16 continuing professional development

Introduction In this unit we will be discussing ways that can help you to continue to develop as professional teachers after the ICELT course.. • To discuss ways of continuing professio

ICELT Distance Unit 16

Continuing Professional Development

Introduction

In this unit we will be discussing ways that can help you to continue to develop as professional teachers after the ICELT course We will be exploring the necessity for development and the ways in which we can help ourselves to develop professionally This unit also contains help for you with Language Task 4, Focus on the teacher’s language

In addition, the final peer observation task, which you should design yourself, is set in this unit

Aims

• To discuss the necessity of continuing professional development

• To discuss ways of continuing professional development after the ICELT Course

• To provide guidance on reading material/sources to help with professional

development

• To provide help with Language Task 4, Focus on the Teacher’s language

Essential Reading

Alan Pulverness (Editor) IATEFL 2003 Brighton Conference Selections

ƒ 5.1 Bailey, K 2004 Language teaching journals and reflective teaching

ƒ 5.2 Leshem, S 2004 Tell your story: reflective practice in teaching and

research

ƒ 5.6 Howard, A 2004 Model lessons: to teach or not to teach?

ƒ 5.9 Lovtsevich, G & Ryan, S.M 2004 A cross-cultural TESOL dictionary as a

tool for teacher development

ƒ 5.10 Hermes, L 2004 PISA and the development of reading literacy in teacher

training

ƒ 5.11 Watts, E 2004 How do you teach English when you can’t speak it? A

proposed course for teachers and trainers

ƒ 5.13 Cárdenas, M 2004 Classroom research by in-service teachers: Which

characteristics? Which concerns?

ƒ Richards, J & Renandya, W 2002 (Editors) Methodology in Language

ƒ Wajnryb, R 1992 Classroom Observation Tasks CUP

ƒ Woodward, Tessa, 2004 Ways of Working with Teachers TWP

ƒ Elt Forum Teacher Development at: http://www.eltforum.com

Why teachers need professional growth.

According to Hargreaves and Fullan (in Richards and Renandya, 2002) ‘ the teacher

is the ultimate key to educational change and school improvement.’ Every school has

a curriculum but it’s the teachers who refine and define it, who interpret it and make it accessible to the learners (Richards and Renandya, 2002) Therefore, as teachers bear a key role in the education of learners it is imperative that they give top priority to professional growth They should constantly be trying to find ways to improve their knowledge, not only of their subject matter, but also of pedagogical methodology Professional growth not only benefits us personally as teachers but also the institution

or school for which we work As Tessa Woodward says it not only helps ‘in terms of greater efficiency at work but also in a general atmosphere of interest and well-being’

(Woodward, 1992)

Pettis in Richards and Renandya, (2002) highlights three main areas:

• First, to be true professionals, teachers must constantly upgrade their knowledge and apply this new knowledge to their teaching

• Second, a teacher’s professional interests should change over time, progressing

from a new teacher’s concerns of what to teach? to being more concerned with the principles underlying various teaching techniques, i.e the how to ? or why ?

• Thirdly, that professional development requires a constant, personal and ongoing commitment

(Richards and Renandya, 2002)

1.1 How to achieve professional growth

Below are some quotes from teachers about what has helped them to develop as teachers:

Q Which book has had the most profound effect on you as a teacher?

The Craft of the Classroom by Michael Marland

When I was doing my PGCE (= the UK one year postgraduate teaching course) this slim book was on our reading list, and I skimmed through it, but didn't realise how much I could benefit from it, as I believed then that a good teacher is born, not made Fortunately for me, I went back to it during my probationary year That's when I realised that “A good teacher is a good classroom manager,” “A mastery of group management techniques frees a teacher from concerns about group control, " and the accompanying skills and techniques

I learned things about classroom management which not only helped me with my secondary school classes then, but also after that, in Nepal for example, where there were classes of 50+ pupils The book was first published in

1975, but it is so popular that it has never been out of print It has also been updated: the third edition was published in 2002 Alexandra Spencer (Former secondary school teacher in England and teacher trainer in Japan and Nepal)

"The English Verb" by Michael Lewis

I have always felt so privileged to enter other teachers' classrooms and observe them teaching and then discuss the work I have learnt so many useful techniques and approaches through observing other teachers One book that had a profound effect on me was "The English Verb" by Michael Lewis Although I certainly do not agree with everything he says, it is an extremely thought-provoking book and also very accessible John

Q What has been the most useful thing in helping you to develop?

