What Master Teachers Do: A Case Study of Planning, Facilitating, Role Modelling and Developing Materials

Abstract

Teaching is the foundation of our educational system. As such teachers are privileged with the responsibility of nurturing the young and inadvertently, shaping the future. To this end, the Malaysian government is fully cognizant that our future is dependent on the development of a highly skilled and innovative workforce serving as the critical enabling factor for economic growth. Hence, several initiatives were introduced in the education sector, and one of them is the Skim Guru Cemerlang or Excellent Teacher Scheme. The premise is that these Master Teachers comprise the crème de la crème of the Malaysian teaching profession and their teaching practices will be different from the general, non-master teachers. This paper reports on a study that investigated the best practices of three Master Teachers of the English language in two secondary schools in Malaysia. As these master teachers were selected by the Ministry of Education based on very stringent prerequisites, the question is, how different are master teachers from 'normal' teachers? Further, in terms of classroom discourse, how is this difference manifested? Based on a research design that incorporated ethnography and applied discourse analysis, three master teachers were selected and observed during formal teaching hours as well as outside the classroom. Interviews were then conducted with the teachers as well as other stakeholders, namely the students and school administrators to triangulate the data. Additionally, documents were then collected and perused. The data went through a four-step analysis. Several key findings will then be revealed and the paper ends with suggestions for further work.

Teaching and Classroom Management Strategies of Indonesian Master Teachers: Investigating a Vocational English Classroom

“…The findings are similar to that of Chiang (2006), Li andWalsh (2011), Noraini, Azliza Haniem, andNambiar (2013) and Tsui (2009). However, some strategies may be different from that of previous studies due to the goals of the teaching of English and the context of the study.…”

“…Besides that, the MTs used scaffolding and drawing/writing techniques which are more teacher-led. These techniques were used by the MTs to illustrate and generate ideas as well as to highlight important point which could help the students to understand the materials and develop their language skills (Chiang 2006, Noraini, Azliza Haniem & Nambiar 2013, Schempp, Tan & McCullick 2002. Owens (2006) and Rosoff (2007) posit that, in a student-centred class, teacher-centred strategies and techniques can still be used.…”

“…These teachers had to possess a degree in English Language education, have taught English, attained teacher certification, attended aster teacher training programmes and were recommended by the school principals and colleagues. In addition, this study required MTs to have at least 10 years of teaching experience because it is established in the literature that experience is an important attribute of teacher quality (Barliner in Brandt 1986, Jacobs, Gregory & Hoppey 2009, Noraini, Azliza Haniem & Nambiar 2013, Suharti 2013.…”

“…In the global context, studies on second/foreign language (SL/FL) MTs have shown that they employ a wide variety of teaching strategies to meet the needs of their students (Li & Walsh 2011, Noraini, Azliza Haniem & Nambiar 2013. They use performance-oriented learning activities which foster students' participation and approach learning through group discussions (Chiang 2006).…”

Characteristics of Classroom Interaction of English Language Teachers in Indonesia and Malaysia

“…In the classrooms, teachers do not only act as a guide, facilitator, and counsellor (Brown, 2000;Ibrahim, Haniem, Nambiar, 2013;Richards & Rodgers, 2001;Rido, Ibrahim, Nambiar, 2016), but also give suggestions and ask questions as they do the activities (Rido, 2017). They model the target language, control the direction and pace of learning, and monitor as well as correct learners' performance (Boor, Aman, Mustaffa, Seong, 2010;Rido, Ibrahim, Nambiar, 2014Rido, 2010;Walsh, 2011).…”