Teaching Practice

1 Know the different roles of a teacher in an education setting

• The role of a lecturer in an education setting: teacher-led, power dynamics, instructional, expert instruction, factual content, staff-student ratio.
• The role of the facilitator in an education setting is group learning, peer-supported learning, self-guided learning, and supportive learning.
• The role of the instructor in an education setting: practical content, expert guidance, power dynamics, greater flexibility.
• The role of the teacher in an education setting is to provide knowledge, interact with students, plan lessons, assess students, encourage thinking, give a greater level of guidance, promote engagement, create classroom culture, and model behaviour.
• How a teacher’s role changes in a one-to-one setting: safeguarding, additional support, targeted support, link to student interests.
• Instances when additional staff may be required in an education setting: Special Educational Needs (SEN) support, guidance councillors, senior leadership team, career guidance, safeguarding officers.

‍2 Be able to select and use an appropriate teaching role or style in a range of education settings

Identifying the most appropriate teaching or training role in the setting: classroom size, content, skill level of students, behaviour of students, age of students, and previous knowledge level of students.

The role of the lecturer, facilitator and/or instructor

• Lecturer: front of class, deliver content, present content (whiteboard, blackboard, presentations), answer questions, minimal student-staff interaction
• Facilitator: guides students, high level of interaction, student-lead learning
• Instructor: practical content, expert guidance, greater flexibility

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Providing teaching of any form on a one-to-one basis: meeting the needs of individual students, matching content to students' interests, safeguarding (open door, space, recording sessions).

Identifying the appropriate member of staff to support a student: student needs, identifying needs, guiding students to appropriate advice, reaching out for support when needed, ensuring remain calm and in control.

Researching emerging styles of teaching: internet research (social media trends, key websites), books, conferences, word-of-mouth, assessing the suitability of the teaching style.

‍3 Understand effective use of lesson time

Bloom’s Taxology of Learning

• Low-order skills: knowledge, comprehension, application
• Full function knowledge: analysis, synthesis, evaluation
• Levels of cognitive demand

‍Teaching strategies to engage the students

• Active learning: discussion, group work, student talk, games, simulations, drama, role-play, seminars, whole class interactive teaching, learning for remembering, etc
• Teacher-centred methods: teacher talk, the art of explaining, the art of showing, questioning, memory-aided teaching 
• Student-centred methods: reading, homework, private study, assignments, projects, guided discovery, essays, reports, creativity, design, learning from experience, self-directed learning, independent learning

How to plan a lesson for a remote session: choice of software for sessions, participation, cameras, accessibility, synchronous vs asynchronous, security, dealing with robots (bots), breakout rooms.

How emerging technologies can be used to support students

Content is suggested for current emerging technologies (2024); as new technologies develop, they should be added to teaching content.

• Artificial Intelligence (A.I.): personalised learning, tutoring, predictive analysis
• Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR): immersive learning, hands-on practice
• Smart classrooms: interactive whiteboards and displays, multimedia, personal devices, internet requirements, digital learning materials
• Learning Management Systems (LMS): collaborative learning, analytics and insights
• Gamification: engagement, skill development
• Educational applications: accessibility (can learn anywhere, bitesize learning)
• Robotics: hands-on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) learning, enhance creativity

How lessons flow together to create a scheme of work: chunking, scaffolding, knowledge development, covering a curriculum, preparing for assessment, flexibility, and sharing a class with other staff members.

Range of tasks a student can be asked to do outside of the educational setting: practicality, access to resources, written tasks, practical tasks, reading tasks, creative projects, review notes, study, practice skills, online content, journaling, reflective tasks, community service, physical activity.

Difficulties associated with activities outside of the educational setting: plagiarism, non-completion, access and equity issues (digital divide, SEN, parental support), technology access, resource access, lack of structure and supervision, distractions, interruptions, lack of engagement, lack of motivation, isolation, limited support, mental health impact, sedentary lifestyles, digital literacy.

‍4 Be able to design a lesson plan with effective timing

Applying Bloom’s Taxology of Learning to lesson planning: using a range of tasks, fitting the level to the class/student, assessing levels of learning, creating a lesson that has a clear structure, and matching activities to Bloom's levels of learning.

