Abstract
This study summarises work to date on the understanding of the various roles of the teachers in cases where teaching and learning are taking place - at least in part - in virtual environments. The aim is to answer two questions: Is the role of the teacher in e-learning situations changing as compared with traditional teaching? If so, then what are the main forms that the teacher's role is now taking? The first party of the study explains the relationship between the concepts of role - function - competence, and the terminology used.
The core of the study is what is knowns as a systematic review of works published in the years 1995MINUS SIGN 2015. A search strategy identified 49 works in English and French and 111 works in Czech.
A more detailed account of teacher roles is structured into four sections: 1. theoretically formulated roles, 2. roles formulated by qualitative research projects, 3. found by quantitative research projects, 4. roles identified by mixed research projects. Conclusions: The role of the teacher is a multidimensional concept.
In e-learning teacher roles multiply. As compared to traditional teaching, the roles of the teacher in e-learning shift to roles of the type: actor of change, creator of a positive climate of teaching, facilitator of learning, coach, advisor, and even fellow student; the dominant role of person directing the course of teaching recedes; instead the new roles of designer, developer, expert on technology and technician reacting to technical problems emerge.
We should not, however, forget the fact that many teaching roles are contextually conditioned. Most authors proceed in a way that derive from knowledge of the resulting form of teacher-student interaction in e-learning, which roles the teacher can fulfil given the limitations.