5.3. Embracing S.C.R.E.A.M! and the Evolving Leadership Roles in 21st Century VET Colleges
In colleges, there are always selfless educators who support students at all costs. Trusted by students and staff, these educators are known to make decisions based on students’ needs. Their dedication to improve students’ skills and competences and social experiences is proven by their willingness to dedicate lunches and after-school hours with students to grow their activities and programs and help them see the good in themselves. However, these educators are also likely to burn out and be taken advantage of by both the management and fellow educators.
Today’s complex environment calls for a new approach to teaching. All educators, and not only the dedicated ones, need to become facilitators that implement the roles of a visionary, architect, coach, and catalyst. You can no longer stick to your old teaching plans and use the same teaching material year after year. You need to accept that the role of the teacher has changed, and that you are sometimes expected to adapt to the role of a parent, a social worker, a coach, a mentor, and act as mediator while you teach students the skills and competences that the existing curricula states. Educators need to collaborate with assistant educators, youth workers, social workers and spend time on co-creating meaningful lessons and learning experiences in ways that require the commitment and involvement of stakeholders such as customers, employees, parents, fellow students, and the broader society. In today’s college world, everyone must win, even the student. Otherwise, they’ll simply choose to drop out and go elsewhere.
No matter what your personality or teaching style is, you can become a more effective classroom leader by becoming aware of the baggage you carry as teacher and how this baggage might prevent you from implementing the new leadership roles described below.
Educator as the Visionary
As visionaries, educators shape the purpose and vision of why students are studying and what the benefits from graduating from VET are. They help portray the students’ purpose and visions by observing and listening to not only the students but also to people throughout the system (e.g. parents, other relatives, community, friends, etc), offering ideas for consideration, and integrating others’ perspectives with their own original thinking. As visionaries, educators are leaders who work in teams to empower students and help make their (learning) progress into measurable outcomes that help them succeed in their studies and in life.
Educator as the Architect
With clarity on what is to be accomplished, educators act as architects. Rather than developing plans and curricula by themselves, they involve others in the college to create and open an empowered system that facilitates learning and skills development. To be able to do this, educators must let go of limiting assumptions and beliefs to allow new forms of pedagogy and learning to emerge.
Educator as the Coach
As people are empowered to achieve organizational goals, they need to develop greater business acumen, learn to think more strategically, and deepen their ability to collaborate. Capability building of mindsets, knowledge and skills becomes important areas that educatorss need to address in their pedagogies. This can be done by encouraging a wide range of formal and informal learning initiatives and evolving a culture of learning throughout the organization. Educators need to create environments where it is comfortable to experiment, where people feel equally good about discussing what went well and what they could have done better. They need to increase the interaction between themselves and students by acting more like coaches than traditional educatorss. One way to implement a coaching attitude is by asking more questions than prescribing solutions and seeking multiple perspectives to expand the solution space.
Educators as the Catalysts
As catalysts, educators help to unleash energy throughout the system. They can do this in four primary ways: 1) remove roadblocks that prevent teams from bringing ideas to reality; 2) foster connections across the organization; 3) help students connect what they’re working on to their future career plans and aspirations; and 4) encourage an inclusive and welcoming environment of wholeness and togetherness, where students can bring their authentic selves to the classroom, work in energizing and sustainable ways, and pursue the full range of their personal and professional aspirations.
An educator that embraces these four new teaching roles will find effective ways for students to reach their learning goals and prepare them for life after college. However, it is not enough with the above-mentioned leadership roles. Educators also need to develop and implement skills that allows them to help students to drop baggage that prevents them from learning and progressing. Educators of the future need to be proactive, adaptable, communicative, respectful, enthusiastic, open-minded, appreciative, approachable, organized and encouraging while remaining humble and confident. As an educator and a facilitator of learning they need to trust their students and give them some learning responsibilities in the classroom. This will help students gain teamworking skills and allows them to take more ownership of their own education.
You have now reached the end of the S.C.R.E.A.M! manual. To sum up, we, the authors of this manual, believe that focusing on those six words, Strength, Collaboration, Respect, Self-Evaluate, Achieve, Motivate, that form the core behind the S.C.R.E.A.M! methodology will, with the support of educators, help students recognize their skills, hidden strengths, and abilities. Together, we can create a transformative educational experience that prepares students for success in VET and beyond!