Teacher as Facilitator

The teacher is often considered the intermediary between his/her students and appropriate grade level subject matter. The teacher is often considered both a facilitator of student learning and a member of the learning community. The teacher develops and models his/her role as a learner as well.

Teachers manage the open ended discovery of the learners. This requires each instructor to switch roles from a lecturer to a facilitator who provides resources, and encourages students to engage in problem solving skills. Teachers become excited as students become excited about learning.

Facilitating learning requires students to take more responsibility for their own learning. Teachers, however, must teach students to manage their own learning. Student motivation increases as they acquire a greater ownership in relevant learning process.

Facilitating learning requires teachers to encourage students to transfer their learning across both subject and discipline. Working and collaborating with peers requires students to look beyond themselves and to corroborate with others in the generation of ideas.