Albert Einstein once said ‘Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school’. Maybe if a child were to read the sentence, they may not be able to make much sense of it. But as they grow up, they will eventually conclude what the famous scientist wanted to convey with his message. Education and knowledge do not stop at learning a theorem, knowing by heart the history, geography, or civics of your country. In a true sense, education is an art. Its main goal is to empower students and learners with the ability to differentiate between right and wrong, make sound judgments in the face of difficulties, and the overall intellectual growth of the child and even adults as long as they are willing to learn. This is where the role of an educator, a teacher, a guide, whatever you call them, comes into play and today we discuss the organic evolution of education and the modern-day educator. We dive deeper into finding out how technology is helping teachers teach better.
Sure enough, examinations are a way of getting ahead in life. Passing exams with exceptionally high grades, getting admitted to a reputed college, and obtaining a prestigious degree is the certain and predetermined way to make it to a high-paying job or become an entrepreneur. Why don’t you check out the easy grade calculator while you are here? However, it’s important to ensure that while the child achieves all of this, they also get a chance to explore their true potential, weaknesses, and strengths. During the initial stages of their learning, they should have access to an environment where they are made acquainted with their own selves before making an entry into the practical and competitive world.
It would be naive on our part to think that teachers are only responsible for imparting technical learning. In reality, they play a crucial role in shaping a child’s personality. They are not just a medium for knowledge transfer. When it comes to the role of teachers, it ranges from a mentor to a friend when needed, and ultimately being a source of inspiration. Children spend nearly 8 to 10 hours of their day in the care of their teachers. With so much time spent with each other, day after day and year after year, teachers are bound to leave an impression on the children and their role in a child’s future remains unquestioned.
The only constant is change. This rule applies to everything and every aspect of life. As time passes by, if we look around us, we will realize that almost everything is replaced with something new, better or not is up to people to decide. The field of education is not exceptional to this theory. If we look back at teaching methods adopted 20 years ago, we will realize how different present-day teachers and their teaching methods are when compared to the educators of older times.
This change between the teaching method and the teacher’s psychology is not forced. It is in fact an organic change influenced by several external and internal factors within the global educational scenario.
Without getting into the complexities of the reasons for this change, let’s discuss some of the primary drivers of steady change in teaching tactics:
1- Understanding that education is more than just science
With extensive research work on education conducted by multiple educationalists and knowledgeable experts, the present understanding of education is that it is not merely science but a form of art. It requires paying attention to non-technical details such as intuition, creativity, personal expression, and evoking or acknowledging that people have emotional needs that have to be tended to for better knowledge transfer.
2- The need for flexibility
Earlier times demand teachers to adhere to a certain way of teaching leaving no scope for flexibility. However, by accepting that teaching has to be artistic, teachers have become more flexible with how they approach technical concepts depending on the learning stage the children are at. The educators do not shy away from changing their teaching styles for achieving maximum efficiency.
3- The mandate that is technology
Nothing in the world is currently technology-isolated. It has become synonymous with the modern world and the education field is not far behind. It would be incorrect to state that technology has integrated seamlessly with education because there are still a lot of unexplored areas in teaching that do not show signs of technology adoption. However, the process of incorporating technology in education teachings began a few years ago and gained momentum during Covid-19 when teaching institutes had to be quick in adopting digital systems for conducting classes. This easy grader application is an example of how technology makes life simpler.
Technology in education is like a coin. It has two sides. On one side, digitizing teaching deals with enriching educational content with the help of new technologies whereas on the other side, it aims to empower teachers by giving them access to new tools and supporting arrangements that will help them improve knowledge sharing.
Before we talk about the importance of teacher development and discuss the best teacher-oriented courses, it is important to learn what are some of the present teaching methodologies observed worldwide:
1- Flipped Classroom:
The name itself suggests the concept behind the flipped classroom method of teaching. Traditionally, teachers were responsible for introducing students to a certain course and the children had to revise the teachings at home. This is how most of the older generation has been taught. In the flipped classroom method, the students first try to explore the subject or topic on their own, and in the classroom, they are required to discuss questions, doubts, and practice the same topics. It is one of the most-adopted modern teaching methods and is considered ideal for practical subjects.
Advantage: Students gain autonomy over their learnings.
2- VAK learning:
VAK stands for visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. VAK learning method deploys all three mentioned ways of teaching. This method draws inspiration from the fact that children may respond differently to different sensory modes and by incorporating all 3, it is possible to achieve maximum teaching effectiveness. In visual means, students learn by viewing the material in textbooks, diagrams, infographics, and charts. By exposing them to auditory teachings such as video discussions, podcasts, or video presentations, they are then taught the topics through audio mode. The final step is kinesthetic and includes letting children physically act out the content leaving behind a better impression of the subject.
