Teaching Quality Improvement

Teaching is an art and teacher is an artist. This art can be learnt, improved and extended. Every year a teacher starts with a blank canvas and ends with his/her masterwork.    It is a great job in the world that takes a lot of heart. It is the art of making minds, personalities, character and much more. Teacher has the responsibility to ensure all round development of the coming generations which includes physical, social, mental, intellectual, emotional and personal development.

Technically speaking, teaching is the process of facilitation and mediation between the learner and curriculum. Curriculum is a plan of intended outcomes to be achieved by the learners through the process of teaching. One who claims to be a good teacher must have the ability to recognize the uniqueness of the individuals and work with them accordingly. 

Being a multi-facial job, it is difficult to enumerate all the qualities of good teaching. However, in order to narrow down the concept, the qualities of effective teaching can be classified in the following three broad categories, which can enable the planners to determine quality indicators of teaching.

Subject-matter Knowledge:  A teacher is expected to teach a specific subject, which not only requires full command of the subject but also requires the best possible way of communication according to the needs of students. A good subject expert without the quality of good communication skills is of no use. A teacher must be an authority in his/her subject. He/she will be able to satisfy students thirst in a greater perspective of life-long learning. He/she makes the students to explore the essentials of a particular subject.

A knowledgeable teacher encourages his/her students to find out ways of seeking knowledge in a particular area. The scope of knowledge is expanding day by day through research and innovations. A good teacher keeps himself/herself continuously updated in the field of his/her own expertise as well as in the ways of presenting his subject.

Performance: A good teacher is known and recognized by the performance he/she delivers. This category of teachers’ qualities encompass all professional demands required for effective teaching. Classroom management, application of a good and result oriented strategies and techniques, keeping students motivated and the abilities and creativity to deal with the day to day challenges and individual differences. 

Performance is an alternate of the application of professional knowledge. It can be judged by the learning environment he/she establishes in the classroom. Conducive learning environment demands for the effective use of technology, audio visual aids and learning activities planned for the engagement of students. Teaching is a job that requires pre-planning all the time. Lesson planning, time management, resource management, knowing students’ needs individually and the achievement and consolidation of learning outcomes enrich the teacher’s performance.

A good teacher is always capable of continuous students’ assessment. Learning is a continuous process and same is the case with assessment. It is an important quality of teaching to know the tools and techniques of assessment and apply them in real classroom environment. It is basically assessment that enable the teacher to plan effectively. In short, performance of the teachers actually depends on the professional growth and smartness of the teachers. Continuous professional development is the key to active performance.

Conduct: conduct is a set of qualities which encompasses all the essential personal qualities of teacher. Behavior, manners, sense of dress, sense of humor, dedication and commitment, cultural and social soundness, positive attitude and punctuality are the qualities falling under the domain of conduct.

Sense of humor makes the teaching fun. It can easily defuse tense situations and creates an environment conducive for learning where students feel comfortable and safe. Similarly, open mindedness is an asset of teachers that helps the teacher to go with-the-flow, listen to all the possible ideas and identify new things with a positive attitude. The quality of leadership is also essential for taking initiatives. Thus, students look to their leaders as a role model. It is the leadership quality to trust others and delegate powers as and when required.

Moral integrity is another important quality that a teacher must have. It demands for a model behavior that teacher and community expect of their coming generations. Students are the best judges of their teachers. They can easily identify ‘fake personalities’. Not to lie, respect and kindness, tolerance and observance of school rules are as important for teachers as for the students. Great teachers inspire their students by practice what they preach in the classroom.

In conclusion, it is almost difficult to enlist all the qualities of teachers that make teaching great. But the qualities mentioned here are enough to determine the role of good teachers. Teaching is a multi-dimensional profession and demands for a sense of accountability and continuous self-reflection.

21^st century teachers have to look around first in this perspective and keep themselves updated for the challenges ahead. Sooner or later, teaching quality is going to be linked with performance and promotion in the coming years. Observable indicators of quality teaching is the agenda of negotiation placed in front of IMU KPK.

Storytelling as a Teaching Technique

  Storytelling as a Teaching Technique

Teachers, educators and researchers are always in the search of models and simulation to support learning process in classrooms. Storytelling is the most popular technique in almost every society of the world. A good number of written work exists in every culture for the preservation of folklore, values, traditions and heroism. The history of storytelling is unfortunately not known exactly. However, societies have taught their key principles for thousands years through stories (McDonalds 1998).  It's also evident from the history of storytelling that when written shapes of various languages was not standardized, storytelling was the only tool which have been used by great scholars, teachers and leaders to convey important massages and instructions in the form of parable, fables, myths, legends and real life examples (Leonard- Barton 1995).

It is difficult to find out a uniform definition of storytelling. However, majority of educators are agree that "it is a form of a narrative that recapitulate past experiences by matching verbal sequences of clauses to the sequence  of events" (Labov 1972).  

There are a number of publications which provide information about the effective use of storytelling techniques in classroom environment. But the real question that arises in the minds of teachers of our region,  who are dedicated and devoted to their profession, is that how stories could be linked to the topic of curriculum for a specific age group.

Before answering the question, it is important to note that Pashto language has all its characteristics that an advanced language must have. Its literature is full of all varieties of stories, folklore, fictional and non-fictional materials focusing on all human values we are teaching in our day-to-day life. Interestingly, our Pashto language proverbs also bear attractive  and gorgeous stories in its background.

The following are few examples of recorded stories in my own voice that will not only answer the question posed above but also tell about different patterns of giving information in story format. It is pertinent to mention that these stories were basically recorded for radio broadcast and aired from PACT Radio, F. M Khyber, F.M Global (DI Khan) and Radio Pakistan.

