the developing teacher - practical activities for professional development

7/25/2019 The Developing Teacher - Practical Activities for Professional Development

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DTDS The Developing

Teacher Prac t i ca l ac t iv i t i e s fo r p rofess iona l dev e lop m ent

D E L T A T E A C H E R D E V E L O P M E N T S E R I E S



From the author

I’ve been wa lking in the field o f English Language Teachingfor more than 20 years now.

My first job was teaching mixed-nationality groups in alanguage school in central London. I d on’t think I had m uchidea what I was doing or where I was going. I offered a por k

pie to a Muslim stu de nt in a class on food vocabulary, and put my han d throug h a pape r wall in a Japanese res tau rantwhere I had been invited to join my students for supper.But it wasn’t all bad. I dressed up as one of Cinderella’s uglysisters in a C hristmas pantom ime, an d tha t seemed to godown well, especially when one of my balloons bu rst.

Later, things got a little more serious. I studied for an RSADipTEFLA, a practical advanced qualification for languageteachers (now known as the DELTA) and later d id a Mastersin ELT, continued teaching, worked as a director of studies,

trained teachers, and opene d a language and teacher-trainingschool in Barcelona, where I am now. I train teachers andrun the business. I also work as a moderator for TrinityCollege Lond on CertTESOL courses, and write. Perhaps it’sabout time I did another pantomime?

Th at’s my story, then .

ELT is very diverse and I’ve met lots of teachers, at differentstages in the ir teaching careers, with different stories.Eduardo, Elena and Jack are made-up examples whorepresent differing personalities and differing attitudes tothe profession, but all three o f them would benefit from a

though tful analysis of their curr ent work situation a nd acommitment to their further development.

Eduardo has had a stable job for the last ten years, workingfor a good institution. He doesn’t want to risk losing it. Heis required to atten d in-hou se workshops regularly, someof which he finds useful. He engages with colleagues indiscussions about school policy on areas such as assessmentand the syllabus. He considers himself a reflective teacher,and is quite critical of his own teaching. He cares a lot abouthis studen ts and job satisfaction, and occasionally suffersfrom stress.

Elena has just completed her first term as a teacher ofEnglish at her local state school in Slovenia. She teachessecondary-age children. The first year is proving to be tough,

but she is enjoying it and gaining confidence. It can bedifficult to get the studen ts to speak English in class and she

feels the syllabus is a bit of a constra int, with its emphasis ongrammar, bu t she is excited about next year and trying outsome new ideas she has. A scholarship is available to atten d ashor t teacher-development course in the summer, and she is

wondering whether to apply.

Jack has taught in six different countries for periodsranging from three mo nths to two years. He has worked withall age groups and ta ugh t business English to adults. He likesto take on new challenges and believes he learns throughexperience. He focuses on earning enough to finance histravels. He becomes friends with some of his students, butdoesn’t spend too much time thinking abo ut his classes orhis students’ learning. He gets on well with his colleagues

but tends to be a profes sional lon er an d rarely part icipates indevelopm ental activities.

When I look back over the years, I think there’s something ofme in all three o f these teachers.

I wanted to write a boo k for teachers with 30 days’ experienceand 30 years’ experience: for teachers as diverse in theirsituations and attitudes as Eduardo, Elena and Jack.

The Developing Teacher is a book, but it is a bo ok o f ‘activity’,so the m ain aim isn’t reading, it is doing. Doing things onyour own, with your students, with you r colleagues andwith your school; things which are interesting and fun, andwhich help you to unde rstand yo ur teaching better. In otherwords, multiple activities that have an impact on you and

the people who w ork with you.

Another reason I wrote this book was for my owndevelopment. The process of writing things do wn, shapingand organising my ideas, and getting feedback from colleaguesand editors, has helped me learn m ore a bout myself, aboutwriting, about teaching and about teacher development.

So let’s keep walking. Developing. We’re all bound to getsomewhere. Step by step.