Advantage: Child has options in ways they want to learn a particular topic
3- Collaborative learning:
Two words to best explain this method of learning are ‘fostering teamwork’. A collaborative approach deals with teaching children by making them work in a team with multiple other students. This method ensures that a child, while learning about the topic, also understands the importance of teamwork. It helps in developing a sense of collaboration, time management, and other important social skills
Advantage: The child learns how to divide important tasks and resources in a team for maximum output
4- Gamified learning:
Yes, you read it right! This method deals with incorporating games to gain the attention of the students because well, who doesn’t love games? In this method also known as gamification of education, the intention is to create a game-based theme so that there is better student-teacher engagement and children do not lose interest while learning.
Advantage: Students find such classes more relatable which results in better engagement or the level of attention
5- Thinking-based learning
This method works best when combined with almost all of the other methods of teaching. Think-based learning approach goes deeper than just superficial learning. The students are required to go deeper into the ‘why and how’ of subjects by the reasons for a stated fact. This method offers higher flexibility as teachers use thinking-based learning methods as per subjects being taught or projects being submitted.
Advantage: It makes students explore the primary concepts of topics being taught which ensures a stronger foundation for better learning
A student is only as good as a teacher. The line may be a little overwhelming but it is true. It’s paramount that we have well-qualified and dedicated teachers if we wish to create a generation of future resilient, realistic, and visionary leaders. Although we are well aware of why continuous teacher development is important, let’s refresh our understanding of this undervalued reality.
1- Keeping up with new trends
Investing necessary resources in the skill development of teachers is a means of widening their knowledge base. As the educational ecosystem is rapidly changing in terms of new discoveries, innovations, the addition of new information, and the elimination of certain concepts from the syllabus, continuous teacher development programs become a necessity to ensure that teachers are able to keep up with new trends. They should not feel left behind and feel competent enough in their subject of interest.
2- Improve time management and organization skills
When we think of teachers we think of a person standing in a classroom conducting a class. We tend to ignore the fact that a lot of time is spent behind the scenes preparing for the classes. It includes a lot of paperwork, student evaluation, and research among many other duties. So many tasks at once get easy to overpower even experienced professionals and skill development programs intended to improve time management and organization skills in teachers.
3- The need for continuous learning
Teachers are just like us (with an additional dose of some superpowers). They thrive on the need to constantly upgrade their knowledge base including theoretical and technology-related concepts. By encouraging them to take up new courses, we allow the students within our teachers to enjoy the excitement of learning a new topic or excelling in a new subject.
If you are someone who is just starting out in the teaching field or wants to upgrade your skills, here is a list of some of the trending courses for a better career in one of the oldest professions in the world.
Note: Every country has a set of basic educational background requirements which is mandated for a person to qualify as a certified educator. Before reading the list, we recommend you research and understand the mandated regional requirements to build a career in the teaching field.
1- Certificate in Nursery Teacher Training (INTESOL)
INTESOL is a teacher training organization in India. It is one of the oldest Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) institutes and works toward training teachers who wish to teach English as a second language.
2- Certificate in Nursery Teacher Training by the Asian College of Teachers
Asia College of Teachers offers online and classroom training courses to teachers. It is accredited by the Accreditation Service for International Schools, Colleges and Universities (ASIC) and is considered ideal for teachers wanting a career as a nursery teacher.
If you have a 12th-standard degree, you can enroll in the course and begin your journey as a teacher.
3- Inclusive Online Teaching Teach-Out
The course is offered by John Hopkins University, America’s first research university through Coursera. It is an online course and talks extensively about inclusive teaching. During the course, trainees will be made accustomed to Universal Design Learning which intends to identify and remove barriers against learning.
4- Developing Strategies for Online Teaching and Learning
The course is designed by Barbara Treacy, a true visionary when it comes to online professional development. This wholesome course provides trainees with knowledge on ways to improve teaching delivery for maximum impact. The course is offered by Harvard and undertakes strategic measures of overall teacher skill development.
If you have already completed the necessary qualifications for being an educator and wish to discover additional web-based tools that will complement your teaching methods, we have mentioned below some useful Chrome extensions that should meet your requirements:
1- Loom
It is an extremely user-friendly Chrome extension used for recording teaching material and sharing it with other involved parties including students. Currently, more than 14 million people are using Loom which helps you deliver classes while simultaneously expressing yourself or solving doubts
2- Grammarly
The tool helps you beyond correcting grammar. It is a writing assistant and helps you create teaching content in a precise and effective manner by giving auto-suggestions. It helps to make the best of your dedicated time.
3- QR-code generator
Using this tool, you can convert any link into a QR code. With the help of such QR codes, you make sure that students and parents have access to the right material without any errors.
4- Google Keep
It is a digital whiteboard. You do not need to keep important notes written on paper. You can use Google Keep to keep all important information safe and easily accessible using this extension.
5- Smallpdf
As teachers, you are required to work on pdf documents and Smallpdf is an ideal choice to split, merge, edit, or arrange pdf documents. You will not need any other external software to work with pdf documents once you start using Smallpdf.
Conclusion
With this, we come to the end of understanding why the organic evolution of education and the modern-day educator is important. As parents and guardians, we leave the future of our children in the hands of teachers and hence it is our duty to ensure that our teachers feel confident and satisfied with their profession. This can only be achieved by giving them access to means for continuous skill development.