Teachers' adaptability

Delving into the contribution of adaptability to effective teaching

Introduction

The concept of adaptability has been regarded as one of the critical components of effective teaching since teaching is among the stressful jobs in which teachers have to deal with numerous changes including educational changes or changes in learners’ needs. To cover these changes and empower teachers to sustain their careers, the researchers make effort to increase teachers’ awareness of the concept of adaptability. This essay, grounded mainly on the work by Collie and Martin (2017), focuses on how adaptability contributes to teachers’ effective performance. In particular, the present essay encompasses four main parts:

:The content

?What is adaptability

The role of adaptability in teachers' functioning

The role of adaptability in learners' achievement

Conclusion

?What is adaptability

Due to the changeable nature of teaching which requires teachers to deal with different issues such as implementing new changes in curriculum, interactions with learners, colleagues, the principal of a school, and others, teachers face emotionally complex conditions in which they should learn how to make adjustments in these aspects. In this line, teachers’ capacity in reacting effectively to job responsibilities is of utmost importance. This matter highlights the concept of adaptability which is as defined as how people are able to adjust their thinking, behaviors, and emotions in facing changing, new, or uncertain conditions (Martin, Nejad, Colmar, & Liem, 2013).

Being able to manage adjustment to new and uncertain conditions leads to healthy and fruitful work conditions. In this line, the role of a school principal or the institute supervisor is important in enriching the workplace conditions such as providing teachers with support and trust. In this climate, teachers are expected to make a strong relationship with the school principal, find more engagement in job duties, and experience a high sense of commitment and emotional attachment to the school.

The role of adaptability in teachers’ functioning

A teacher is the most influential factor in shaping students’ efforts and motivation. Increasing teachers’ adaptability can be fruitful in a variety of perspectives: first, it prevents them from emotional exhaustion or poor performance in school which may lead to leaving the workplace. Teaching is a job full of tension and stress. Training teachers especially pre-service teachers to manage classrooms through adaptability strategies contribute to an enjoyable learning context in which learners’ achievement increases. Second, adaptability promotes the school’s quality in encountering implementing policies and changes. Teachers with a high level of adaptability can modify the new educational policies and changes better than those with a low level of adaptability. Third, as a way of empowering teachers, adaptability helps teachers have better professional positions in their schools so, they can have more participation in decision-making meetings.

The role of adaptability in learners’ achievement

Research has proved that teachers’ behavior, emotions, and actions put influence learners’ achievement and position in their learning process. A successful teacher can be a model for learners. When teachers have enough knowledge and experience in different aspects such as increasing learners’ engagement in tasks and sustaining students’ motivation in facing difficult situations, students are expected to feel responsible and motivated in achieving learning goals. As a consequence, the outcome is desirable for both teachers and learners. Achievement is a collective issue. It requires joint cooperation between learners and the teacher.

Conclusion

The present essay covered the importance of adaptability in teachers’ performance and learners’ achievement briefly. Built on previous studies, it can be stated that adaptability should be considered in teacher education programs and workshops. To do so, more investigations are necessary to find which domains of teaching in our education system need adaptability.

References

Collie, R. J., & Martin, A. J. (2017). Teachers’ sense of adaptability: Examining links with perceived autonomy support, teachers’ psychological functioning, and students’ numeracy achievement. Learning and Individual Differences, 55, 29-39.

Martin, A. J., Nejad, H. G., Colmar, S., & Liem, G. A. D. (2013). Adaptability: How students’ responses to uncertainty and novelty predict their academic and non-academic outcomes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105, 728–746.