Teacher role as facilitator – UGC NET Question

In learner-centred approaches, teachers design environments in which students take responsibility for their own learning. The teacher provides resources, scaffolding and feedback rather than simply transmitting information. This role is captured by the term facilitator, which emphasises enabling and supporting learning processes. Thus, the stem correctly describes the teacher as a facilitator in such classrooms.

Option A:
Dictator suggests an authoritarian style in which the teacher imposes decisions without considering learners’ needs or participation. This contradicts the core philosophy of learner-centred education, which values autonomy and shared decision-making.

Option B:
Lecturer implies a teacher who mainly delivers content through extended verbal exposition, often with limited student interaction. While lectures can be part of learner-centred strategies, the overall role in such classrooms is broader than lecturing and focuses more on guiding learning activities.

Option C:
Facilitator highlights the interactive role of the teacher in organising tasks, asking probing questions and helping students construct meaning. It shifts the emphasis from teaching as telling to teaching as supporting inquiry. This matches the stem’s description of guiding active learning and is therefore the correct option.

Option D:
Examiner focuses on assessing learners' performance and assigning grades. Although assessment is important, a teacher whose primary role is examiner is not aligned with learner-centred pedagogy.