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25th March 2009

T1: Review what your role, responsibilities and boundaries as a teacher would
be in terms of the teaching training cycle.

As a teacher my roles responsibilities and boundaries, would be spread over a broad

spectrum of areas and tasks and in preparing for, delivering, assessing and reviewing the
courses I would deliver, applying the P.A.R. (Present, Apply, Review) principles not only in
the direct delivery of my subject but as a broader ethos surrounding my whole teaching
cycle.

On employment with a provider my initial responsibilities would be to review the Protocols,

rules and regulations of the establishment which are the most fundamental boundaries, to
review the contents of existing courses (or units for art and design courses) that were
already being provided in my subject area of photography , examining the associated
schemes of work and lesson plans to ensure that I had a good grasp of what I was expected
to teach, ( it may be impossible to assimilate all of this information in one go , but I would go
into each session having researched what I am expected to know and impart to the
students). Drawing from my own experience I would offer to open a dialogue (using course
data) with my colleagues and peers, be they fellow tutors or superiors, to see where the
delivery could be strengthened, via its content (syllabus non-withstanding) timing structure ,
scale, location and facilities on offer. This would be with a view to improving course numbers
and positive learning outcomes which is a core responsibility. A boundary here would be if I
were employed in a role which did not allow this kind of input, a barrier would be the
annoyance of staff who have already delivered photography courses or units (as I have little
teaching experience) so consideration and good interpersonal skills would need to come to
the fore. This information would feed into my role of preparing my own subject ‘schemes of
work’, it would be my responsibility to analyse the requirements of the syllabus, making sure
that I understood it myself by carrying out research to bring myself up to date I would then
work out how to break it down into its constituent parts and how relate it to my learners in
enjoyable and manageable chunks over the duration of the course. Boundaries here are
set out by awarding bodies for the qualifications I would teach, such as the amount of
contact time, the length of time allowed for a learner to complete the course, what written
work is required i.e. assignments, essays or dissertations as well as how it is assessed. The
amount of practical work and how it is assessed may also be set externally. When setting
out schemes of work I would also need to consider as boundaries:-

• What kind of learners will be attending, what will be their motivations,

what will their baseline achievement levels be, how broad will the
spectrum of attainment be?

• What equipment will be required and how will I make it available to

everyone?

• Where each session is to be delivered, its impact on what can be taught

and how it can be taught?

• When each session is delivered, what condition the learners will be in, how
will it impact on their concentration and what kind of practical work will be

Will Walker, City and Guilds 7303 Tutor: Lynn Rowell

 viable?

• How long is the term and are there any holidays, placements, visits and
other trips?

Having set out my schemes of work, I would then review them with my colleagues if the
setting out had not already been a collaborative effort. Depending on the circumstances
there also might be the opportunity to feedback to whichever body (or senior member of
staff) sets the syllabus, with new ideas or fresh perspectives on the course contents.

At this point I could give a clear insight into the courses I would be delivering and how it
would fit into the broader theme of being a learner, I would be able to use this in my role as a
spokesman for my subject area or faculty during marketing events such as open evenings
and school visits, again feeding back information about new areas of interest, ways of
getting better uptake of courses by analysing dialogue or questionnaires filled out.

In my role as a Tutor I will conduct interviews with prospective students myself, (or they may
be conducted by someone else) where I will be responsible for assessing whether they
which of my courses would be most suited to them, if they may need to carry out further
learning, either alongside doing the course or in preparation for it and if they require support
in regard to disability, finance, childcare or any other barrier that would prevent them from
fair access to the course. From this meeting and after enrolment an initial Individual Learning
Plan is agreed. Using the framework of my ‘Schemes of Work’ I will then use the
information from the Individual Learning Plans to tailor my lesson planning to the students
needs and strengths and encouraging improvement in their weaker areas, using Visual,
Aural and Kinaesthetic (V.A.K.) means, Making best use of their prior learning, promoting
equality and celebrating diversity.

Once students have started a course with me I would be responsible for their health and
safety, I would make them familiar with all aspects of health and safety relevant to
Photography Practice, and the policy of the college or institution, these are boundaries put in
place to protect all, providing a safe and supportive place to study and work. These would
also form part of the ground rules in my sessions, It would be my role to enforce them as it
would be to abide by them, examples would be to establish what is suitable subject material,
what constitutes correct handling of equipment , respect for others, no shouting, swearing,
no sexism or racism either in images or verbally. I would present this information as I would
with the rest of my course content using V.A.K. modes of teaching in as enjoyable a format
as possible, clearly setting out the aims and objectives. Personal boundaries would need to
be set out as I could well be teaching people of the same age as me, or anyone of 16 years
or older, fraternisation outside of contact time could be seen as favouritism or abusing my
position. Another important boundary would be to recognise the appropriate amount of help I
should give to an individual learner, assisting students to access relevant services in college
but avoiding inappropriate contact and making sure that my actions are not to the detriment
of my students.

I would strive to create a supportive learning environment for my learners while teaching
theoretical and practical aspects of photography, I would introduce each session with a
clear aims and objectives, assess what knowledge the group has of the topic, Sharing my
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Knowledge via demonstrations, videos or lectures, giving opportunities to discuss and

explore the topic via V.A.K. learning modes, allowing them to apply their learning with hands
on work, demonstrating their learning to each other, myself and themselves making sure that
hands on time extends their knowledge and maximises learning potential. I would use
informal testing methods such as questions and answers or a quiz to assess retention before
finally reviewing the learning. Written and practical assignments , formal testing either set by
the awarding body or myself would be used in part to assess the learning, It would be my
role to use this data in tandem with informal testing (Q&A, Quizzes, etc), observation, peer
review and self assessment and progress meetings with individual students. It would be my
responsibility to see that these assessments are carried out properly, and without bias,
making sure that handed in work was assessed with the same care that I would like my own
work to be assessed and kept safe, free from damage and in accordance with the
institutions’ data protection policy.

On a session to session basis it would be my responsibility to ensure all of the administration

relating to the students was up to date, in good order and reached the correct departments
in the learning institute (or external body). Records such as the attendance register are not
only kept for safety reasons (to establish the whereabouts of an individual, during a fire or
other emergency and as part of a broader duty of care to students) but to monitor learners
attendance so it meets the minimum requirements for the course. If not, correct assessment
would not possible and the student’s opportunity to learn would also be compromised, falling
below the minimum accepted attendance would be a boundary to the student’s success.

I would also keep records on student progress, behaviour and performance (including which
learning methods stimulate them the most.) and use them with the results from both formal
and informal assessments to adjust my lesson planning not only during the session as it
happens, but fine tuning future lesson plans to match the rise and falls of student insight
into, retention and application of the subject. During this fine tuning process I would also take
account of my own reflections on the session, (Review) has my communication (spoken,
written or by demonstration) triggered the correct response in the learner? Have I listened
correctly and understood the students? (Feedback is only useful if it is understood,) In
addition I would consider input from my peers (assessment) as to whether my delivery and
the structure of the course needs to be amended during the period of its current delivery
(Present). At the end of the course I would use this information and the students’ completed
portfolios to assess and review what improvements can be made in the presentation of the
next teaching year cycle.

The principle of P.A.R. (Presenting, Assessing and Reviewing) is used on several different
forms, In my preparation to become a trainer, In my extended role as a spokesperson for my
subject or college and as a tutor within individual sessions, dealing with students and their
immediate interaction with the subject and my delivery of it, then again in preparation and
evaluation of courses I would run in the session to session cycle and during the yearly
teaching cycle.

Will Walker, City and Guilds 7303 Tutor: Lynn Rowell