Chapter 5 – Teaching and the Role of the Instructor
When looking at the role of the instructor within a classroom, whether it is a traditional face-to-face course or an online or distance course, the role that the instructor has is changing. At MBC group, we will make sure that we acknowledge this change so that the instructors are fully aware of what the expectations are for not only them but also the students.
As simply stated by Anderson and Elloumi, there are three sets of qualities that define an excellent e-teacher. These qualities are first that they are just an excellent teacher, second is technical skills, and third is that they are resilient, innovative, and have perseverance like all other pioneers in new fields (Anderson & Elloumi, 2004, 290). We see these skills and qualities as being extremely important. If you take a teacher that is mediocre in a face-to-face setting, that does not mean they will be any better in an online setting. We will first look at the best teachers and only the best as possible teachers within the environment that we will be creating for Fithian International. We will then be looking at this pool of teachers and see which ones have the technological skills and desires. If a teacher is not motivated to teach using the technologies that we will be using, then we don’t believe they will be an effective teacher. Finally, even if the teachers are not familiar with the technologies, but are willing to take the time to learn how to use them effectively, we will be working with teaching them how to use the technologies before we put them into a course as an instructor.
Once we have the instructors selected, we realize that there is more to teaching than just lecturing and grading papers if you will. Teachers have many roles that they must play in classroom now. We want the classes that we will be creating for Fithian to be a student-centered classroom and not a teacher-centered classroom. This means that the teachers are not the center of attention, but they are there to help guide the students into learning and exploring things on their own. As eloquently stated by Headley, we see our instructors having five different roles. We see these roles as space planners, pacesetters, hosts, connectors, and mirrors (Headly, 2005).
These five roles all work together to form the student-centered classroom. The teachers are the ones that are then behind the scenes more. As space planners, pacesetters, and hosts the teachers are there to start conversations and give items to the student to think about and work on. They are there to keep them on task and on topic. They are not the ones creating all of the conversations, but they are watching them and giving their opinions and fueling the conversation when they believe they need some additional information. They are letting the students do most of the talking. As the connector, they are making sure the students see a connection between what they are learning and discussing and their lives outside of the classroom. They are trying to make sure to answer the question that a lot of students have of “How will I use this in my life?” or “When will I ever use this in my life?” They are giving students those ideas and visions of how things are useful and not just something that you learn for a test and will never use again in your life. Finally, as the mirror, they are looking at what the students are actually doing within the class. They are looking at their assignments, tests, quizzes, and posting to see what the student is understanding and having difficulties understanding. Once they have looked at these things, they are giving feedback to the students in a timely manner so that the student can see what they need to focus on or how to correct something that they have been doing incorrectly. They are there to encourage the student, to make sure that they don’t give up.
We, at MBC Group, really see the teachers within our courses as being like a coach of a team. They are there with the team at all times, but they are not out on the field or on the court with them during the game. They are there on the sidelines watching and giving advice on how to make the plays and point them in the right direction. They are not the ones that are the star of the game or show that has all the attention on them, but they are a support to the team of students making sure they accomplish the tasks they have been sent out with.
References
Anderson, T. & Elloumi, F. (2004).Theory and Practice of Online Learning, Canada: Athabasca University. Please note, this book can be retrieved athttp://cde.athabascau.ca/online_book/.
Baker, J. D., Redfield, K. L., & Tonkin, S. (2006). Collaborative coaching and networking for online instructors. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration 9 (4). Retrieved September 29, 2008 fromhttp://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/winter94/baker94.htm
Headley, S. (2005). Five roles I play in online course. Innovate 2 (1). Retrieved October 01, 2008, from http://www.innovateonlin.info/index.php?view=article&id=78.
Kennedy, K (2001, September 15). Intellectual Property in the digital age. Retrieved October 3, 2008, from techLEARNING Web site: http://www.techlearning.com/db_area/archives/TL/200109/newsextra.php
Simonson, M, Smaldino, S, Albright, M, & Zvacek, S (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education: Fourth edition. Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.
Starrett, D (2004, September 29). Faculty & technology: Rewarding TET. Retrieved October 3, 2008, from Campus Technology Web site: http://www.campustechnology.com/printarticle.aspx?id=39970