MUHAMMAD AFIQ BIN GHAZALI

911012035559
PISMP TESL SEM 8
TASK A
A role model is a person who inspires and encourages us to strive for greatness, live
to our fullest potential and see the best in ourselves. A role model is someone we admire and
someone we aspire to be like. We learn through them, through their commitment to
excellence and through their ability to make us realize our own personal growth. We look to
them for advice and guidance.
A role model can be anybody: a parent, a sibling, a friend but some of our most influential
and life-changing role models are teachers.
When the student is ready, the teacher appears.-- Marlene Canter, My Teacher My
Hero
Teachers follow students through each pivotal stage of development. At six to eight
hours a day, five days a week, you as a teacher are poised to become one of the most
influential people in your students life. After their parents, children will first learn from you,
their elementary school teacher. Then, as a middle school teacher, you will guide students
through yet another important transition: adolescence. As children become young adults,
learning throughout primary school and into secondary school, you will answer their
questions, listen to their problems and teach them about this new phase of their lives. You
not only watch your students grow, but you help them grow.
Much of what students learn from their greatest teachers is not detailed on a syllabus.
Teachers who help us grow as people are responsible for imparting some of lifes most
important lessons. During their initial school years, students encounter, perhaps for the first
time, other children of the same age and begin to form some of their first friendships. As a
teacher, you will show your students how to become independent and form their own
relationships, you will carefully guide them and intervene when necessary. School is as much
a place of social learning as academic learning, and this is true, not only in our early years of
education, but all the way through college. Though a teachers influence on the social sphere
of school lessens as students mature, those early lessons still have an effect on how they will
interact with others in the future. Teachers are founts of experience. They have already been
where their students are going, undergone what they will go through and are in a position to
pass along lessons, not only regarding subject matter, but lessons on life.

MUHAMMAD AFIQ BIN GHAZALI

911012035559
PISMP TESL SEM 8
Besides that, teacher acts as a motivator towards the students. One of the most
difficult aspects of becoming a teacher is learning how to motivate your students. It is also
one of the most important. Students who are not motivated will not learn effectively. They
wont retain information, they wont participate and some of them may even become
disruptive. A student may be unmotivated for a variety of reasons: They may feel that they
have no interest in the subject, find the teachers methods un-engaging or be distracted by
external forces. It may even come to light that a student who appeared unmotivated actually
has difficulty learning and is need of special attention.
While motivating students can be a difficult task, the rewards are more than worth it.
Motivated students are more excited to learn and participate. Simply put: Teaching a class
full of motivated students is enjoyable for teacher and student alike. Some students are selfmotivated, with a natural love of learning. But even with the students who do not have this
natural drive, a great teacher can make learning fun and inspire them to reach their full
potential. Here are five effective ways to get your students excited about learning which is
encourage students, get them involved, offer incentives, get creative and draw connections
to real life.
Instead of just lecturing in the classroom, teachers are facilitators of learning,
providing students with the information and tools they need to master a subject. At times,
teachers act like tutors, working with small groups of students or individual students within
the classroom or after class. Teachers also play the role of evaluators, constantly assessing
students' abilities through formal and informal assessments, providing suggestions for
improvement and assigning grades. At the planning stage, teachers play multiple roles. They
are learners, constantly taking classes and attending professional development sessions to
learn the latest best practices and strategies for effective teaching. Many teachers regularly
collaborate with one another to gain new ideas for teaching, planning grade-level instruction
and combining subjects to enhance the learning experience. They analyze test results and
other data to help determine the course of their instruction and make changes in their
classrooms. Teachers also design lesson plans to teach the standards and provide engaging
activities, while taking into account each student's interests and instructional needs.
Next is teachers as a resource provider. Teachers help their colleagues by sharing
instructional resources. These might include Web sites, instructional materials, readings, or
other resources to use with students. They might also share such professional resources as
articles, books, lesson or unit plans, and assessment tools. Understanding content

