Contents introduction chapter I. The problem and its significance

1.2. Teacher's Role(pre,during,post teaching )
Problem-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered pedagogy in which students learn about a subject through the experience of solving an open-ended problem found in trigger material. The PBL process does not focus on problem solving with a defined solution, but it allows for the development of other desirable skills and attributes. This includes knowledge acquisition, enhanced group collaboration and communication. The PBL process was developed for medical education and has since been broadened in applications for other programs of learning. The process allows for learners to develop skills used for their future practice. It enhances critical appraisal, literature retrieval and encourages ongoing learning within a team environment. The PBL tutorial process often involves working in small groups of learners. Each student takes on a role within the group that may be formal or informal and the role often alternates. It is focused on the student's reflection and reasoning to construct their own learning. The Maastricht seven-jump process involves clarifying terms, defining problem(s), brainstorming, structuring and hypothesis, learning objectives, independent study and synthesis. In short, it is identifying what they already know, what they need to know, and how and where to access new information that may lead to the resolution of the problem. The role of the tutor is to facilitate learning by supporting, guiding, and monitoring the learning process. The tutor aims to build students' confidence when addressing problems, while also expanding their understanding. This process is based on constructivism. PBL represents a paradigm shift from traditional teaching and learning philosophy, which is more often lecture-based. The constructs for teaching PBL are very different from traditional classroom or lecture teaching and often require more preparation time and resources to support small group learning. The PBL process was pioneered by Barrows and Tamblyn at the medical school program at McMaster University in Hamilton in the 1960s. Traditional medical education disenchanted students, who perceived the vast amount of material presented in the first three years of medical school as having little relevance to the practice of medicine and clinically based medicine. The PBL curriculum was developed in order to stimulate learning by allowing students to see the relevance and application to future roles. It maintains a higher level of motivation towards learning, and shows the importance of responsible, professional attitudes with teamwork values. The motivation for learning drives interest because it allows for selection of problems that have real-world application. Problem-based learning has subsequently been adopted by other medical school programs adapted for undergraduate instruction, as well as K-12. The use of PBL has expanded from its initial introduction into medical school programs to include education in the areas of other health sciences, math, law, education, economics, business, social studies, and engineering. PBL includes problems that can be solved in many different ways depending on the initial identification of the problem and may have more than one solution. In 1974, Aalborg University was funded in Denmark and all the programs (engineering, natural and social sciences) were based on PBL. The UNESCO Chair in Problem-Based Learning in Engineering Education is at Aalborg University. Currently its roughly 20,000 students still follow PBL principles.
Advantages
There are advantages of PBL. It is student-focused, which allows for active learning and better understanding and retention of knowledge. It also helps to develop life skills that are applicable to many domains. It can be used to enhance content knowledge while simultaneously fostering the development of communication, problem-solving, critical thinking, collaboration, and self-directed learning skills. PBL may position students to optimally function using real-world experiences. By harnessing collective group intellect, differing perspectives may offer different perceptions and solutions to a problem. Following are the advantages and limitations of problem-based learning.
Enhance student-centred learning
In problem-based learning the students are actively involved and they like this method. It fosters active learning, and also retention and development of lifelong learning skills. It encourages self-directed learning by confronting students with problems and stimulates the development of deep learning.
Upholds lifelong learning
Problem-based learning gives emphasis to lifelong learning by developing in students the potential to determine their own goals, locate appropriate resources for learning and assume responsibility for what they need to know. It also greatly helps them better long term knowledge retention.
Prominence on comprehension not facts Problem-based learning focuses on engaging students in finding solutions to real life situations and pertinent contextualized problems. In this method discussion forums collaborative research take the place of lecturing. In-depth learning and constructivist approach PBL fosters learning by involving students with the interaction of learning materials. They relate the concept they study with everyday activities and enhance their knowledge and understanding. Students also activate their prior knowledge and build on existing conceptual knowledge frameworks.
Augments self-learning
Students themselves resolve the problems that are given to them, they take more interest and responsibility for their learning. They themselves will look for resources like research articles, journals, web materials, text books etc. for their purpose. Thus it equips them with more proficiency in seeking resources in comparison to the students of traditional learning methods.
Better understanding and adeptness
By giving more significance to the meaning, applicability and relevance to the learning materials it leads to better understanding of the subjects learnt. When students are given more challenging and significant problems are given it makes them more proficient. The real life contexts and problems makes their learning more profound, lasting and also enhance the transferability of skills and knowledge from the classroom to work. Since there is more scope for application of knowledge and skills the transferability is increased. It will be also very helpful to them not only to visualise what it will be like applying that knowledge and expertise on their field of work or profession.
Teacher’s Role The teacher‟s role in problem based learning begins with pre teaching and continuous through assessment of learners‟ performance throughout the project.
