July 28, 2014
A few days ago I came across a post published by Teachthought on the 9 roles for teachers that lead. This post was based on a book that has recently been published under the title "The Educator As A Maker Educator". The book is authored by Jackie Gerstein (most of you would recognize her from her popular blog User Generated Education). As the book was both cheap ($2,90 on Amazon) and short (only 61 pages) I bought it and read on it on my kindle the same day. This book is an intellectual journey into the depths of the theoretical ideas that informs progressive education. It highlights the role of educator as a maker, which is an idea rooted in the experiential insights of John Dewey.
The concept of educator as a maker is further illustrated by the 9 roles Jackie thinks should be present in every teacher who is to lead a successful learning experience. These roles are :
1. Process Facilitator for producing, assessing, developing, creating, revisiting, revising
2. Lead Learner
3. Safe Environment Manager–creating environments where learners feel free to take risks
4. Relationship Enabler & Builder for face-to-face, online PLNs, and mentors
5. Technology Tutor
6. Tour Guide Of Learning Possibilities
7. Facilitator Feedback
8. Normalizer of ambiguous problem finding and solving; framer of “failure as iterative”
9. Resource Suggester and provider
