Post#1 Are the roles of teachers changing?

The goal of this week was to identify my topic of free inquiry, gain an initial understanding of the context, and develop a 7-week learning plan. The theme I have chosen to explore is whether teachers are becoming facilitators rather than the traditional “instillers of knowledge”.

In further reflecting on the question of whether teachers are becoming facilitators, I watched Imran Chohan’s video Teachers vs Facilitators, Researchers vs Facilitators: A Comparison. In the video, he makes a clear distinction between three different educational roles:

Teacher: Focuses on the transfer of knowledge and the organization and control of course content;

Researcher: focusing on knowledge generation, validation and theoretical exploration;

Facilitator: emphasizes the construction of the learning environment, problem posing and learner-led exploration.

I was struck by the definition of “facilitator”. He argues that a good facilitator does not reduce teaching, but rather “repositions the teacher’s power structure so that the learning process becomes an active journey for the students”. The teacher is no longer the “sole source of information” but the “connector”.

The video also highlights the need for facilitators to design open-ended questions that promote discussion rather than provide answers, and to create supportive learning environments that allow interest to dominate the learning process.

I began to wonder if teachers are still seen as “authorities” by their students? Or are they more like a learning partner? Are students empowered and autonomous enough to learn when the teacher turns into a facilitator? Is digital technology an enabler or an enabler of teacher control?

Next week, I will try to think about “which teacher role I prefer” from the students’ point of view and why. I will also try to reach out to modeling teachers to learn about current teaching styles.