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ContentsFrom the auth or Page

CSSHMN Page

Bibliography Page

Page

You - The first circle Page

Thinking about development RISE and shine PageThe hunter and the hunted PageD-I-Y development Page

Organizing yourself First things first PageEight days a week PageBe my coach Page

Getting to know yourself Why I am a teacher PageMy favourite teacher PageThe Magnificent Seven PageWh at colour teacher are you? PageThe Johari Window Page

Looking at yourself Tea and two biscuits PageMirror, mirror PageGo with the flow PageThe icing on the cake PageVoda ne perliva prozim Page

You and your stud ents - The second circle Page

Your students’ needs Dear teacher ... PageMan overboard! PageHow can we help each other? Page

Needs fro m the h eart Page

Getting feedback Three against one PageFace down, face up PagePain and gain PageFour fast feedback formats PageLearning from young learners Page

Trying something new Together or alone? PageTo pre-teach ... or not? PageCorrection traffic lights PageInteractive interrup ting PageA VAK experiment PageThe black book PageReady, steady, record! PageTeaching back to front PageTeaching inside out PageTeaching in reverse PageTeaching upside down Page

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18

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242526

2727282930

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36

38383940

4141424344

4545464647474849505051

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You and your colleagues - The third circle Page 52

In the classroom Be my guestBe my studentBe my judgeAll change!Dream teamScary Movie

Page 54Page 54Page 55Page 56Page 56Page 57

In the staffroom Sharing boardBook clubTry before you buyFly on the wallThe name is bondVirtual staffroom

Page 57Page 58Page 58Page 59Page 59Page 60

In and out Standing in the shadowMentor for a month

Page 60Page 61

You and your school - The fourth circle Page 62

Approaching change Leading and managingCircles o f influenceA good schoolCoffee stainsSMARTER p lanningMeetings, meetingsMeetings, what meetings?

Page 64Page 65Page 66Page 67Page 67Page 68Page 68

Approaching colleagues Six ways of talkingPlace, Manner, TimeThe lion’s mou thThe horse’s mou th

Page 69Page 70Page 71Page 71

You and you r profession • - The fif th circ le Page 72

A qualified teacher RISE upCourse, wha t course?

Page 74Page 75

A professional teacher BEN HURConference reporterJoin the CoPs

Page 76Page 77Page 77

Salami writerWriting your voiceTrial without er rorHidden treasure

Page 78Page 79Page 80Page 80

A developing teacher Back to the futureDecisions, decisions!

Page 81Page 82

IS Q I^ H IIiiiH ;? Page 83

A teacher diaryA teaching portfolioA teacher development scheme

Page 84Page 87Page 92

From the editorsFrom the publisher

Page 95Page 96

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A lic e Wou ld you tell me, please, which way 1ough t to go from here?

Cheshire Cat That depends a good deal on where you wa nt to get to.

A lic e 1don’t much care where ...

Cheshire Cat Then it doesn’t m atter which way you go.

A li ce ... so long as 1get somewhere.

Cheshire Cat Oh, yo u’re sure to d o that, if you only walk long enough.

A lice ’s Adv en tures in Wo nderland, Lewis Carroll

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Teachers are all developing, th e question is how.

All the authors and experts quoted in The Developing Teacher are referenced in the Bibliography on page 18.

The developing teacher It isn’t the same th ing having ten years’ experience as having on e year’s experience repeated

ten times.

This assertion, which is usually received with nods of agreement in discussions about teacherdevelopment, has two im plications. Firstly, that de velopm ent isn’t possible witho ut explicitand conscious changes in routine and activity. Secondly, that there are some teachers who dothis and some who do n’t - they just repeat trie d and tested rou tines year after year. In reality,teacher development is more complex and subtle. Development can happ en natura lly as aresult of teachers going ab out the ir everyday business, and the dichotomy of developing andnon-d evelop ing teachers is no t helpful. We are all developing, the question is how.

If we reflect on where we actually want to go, as op pose d to simply ‘getting som ewhere’,like Alice, and if we consid er the action we can take to get there, we mig ht find ourselvesenjoying the sensation of walking quickly and confidently up an escalator, rather tha n

laboriously up the stairs.

Let us begin to examine the n ature o f development by looking at some definitions of theword itself. Here are three defin itions o f ‘deve lopme nt’ from the Collins Cobuild Dictionar y :

• The gradual growth or formation of something.• The process or result of making a basic design gradually better and more

advanced.• An event or incident which has recently happen ed a nd is likely to have an effect

on the present situation.

We should also bear in min d that ‘develop’ can be used as an intransitive o r transitive verb: itcan happen or it can be made to happen.

• ‘I am developing.’• ‘I am developing myself.’• ‘I am developing a new approach to teaching pronunciation.’• ‘What can I do to develop my teachers?’

Let us begin, then, by addressing ou r three definitions. All three are relevant to anunder standing o f how development works and how the term is used in English LanguageTeaching.

