BEING A PAPER PRESENTED AT THE 2023 WORLD TEACHERS DAY
ORGANISED BY NIGERIA UNION OF TEACHERS, KADUNA STATE
WING ON 5th OCTOBER, 2023 AT NUT STATE SECRETARIAT
BY
DR. ABDULKADIR YAHAYA MUHAMMED,
DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY,
KADUNA STATE UNIVERSITY, KADUNA.
“THE TEACHERS WE NEED FOR THE EDUCATION WE WANT: THE
GLOBAL IMPERATIVE TO REVERSE TEACHER SHORTAGE”
INTRODUCTION
According to siatisia.com, Kaduna State had 52.176 Secondary School teachers in 2018/2019 academic session. In contrast. Kano Stale had only 21. 590 in the same period under review. According to National Population Commission (2006). the population of Kaduna State was 6.1 million. In contrast, Kano State had a population of 9.4 million in the same period under review. From the two contrasting statistics, Kaduna State cannot be said to have inadequate number of school teachers although the inadequacy still exists. One might want to ask where does this inadequacy exists. Of course it does exist, but not quantitatively. It is inadequacy of quality. It exists in the areas of technology application in teaching and learning. Today, teaching has completely metamorphosed from the traditional or conventional way to modern; using technology and any teacher that wants to remain relevant must pursue the technology vigorously (Elliot & Tunks, 2020).
A CONVENTIONAL TEACHER
Article 1, NO 16 of Year 2005 on Teachers and Lecturers, defines a teacher as a professional education officer with the primary task of educating, guiding, directing, training, assessing and evaluating learners in formal education; in primary education and secondary education”. The teacher is a figure of the greatest role in determining the quality of learning in an educational institution called school. Teachers are the most important component among other components in educating students. The modern challenges to teachers and teaching is the inability of teachers to apply technology in teaching or guiding their leaners. The students of today are sophisticated users of technology; they are multitasking constantly and can sometimes be more comfortable with the technology than they are interacting with teachers and peers in the real world. Marc Prensky in 2001 described them as “Digital Natives”, implying that they are efficient users of technology. While they are exposed to various technologies and can successfully use them outside the classroom their use of these same tools as learning support tools can be lacking. And this is where a modem teacher’s expertise is required to come to their aid.
A MODERN TEACHER
Is a teacher who knows his learners and the resources available to him and to them. He is the one to employ available resources especially the technological aspect it. The key difference between this modem teacher and the conventional teacher is the ability to use technology in teaching efficiently (Elliot & Tunics, 2020). Supporting today’s learners now requires more than just educating them in a specific content area but also includes supporting them in the use of technology tools in an education setting. Supporting educators through areas of primary training such as teacher preparation programs and workshop are one way to accomplish this, but also the many credible teacher training programs that provide experience, peer support or certifications are also excellent tools.
THE TEACHERS WE NEED FOR THE EDUCATION WE WANT
The teachers we need must be technology and Information Technology (IT) compliances. Technology bridges the gap created by hundreds and thousands of teachers.
Educational Technology Integration Models
Technology integration happens at many levels. Technology can be an afterthought or an intimidating factor for some teachers. Even worse, learning how to use technology effectively can be one more thing added to a teacher’s already busy schedule. It is more important to make educational technology approachable for teachers than it is to impress them. This opens the question of how we frame technology in a way that works for busy teachers and helps them optimize learning. Three theoretical frameworks and theories help teachers approach technology in a systematic and effective manner. They are the SAMR Model. TPACK Model and the Triple E Framework (Elliot & Tunics. 2020).
SAMR Model
The SAMR model can be considered an entry point model for those teachers most uncomfortable with educational technology (Hamilton, et al., 2016). There are four steps to the model; substitution, augmentation, modification and redefinition. Substitution describes a scenario where a teacher simply replaces one tool with another with no discernible improvement in learning. Augmentation describes a scenario where the chosen technology allows the learning task to be redesigned to somewhat improve learning. Technology serves as a direct replacement for the previous learning activity with clear improvement at the modification stage. Redefinition describes a situation in which technology allows for learning activities that would not be possible previously. Although very approachable, the linear design of the SAMR model can be simplistic in some situations.
TPACK ModelThis model is much more comprehensive than SAMR model. There are three main parts to the model; Technological Knowledge (Knowing how to use the technology), Content Kno.wledge.(Knowing-the-content or-subject-matter being laughtfiand Pedagogical Knowledge (Knowledge of teaching) (Moreno, Montoro & Ortiz-Colon 2019).
Triple E Model
Triple E is the most recent of the three models. This model was created by Liz Kolb in 2020 in her book, Learning First, Technology Second (Kolb, 2017).There are three stages to the Triple E Framework. They are: Engagement, Enhancement and Extension. Engagement gives learners the opportunity to choose technology and let them to focus on the assignment. Enhancement on the other hand, makes learners to get a better comprehension. Extension gives learners the opportunity to apply technology beyond school teaching, but into personal applications. Kolb successfully creates a balance between research and real applications of technology to learners (Kolb, 2020).
Applications to Teaching
The question at this point becomes how teachers can be trained to best use technology in the classroom for improved learning. This is where a new type of new variation of digital divide becomes relevant. Originally, the phrase digital divide referred to those who have access to technology and those who do not (Van-Deursen & Van-Dijk, 2019). A variation of the phrase has branched off though that refers to the gap between those who know how to use technology productively and those who do not (Ebbers, et al., 2016). If teachers can be trained to use technology effectively, then they are better prepared to teach their students. Proper teaching of effective technology use can also serve as a model of best practices for in-service teachers.
