What you do in class

Think back to a learner you have taught recently who you can picture well. Now take five minutes to imagine you are that student writing to a friend about her / his classes and about you as the teacher. Complete the postcard below with what you feel your student might write about you. Write in capitals or disguise your handwriting, so the other students won't be able to recognise it!

Dear Sam,

Well, here I am, sitting in my English class. My teacher is … and …

but sometimes …...

S/he’s . great at…..

and I really like it when s/he...

But s/he doesn’t seem too keen on……..

And I'd like to do a bit more....

One of the best things s/he does is …….

Love from, Marco xx

Thinking about Your Learning

Consider how much you have learnt since you started teaching. You might find it helpful to consider the following categories: Language Awareness Methodology Learners & Learning Styles

How did you acquire this knowledge?

from conference or workshop attendance

from reading journals, books and articles

from formal and informal observation

conversations with colleagues

trial and error in the classroom …

The Reflective Model – Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

In this model:

learning and work are integrated, not seen as separate activities.

Development is not seen as being limited to formal teaching / training nor to the attainment of formal qualifications.

Activities to include are not limited to those relating to work.

Development of skills and knowledge are believed to enhance personal performance and career progression.

Individuals are encouraged to actively seek opportunities for gaining improved performance.

In other words, CPD is what probably happens to most people in the course of their working lives in the sense that most people would expect to learn and develop more skills as a result of activities they undertake at work.

The idea of CPD fits well with the organisational culture of most language schools. There are 3 main reasons for this:

Mobility The nature of the ELT industry is such that, during the course of their career, most teachers would expect to work for a number of different institutions, quite probably in several different countries.

Performance Language schools usually have a system of performance measurement via a series of formal observations, for example with a Director of Studies. Post-observationndiscussion is a chance to discuss, set and agree on development targets for thenshort term, and could be an opportunity to get some support and advice for future professional development.

Training Post-observation discussion often leads to training targets being set as a result of the observation e.g. Would this teacher benefit from a series of peer observations? Would it be appropriate for them to be allocated materials development time in preparation for a new course the school is going to offer? Development plans could also be discussed with Directors of Studies. Indeed, discussions with a Director of Studies would seem to be ideal in forming the basis on which to set development targets for individual teachers. The benefits are to both the teacher and the school. A sense of progression results.

Professional Development Assignment

Part A: Reflection and Action

Part B: Experimental Practice

Stage 1 – Diagnostic observation

Stage 2 – Reflection and Action 1 (1000 words)

(2 skills / systems assignments)

Stage 3 – Reflection and Action 2 (750 words)

(all internal assignments completed)

Stage 4 – Reflection and Action 3 (750 words)

Exploration into a specific lesson approach / procedure / technique which is unfamiliar

background essay

lesson (unobserved)

post-lesson evaluation

Stage 2 - Reflection and Action 1

Brief description of your teaching background (50 words)

Reflect and comment on your beliefs and practices as a teacher (200 words)

Identify and give reasons for your strengths and weaknesses (250 words)

Draw up your action plan with details of data collection methods (500 words)

Identifying key strengths and weaknesses

You can use:

previous (i.e. Pre-Delta) feedback from: institution learners colleagues

your own awareness of previous strenths and weaknesses

previous teacher training courses and in-service training

your Delta observed lessons: tutor feedback your own evaluation of the lessons the learners' performance and responses in lesson

Identifying possible reasons for these key strengths and weaknesses

You can refer to the following:

your preferred teaching styles, techniques and procedures

your beliefs about learning and teaching

a pervading view of teaching present in your context that may (or may not) be best suited to all learners within that context

the needs and teaching preferences of institutions you have worked for

over-application of 'favourite' techniques and procedures

coursebook methodologies (not) suited to specific contexts

(in)ability to adapt your methods, techniques and procedures to specific contexts

lack of knowledge in particular linguistic or methodological areas

lack of confidence in carrying out particular methods, techniques and procedures

any initial teacher training and developmental training you have experienced in your teaching career.

