From Scrivener: learning Teaching, Chapter 1 Working with people

Three kinds of teacher

This section continues the discussion of different teaching styles begun in the previous section. It starts with a description of three broadly different categories of teacher.

Teacher A: the explainer
Many teachers know their subject matter very well, but have limited knowledge of teaching methodology. This kind of teacher relies mainly on ‘explaining’ or ‘lecturing’ as a way of conveying information to the students. Done with style or enthusiasm or wit or imagination this teacher's lessons can be very entertaining, interesting and informative. The students are listening, perhaps occasionally answering questions and perhaps making notes, but are mostly not being personally involved or challenged. The learners often get practice by doing individual exercises after one phase of the lecture has finished.

Teacher B: the involver
This teacher also knows the subject matter that is being dealt with. (In our case this is essentially the English language and how it works.) However, she is also familiar with teaching methodology; she is able to use appropriate teaching and organisational procedures and techniques to help her students learn about the subject matter. ‘Teacher explanations’ may be one of these techniques, but in her case it is only one option among many that she has at her disposal. This teacher is trying to involve the students actively and puts a great deal of effort into finding appropriate and interesting activities that will do this, while still retaining clear control over the classroom and what happens in it.

Teacher C: the enabler
Essentially teaching is about working with other human beings. This teacher knows about the subject matter and about methodology, but also has an awareness of how individuals and groups are thinking and feeling within her class. She actively responds to this in her planning and working methods and in building effective working relationships and a good classroom atmosphere. Her own personality and attitude are an active encouragement to learning.

This kind of teacher is confident enough to share control with the learners, or to hand it over entirely to them. Decisions made in her classroom may often be shared or negotiated. In many cases she takes her lead from the students; seeing herself as someone whose job is to create the conditions that enable the students to learn for themselves. Sometimes this will involve her in less traditional ‘teaching’; she may become a ‘guide’ or a ‘counsellor’ or a ‘resource of information when needed’. Sometimes, when the class is working well under its own steam, when a lot of autonomous learning is going on, she may be hardly visible.

____________________________________________________________________________________
			Subject matter 		Methodology 			People
____________________________________________________________________________________
Explainer				v
Involver				v			v
Enabler				v			v			v
____________________________________________________________________________________

Fig.1.6: Three kinds of teacher

These three descriptions of teachers are, of course, very broadly painted. There is no way to categorise all teaching under three headings; many teachers will find elements of each category that are true for them, or that they move between categories depending on the day and the class and the aims of a lesson. However, this simple categorisation may help you to reflect on what kind of teaching you have mostly experienced in your life so far and may also help you to clarify what kind of teacher you see yourself as being now or in the future.

On teacher training courses I have come across many participants whose initial internal image of a teacher is based on the ‘explainer’ but who are keen to move to becoming an ‘involver’. Such a move may be your aim in reading this book - and the book is mainly geared towards giving you information, ideas, options and starting points that may help you reach that goal. Essentially, therefore, this is a book about methodology. Throughout the book I have also tried to keep in mind the important skills, qualities, values and techniques associated with the ‘enabling’ teacher and to give guidance and information that may influence your role and relationships in the classroom.

Task 1
Write down the names of some people you have been taught by in the past. When you have a list, go through it and decide which of the three descriptions above (explainer, involver, enabler) best suits each one. This may give you some idea about which images of teaching you have been exposed to and influenced by.

Commentary
When I think back on my own experiences of being taught, it is the teaching techniques that I remember least. I certainly remember teachers who made subject matter come alive, through their great knowledge and enthusiasm. But the teacher I recall with most pleasure and respect was the one who listened to me, who encouraged me, who respected my own views and decisions. Curiously this teacher who helped me most was the one who actually did least ‘teaching’ of the subject matter and was, seemingly, technique-free, being basically ‘himself’ in class. My memories of his lessons are of what I did, rather than what he did, of my learning rather than his teaching.
Teachers and trainers often comment on the importance of ‘rapport’ between teachers and students. The problem with rapport is that, whereas it clearly is important, it is also notoriously difficult to define or quantify. It often seems to be the magical ingredient that makes a teacher a teacher- or not. I think rapport is to do with the personal atmosphere a teacher creates in the classroom; the difference, say, between a room where people are defensive and anxious or a room where people feel able to be honest and take risks. In the following list I've noted a number of factors in a teacher that might positively affect the learning atmosphere in a classroom.

The effective teacher...
•	really listens to his students
•	shows respect
•	gives clear, positive feedback
•	has a good sense of humour
•	is patient
•	knows his subject
•	inspires confidence
•	trusts people
•	empathises with students' problems
•	is well-organised
•	paces lessons well
•	does not complicate things unnecessarily
•	is enthusiastic and inspires enthusiasm
•	can be authoritative without being distant
•	is honest
•	is approachable

Carl Rogers, an American psychologist, suggested that there are three core teacher characteristics that help to create an effective learning environment. These are respect (a positive and non-judgmental regard for another person), empathy (being able to see things from the other person's perspective, as if looking through their eyes) and authenticity (being oneself without hiding behind job titles, roles, masks)