‘ Th e g r a d u a l g r o w t h o r f o r m a t i o n o f s o m e t h i n g ’In this definition, development is seen intransitively as something that happens over time:‘I am developing’. Teachers themselves na turally grow a nd develop as they gain experience

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Development is something gradual and inevitable.

The distinction between training and development

is blurred.

Reactions to developments will shape your development.

teaching. As Alison Perkins says: ‘I f we are doing something we enjoy, then Continuous Professional Development is a natural component of our daily work life. It is an attitude .’

Development is, therefore, something gradual and inevitable. Your growth may beinfluenced by your own conscious efforts, those o f the school where you work, or it mayhap pen naturally, so to speak, as a result of doing yo ur job as a teacher. You can make thingshappe n an d you can react to things which hap pen to you at work. Events and circumstancessuch as a change o f job, a new gove rnme nt policy, you r staffroom colleagues or having a

baby will shape the way yo u change as a teacher, as well as the decis ions you make ab ou t how

to teach your students better, what courses to attend an d what books to read.

‘ Th e p r o c e s s o r r e s u l t o f m a k in g a b a s ic d e s i g n g r a d u a ll y b e t t e r a n d m o r e a d v a n c e d ’In this second d efinition, ‘develop’ is used transitively: ‘I can develop myself or I can developsomeone else’. There is a conscious effo rt to improv e some thing. Deve lopment, o r ‘making

be tte r’, can refer to efforts b y indiv idual teachers to improve themselves o r by schoolsand institutions to p rom ote teacher improvement. Training organisations offer ‘teacherdevelopment courses’ and schoo ls often talk of their ‘teacher dev elopment pro gram mes ’.Julian Edge (2002) has said: ‘Training is wha t other people do to you. Development is wha t youdo to yourself’

In ELT, however, the distinction is not always clear. Training courses and efforts byinstitutions to improve teaching often take a form which we might call ‘supervised selfdevelopment’. Edge himse lf has also talked o f ‘cooperative de velop men t’ to desc ribe theway teachers can help each other to develop: ‘I need someone to work with, but I don’t need someone who wants to change me and make me more like the way they think I ought to he. I need someone who will help me see my self clearly.’ (1992)

‘ An e v e n t o r i n c i d e n t w h i c h h a s r e c e n t l y h a p p e n e d a n d i s li k e ly t o h a v ea n ef f e c t o n t h e p r e s e n t s i t u a t i o n ’In this definition, ‘development’ is a noun and refers to something th at happens, rather tha nsomething you choose. Here are some examples of possible developments at your work:

• Janet has decided to leave her post. Would you like to apply?

• We are installing interactive whiteboards in all the classrooms.• Mish ka’s parents would like to speak to you a bout her progress. They aren’t happy.

‘Deve lopment’ can also be a countable or unco unta ble no un. The above are examples ofdevelopments (countable); things which happen that affect your work. Your reactions tothese developments will shape yo ur development. Will you a pply for the ne w job? How willyou use the new techn ology available? What will the p arents say to you an d how will thataffect you (and yo ur student)?

We have looked at three definitions of development and applied them to ELT. Theconclusion would seem to be that you can change or develop in three ways:

• You change withou t noticing you have changed.• You change by making things happen.• You change as a result of things that happe n to you.

Developm ental ‘activity’, therefore , would aspire to captur e all three o f these dimensions ,through multiple ‘activities’ that help you reflect on what has happened, that make newthings happen and tha t help you react to change arou nd you, as it happens.

But what kind of developme nt are we talking about? The terms ‘professional development’and ‘teacher development’ are often used interchangeably Teacher development in some casesmight refer to becoming better at what we do in the classroom. Professional develo pment can refer to how we develop our career in teaching in the broade st sense, incorporatingambitions for promotion or recognition. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) isa term often used to describe structured schemes for development. The IATEFL Special

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Dealing with all the challenges at wo rk can be development in itself.

A d o-i t-y ou rs elf approach

Interest Group (SIG) is for Teacher Development.

Clandfield and Kerr and Perkins have pointed o ut the problematic n ature o f the terms profession and professional in the context o f teaching in general an d ELT in particular. Givenits diversity, can ELT be consider ed a profession? A career state school teacher in Sloveniaand a young American TEFL teache r ‘travelling and e xperiencing ne w cultures fo r a fewyears’ may no t have a great deal in com mon in terms of how they qualified, the type ofteaching they do or the organisations to whom they are answerable.