1. Pre- Teaching
A. Pre-teaching
The teacher‟s role in PBL changes from one of “all-knowing”, to one of helper or guider; the teacher must give the control to the learners and allow them to make their own path to the answer, rather than the instructor laying the path out for them (Utecht, 2003:9)
The teachers‟ first responsibility is to teach learners about the rationale for and structure of a problem based method to language learning Gentry (2000:11) states that “Teachers are the channel through which the students acquire the skills for learning not as a supplier for knowledge but as a prod for students to gain that knowledge on his or her own”.
The giving up of control is part of PBL that teachers usually struggle with the most. However, it is not only the teacher who has to change. Learners, too, have to learn to view their teacher as a guide, not the person with all the
answers. Teachers have a huge responsibility because they are the first point of contact with their learners and have a tremendous influence over the way they learn.
Learners also need to understand that their goal is to work together to solve a problem, but for the activity to benefit their language learning, they must use only English language.

2. 
   Introducing the problem and the language needed to work on it:
   
3. 
   Teacher needs to prepare learners for the language demands of the problem-solving activity; activities depend on learners‟ proficiency levels.
   

These may include pre- reading or prewriting exercises, discussions to link the problem with the learners‟ knowledge and experiences, or pre teaching vocabulary and structures that will be useful in finding solutions to the
problem. Problems should be related to the learners‟ lives to increase interest and motivation, and include a questions or set of questions that are open-ended and likely to generate diverse opinions (Saya, 2010:5).
2. During Teaching
A. Grouping learners and providing resources
Teachers should group learners carefully to increase their language learning
opportunity to have learners of different proficiency levels work together.
Teacherprovides available a variety of resources to help learners work on the given problem. Teacher ensures that learners understand how to use them and how these resources may help in finding a solution to the problem (Aydinli, 2007:3).
B. Observing and Supporting
The teacher‟s role is to observe and support when the learners are working in their groups. The learners‟ activities are about gathering information, discussing it and choosing the best solution for the problem.The teachers take notes on the language used, language problems encountered, and individual learners‟ participation in the activity. The teachers may provide linguistic or technical help to a group but avoid directing the group‟s efforts or any way controlling their activities to solve the problem (Saya, 2010:7).
3. Post Teaching
Following up and Assessing Progress Teachers provide language-appropriate opportunities for learners to share the results of their work and follow –up language activities that build on that work. Depending on the proficiency levels of the learners, sharing their results could include oral presentation or debates (with intermediate or advanced learners), completing simple questionnaires about the process (with intermediate or high beginners). Follow-up activities should be based on the teachers‟ observation and notes taken during the problem-solving process. Finally, assessment should be carried out, focusing on two primary areas. Teachers can assess learners on the basis of their participation in the activity, and the activity itself can be assessed for effectiveness (Aydinli, 2007:3).
Teacher education or teacher training refers to the policies, procedures, and provision designed to equip (prospective) teachers with the knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and skills they require to perform their tasks effectively in the classroom, school, and wider community. The professionals who engage in training the prospective teachers are called teacher educators (or, in some contexts, teacher trainers).
There is a longstanding and ongoing debate about the most appropriate term to describe these activities. The term 'teacher training' (which may give the impression that the activity involves training staff to undertake relatively routine tasks) seems to be losing ground, at least in the U.S., to 'teacher education' (with its connotation of preparing staff for a professional role as a reflective practitioner).The two major components of teacher education are in-service teacher education and pre-service teacher education.
Policy and related issues
The process by which teachers are educated is the subject of political discussion in many countries, reflecting both the value attached by societies and cultures to the preparation of young people for life, and the fact that education systems consume significant financial resources.
However, the degree of political control over Teacher Education varies. Where teacher education is entirely in the hands of universities, the state may have no direct control whatever over what or how new teachers are taught; this can lead to anomalies, such as teachers being taught using teaching methods that would be deemed inappropriate if they used the same methods in schools, or teachers being taught by persons with little or no hands-on experience of teaching in real classrooms. In other systems, teacher education may be the subject of detailed prescription (e.g. the state may specify the skills that all teachers must possess, or it may specify the content of teacher education courses).
Policy cooperation in the European Union has led to a broad description of the kinds of attributes that teachers in European Union member states should possess: the Common European Principle for Teacher Competences and Qualifications.
Continuum
Although ideally it should be conceived of, and organised as, a seamless continuum, teacher education is often divided into these stages
initial teacher training / education (a pre-service course before entering the classroom as a fully responsible teacher);
induction (the process of providing training and support during the first few years of teaching or the first year in a particular school);
teacher development or continuing professional development (an in-service process for practicing teachers).
Initial
Organization
In many countries, Initial Teacher Education (also known as preservice teacher training) takes place largely or exclusively in institutions of Higher Education. In countries like Sri Lanka there are separate institutes called National colleges of Education to provide pre-service teacher training while Teacher Training Colleges provide in-service teacher education. Further institutes called Teacher Centers provide continuing professional development for teachers. It may be organized according to two basic models.
In the 'consecutive' model, a teacher first obtains a qualification in one or more subjects (often a diploma in teaching or an undergraduate bachelor's degree), and then studies for a further period to gain an additional qualification in teaching (this may take the form of a post-baccalaureate credential or master's degree).