Social Media
Social Media is an excellent tool for developing Professional Learning. Social Media tools such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter or platforms that support the easy sharing of user created content are effective in this sense. Most often we consider these platforms for personal use such as communicating with family and friends and sharing photos of relatives. In recent years that have become very powerful in the ability to provide a platform for educators to collaborate across the world. The sharing of best practices on such a broad scale allows for collaboration and learning that was previously unobtainable through traditional professional development. Most social media platforms are free to use which make these types not only accessible, but also affordable to all (Elliott & Tunk, 2020).
Professional Organizations
There are a number of professional organizations that are available to support teachers and administrators. Two key national organizations are the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and Consortium of School Networks (CoSN). Participants in these organizations open up many opportunities for educators to participate in both virtual and physical professional learning communities. ISTE is a nonprofit organization that supports educators who are interested in the use of technology in education. The focus of the organization is on classroom teachers and instructional leaders. ISTE offers membership for both in-service and pre-service teachers. Through membership in this organization many resources and Professional learning communities are available. A wide range of trainings are available including topics such as online learning, computational thinking, technology student standards and many more (Elliott & Tunk, 2020).
CoSN on the other hand, is a nonprofit organization that supports education technology leadership. Besides their role in professional development, they also have a strong advocacy group that seeks to bring awareness to the need to support education technology and to bridge the digital divide by ensuring all students have access to high speed Internet access. These Professional Learning Communities are normally available online (Elliott & Tunk, 2020).
Teacher Competence
Competency is a term used extensively by different people in different contexts; hence, it is defined in different ways. Teacher education and job performance are two contexts in which this term is used. Competencies are the requirements of a “competency-based” teacher education and include the knowledge, skills and values a teacher-trainee must demonstrate for successful completion of a teacher education programme and likewise a teacher must demonstrate these three qualities (Houstan, 1987 cited Hamilton, et al., 2016).
Some characteristics of a competency are as follows:
A competency consists of one or more skills whose mastery would enable the attainment of the competency. A competency is linked to all three of the domains under which performance can be assessed: knowledge, skills and attitude. Possessing a performance dimension, competencies are observable and demonstrable. Since competencies are observable, they are also measurable. It is possible to assess a competency from a teacher’s performance. Teaching competencies may require equal amounts of knowledge, skills and attitude, but some will not. Some competencies may involve more knowledge than skills or attitude, whereas, some competencies may be more skillful or performance based. Some scholars see “competence” as a combination of knowledge, skills and behavior used to improve performance, or as the state or quality of being adequately qualified and capable of performing a given role. The Occupational Competency movement initiated by David McClelland in the 1960s sought to move away from traditional attempts to describe competency in terms of knowledge, skills and attitudes and to focus instead on those specific values, traits, and motivations (i.e. relatively enduring characteristics of people) that are found to consistently distinguish outstanding from typical performance in a given job or role (Elliott & Tunk, 2020).
According to (Shmelev, 2002), the teaching skills and life-long learning competencies of professional teachers comprise the following:
to perform complex pedagogical duties;
to be well-spoken, in good mental and physical health, stable and tolerant;
to have a propensity to work with the younger generation, good communicative and observational skills, tact, a vivid imagination, and leadership.
To achieve professional competency, teachers must pass through the following stages:
1st level: pedagogical ability – characterized by detailed knowledge of the subject;
2nd level: pedagogical skill – perfected teaching skill;
3rd level: pedagogical creativity -marked by implementation of new methods and techniques into educational activities;
4th level: pedagogical innovation – distinguished by the incorporation of essentially new, progressive theoretical ideas, principles and methods of training and education and this is where technology application in learning comes in (Buharkova, Gorshkova, 2007).
2.1.3 Pedagogical InnovationsEducational innovation has drawn increasing attention around the world, and many countries have already embarked on educational reforms that aim to change both the goals and practices of education. Expectations that such innovations can be leveraged or supported by incorporating ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) into the learning and teaching process are widespread. Such innovations are fundamentally changing students’ learning experiences and of course addressing teachers’ shortage.
Innovation alters the pedagogical system, improving the teaching process and its results. Among the aims of innovation are increased motivation in teaching and educational activity, an increased volume of material studied per lesson, accelerated training, and more effective time management. The introduction of more progressive methods, the use of active teaching forms, and new training technologies are regular spheres of innovation. Genuine innovations emerge from new knowledge of the processes of human development, providing new theoretical approaches and practical technologies for achieving optimal results. Pedagogical innovation demands the replacement of educational paradigms.
Another important component for the competent teacher is pedagogical experience. Advanced pedagogical experience can be transferred and passed on to others, as well as reproduced in training techniques and methods so as to be used by fellow teachers, providing high results without additional time expenditure (Kan-Kalik & Nikandrov, 1990).
CONCLUSION/RECOMMENDATIONS
The teacher we want is the one who will be able to guide digital natives to have different learning styles. The digital natives have different concerns than previous students. The concern is how to apply technology in learning. Teachers need to keep up with this changing landscape and need to learn, develop and innovate new ways to support today’s learners. Government at all levels should train, retrain and organize workshops to keep teachers technologically compliance. In addition, computers and smartphones should be procured and be distributed to teachers free of charge or at subsidized rate. Doing this, will be a game changer!
References
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