Review your role, responsibilities and boundaries as a teacher, in terms of the teaching/training cycle.
A teacher has many roles and responsibilities to ensure their students receive the best possible education, however when addressing these they may also encounter boundaries which must be dealt with in the best interest of the students.
The role of the teacher is to ensure an effective learning environment is provided for all students, this can be challenging as all students are individuals, their learning style and the speed at which they learn maybe diverse (Reece and Walker, 2000), for example in a class of equestrian students one maybe looking to learn more about how to look after their own horse at home while another student is looking for a professional career in the equine industry, these students will have different expectations of the course and this will directly affect the way they learn. The differing learning styles experienced in a group of individuals highlights the importance of research into the needs of the students. Once the needs are established the teacher can adapt the teaching method to suit the class. Daines, Daines and Graham (1998) suggest it is the responsibility of the teacher to assess students by contacting more experienced members of staff as well as previous and prospective students. This research should indicate well practised and effective teaching methods as well as the specific needs of the class. From this a suitable lesson plan can be developed, incorporating a variety of teaching methods and aids to keep the class enthusiastic and motivated. Equine studies is often considered a vocational subject so the students should show a certain amount of self motivation but it is the teachers’ responsibility to maintain this to ensure continuous learning. Due to the nature of the subject there are responsibilities placed upon the teacher that would not be the case in class room teaching, for example when working on a yard...