A Asking for help from colleagues and discussing ideas

Q What advice would you give to other teachers on becoming a better teacher?

A Ask your peers for help Discussing ideas and listening to other people in the same position as you,

is the best advice you can get Experiment and really evaluate how well your experiment went

Anthony Levi

For years after my CELTA course my "teacher development" consisted of only two things: I used to teach myself the relevant grammar before trying to teach it to students, and I spent a lot of time familiarising myself with supplementary activities like games because it made my life easier in class and made me popular with students Later I made myself learn the phonemic chart because I had Chinese students who all knew it and I didn't want to look daft in front of them The problem with this kind of self-training is that you tend to avoid learning about things that don't interest you and become a

"lop-sided" teacher - I became pretty good at teaching and practising grammar and never really thought much about my teaching of listening, pronunciation or vocabulary, for instance

The most useful thing in helping me develop has been the DELTA course because it forces you to look

at all aspects of your teaching Talking to other teachers has also been a big help

My advice on how to improve as a teacher, then, would be to not avoid any area If you don't feel confident teaching pronunciation, read a book about it then start teaching some of the simpler stuff until you feel more confident Students will appreciate the change "Inside Teaching" by Bowen and Marks is

an easy to read and thought-provoking book about teaching in general, while the "How to Teach (Grammar, Pronunciation etc )" series is good for practical teaching ideas

A really good book to help find more satisfaction from your teaching is Co-operative Teaching by

Julian Edge (1992, Longman) The book is about co-operation between teachers as equals; it shows how two teachers can co-operate in order to work on one teacher’s development I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to develop as a teacher if you have understanding colleagues

Sandra

Reflection:

Task 1 - Consider the following questions and make notes about your thoughts

(adapted from Richards and Renandya, 2002)

1 As a teacher, what have you done to promote your professional competence, apart from ICELT?

2 Some teachers seem to stop developing at some stage in their career What do you think are the reasons for that?

3 In what ways has your philosophy of teaching changed over the years? Has it changed since you’ve been doing this course?

4 In what different ways can teachers achieve professional growth?

With your colleagues at work and on the ICELT forum discuss your reflections and compare your ideas

Commentary

Below is a list of possible activities, arranged in categories, that teachers can engage

in to achieve professional growth, (adapted from Woodward, 1992, Chapter 8)

How many of these had you discussed with your colleagues or do you do already? List of possible continuing professional development activities

1 Associations, meetings, committees

• Memberships of professional associations

• Attend meetings of professional associations

• Have structured discussions with colleagues

• Participate in staff development meetings

• Participate in in-house or external focus groups

2 Conferences, seminars, fairs, courses

• Production and delivery of a professional presentation or lecture

• Attend a seminar, workshop or conference

• Structured self-study – not leading to an examination/assessment

• Structured distance learning – leading/not leading to examination or

assessment

• Attend a programme and course leading/not leading to examination or

assessment

3 Publications, materials, articles, papers

• Write in-house textbooks, teaching materials etc

• Write text books, teaching materials etc for publication

• Write a book

• Evaluation of materials for an in-house project

• Review and pilot materials for a publisher

• Preparation of an article or a paper for an in-house or external professional journal

• A discussion paper or report for own department

4 Job enrichment

• Work shadow

• Visit other schools/institutions to find out about a successful innovation or just

to see how they do things

• Share jobs

• Job enrichment schemes (expanded responsibilities/tasks/roles etc.)