In the alternative 'concurrent' model, a student simultaneously studies both one or more academic subjects, and the ways of teaching that subject, leading to a combined bachelor's degree and teaching credential to qualify as a teacher of that subject.
Other pathways are also available. In some countries, it is possible for a person to receive training as a teacher by working in a school under the responsibility of an accredited experienced practitioner. In the United Kingdom there is a long tradition of partnerships between universities and schools in providing state supported teacher education. This tradition is not without tensions and controversies. Professional knowledge and competences of teacher educators Being able to educate teachers requires different knowledge and skills than those required to teach pupils or students.
Teacher educators' fields of knowledge Some recent research has highlighted the many fields of knowledge that are required by teacher educators; these include knowledge about: the pedagogy of teacher education; learning and learners; teaching and coaching; and the profession of teacher educator itself. In addition, teacher educators need to know about the specific contexts their students will work and working in (e.g. for primary, or secondary education) and the subjects they will teach. More experienced teacher educators need expertise in: curriculum development and assessment; the wider context of teacher education, the way it is organised, and in research.
Multiple identities
The complexity of the tasks of the teacher educator arises in part because, as research has shown, they have multiple professional identities. (This is linked to the issues of definition of the term, highlighted above). While some of those who carry responsibility for the education of teachers do self-identify as 'teacher educator', others may self-identify rather as 'researcher' or 'academic'; others may relate primarily to their academic discipline, such as 'chemist' or 'geographer.'
But the key duality of identity that lies at the core of the teacher educator profession is that of first-order and second order teaching. A teacher educator must be a highly competent ‘first-order educator’ (i.e. a good teacher) but also a skilled ‘second-order educator’ (i.e. capable of teaching effectively about the skill of teaching and facilitating others to acquire teaching skills). As first-order educators, they need to be proficient teachers (of 'adult' students). As second-order educators, they require, in addition, specific competences and dispositions, such as modelling and meta-reflection, that enable them to teach about teaching.
The acquisition or improvement of teacher competences requires training, through which it will be improved educational planning and assessment. This results in a better learning of students, as evidences show. It is the objective of FAMT & L Comenius project, conducted at the University of Bologna, designed with the aim of promoting the correct use of formative assessment in mathematics education for students aged from 11 to 16. Reaching this goal supposes to design training programs for teachers of mathematics, starting from identifying their needs, believes, expectations and the use of formative assessment.
Modelling
The way in which teacher educators teach has a greater impact on student teachers’ thinking about practice than what teacher educators teach. So, teacher educators need to be able to model the competences and attributes they wish their students to adopt. Swennen et al. (2008). concluded that, in order to ‘model’ what they teach, teacher educators need to develop the ability to link their own (tacit) theories and practice of teaching to public theory, i.e., in Korthagen’s words, to translate Theory with a capital ‘T’ to theory with a small ‘t’.
Meta-reflection
Just as teaching is no longer seen as simply transferring factual information, so educating teachers also requires a more sophisticated approach, based upon professional awareness that comes from reflective practice. For Loughran, being a professional teacher educator requires “genuinely reflecting on, and responding to, the needs, demands, and expectations of teaching about teaching within the academy”.
Professional standards for teacher educators In some parts of the world (notably the United States, Flanders and the Netherlands) specific standards of professional practice have been developed for, or by, teacher educators. These set out the range of competences that a member of the teacher educator profession is expected to be able to deploy, as well as the attitudes, values and behaviours that are deemed to be acceptable for membership of the profession).
Policy and legislation on the teacher educator profession While schools and school teachers are often in the news and in political debate, research shows that the teacher educator profession is largely absent from such public discussions and from policy discourse in Education which often focuses exclusively on teachers and school leaders.
Some research suggests that, while most countries have policies, and legislation, in place concerning the teaching profession, few countries have a clear policy or strategy on the teacher educator profession. Caena (2012) found that some of the consequences of this situation can include a teacher educator profession that is poorly organised, has low status or low formal recognition, has few regulations, professional standards – or even minimum qualifications, and no coherent approach to the selection, induction, or continuing professional development of Teacher Educators.
In India, the National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE) released the 'National Curricular Framework for Teacher Education, 2010 (NCFTE), which aims to remedy many of the ills of teacher training in India. It calls for preparing a 'humane and reflective practitioner' and for fostering the agency and autonomy of the teacher, who can interpret the curriculum meaningfully to the contextual needs of the learners, than merely focus on 'teaching the text book'.
Research into the teacher educator profession The teacher educator profession has also been seen as under-researched; empirical research on professional practice is also scarce.
However, the importance of the quality of this profession for the quality of teaching and learning has been underlined by international bodies including the OECD and the European Commission. Some writers have therefore identified a need for more research into "what teachers of teachers themselves need to know", and what institutional supports are needed to "meet the complex demands of preparing teachers for the 21st century". In response to this perceived need, more research projects are now focussing on the teacher educator profession. Several academic journals cover this field.