EDU 701

EDUCATION AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

MASTER OF EDUCATION (LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT)

TERM PAPER

TITLE: TEACHER’S ROLE IN FACILITATING LEARNING

Prepared for:

DR. ROHAYA BINTI ABDUL WAHAB

Prepared by:

NAME STUDENT ID.

NABILA HANIS BINTI ABDUL SAMAT 2018617236

 TEACHER’S ROLE IN FACILITATING LEARNING

This paper will basically discuss the roles of teachers in assisting students to perform

well during learning sessions. It aims at offering the perspectives on how teachers; whom can

be defined as the one who causes someone to learn or understand something by example or

experience, can carry out their duties as a guide for students to excel in their studies. The

question “How can teachers facilitate effective learning?” can simply be comprehended by

making the learning process easier for students. However, this paper promotes the initiative

to look into the theories and skills needed, as the foundation in understanding the learning

process before moving further into planning and strategizing. It is also important to

understand education as the broad concept of the whole idea first.

The word “education” is derived from the Latin word “educat”, from the verb

“educare” which connotes the same meaning as “educate”. On the other hand, “education”

can simply be defined as the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially

at a school or university. Education in a broad concept is seen as a very significant aspect in

one’s life, be it from Western or Eastern perspectives. In Islam, Education is one of the

fundamental elements in becoming a good vicegerent of Allah, as the first verse of Qur‘an is

“read’; which indicates Allah’s order for His people to continuously seek for knowledge and

be educated.

Apart from that, education is also seen to be important for an individual as it assists

the person to fulfil his or her basic needs of life. In other words, an educated person has more

and brighter chances of getting a better job, with higher pay which directly promotes a better

life, as compared to the one which is not educated. This does not refer to educational

qualification alone, but also reflects to the state of being ‘educated’ as well. For children,

education is very important because this is where the children are being moulded to become
the future leader, as there is a saying which says “If you want to lead people you must first

educate yourself.”

On the other hand, education in a wider sense is; or specifically referring to society in

general, is important because through education, the society will manage to perform in

achieving the country’s goals. Taking Malaysia as an example, in 1991, Tun Mahathir has

introduced Vision 2020 which aims at making Malaysia a developed country by year 2020.

The term ‘developed’ refers to the state of being economically, politically, socially,

spiritually, psychologically and culturally developed. In regards to that, Tun Mahathir

emphasized the nine challenges that need to be encountered before managing to reach the

Vision 2020 aim.

Among those challenges are for the society to establish a fully moral and ethical,

scientific and progressive, and economically-just society, and this will not be achieved

without education. This explains why most of Malaysia’s education blueprints namely the

Malaysian Education Development Plan 2001-2010, as well as Malaysia’s Smart School

1997 were mainly established in order to be aligned with the Vision 2020. Chamhuri Siwar,

Abdul-Mumin Abdulai (2011) stated that education has been identified by the Malaysian

government as one of the key sectors to propel the economy up the development ladder.

While acknowledging the importance of knowledge, it is also vital to acknowledge

the parties who are responsible in ensuring an effective education. In general, it can be said

that every one of us does play role in making sure of a good education. As an individual, we

are all responsible of getting ourselves exposed to a proper education. While as a whole, the

government, the community, the politicians, the parents, the principals, and the teachers have

been classified as the stakeholders of any educational institution, which make them all

responsible towards making education an effective one. On a side note, an effective education
can be referred to as a conducive learning that is instrumentally good, provided that

conducive learning is a person's learning that is both intended and guided.

This paper anyhow is focusing on the role of teachers in facilitating learning, which

directly will have result in an effective education. A teacher is a person who helps others to

acquire knowledge, competences or values. In general, teachers can effectively facilitate in

learning by thinking critically and understanding how the learning process actually works. In

general, anyone can teach, but whether the learning leaves impacts on the learners or not, is

another story. “A teacher takes a hand, opens a mind, and touches a heart”; there is a few

aspects which essentially need to be focused on, in explaining the roles of teachers in

facilitating learning.

Before moving further, teachers must first be familiar with the theories of learning, as

the base in understanding the process in a broad manner, as Theories provide frameworks for

interpreting environmental observations and serve as bridges between research and education

(Suppes, 1974). There are three learning theories that are most known, and they are

Behaviorism, Cognitivism, and Social Constructivism.

Behaviorism theory gives the idea that learning is a process of reacting to external

stimuli. Among the theorists are Thorndike, Pavtov, Watson, Guthrie and Skinner. According

to Behaviorism theory, learning occurs through observable behaviour main focus. The theory

also basically entails that learner is passive, and learning takes place via external processes

such as during the implementation of positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement

introduces rewarding stimulus presented by behaviour. Learning methods like lecture, drill

and practice, multiple choice tests are highly recommended aligned with this theory. Learning

may be supported by technology through the use of educational software to measure the

student’s assessment.
 On the other hand, Cognitivism theory suggests learning as a process of acquiring and

storing information. Among the theorists of Cognitivism are Piaget, Lewin, Ausubel and

Gagne. This theory indicates that learning goes beyond external, it is indeed an internal

process, through short and long term memory. Learning occurs through a structured and

computational process. Cognitivism theory addresses methods such as lecture, visual tools

like mind maps, charts, and so on to facilitate memorization, as well as multiple choice and

essay assessments.

