Roles of Multi-grade Teaching Teacher
As Teacher:
· The main function of the multi-grade teacher is to teach students by imparting knowledge, develop skills and inculcating desirable values and attitudes among them.
· The teacher is expected to be versatile and utilize different strategies to make learning meaningful and effective for all students in his or her classroom, no matter what individual differences may exist among the students.
As Facilitator:
· The teacher should be able to understand differences between students, be able to motivate them to learn and guide them through their learning materials.
· The teacher should be able to do this for all grade levels in the classroom, no matter what curriculum subject is being studied.
· The teacher should not only be a provider of knowledge but should also be a facilitator of learning and enhance learning both at the group level and on a one-to-one basis.
As community Liaison/Resource Person:
· The multi-grade teaching teachers assume an important position in the local community. This is the case, not only in the eyes of the students, but also from the parents’ perspective. Thus, the multi-grade teacher is the critical link between the school and its community.
· The nature of many situations where a multi-grade school exists is such that the co-operation and assistance of the local community is needed to improve the quality of educational services. This may include community involvement in such diverse activities as building and maintaining classrooms, assisting in the preparation of teaching aids and acting as a paraprofessional teacher.
As Planner:
· Planning is a critical function for the multi-grade teacher. Appropriate planning by the teacher will result in classes which are more productive for the students and easier for them to follow.
· The tasks that the teachers must carry out are more complex than the corresponding activities of regular teachers because they must plan for the activities of students across a number of grade levels. Thus, for each grade level which the teacher is responsible, he or she must determine the answers to the questions.
——–What do I teach?
———What must I teach?
——-How do I teach it?
——-When do I teach it?
——Why do I teach this?
· Once the teacher has determined the answers to these questions, he or she must devise an implementation plan in order to achieve the objectives of the lesson. Such implementation strategies include lesson planning, selection of activities, time-tabling and the like. All of these must be carried out before the actual lesson is given.
As Evaluator:
· A multi-grade teacher must monitor the progress of students’ learning so as to ensure quality of education.
· Usually, this requires teachers to determine the educational levels of students when they first enter schooling, during the school year and at the end of each school year.
· Therefore, assessment should be considered a continuous and integral part of the teaching process.
As a Material Designer:
· Although various curriculum materials are usually prepared by central or provincial authorities of education, multi-grade teachers still need to develop their own additional materials. These additional materials serve the purpose of meeting actual and concrete needs of multi-grade teaching within the local context.
· They also assist in making a national curriculum more relevant to the local needs of the community. Examples of such curriculum materials include the following:
—Designing and making small boards, flashcards etc. to save time in the classroom.
—Using local materials to develop instructional materials and to encourage students to make
their own.
—-Designing workbooks which are suitable for students within the local context and
Conditions.
—–Including within these locally designed materials and workbooks activities and knowledge
Which are relevant to the local culture .
As Para-professional Trainer:
Useful information. Who is the author? What type of source is it (journal, book, etc.)?