5 Observation, mentoring

• Be tutored by peers, be a mentee

• Tutor peers, be a mentor

• Team teach/ team work

• Be observed by tutors, mentors or colleagues and participate in a feedback session

• Observe tutors, mentors or colleagues and participate in a feedback session

• Managerial observations of own performance

• Self-observation

6 Professional enquiry projects

• Action research, classroom-based exploratory teaching projects

• Job log or journal

• Experimental and innovative planning documents and planning projects

• Analysis of sections of students’ journals

• In-depth case studies

• Evaluation schemes

It’s unlikely that we would do all of the above For example not all of us are talented

enough to write a book However, many of these things are possible and can be

extremely beneficial

Some of the above are discussed in more detail below

Associations, meetings, committees

Following are some information and links to two professional organisations that you might find useful

1 ASOCOPI (Asociacion Colombiana de Profesores de Ingles) is the only

officially established teacher association in Colombia ASOCOPI was founded

in Bucaramanga in February 1969 and officially approved by Resolution issued

by the Ministry of Education in April 1969 The Association moved its

headquarters to Bogota in 1995

Currently, ASOCOPI is affiliated to TESOL International and IATEFL, it has 210 registered members and it is governed by a Board of Directors Every year ASOCOPI organises a large national conference (around 1,500 teachers

attend) At present, ASOCOPI is based in the Centro Colombo Americano in Cali For more information on this organisation and for details of how to

become a member go to the ASOCOPI website:

http://www.geocities.com/asocopi/

2 IATEFL - International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language Founded in the UK in 1967, it now has over 3,500 members in 100

different countries throughout the world Membership is open to anyone

involved in the English Language Teaching industry and members include

teachers, lecturers, teacher trainers, academic managers, researchers and institutions For more information and details of how to join go the website:

http://www.iatefl.org/

Conferences, seminars, fairs, courses

See above ASOCOPI holds an annual national conference, details of which can be found on the ASOCOPI website

Observation, mentoring

You will have seen from doing this course how useful peer observations can be for

professional development Having a structured peer observation scheme in your

school can be of enormous benefit to teachers, provided that it is carried out in a spirit

of co-operation and mutual benefit

• Peer observation for continuing professional development

Peer observation is a tool for professional development for both the observing and the observed teacher Management remains uninvolved and uninformed about the outcome of the observation and the issues discussed The framework and objectives will vary according to the needs / wants of the teachers involved

“One way in which teachers can learn from each other is by peer observation Peer observation is intended to be supportive rather than evaluative The teacher who is being observed decides what aspect(s) of her teaching will be the focus of the observation The purpose is developmental in that the observer helps the teacher to focus attention on aspects of her classroom behaviour.”

• Why get involved?

There are many good reasons for becoming involved in peer observation – some are listed below but you can probably think of others

ƒ Get new ideas on how to teach classes you have been teaching for years

ƒ Get informal feedback on (an aspect of) your teaching

ƒ Get feedback on a new technique / method / approach you are trying out

ƒ Raise your awareness of what is happening in your classes / develop as a professional

ƒ Gives you the opportunity to offer professional and/or emotional support to other (less experienced) teachers

ƒ Gives you the opportunity to see a more experienced teacher in action

ƒ See a new level / course taught before you attempt to teach it yourself

ƒ Some less stressful preparation before a formal observation by your supervisor

ƒ Develop / hone your skills as an observer with a view to becoming involved in teacher training / teacher supervision

ƒ Fosters the development of a co-operative, supportive staffroom culture

Task

Look back over the list above and circle one or two that are relevant to or interest you Make 3 action points indicating how you would begin this form of development

• How does it work?

You arrange to observe one of your colleagues This is by mutual agreement and you may decide together whether to have a specific focus for the observation (e.g

instruction giving) or just a general overview of the lesson Most often roles would be reversed at a later date – though this is not necessary

• How can I decide on a focus for the observation?

This will depend on your reason for observing a particular lesson

Some ideas for a specific focus are listed below – this is not exhaustive Can you add others?

ƒ An aspect of classroom management

ƒ Instruction giving

ƒ Verbal / physical tics

ƒ Error management

ƒ Clarity of explanation / concept checking

ƒ Effective use of the board / OHT etc

Look at the list again – mark any that you think might be useful to you

• How do I record data?