Action Plan – setting goals and deciding how to achieve them

As a result of... I have decided to... I will know if I have made progress...

noticing that my instructions are not always clear

ask a colleague to observe me teach, and fill in an observation sheet focussing on my use of language (see attached sheet)

by asking the colleague to come back a month later and repeat the observation sheet, to see if there is any change. This will give me more objective feedback.

a lack of pronunciation work in my lessons

feedback suggesting I speak too quickly

always running out of time in lessons

feedback saying I should get ss doing more of the work at the grammar clarification stage

Techniques for data collection

make “field notes” after every lesson – a personal record

look at the students' notebooks at the end of the lesson

talk to learners about the lesson: solicited: questionnaires, surveys, mid-course feedback – keep it simple and anonymous

unsolicited: informal comments during / after the lesson

observe another teacher teaching or a videoed lesson

tape your lesson

video your lesson

write a development log – a more formal approach to 'field notes'

get an observer to watch your lesson. Set the agenda and ask the observer to focus on something specific / objective by designing a worksheet that will give us useful, measurable data.

check your learners' homework

talk to a colleague

read a book / article

Action Plan – to set goals and decide how to achieve them

As a result of... I have decided to... I will know if I have made progress...

noticing that my instructions are not always clear

ask a colleague to observe me teach, and fill in an observation sheet focussing on my use of language (see attached sheet)

by asking the colleague to come back a month later and repeat the observation sheet, to see if there is any change. This will give me more objective feedback.

a lack of pronunciation work in my lessons

read more about drilling in Kelly's 'How to Teach Pronunciation' chat to colleagues to find out how they go about drilling watch a video of an elementary class to get ideas for techniques

by asking my learners what they think about my new approach to pronunciation via a quick questionnaire (see attached) This will tell me if they see the benefits.

feedback suggesting I speak too quickly

tape the first 15 minutes of my next lesson and listen to it to check

by taping another lesson a month later and seeing if there is any difference in the speed of my teacher talk

always running out of time in lessons

in my next lesson, only plan 40 minutes work of work to see what happens

by looking at my field notes that I will write myself after every lesson to see if there was a better pace. This is something that might take time to change

feedback saying I should get ss doing more of the work at the grammar clarification stage

read Thornbury's How to Teach Grammar, concentrating on inductive approaches and trying some of these out in class e.g. guided discovery get feedback from my learners on which sort of approach they prefer for grammar clarification (see attached observation sheet)

get a colleague to observe a grammar lesson and time TTT and STT stages (see attached observation sheet) This will be more objective feedback.

Guidelines for Writing Stage 2 of the Reflection and Action Assignment

A - Background to Stage 1 and 2

Briefly describe your teaching prior to the Delta course, and the observed but unassessed lessons you have taught so far on the course. Where were they? How long? What was the class profile?

What were the intended learning outcomes of the lesson? What was the form of the feedback and how long after the lesson did it take place? Keep this section short and factual - you do not need to

comment on the effectiveness of the lesson at this point. (A = 50 words)

B - Reflect and comment on your beliefs and practices as a teacher

Based on your reading of section 2 above, think about four defining beliefs you have about teaching. These should be a range selected from methodological beliefs (“I believe acquisition occurs best when…), strategic practices (“I like to do x, y and z over a period of lessons to help

learners because I feel…), and managerial options (“I believe in the importance of … because…”). Say why you feel these four beliefs to be the case. What have you observed in your classroom?

How has your experience informed these beliefs? (Criterion 2e) (B = 200 words)

C – Identify and comment on your strengths and weaknesses

Based on the feedback from the observed but unassessed lessons you have taught on the Delta Course and on your previous teaching, what do you feel to be your strengths and weaknesses?

You can consider planning and execution here. Try and give reasons for these (see handout from session) There is no stipulated number you should mention, but you should aim to mention at

least two strengths and four / five weak areas you would like to focus on. (Criteria 2a; 2e) (C = 250 words)

D – Draw up your Action Plan and Description of Data Collection Methods

Look back at the three weaknesses you identified in (C), above. How do you intend to improve? Remember that you need to provide concrete suggestions of approaches, methods, techniques or

materials that you could use in your teaching to help you develop and, if relevant, refer to your reading and any suggestions made by colleagues and supervisors. Describe how you plan to find out the effectiveness of the approaches, methods, techniques or materials you selected in. What are you going to do to gather data? If you decide to design an observation sheet for an observer,

include an example as an appendix. Say why you have chosen these particular aspects.The frame “As a result of …, I have decided to …, I will know if I have made progress...” is very useful (see

handout from session). (Criteria 1d;1e;1f; 2b; 2c, 2d) (E = 500 words)