Unit 006 “Roles Responsibilities and Relationships in Lifelong Learning
George Bowskill PAGE 1 15/02/2011 “Roles, Responsibilities and Relationships as a Tutor in Lifelong Learning” (2:1) The Different types of Boundaries between the Teaching Role and Other Professional roles. The purpose of boundaries are to protect the personal rights of both yourself and the student, they define the acceptable ground rules taking in to account currant legislation.
Professional boundaries are important because they define the limits and responsibilities of the people that you interact with in the workplace. When workplace boundaries are clearly defined, the company will work more efficiently because old redundant work assignments are removed and task performance is accountable. When everyone in an company is made aware who is responsible for what? , a healthier workplace environment is created.
It then becomes very difficult for someone to blame others for their failed or inadequate performance and good job performance can clearly be identified. the setup of boundaries and priorities go hand in hand because together they help manage interpersonal relationships in the workplace. Together they go a long way toward establishing a productive work environment based on trust. Competent and knowledgeable managers understand these principles and continually model them for their staff.
Boundaries within teaching are not easily defined; it can mean different things to different people. Teachers are responsible for recognizing in themselves whether they are “at risk” of crossing boundaries whether this be legal, moral or ethical boundaries, becoming too personally involved with students, giving one student undue attention, writing or exchanging notes, letters or emails are all forms of boundary abuse The most extreme form of boundary violation is that of sexual abuse..
Sexual abuse represents the ultimate breach of the trust in a teacher, the teacher must be able to recognize and rectify this behaviour, before the boundary is over stepped. Time restraints are also boundaries, and should be taken into account, we need to ensure what we teach can be done within the time given. The curriculum and the organizational objectives are boundaries to the way and what we teach, the curriculum is specifically what we are asked to teach, hence we have a structure relating to the information we need to ass on to the learners,. We could possibly have organizational objectives also, these are the objectives of the governing body, this could be Government, Exam body, or Professional body, although these should be in line with the curriculum the could possibly add additional boundaries to the way we teach (2:2) Points of Referral to meet the needs of Learners
As a teacher we have a responsibility to our students to give aid and assistance not only in the academic sense but also with personal and work issues, and in most cases this should be done by referring the student to a professional with a greater and more specific knowledge in these area, these can be both internal and external points of referral, for instance, if the student is homeless or about to become homeless, an accommodation officer would be the direction to point the student, if it is for health reasons we should direct the student to a health professional, ether on campus or at a local surgery.
Other points of referral could for example be the students union, a councillor or a careers advisor, a drug and alcohol addiction service, or the citizens’ advice bureau, in other words any internal or external professional that can help the student with any issue they may encounter, we must always remember these people are experts in their given fields, as a teacher we are not. Identify the professional first then note your responsibility, to your student the professional and yourself. (2:3) Responsibilities with regards to other Professionals Page 2 As a teacher we have a responsibility to other professionals and professional bodies.
We should respect their professionalism and maintain constant dialog with other professionals, we should document and record all aspects of our teaching, and make these available to other professionals for various reasons, such as audits and evaluations, other professionals could be Directors, senior management, even internal or external advisors, and exam board personnel, If in doubt it is always advisable to ask assistance from another professional, their experience and knowledge can be far greater than your own. 3:1) Responsibilities for maintaining a safe and supportive learning environment As a teacher it is our responsibility to provide a safe and supportive learning environment for all the students in our care, this is done by utilizing the training cycle Firstly we identify the needs of the student, what they need to learn, and how we intend to teach them.
A clean, safe and secure room to learn in, with the room layout adequate for the purpose, Welfare facilities, wash rooms toilets a place to eat and drink, the room to maintain a comfortable temperature with good lighting and ventilation, we need also to set down ground rules to safe guard the physical and emotional welfare of the students and oneself. to enable them to feel secure during the learning experience, and to encourage diversity and equality within the learning environment.
We then prepare for teaching, ensuring we have the adequate resources available for the lesson . including a structured time table. Lessons should be S. M. A. R. T. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time bound. We then deliver the lesson, or lecture, using suitable diverse systems of delivery, such as Visual aids, written work role play group sessions, ensuring that all students feel involved in the learning experience. and no one feels alienated, my the teacher or their fellow students.
The more a student feels involved in a class the better the learning result will be. To quantify the lesson we assess it, by various means, Student feedback, student progression and achievement, at this point we need to evaluate, did the facility lens its self to the needs of the students, where there any deficiencies in the facility’s in your teaching methods, where the students comfortable, did they feel safe , DO I NEED TO MAKE ANY CHANGES.
We should not be afraid to challenge behaviours if we don’t what would be the point of having boundaries as a teacher it is our responsibility to enforce the Page 3 boundaries that we have laid down, encouraging and maintaining a safe and supportive learning environment. 3:2) Ways of Promoting Appropriate Behaviour and Respect for Others Establishing Ground rules and boundaries, encourage the students to have an input in to what the ground rules and boundaries within the class should be, how they wish to be treated, and how you need to be treated, giving mutual respect between teacher and student and student and student, and establish disciplinary action for breaches of the rules, encourage mutual support within the class both academic and emotional, and encourage he student to help produce a ground rule charter and sign it,. In this way you are allowing them to take ownership of the rules B. F Skinners 1974 (About Behaviourism) is a particularly relevant theory this contends that negative and positive reinforcement will help to direct behaviour, a positive reinforcement will strengthen any behaviour that produces it, . i. e. The carrot and donkey scenario. Where as a negative reinforcement, will initiate the response that the protagonist will want to remove, i. e. f he is removed from the class for a breach of discipline he will not want this to happen again thus removing the negative reinforcement By challenging inappropriate or negative behaviour we are enforcing the boundaries that we have set in essence we are saying these are the rules and they will not be ignored, it also lets anyone who is prepared to breach the boundaries that we as teachers will not allow this to happen, it also conveys the message to compliant students, that we will enforce the boundaries to support, a safe, respectful and supportive learning environment, free from bullying, anti social behaviour, disruptive influences.
An environment where all can learn.. Practical Teaching Linda Wilson https://www. professionalboundaries. com/ www. gtcs. org. uk/standards/copac. aspx