Why do we need teacher development?Whe ther you consider yourself as par t of a profession or n ot m ay influence the choices youmake abo ut your development, but the basic desire to ‘do the best you can’ for yourself andyou r students is shared by all teachers.

However, some teachers do have reservations abo ut teac her de velopmen t. Here is what ‘Sam’,a colleague, had to say:

‘I spend so much time jus t keeping up tha t I haven’t developed as a teacher as I otherwise might have. You work so hard ju st to stay afloat, tha t attending workshops and development

programmes or reading books is the last thin g on you r m ind when you have free time. You wan t to get away from work ... not do more!'

We can sym pathise with Sam. Perhaps he’s right. Dealing with all the challenges in a day’swork is enough development for anyone. Prioritising your personal life can lead to you beinga more rou nded , happy person a nd a more interesting and positive presence and m odel foryou r students. Sam’s weekend windsurfing is more likely to interest his teenage students thana Saturday workshop o n interactive listening. Susan Barduhn has said that feel ing good about

yourself is yo ur top professional responsibility’.

On the other hand , the workshop could help Sam and his students to get the mo st out o f hiswindsurfing anecdotes in class. Becoming a better teacher and enjoying life are not mutuallyexclusive, but there’s a lot to fit in!

Sam could have covered the developmental groun d o f that Saturday workshop by thinkingabou t his own teaching carefully during the week. He may have been puzzled or d isappointedwith his stu dents ’ reactions to listening activities in class and, having jotted down some ideason the bus home, decided to try something new.

Ou r question, then, can be better ph rased. Rather tha n ask ‘Why do we need teacherdevelopment?’, let us assume tha t dev elopment is a given. If our definition takes in all threeinterpretations of development, as discussed, everyone will sign up for it, including Sam.Instead, then, we can fra me the que stion like this: ‘W hat are the different ways to develop?’

To address this, we need to lo ok at how teachers learn, bu t before doin g so, we can usefullyexamine anothe r ques tion frequently asked abou t teacher development.

Who is responsible for teacher development?If deve lopment is ‘some thing you do to your self’, as Julian Edge suggests, then it makes senseto place respon sibility with teachers themselves. Here are five reasons for taking th e ‘Do ityou rself’ approach:

• It favours ‘botto m- up ’ approaches to learning. If teachers take charge of theirdevelopment, either individually o r collectively, it is likely to reflect their ownneeds and interests.

• If teachers initiate their dev elopmental activity themselves, they are likely to feelmore ownership o f the process and follow throug h with it.

• Many teachers are freelance workers. They are no t associated with a school, orwork at more tha n on e school.

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Support from

your school

Four areas to develop and seven ways to learn

• Teachers nowadays are likely to change schools more freq uently in their careerthan in th e past. As a teacher, you will increasingly be defined by who yo u are, notwho you work for. Your career will include close and important connections withorganisations, but its defining thread is you and what you have done.

• Some schools do very little, if anything, to promo te teacher development, or whenthey do make efforts, they may not be appropriate. Teachers will need to takecharge, if they want to make sure they move forward.

This is not to say that schools, universities an d training companies can not make an

important contribution. In fact, they would be wise to do so, for three reasons:• Facilitating deve lopm ent successfully will improve the effectiveness of their teachers.• Good teachers will be attra cted to the school, if they see it as a good place to

develop, and this will in turn reduce staff turnover.• If schools acknowledge and foregrou nd their teachers as learners, then they

will be modelling a learning culture to their students, which is likely to impact pos itively o n their att itu de to learning.

Here are th e tho ugh ts o f a colleague, ‘Petra’:

‘With out support, I find teachers tend to respect the job less and may leave the field altogether. They m ay not realize the importance or need to furthe r their development w ithout the active involvement and encouragement of the institution. Additionally, many teachers lack the

resources to fur ther their development independently. M y own development has been largely due to the schools that supported me most in taking furth er steps forward.’

As a teacher, it can be unrealistic to depe nd o n the organisation you work for to helpyour development. And it is also feasible to develop as a teacher in the most unpromisingenvironments. In fact, sometimes, the more unp romising the env ironment the mo re robustthe development! It is certainly not useful to shelve or com promise you r own growth bywaiting, making excuses o r blam ing others.

Let us suggest, therefore, th at a n effective approach is to start with developmental activityyou can do yourself and then gradually expand your circle to include your students, yourcolleagues, your school and your profession. Bringing about change in institutions is yourultimate and most challenging act of development.