Please enjoy & comment.  

Roses

Chef Story

Biography of Henry Ford

Respect for other religions

        

Teachers & Teachers' Education

The problem of inappropriate teachers training and ineffective teaching methodologies is directly associated with the drop out dilemma of our public education. Improved and long term pre-service training is the vehicle to attract and absorb willing and devoted teachers in the system.

USAID supported 4 years BS (Education) program in 17 universities of Pakistan is expected to bring positive change in the coming years. However, improved and relevant pre-service training should be introduced with special emphasis on practical teaching techniques and emerging social problems, like peace education, national harmony and cohesion, environmental threats and so on.

Research studies indicate that alternate route certification of teachers or short term courses have no or very low impact on over all students’ achievement. In this regard, the professional impact of teachers graduated through distance learning from Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) need to be evaluated scientifically. Teachers’ preparation through cheap and substandard means must be revisited.      

Teachers training should also focus on the distinctive schooling features of the province where multi-grade and in some cases, over-age children at primary and middle level could get benefits. There is no precise definition and yard stick to assess the teaching quality in our system. In the presence of such standards, teaching quality and skills could be judged in a better way. In-service training should be structured with the maximum participation and engagement of students.

If we prioritize our educational problems, we find teachers related implications at the top of our agenda. Particularly the way they are recruited, the way they are trained and most importantly, the way they are utilized. Proper utilization of manpower is as much important as its appointment itself. If we give due attention to the three areas, we would be able to resolve more than 40% of our educational problems at once.

the article originally published on Halaat.pk. Here is the link;

  http://halaat.pk//english_artical_detail.php?a=19

Curriculum and Textbooks

Curriculum development is an important sub-sector of our education system. It was a federal subject before 18^th amendment. However, after the amendment provinces are being empowered to do the job on their own. It is a sensitive subject in our country as different political and religious philosophies exist in our society. Basically, curriculum process gives sufficient answers to the questions like what to teach and how to teach. It is just like the blueprint of an architect. Curriculum planning is almost impossible without a consensus on core national issues. Political interference in the curriculum is mostly observed in our country to promote specific ideology of the sitting political parties. This situation leads the nation to split opinion and mistrust on the entire public schooling system.

Curriculum Evaluation is an integral and regular process within the curriculum development. Scientific approach to the evaluation of curriculum at different stages does not exist at national and provincial level. Curriculum evaluation identifies problems at gross root level and paves the way towards improvements. This aspect of the process has not been institutionalized to make the curriculum students-friendly and socially acceptable.

Another important aspect of curriculum is its implementation. Most of the problems of our system pertaining to curriculum relates to this domain. Proper guidance and training to the teachers ensure and strengthen the implementation process of curriculum. There is no proper mechanism in our system to monitor the curriculum implementation process and provide on-the-spot academic support to teachers. Presently, the process of supervision is only limited to administrative activities and academic supervision does not exist in our system at all.

Textbooks assume a position of central importance in the schooling system; unfortunately the sole vehicle to incorporate and interpret curriculum concepts and the only base for all types of students assessments. Text books are currently prepared by the Textbook Board. Textbook Board has no capacity at all to test its material in the field during or after development. It totally depends on the experience of authors, face value and expert judgments. There is no rigorous and scientific process of trial and revision before large scale publication. 

Text book is the only source of knowledge in our system. We can expand the scope of knowledge by introducing other supplementary reading materials, educational Television, internet and field trips etc. Unfortunately this aspect has been ignored by the planners of our education. Our politicians and other stakeholders usually use the terms ‘Curriculum’ and ‘textbooks’ interchangeably. However, it is essential to keep in mind that curriculum is a plan and textbook is a tool through which a plan is implemented. We can implement our plan through other tools, as mentioned earlier, beside textbooks. 

It is important to produce variety in the knowledge base of our education by introducing other crucial knowledge sources beyond text books. Textbook quality also needs to be improved in the light of scientific approaches. Capacity building measures are also important to undertake the vital job of curriculum and textbook evaluation on regular basis.

Swat crises, war 1857 and curriculum

Language politics in education

Distant prospects

 It is generally recognized that the public of Pakistan in general and the policy makers in particular are very slow to recognize that the country's young population is illiterate and ill-equipped to contribute actively to the social and economic growth of the country. It is also a fact that some crucial decisions about the educational needs of the country have not been taken as yet to ensure harmony and cohesiveness at national level and understanding the importance of globalization at international level.

The situation is further aggravated by different types or systems of education prevailing in the country including; (1) upper or ruling class education system  in the shape of Cadet Colleges, Cambridge/Oxford and Conventional English institutions, giving input to the political and bureaucratic system of Pakistan in one way or the other, (2) public education system which is insufficient and ill-managed to meet the growing educational needs of the society, (3) private mechanism of education   being managed by individuals or groups on business grounds- affiliated and registered with the Government but free in  policy making, etc., and (4) Madrasa education system being managed by various religious groups or sects, independent totally in making their choices and promoting religious learning with their traditional curricula and teaching methodologies without giving due consideration to modern sciences for the emerging needs of the society. The situation has led the nation towards split opinion on the issues of national concern and divided the society into many sects and social classes.

All the national and international experts are of the opinion that there is an intense need to introduce drastic changes in each category of the above systems in terms of introducing modern curricula (beyond textbooks), strengthening managerial and teaching capabilities and above all, addressing the social inequalities – as a wide range of disparities exist in the country.The situation clearly demands for close interaction and interrelationship among the systems in order to establish uniformity. Otherwise, the national harmony and cohesion, social and economic development and democracy and prosperity will remain distant prospects.