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JD100/lf-DC 01/08/01
POSITION RESPONSIBILITY WRITE-UP
Position Title: Teacher Date: October 1998
Department: Curriculum and Instruction Location: Elementary and
Secondary Schools
Accountable To: Principal
Primary Objectives of Position
To effectively enhance student learning. Teachers demonstrate a high level of knowledge,
skills, dispositions, and commitment in the following areas of responsibility:
MAJOR AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY
Teachers are Committed to Students and Their Learning
- Teachers are dedicated to making knowledge accessible to all students. They act on
the belief that all students can learn. They treat students equitably, recognizing the
individual differences that distinguish their students one from the other and taking
account of these differences in their practice. They adjust their practice as
appropriate, based on observation and knowledge of their students' interests,
abilities, skills, knowledge, family circumstances and peer relationships.
- Teachers understand how students develop and learn. They incorporate the
prevailing theories of cognition and intelligence in their practice. They are aware of
the influence of context and culture on behavior. They are aware of the influence of
context and culture on behavior. They develop students' cognitive capacity and their
respect for learning. Equally important, they foster students' self-esteem, motivation,
character, civic responsibility, and their respect for individual cultural, gender,
religious and racial differences.
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JD100/lf-DC 01/08/01
Teachers Know the Subjects They Teach and How to Teach Those Subjects to
Students
- Teachers have a rich understanding of the subject(s) they teach and appreciate how
knowledge in their subject is created, organized, linked to other disciplines, and
applied to real-world settings. Teachers are dedicated to exposing students to the
social, cultural, ethical, and physical worlds in which they live, and they use the
subjects they teach as entrees into those worlds. Upholding the value of disciplinary
knowledge, they also develop the critical and analytical capacities of their students.
- Teachers command specialized knowledge of how to convey and reveal subject
matter to students. They are aware of the preconceptions and background
knowledge that students typically bring to each subject and of strategies and
instructional materials that can be of assistance. They understand where
difficulties are likely to arise and modify their practice accordingly. Their
instructional repertoire allows them to create multiple paths to the subjects they
teach, and they are adept at teaching students how to pose and solve their own
problems.
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Teachers are Responsible for Managing and Monitoring Student Learning
- Teachers create, enrich, maintain, and alter instructional settings to capture and
sustain the interest of their students and to make the most effective use of time. They
also are adept at engaging students and adults to assist their teaching and at enlisting
their colleagues' knowledge and expertise to complement their own.
- Teachers command a range of generic instructional techniques, know when each is
appropriate, and can implement them as needed. They are as aware of ineffectual or
damaging practice as they are devoted to elegant practice.
- They know how to engage groups of students to ensure a disciplined learning
environment, and how to organize instruction to allow district goals for students to
be met. They are adept at setting norms for social interaction among students and
between students and teachers. They understand how to create the conditions in
which students can learn and how to maintain the students' interest even in the face
of temporary failure.
- Teachers can assess the progress of individual students as well as that of the class as
a whole. They employ multiple methods for measuring student growth and
understanding and can clearly explain student performance to families.
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Teachers Think Systematically about Their Practice and Learn from Experience
- Teachers are models of educated persons, exemplifying the virtues they seek to
inspire in students - Respect for Self and Others, Compassion, Responsibility,
Honesty/Integrity, Commitment, Valuing Families, and a Sense of Community.
They also model capacities that are prerequisites for intellectual growth: the ability
to reason and take multiple perspectives, to be creative and take risks, and to adopt
an experimental and problem-solving orientation.
- Teachers draw on their knowledge of human development, subject matter and
instruction, and their understanding of their students to make principled judgments
about sound practice. Their decisions are not only grounded in the literature, but also
in their experience. They engage in lifelong learning which they seek to encourage
in their students.
- Striving to strengthen their teaching, teachers critically examine their practice, seek
to expand their repertoire, deepen their knowledge, sharpen their judgment and adapt
their teaching to new findings, ideas, and theories.
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Teachers are Members of Learning Communities
- Teachers contribute tot he effectiveness of the school by working collaboratively
with other professionals on instructional policy, curriculum development and staff
development, and with other people in the delivery of instruction. They can evaluate
school progress and the allocation of school resources in light of their understanding
of state and local educational objectives. They are knowledgeable about specialized
school and community resources that can be engaged for their students' benefit, and
are skilled at employing such resources as needed. Teachers find ways to work
collaboratively and creatively with families engaging them productively in the work
of the school.
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