How do teachers develop?According to Freeman’s descriptive model o f the com ponents of teaching there are fourareas teachers can develop:

• Skills - You learn to d o som ething, for e xample to give instructions m ore clearly.• Knowledge - You learn abou t something, for example how the sou nds o f English

are produced.• Awareness - You learn h ow to use your eyes and ears better to find o ut what

happens wh en you teach.• At titu de - You learn a bout you r assum ptions ab out teaching, learning, yourself,

your learners, your culture.

Your own development as a teacher is about how you grow an d change in all of these fourareas. So let us look at seven differen t ways this m ight occur.

T h e b l a n k s l a t e o r d e f i c i t m o d e l‘ Never having taught before, I am amazed a t how much was covered in just one month.’ (Andrea)

Early models of teacher learning originating in the 60s and 70s were, not surprisingly,influenced by the behaviourist learning theories of the time. Becoming a teacher involvedstarting from scratch, a blank slate, and being train ed in the approp riate skills andknowledge by experts.

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Learning from instructions

Learning from research

Learning from ideas

Learningintuitively

To some extent, the idea still prevails in initial training courses, like the CELTA orTrinity CertTESOL courses, as referred to above by Andrea, a new ly-qualified teacher, oncompleting her four-week initial training course. A teacher trainer once said, back in themid-eighties, that the younger the trainees, ie the blanker the slate, the better teachersthey made. Older trainees were more difficult to train because they came with baggage,experience and ideas which had to be erased.

Teacher learning was identified with further training, formal attempts to improve skills andinstil better hab its in teachers. This has also been referred to as a ‘deficit mode l’. The teache r

is seen as in some way lacking in relation to an ideal. Non-native teachers ha d a languagedeficit compa red to natives, beginne r teachers were deficient in terms of language awarenessand appr opriate metho ds an d techniques compared to experienced teachers.

The prob lem with the blank slate or deficit mod el is neatly summ arised by Marland:

‘The explanations given by teachers for what they do are typically not derived from what they were taught in teacher education programs . .. Rather, the classroom actions o f teachers are guided by internal frames of reference which are deeply rooted in personal experiences, especiallyin-school ones, and are based on interpreta tions o f those experiences’

T h e s c i e n c e m o d e l‘I enjoy knowing more and more about the world o f TEFL and the English language and being

able to employ this knowledge in the classroom.’ (Carla)

Zaho rik suggests three con ceptions of how teaching is learnt: science-research, theory- ph ilosophy and art-craf t.

The science-research model says that teachers learn by following methods that researchhas proved or suggested is effective. The Audio-Lingual Appro ach o r Neuro-L inguisticProg ramm ing (NLP) m ight fall into this category. If you are a teacher who learns in this way,you are likely to take an in terest in pub lished research and studies, or at least note referenceto them in more general books on methodology. You will seek evidence beyond your ownexperience and intuition to help you decide what is best in the classroom. For example, youread that several studies have shown that the third person ‘s’ tends to be acquired late bysecond language learners, so you decide to stop correcting your students when they make

mistakes such as ‘my sister go . . . ’.

T h e t h e o r y -p h i l o s o p h y m o d e l‘Taking the Trinity Diplom a in TESOL also contributed greatly to my teacher development. I

fe lt th at I had reached a stage in m y career where I needed to have a greater understanding of the ideas and theory behind EEL and a chance to p u t these ideas into practice.’ (Jane)

The theory- philosophy conception says that teachers are guided by what sh ould or oughtto work, in other words by moral or political values. Communicative and humanisticapproaches would fall into this category. The idea that languages are best learn ed if thelearning is student-centred, with the teacher as a facilitator, has developed han d-in-h andwith trends towards individual choice and rejections o f authoritarian political models in

the late 20th centu ry western d emocracies. If you are a teacher who learn s this way, you arelikely to fit your teaching to ideas and principles rather than hard facts and will take less noteof the results of studies th an of ideas. You prefer approaches to methods.

