Concept of Teacher Competence

a) Explain the concept of teacher competence. Discuss various teacher competencies that a teacher at higher education level needs to acquire in order to perform his/her professional functions effectively

Teaching includes all activities to be carried out for organizing learning experiences. Teaching is a process of transfer of knowledge through best communication skills. There are many more activities apart from teaching that the teacher has to perform in the classroom and outside it in order to provide the required learning experiences to students. Some of these are, planning for the class, preparing the necessary learning method, giving a demonstration, conducting seminars and supervising practical work.

Competencies are the requirements of a teacher which is under going teaching activities and they include knowledge, skills and valuesetc. The trainee teacher must demonstrate competencies for successful completion of the teacher's education programme. It is possible to assess a competency from the performance of a teacher. It is not necessary that all competencies of a teacher have the same extent of knowledge, skill and attitude. There may be some competencies of a teacher which have the different extent of knowledge, skill and attitude. There may be some competencies involving more of knowledge than skill and attitude, whereas, same competencies may be skill/performance loaded.

A large number of instructional and related activities to be performed by the teacher and for their effective organisation the teacher should possesses a certain amount of knowledge and also certain attitudes and

skills. This is known as teacher competence. 

The following competencies are expected from a teacher for better performance. These are: 

1. Self-assessment : Teacher should have competence in self assessment over the topics which he/she being going to teach.  A well prepreparation is required before taking a class. 

2. Communication Skills : Good communication skills make understanding a topic better and enhances learning experiences.  It is prime quality of a teacher that she/he should make during the teaching.

3. Management Function : Should have good management competencies as teacher requires management of classes according to the performance of the students while assigning activities/training.

4. Classroom Interaction : Good instruction skills are required by a teacher.  Simple and short instructions have better impact on learning process of students. It increases student's confident on the subject and interaction with teachers.

5. Knowledge of Subject Matter : A teacher should have deep and practical knowledge of the subject which it is going to teach.  Interactive questions remains un-answered if teacher lacks subject knowledge during the class.

6. Planning : Planning makes success easy.  A better planning is required before starting a new unit or student's evaluation. The subjects should be planned according to the competence level of students rather than competence level of himself.

7. Presentation and communication : Presentation on the topic is first effect of teacher's capabilities on the student.  A good presentation strengthens the bond between teacher and students.  Presentation and communication are interlinked to each-other. Good presentation makes easy to communicate.

8. Motivation & Evaluation : A teacher should always motivate his students. Motivation keeps student in enthusiasm on the subject matter. A teacher should be a good evaluator as students are rewarded for their knowledge based on the evaluation made by a teacher.