Sarmad Khoso. teacher and writer
A teacher is a symbol of inspiration, purity, and lifelong learning. A creator, role model, and mentor. A teacher is an important personality in everyone’s lives, who guides, teaches, and inspires. So we can say that the role is very essential in every thick and thin of life.
During this pandemic (COVID – 19) every field of life is changing very rapidly. New norms and ways of living life are introduced and implemented. Like other sectors, the education sector is also changing the world widely. The ways, methods, and sources of learning are changing.
What is the role of the teacher now? In the current scenario, almost every second person asks this question. The world in which we live is in a state of Flux (constant change). It was impossible to have imagined that over one billion children globally would be pushed out of the schools in 2020, a year ago.
During this continuous opening and closing of schools provides an opportunity for a teacher that he can change the way of teaching and can polish the skills.
So we can say that process or ways of teaching has changed in the times of COVID – 19, but the role of the teacher remains the same!
In this regard well-known educator Sir Ken Robinson, a visionary educator had compared teachers to gardeners.
He had remarked “Nobody else can make anybody else learn anything. You can make them. Anymore than if you don’t make flowers grow – you don’t make the flowers grow. You don’t sit there and stick the petals on and put the leaves on and paint it. You don’t so that the flowers grow themselves. Your job if you’re any good at it, is to provide the optimum conditions for it to do that, to allow it to grow itself.”
I think in this situation teacher must be innovative, a constant reader, and a learner. He has to follow the four pillars of learning which are identified by the UNESCO international commission on education for the 21st century.
1: Learning to know.
2: Learning to do.
3: Learning to be.
4: Learning to live together.
Now the role of online teaching and learning is increasing. It is useful in many ways, such as:
° Through online teaching, the teaching process becomes possible from home. It means it saves time and encourages distance learning.
° Through online teaching parents can also engage themselves in the education of their children.
° Through online teaching, we can manage time and encourage many students to study.
° Through online teaching, students can record the lecture and can listen to it at any time.
In our society, there are many problems regarding online education but we have to change ourselves to compete and run with the world.
To improve online teaching, teachers can follow the following things.
- utilize a variety of techniques and technology.
- connect with students individually.
- prepare to work with parents.
- consider new learning methods.
- provide collaboration and socialization opportunities.
- set a schedule and boundaries.
- automate your connect to take advantage of being online.
- utilize technology to help you to save time and energy.
- create a classroom setting that helps students feel connected to you.
- Provide meaningful teacher student interaction.
- Make course expectations clear and based on learning outcomes.
- Try to develop an environment for online examination.
To apply all these things we can improve our teaching in this modern world.