GT Writing Task 2 / Essay Sample # 230
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
The development of technology has made teachers change their role in schools to a great extent.
In your opinion is this a positive or negative development?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
Model Answer:
As we walk through the 21st century, the advancement in technology is substantially changing the role of a teacher in school. The teacher, in the technology-based classroom, has become a mere facilitator. The question many people raise is “whether this shift from teacher to that of facilitator of learning has been a positive or negative development”. Undoubtedly this is a positive shift, in my opinion.
The use of digital learning tools changes the role of a teacher from a conventional knowledge provider to a facilitator, who can effectively monitor the students’ learning progress and involve pupils in coordinated and spontaneous learning. This, in turn, helps students explore knowledge on their own, rather than passively receive it. In fact, technology-based pedagogy places pupils in an active role, thereby keeping them engaged and interested in a technology-led world that is changing fast. Therefore, the change in the role of a teacher by technology is a positive development because it translates students into active learners, consequently preparing them for the digital future.
Likewise, the shifting role of teachers allows them to lecture less and devote more time planning and researching and then guiding learners, individually or in a group. They also teach pupils how to use digital learning devices to make discoveries on their own. In simple words, teachers help the learners interact with content through information displays, digital representations, and virtual experiments tailored to the individual learner’s level of understanding. Pupils can learn according to their needs and abilities. As a result, every student finds it easy to grasp a concept. It is beneficial for the whole teaching and learning system.
In conclusion, the advent of digital learning devices has changed the role of educators, and this is a positive development because, in this system, students can actively engage in the learning process while teachers are no longer the sole dispenser of information, but perform the role of mentor and leader, providing guidelines and resources to prepare students for the ever-changing digital world.