Masum Billah :
During Covid situation I used to conduct webinar almost every week focusing on different areas of education, language, educational problems, teachers’ welfare, students’ welfare that witnessed positive response from many teachers and their presence, expressing opinion have really convinced me that our teachers still have eagerness to learn, develop their professionalism and widen their horizon of knowledge even in the non-formal ways that I must see as a positive sign in the arena of education.
Just after the Covid situation schools, from my association, English Teachers’ Association of Bangladesh (ETAB) started arranging face to face programs for teachers in different parts of the country. First of its kind was held in Sirajgonj on June 03 on the importance of four language skills. We were afraid whether teachers would come as they will not be given any monetary benefit as usually our government trainings do. Interestingly, we found 56 teachers and even some teachers came from the other side of the Jamuna River crossing the unrest waves of the river. They listened to us, talked, participated and not a single time they talked about the limitations teachers face every day. Their questions and future promise made us happy. On 17 June we arranged another face to face program at Matlab Upazila and the title of the discussion was ‘Student Engagement’ where we saw more than 40 teachers attended and some of them very actively talk about their desire to learn. On July 22 we had another program focusing on the ‘importance of teacher motivation in the classroom’ at Gazipur, Mofiz Uddin Khan High School where more than 50 teachers attended. Here I really found that quite a good number of teachers participated in the session actively without raising any unnecessary points that usually happens in the training programs particularly where non-government teachers hurdle.
Effective learning takes place only in the safe classroom and a motivated teacher knows how to ensure a safe environment for the learners. Creating a classroom safe that is organised and characterised by mutual respect makes it a lot easier to teach effectively. The more smiles we offer to students, the more we will receive. Learning doesn’t have always to be so serious, nor do we. Sometimes, when tensions are high, we need to laugh together to make the environment light. If you’re using interactive approaches such as small groups and cooperative learning, it’s especially important to create a classroom where students feel safe asking questions and contributing to discussions.
Research shows that when teachers build relationships with students by getting to know them and allowing them to know the teachers, students in that case learn more. Through knowledge of their backgrounds and interests, you’ll be better equipped to connect class content to their lives. You’ll enjoy teaching more as well. Engaging students in the learning process increases their attention and focus and motivates them to engage in higher-level critical thinking. Active learning is an instructional approach in which students actively participate in the learning process, as opposed to sitting quietly and listening. Another research has shown that if students do not consider a learning activity worthy of their time and effort, they might not engage in a satisfactory way, or may even disengage entirely in response.
In the workshops teachers showed their eagerness to learn, it’s true that not hundred percent teachers showed equal degree of eagerness to learn but maximum. Those who feel shy to participate in the works arranged in any workshop, seminar or symposium gives another sign that they don’t know how to break the silence, how to break the ice. As they don’t know, similar things happen in their own classrooms. It truly says that they cannot engage maximum number of learners in their classroom. In the workshop, these points are also discussed to make them understand how to ensure maximum number of students’ engagement.
Attending workshops, sharing their ideas with each other, learning new ideas and techniques are the best ways to develop the teachers professionally. It not only widens their subject knowledge, but also elevates their confidence, strengthen their network of profession, friends and educators that overall serve as their mental food as well removing their ill thoughts, tensions and brings relaxation, mental strength. But in our teaching learning culture particularly in the primary and secondary level, people, schools, authorities, committees and in the society it is thought that teaching meaning only classroom teaching, checking scripts and giving homework, conducting examinations and awarding marks. And for professional development ‘it is thought one or two trainings’ in life is enough. In the true sense of the term, teachers need mental nourishment that cannot be satisfied only with handsome salary, pomp and grandeur or by earning huge extra money by private tuition.
It needs something more than that. And this kind of professional gathering (workshop, seminar, and symposium) serves all the purposes cited above without spending much time, energy and money but ensures continuous professional development. And ETAB wants it and so arranges various types of academic and co-curricular programs such as webinars, meetings, face to face workshop, seminars and personal contact and its fruit has started reaching out to the teachers across the country irrespective of their affiliation to primary, secondary, madrasa, tertiary level. All the year round such types of program go on. Just join there and enrich your academic aspects and enlarge the network. And thus enjoy teaching as a profession truly.
(The writer is Country Director, Volunteers Association for Bangladesh and President- English Teachers’ Association of Bangladesh).
