Teaching Professionals

Chapter 1: The Art of the Teaching Professional

“The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery.” Mark van Doren

“I chose to be a teacher because I believe that education has the power to transform the society we live in. What motivates me to be a good teacher is to be an active agent in this change that is so necessary for my country, to fight against discrimination, injustice, racism, corruption and poverty. Our responsibility as teachers is enormous, and our commitment to provide quality education must be renewed every day.” Ana, teacher, Lima, Peru
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Teachers are change agents. What draws us to be a teacher or motivates us to keep teaching? Are we more Ana than Mark? A blend of both? Or are we motivated by very different goals and aspirations? Whatever our motivations, this book is for each one of us.
Teachers play a key role in adult education internationally. In Australia, for example, over 3 million Australians aged between 15 to 64 years of age are enrolled in formal study. There are 125 registered Australian higher education providers (including 43 universities - 40 of which are Australian, two are international and one is private). Of these institutions, 17 Australian Universities are ranked in the world’s top 300 Universities.
However, towering over these figures, illiteracy amongst adults internationally remains “stubbornly high” at over 770 million people, with women making up almost two-thirds of this number.
Meaningful and engaging teaching and learning skills are at the core of the adult learning system and are the avenue for improvements in literacy worldwide. Motivated and motivational teachers are its lifeblood. To improve literacy levels and enhance opportunity through the sharing of knowledge and skills, adult education is a key driver for change - globally. As positive as the current teaching outcomes are for Australia, and for other first world countries, there is a vast international teaching challenge and there exists an educational divide.
Wherever teaching occurs, it is both an opportunity and a responsibility which requires a professional approach. To this end, this book proposes the CAISSEP® technique of teaching and learning, with both clarity of purpose and professionalism at its heart.
Teaching is many things – a career, a profession, a calling, a vocation and a gift. Teaching is both practical and theoretical. Teaching can also be filled with wonder – the “Eureka” or “a-ha” moment when a student achieves understanding or makes a discovery. In these emotion-filled experiences, the reward of teaching is captured. It has been described, accurately, in this way:
“I am a teacher at heart, and there are moments in the classroom when I can hardly hold the joy. When my students and I discover unchartered territory to explore, when the pathway out of a thicket opens up before us, when our experience is illumined by the lightning-life of the mind – then teaching is the finest work I know.”
The title of this book - “Teaching Professionals” - is deliberate. On the one hand, and using the word “teaching” as an adjective, its intended audience is professional teachers - now often referred to as teaching professionals, teaching experts or teaching specialists. It is to the art of teaching for the teaching professional that this book is dedicated. On the other hand, and using the word “teaching” as a verb, its further intended audience is those teachers who teach professionals. For example, it is intended for those who teach undergraduate and postgraduate students who aspire to become professionals, but it is also for those who teach in continuous learning programmes, in compulsory professional development courses, in postgraduate training and in lifelong learning.
Besides its joy, the teaching of professionals is challenging and complex. It is well recognised that teaching is “a highly complex psychosocial drama in which the personalities of the individuals involved, the contextual setting for the educational transaction, and the prevailing political climate crucially affect the nature and form of learning.” Through the application of the CAISSEP® technique, these challenges can be identified and diminished.
As the expression is commonly understood, “professionals” have, or are learning, specialised knowledge. The teaching of professionals requires teachers to impart their expertise. In the Law context, experts who are called to give evidence in trials play a highly influential role in cases and their outcomes. It has been said that the expert must not only be learned in the field but must also be able to give meaningful explanations: he or she must be an effective communicator:
“Their function is to educate the court in the technology – they come as teachers, as makers of the mantle for the court to don. For that purpose it does not matter whether they do or do not approximate to the skilled man. What matters is how good they are at explaining things.”

It has been said that teaching is to be delivered neutrally or “value free” but this approach is disconnected from the original meaning of professional – someone who is motivated by a “profession of faith”. With a greater emphasis on emotional intelligence and its drivers, of both teachers and students, the teaching of professionals can be highly fulfilling, sustaining and empowering.
Teaching is also a creative process. For example, it has been said that legal education “does not differ in this respect from any other human endeavour that is truly creative. However, creativity takes courage - as does teaching, but with the potential for remarkable results:
“Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world. Education is the only solution. Education first.”