MUHAMMAD AFIQ BIN GHAZALI

911012035559
PISMP TESL SEM 8
standards, how various components of the curriculum link together, and how to use the
curriculum in planning instruction and assessment is essential to ensuring consistent
curriculum implementation throughout a school. Curriculum specialists lead teachers to
agree on standards, follow the adopted curriculum, use common pacing charts, and develop
shared assessments. Serving as a mentor for novice teachers is a common role for teacher
leaders. Mentors serve as role models; acclimate new teachers to a new school; and advise
new teachers about instruction, curriculum, procedure, practices, and politics. Being a
mentor takes a great deal of time and expertise and makes a significant contribution to the
development of a new professional.

Teachers in modern classrooms are no longer lecturers, they are facilitators, their
main task is to set goals and organise the learning process accordingly. Then, in the past,
teachers used to follow a syllabus which was compulsory for them. Nowadays, teachers
have a National Curriculum, a Core Curriculum and a local school curriculum that they have
to consider, but on the other hand they have independence to choose the teaching materials
which is textbook, make up a syllabus of their own and teach their pupils so that they can
perform well both at examinations and in life. Curriculum design is a task teachers have to be
prepared for, although the present generation of teachers has been growing into making up
syllabus for years. Another difference between the past and present tasks of teachers is
represented by the technical background they need to be able to use and handle effectively
(computer, photocopier, power point, projectors). Instead of teaching chalk face, they need to
be an information technology expert, a technician or a photocopy master.
Students are the ones who need support when learning a new skill or piece of
information. A teacher must act as the support person when the student needs this help.
Support can come in many forms such as a coach, leader and even a counselor. In
professional circles, a teacher may even have to support other teachers leading a particular
subject matter. One of the biggest roles a teacher may have is that of a mentor. Students
look up to teachers and may pattern their own behavior and work ethic to match the
instructor. An older teacher can even be a mentor to a younger teacher who is just starting
out in the profession. A leader in a school is a person who takes on extra tasks such as
leading the PTA meetings and even helping set up a gym for a big event. Teachers who are
active in the school will often have more jobs than just the one they were hired to perform.
Often, the goals of the teacher will match the direction that the school is taking. One last

MUHAMMAD AFIQ BIN GHAZALI

911012035559
PISMP TESL SEM 8
important role a teacher must fill is that of a learner. Anyone who has been involved in a
profession long enough knows that there is always something new to learn. A learner is a
person who is always growing in life and will never claim that they know it all. A teacher will
be challenged everyday with a new task that will help them grow into a better person. A
teacher is a person who will have to fill many roles. They are people with educational
leadership skills and they must continue to grow and develop as professionals. Anyone
seeking to be a teacher should take advantage of any chance they get to grow as a person
and as a teacher.
The role of the teacher goes both ways, you are responsible for imparting knowledge
to your students, but you will be a more successful teacher if you also allow yourself to learn
from them as well. This is particularly true when you are teaching ESL in a foreign country.
Your students can teach you multitudes about their culture. Learning about your students will
allow you to keep the material and classroom activities relative to their interests. Perhaps the
most important roles teachers fill involve interacting with students. Teachers must be leaders
in the classroom and in the school, earning the respect of students and setting a positive
example. They must be disciplinarians, doling out fair and consistent punishments to
students who break the rules. At the same time, teachers must show care and concern for
students. A teacher has the power to build up or tear down a student's self-esteem and make
a student's day or ruin it in an instant. When interacting with students, a teacher must fill the
role of a counselor, a surrogate parent, a nutritionist and someone who has the best interests
of every child at heart.

Effective teachers are crucial for enhancing student engagement and achievement, and play
a vital role in establishing productive and supportive school environments. The Standards will
spark professional dialogue among teachers and principals regarding what is expected of
effective teachers.
Ms Sheree Vertigan, President, Australian Secondary Principals Association