While for the Social Constructivism theory, learning is described as a process of

constructing subjective reality based, proposed by theorists such as Dewey, Vygotsky,

Bruner, and Morin. This theory simply connotes that learners build on personal experience,

active and social in the learning process. In other words, learning process is supported and

influenced by learner’s environment and surrounding. It also suggests that learning occurs

socially and personally, where the meaning is created by each learner. Besides, this theory

emphasizes the roles of society, culture, values, etc. Learning methods such like collaborative

group work, scaffolding, peer grading and review are best practised, providing the Social

Constructivism theory is being referred to as the base.

Next, being a teacher, it is important to be exposed to, and equipped with the skills

needed for the 21st century. This element basically introduces the skills that employers need

to master and apply in their daily practices. Referring to teachers, these skills must be applied

during the implementation of teaching and learning at classroom.

Generally, all required skills are subject to change, based on the current needs and

necessities. Taking now as an example, the skills that we require are the ones which possibly

match the criteria of the 21st century. The biggest occurrence, which causes quite a big

change in the skills is the 4th Industrial Revolution, known as 4IR. 4IR in general requires a

vast involvement of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). 4IR indicates the
blurring of lines between technology and our lives, whereby technology becomes embedded

in societies and the human body.

In regards to that, skills needed by the employer must be looked into high

consideration. These are the skills needed for the 21st century, arranged according to the most

needed: Complex problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, people management,

coordinating with others, emotional intelligences, judgement and decision making, service

orientation, negotiation, and cognitive flexibility. Complex problem solving is about having

the mental elasticity to solve problems never seen before and in the ever-changing landscape

(Luu, 2016). Funke (2012) suggested that complex problem solving takes place for reducing

the barrier between a given start state and an intended goal state with the help of cognitive

activities and behavior. Teachers must all be aware of, learn and apply these skills to their

teaching and learning sessions.

This explains why this skill is the most needed in facing the challenges offered by the

st
21 century, as the problems which probably occur are believed to never appear before.

Complex problem solving skill is then followed by critical thinking and creativity which

entail the evaluation and objective analysis of an issue in order to form a judgement (Luu,

2016), and the ability to connect seemingly disparate information to present something ‘new’

(Lesch, 2014). Critical thinking is self-guided, self-disciplined thinking which attempts to

reason at the highest level of quality in a fair-minded way. Those who practise critical

thinking skill are seen to live in a rational and reasonable manner. On the other hand,

creativity can be defined as the use of imagination or original ideas to create something;

inventiveness.

Other skills such like people management, coordinating with others, emotional

intelligences, judgement and decision making, service orientation, negotiation, and cognitive
flexibility are also vital to be emphasized on. It is a teacher’s duty to look into each skill and

adapt whatever available and match the requirements of his or her students.

st
Apart from that, teachers of the 21 century are also required to be ready to cater

every student’s individual differences, needs, capabilities, and learning styles. These four

aspects must be diagnosed early to enable teachers to plan the children’s learning experiences

more productively and effectively. Student’s individual differences refer to the physical

characteristics, intelligence, learning speed, motivation, and perception (Kubat, U., 2018).

This is quite similar to student’s needs and capabilities, which can be identified through tests,

home works, and also during the teaching and learning process. As for learning styles,

Nakano, C. (2016) states that one popular theory, the VARK model, identifies four primary

types of learners: visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinaesthetic. Each learning type

responds best to a different method of teaching. In other words, the knowledge of these

aspects helps in preparing appropriate lessons which can ensure an effective, reached

outcome at the end of every lesson. In short, the idea is to suggest that each student has their

own differences. A good teacher would take initiatives to study the differences first before

starting any customized planning for the students. The more the matches, the better and more

effective the learning will possibly happen.

To conclude, as teachers, it is significant to be flexible and not fixed to certain

preferred strategies only. Teachers, especially those serving the millennial-age children, must

always be ready to adapt and adopt to any changes. However, this does not mean that all

conventional methods are irrelevant. Any learning methods will always be relevant, with

some touch of improvising. As Charles Darwin once said: “It is not the strongest of the

species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
 References

Abdulai, A. A. (2011). Education as a Catalyst Toward Realizing the Development Goals of

Malaysia.
Funke, Joachim. (2012). Complex Problem Solving. 10.1007/978-1-4419-1428-6_685.
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Kubat, U. (2018). Identifying the Individual Differences Among Students During Learning
and Teaching Process by Science Teachers. International Journal of Research in
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