From CELTA to Mentor

Dave Fox

EA Conference 2018

Ask your partner:

• How equipped do you feel to deliver training to teachers?

• What training have you had to prepare yourself for training/mentoring teachers?

• Why is it important to have training on being a trainer/mentor?

Who am I?

Why Listen to Dave?

• Teacher

• CELTA Tutor

• Local DELTA Tutor

• Academic Manager

• Director of Studies

• Principal

• Centre manager of 7 teacher training centres in 4 countries

Key Elements in designing training programs:

• Understanding your training class

• Designing and delivering training sessions

• Observing teachers

• Managing feedback

Understanding your training class – teachers vs students

• Are the following statements true or false?

• I need to have the same knowledge about learning when I teach students and when I train teachers.

• The skills I need to plan a lesson for students are quite similar to those I need to plan a training session for teachers.

• I should avoid using language games when training teachers.

• If I do an activity with teachers in class they may learn different things from it.

• As a teacher I mainly need to know what works in class. As a trainer I need to know what works and be able to explain why to teachers.

Similarities Differences

Trainers need to:

• know the development

needs of the trainees

• be aware of trainee

beliefs and motivations

• build on what

participants know and

construct learning

activities to help them

develop

• assess stages of

development

• The nature of the

concepts involved in

training

• The nature of ‘teaching

skill’ development

• Planning for teacher

change

• People and change

management skills

• Trainer resources

Designing and delivering training sessions • What is important to remember when designing and

delivering individual training sessions? • What will the topic be?

• Theory to practice or practice to theory?

• What type(s) of input will you use?

• What kinds of tasks will you use?

• Will you use a session plan template?

• Will you have an evaluation checklist to make sure you cover everything?

• How will you know if the training is successful?

Reasons for observing

Observing teachers

What’s the point?

What’s the point?

Observing teachers

• Training

• Best Practice

• Development

• Observee uses observer

• Assessment

• Course or appraisal

• Research

• Researcher is the main learner

Focus dictates feedback

Malderez (2003)

Key principles of

feedback

Managing feedback

Key Principles

• See

• Notice

• Imagine

Key Principles

• See

• I see that you’re wearing a red shirt

• Notice

• I notice that you’re left-handed

• Imagine

• I imagine that you’re missing your family while you’re away

Key Elements in designing training programs:

• Understanding your training class

• Designing and delivering training sessions

• Observing teachers

• Managing feedback

Other considerations

• Is the training intensive (held in a short period of time) or drip-feed (a little and often)

• Is the syllabus open or closed?

• Is the content linked and coherent or a series of one-off/standalone sessions?

• Is the content focused mainly on process, product or both?

• Has the training been designed to meet the specific needs of a group or to meet more general needs?

• Is the content mostly covered in breadth or depth?

Questions?