVA - Heureka

ITTT - Unit 1

Jamie McKENZIE - The wired classroom

Wikipedia - Role of the teacher

Stepan Prokop