Designing a digital lesson plan with clear aims and objectives: decide on the aim, plan the action (how best to achieve the aim), set expectations, realistic expectations from lesson, learning outcomes vs aims, structure of lesson plans, matching content to aims and outcomes, time to check learning, selection of a program for creation, saving a lesson plan, formatting a lesson plan, drawing inspiration from online sources, copyright, plagiarism.

Developing a digital lesson plan that will engage a range of students: learning styles, additional needs, interactivity, mixed ability groups, high ability groups, low ability groups, selection of a program for creation, saving a lesson plan, formatting a lesson plan, drawing inspiration from online sources, copyright, plagiarism.

Developing a lesson plan that will utilise emerging technology

Content is suggested for current emerging technologies (2024); as new technologies develop, they should be added to teaching content.

• Artificial Intelligence (A.I.): personalised learning, tutoring, predictive analysis
• Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR): immersive learning, hands-on practice
• Smart classrooms: interactive whiteboards and displays, multimedia, personal devices, internet requirements, digital learning materials
• Learning Management Systems (LMS): collaborative learning, analytics and insights
• Gamification: engagement, skill development
• Educational applications: accessibility (can learn anywhere, bitesize learning)
• Robotics: hands-on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) learning, enhance creativity

Developing resources to support a lesson plan, including a digital presentation: presentation design, font choice, copyright, program selection, usability, accessibility of resources, environmentally friendly resources, digital resources, affordability, and gamification.

Designing a digital lesson plan for a remote session: resources, engagement, program of choice, range of activities, limits to remote education, selection of a program for creation, saving a lesson plan, formatting a lesson plan, drawing inspiration from online sources, copyright, plagiarism.

Designing digital lesson plans to cover a scheme of work: working to a curriculum, working towards assessment, reviewing learning outcomes.

Designing tasks to be completed outside the learning setting to enhance learning: reading tasks, preparation for a lesson, revision, revision notes, difficulty, accessibility, and technology.

5 Understand learning theories

• Behaviourism: Pavlov (1927), Skinner (1988), praise and punishment, behaviour management, controversies, conditioning, influence and legacy, limitations, behaviour modification, reinforcement, stimulus-response relationship, observable behaviour.
• Cognitivism: Piaget (1971) states that students construct their own knowledge, information processing, internal mental representations, cognitive processes, constructivism, applications and implications, criticisms and limitations.
• Constructivism: students construct knowledge based on previous knowledge, active learning, social interaction, Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), criticisms and limitations.
• Additional relevant learning theories:
  • Humanism
  • Experiential learning Dewey (1900,1902), Kolby (1984)
  • Connectivism
  • Social learning theories
  • Social constructivism (Vygotsky (1978)
  • Social learning theory (Bandura (1977)
  • Social cognitive theory (Bandura (1977)
  • Observational learning (Bandura (1977)
  • Social-cultural theory (Vygotsky (1978)

‍6 Be able to deliver a lesson that addresses a variety of learning theories

Impart knowledge and develop understanding through effective use of lesson time: lesson planning, considering timing, adaptations (time, student knowledge), and realistic expectations.

Imparting knowledge using a demonstration: clear instructions, descriptive actions, ensuing clear view, exaggerated actions, health and safety concerns, when to let students try first.

Imparting knowledge using active learning techniques: applying knowledge, finding knowledge for themselves, and gamification of learning.

Imparting knowledge using experiential learning: simulations, roles playing, learning within the workplace.

Imparting knowledge using student-centred approaches: curiosity-driven learning, experiments, research projects, problem-based learning.

Imparting knowledge using teacher-centred approaches: lectures, learning by rote, and direct instruction.

Imparting knowledge using an emerging technology

Content is suggested for current emerging technologies (2024); as new technologies develop, they should be added to teaching content.

• Artificial Intelligence (A.I.): personalised learning, tutoring, predictive analysis
• Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR): immersive learning, hands-on practice
• Smart classrooms: interactive whiteboards and displays, multimedia, personal devices, internet requirements, digital learning materials
• Learning Management Systems (LMS): collaborative learning, analytics and insights
• Gamification: engagement, skill development
• Educational applications: accessibility (can learn anywhere, bitesize learning)
• Robotics: hands-on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) learning, enhance creativity

Applying a behaviourist approach to behaviour management: reward, praise, incentives, punishment, reinforcement.

Researching additional learning theories: internet research (social media trends, key websites), books, conferences, word-of-mouth, reliability of source, relevance of theory.