If there is one fundamental about successful teaching that all teachers must adhere to is this simple maxim, “There is no teaching if there is no learning.” This maxim shows that teaching and learning are simply two sides of the same coin and one cannot exist without the other.

If only teachers remember this simple yet powerful maxim, no teacher will simply rush through lessons with the goal of “covering” the syllabus for the academic year. The maxim means that the teacher must always pause to check if the learning that the teacher hopes to have taken place among the students, has actually taken place.  It means that the teacher would be making continuous assessment of the learning that is taking place. The teacher does not even wait till the end of the lesson  to check for learning. Assessment is done as regularly as the teacher’s heartbeat during the lesson. At every stage of the lesson the teaches assess if the students are still “with” the lesson and does not proceed any further until what needs to be learned first, is learned. This may seem commonsensical but alas in the factory-like assembly line system that most schools adopt, common sense is often sacrificed for speed and administrative efficiency.

The maxim also calls for teachers to take even greater care in the preparation of their lessons. They would have to be clear about the objectives that they have set out for the lesson because the assessment of the learning that has taken place is dependent on these objectives. Key to the planning of the lessons would be knowing where the assessment of the learning is to be done and also the awareness of how the assessment is to be done.

In the planning of the lesson, the teacher also takes into account the prior knowledge that the student has, to make the learning a naturally smooth process rather than an intellectually and emotionally jarring experience. The teacher would ensure that the learning is constructed and properly scaffolded so the transition from one learning stage to another is not only smooth but also naturally progressive cognitively.

In the planning also, all learning and teaching aids used must also be geared towards making learning as easy as possible. These teaching aids may be traditional ones or more modern ones like the use of ICT tools. Teaching aids, including all teaching technologies, are never to be used for their own sake. They are to be used only if it helps in a smooth learning process.

In the effort to ensure a smooth progression of the lesson, the teacher must also anticipate potential problems that students are likely to face during the course of the lesson. This may include problems with understanding concepts or confusion in the mental operation of routine tasks or skills. This will make the teaching and learning experience a more pleasant intellectually and be an even emotionally stimulating one for both teachers and students.

The goal in every classroom is for the learning experience to be as intellectually and emotionally liberating as possible. By upholding the maxim, “There is no teaching if there is no learning,” teachers will avoid the common pitfalls of poor teaching. Most of all, students will know that their teachers really care about their learning and the former will make that extra effort to be successful in their learning.

When I read or watch the Harry Potter series of books and movies, I am always drawn to the relationship between Harry and Snape, who used to be his Potions teacher. The snarling Snape never made Harry feel welcome, in fact he was always intimidating and even hostile towards Harry. Harry, never liked Snape and Potions as a result and unsurprisingly, never quite did well in the subject.

Similarly, when many schools try to integrate ICT into the school curriculum, they often face their own version of Snape in the classrooms, and their plans to integrate ICT into the lessons seem to flounder or even sink. This is because they usually find that ICT integration has not taken place as they had wished despite, and perhaps, especially after they have invested so much in ICT hardware. Very often they end up in such a situation because little attention is paid to the true gatekeepers of ICT integration; the teachers.

Teachers are truly the kings and queens of the classroom. They are the ones who can turn the atmospheric barometer in their classes from one that is welcoming and safe to one that is intimidating and unwelcoming. They can be the Snape of ICT integration too or they can help weave their magic to make ICT integration successful. Like Harry Potter, ICT integration, despite its enormous potential, will not have much of a chance of success in Snape’s classroom. It is a well-known fact that successful ICT integration is dependent very much on the ones in charge of the classrooms. For example, according to Roblyer (1993) a teacher’s vision of the use of technology to improve the existing classroom practices will determine the extent and effectiveness of ICT integration in the classroom. Martin (2000) pointed out that developments of useful educational ICT projects will be impaired without the input and acceptance of teachers.

Teachers also are important for the success of any ICT integration program in schools because they represent the most important source of information about the design of lessons and what is to be taught. This implies that a lot more thought must be given to win over and convince the teacher population of any school going towards ICT integration. Teachers must be convinced about the viability of using ICT in their work. The adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is something that many teachers believe in. If they have been happy teaching the same way for many years and getting the results that they seek, it is going to be very difficult to convince them to add the ICT dimension to their teaching practice. This perhaps, is even more true if at the end of the day the teachers know that their students are only going to sit for high stakes written examinations where the students can still do well by teaching them through the usual tried-and-tested methods that does not require use of ICT.

Furthermore, teachers are a group of people who have seen so many new trends and ideas introduced into their professional arena. They have seen these come hurriedly and be forgotten and dumped, just as speedily. Many have taken to a “wait-and-see” approach to most new ideas introduced into teaching. Many of them also see these trends and ideas as things pushed by people who have little knowledge about teaching. These explains their scepticism to change.

This is not to say that teachers are a very negative group of people. Teachers, like most other workers, need to be convinced that new ideas introduced will really benefit them at the work place; their classrooms. Plans for ICT integration will only flounder if this most important group of people are not persuaded and won over to the cause. They can be the Snapes to ICT integration if school administrators do not tread carefully.