Classroom Observation Tasks (Wajnryb, 1992) has a wealth of observation focus

areas as well as formats for recording data You can use these as they are or you may wish to adapt them

• Views on peer observation

Task

As you read the following quotes, underline or highlight:

ƒ At least two points made that you feel are particularly important

ƒ At least two points that you would like to discuss further - you can start a discussion on the

ICELT forum

“It is important to say … that observation is a skill that can be learned with practice It

is often assumed, somewhat naively, that the ability to learn through observing classrooms events is fairly intuitive In fact, … the ability to see with acuity, to select,

identify and prioritise among a myriad of co-occurring experiences is something that

can be guided, practised, learned and improved.”

“When we teach we are often so absorbed in the purpose, procedure and logistics of

our lesson that we are not able to observe processes of learning and interaction as

they occur through the lesson Being an observer in the classroom, rather than the

teacher, releases us form these concerns and affords us the freedom to look at the

lesson from a range of different perspectives outside of that of the actual lesson plan

of the teacher.”

“Developing the skill of observing serves a dual purpose: it helps teachers gain a

better understanding of their own teaching, while at the same time refines their ability

to observe, analyse and interpret, an ability which can also be used to improve their

own teaching… the development of the skills of observing is integral to the processes of professional decision-making in which teachers are constantly involved.”

“Much of what a teacher does in a language-teaching classroom is ritual behaviour

rather than principled behaviour; and I believe that the most important role of the

observer, in most if not all, observations is that of making teachers think about what

they do: of drawing their attention to the principles behind the rituals Of leading them

away form ritual behaviour towards principled behaviour.”

(peer observation) ”provides the opportunity for a non-judgmental form of feedback

that gives teachers the chance to reflect, discuss and analyse the whole or part of the

lesson with a trusted colleague or peer This process raises awareness of what they

do in the classroom, why they do it, how they do it and the consequences of those

actions The result is the development of a more principled approach to teaching

rather than one based on ritual”

9 (peer observation) … “makes teaching less of an isolated experience and more of

a co-operative and supportive one where teachers share ideas and learn from

each other in a non-threatening environment Where there is no judgmental outcome and an atmosphere of trust between participants, it is hoped that teachers

will share ideas and suggestions openly and constructively to their mutual professional benefit.’

9 “Devise a peer observation scheme based on consensus rather than decree Teachers must be comfortable with their partners and be able to input their opinions and ideas about the process and forms of feedback.”

9 “ Many teachers feel that they are told about their teaching rather than encouraged

to be involved in a process of self-development through reflection, self-awareness

and open-mindedness In this regard, Ellis says it is important to note that teaching styles and methods are subjective and so far there is no proof that one

method or style of teaching is more successful than others”

9 “Over time (through peer observation) teachers will improve and broaden their knowledge, skills and develop confidence and will be better prepared for all sorts

‰ “A ‘critical friend’ is a colleague who is … invited to observe lessons and provide

feedback The use of a friend to observe, on the face of it, should remove many of

the tensions involved in the assessment/development debate The critical friend

clearly has no formal assessment role and thus should be able to offer advice

untainted with at least the formal necessity to judge The very act of observing and

offering advice should benefit not only the one being observed but also the one

observing Being able to discuss lessons with your peers in a non-judgmental and

open forum is seen as an essential step along the road to being an autonomous

and reflective practitioner However, this idealised situation may be nothing like the

situation in reality … Unless the feedback is to become so bland as to be of no

use in moving a teacher on, the observer will need to make judgements about

what went on in a lesson These need to be expressed to the one being observed,

and any criticism will at least have the capacity, if not the actuality of causing pain The use of peers and critical friends is supposed to reduce the incidence of such

pain … Unless critical friends are aware of this problem it is unlikely that the

situation will produce the suggested gains.”

♦ “When I observed other people’s lessons … I began to notice little things: the teacher’s language, the way in which she corrected or ignored errors, the students’ participation, the kind of language practice involved, the materials, the way in which the different activities were planned to link and flow into a good lesson … and I caught myself thinking in those terms when planning and executing my lessons This gave me a new feeling of power I was beginning to see how the bits and pieces made sense I was beginning to see that it was all inside of me All that was needed was the awareness to make it all happen consciously and not

in the disorganised and haphazard manner, like before”

♦ "It is important for the well being of any unit that there is a feeling of trust and support between the members This can only be undermined by setting colleagues up in judgement of each other." (Cosh, 2003)