T h e a r t - c r a f t m o d e l‘Time in the classroom. Tim e with the students you teach. Building a rapport and understanding. Experience develops you. Wh at works and what doesn’t, and m ost importantly, wha t works w ith who. Know your audience!’ (Magda)

The art-craft model emphasises that teaching is invention and personalisation. The metaphorsuggests that teachers ‘acquire a personal repertoire o f specialised skills and techniques and tha t these may be unique to each teacher and hence in some sense unpredictable’ (Richards). It

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Learning fro m analysing your own teaching

Learning as an adult

also implies that learning m ight take place throu gh observation an d co ntact with a ‘mastercraftsman’, or mentor, r ather than formal training. I f you are an art-craft teacher, you willconcentrate o n developing your experience and know-how. You like to improvise and acceptan element o f mystery in learning an d teaching. You make decisions based on intuition,what seems to work rather than what should work o r what is proved to work.

R e f l ec t i v e t e a c h i n g‘As often as not, some great new idea quite thoroughly bombs in the classroom for whatever reason. It is imp orta nt to me to use this as crucial evidence of my development. I need to reflect and ask: Why didn’t it work? What could I do differently next time? Would this work better with a different group?’ (Simon)

Cruickshank and Applegate define reflective teaching as ‘the teacher thinking about what happens in classroom lessons and think ing ab out alterna tive means o f achieving goals or aims’. (cited in Bartlett)

Bartlett himse lf widens the definition to include a social dimension: ‘Becoming a reflective teacher is intend ed to allow us to develop ourselves ind ivid ually and collectively, to deal with contemporary events and structures and not to take these structures fo r granted ’. (Bartlett)

Dona ld Schon distinguishes between reflection-on-action and reflection-in-action. Theform er refers to critical analysis by teachers before and after teaching, the latter to the

reflections teachers make while teaching.You can reflect alone o r with a colleague abou t your teaching. Reflection can be briefthough ts an d discussion or a long-term activity, such as keeping a teaching journalor collating reflections over a period of time. Long-term reflection on action can alsoincorpo rate reading an d a ttention to theory. The reflective model o f how teachers learnemphasises learning using classroom teaching as the starting poin t an d analysing outcomescritically. This may seem like com mo n sense. After all, reflecting on w hat we do is standardhum an behaviour in a range of contexts. Com mon sense, though , isn’t always comm on

practice. T he traditio na l tr an sm iss ion mo del o f lear ning, der ived f rom the blan k slateidea, leads teachers to look for a uthority from experts and researchers, rather than fromthemselves and their ow n teaching. The reflective model is empowering in the sense that ithands autho rity to teachers. You are in charge of your own learning.

Te a c h e r l ea r n i n g a s p e r s o n a l c o n s t r u c t i o n‘When a group o f teachers gather together to discuss their own development and ideas about teaching, the exchange o f ideas and sharing o f knowledge empowers everyone concerned. The

pooled experience tha t we have as a group o f teachers is enormous, and we all have something to learn fro m each other.’ (Jonathan)

Adults don’t learn in the same way as children and most teachers are adults. Richardsand Farrell, Roberts, and Mohame d, amon g others, have highlighted the importanceof constructivism, the id ea that, especially in the case of adults, know ledge is activelycons tructed by learners, not passively received. This is the o ppos ite o f the blank slate idea.The slate isn’t blank a t all - it has already been writte n on. In this model, activities such as

self-monitoring, reflecting on experience and journa l writing are particularly appropriate fordevelopment, as they help learners fit new learning into their personal framework.

In a constructivist approach to teacher observation, for example, the observer will encouragethe teacher being observed to set their own developmental agenda. Rather than say ‘ you could improve on this’, the observe r will say ‘wh at do you think you should improve on?’ and resist any temptation to influence the response. Change happens for adults when theyare ready and willing. It might be objected that this is like asking someone to comb theirhair w ithout a mirror. Adults wa nt to know ho w others see them, as well as how they seethemselves. In fact, the two are connected. A middle way in the above example might be forthe observee to elicit selected judgemental comments from the observer.

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Learning from an inspirational example

Individual and collective obstacles to development

Using ro l e mode l s‘You learn from people w ith more experience than you . N ot necessarily you r bosses but people

you can look up to. I guess that means experience again! Learn from yo ur elders and those wiser than you.’ (Karina)

The idea that teachers can learn from imitating expert practitioners is not n ew (see theart-cr aft m odel above). According to Allwright and Bailey, classroom research is ‘all about gaining a better understanding of what good teachers (and learners) do instinctively as a matte r of course, so that ultimately all can benefit’. Use of role models has been supported more

recently by theories derived from NLP, which advoc ate reference to models o f excellence inlearning. Mentoring a nd teacher observation can be used for this purpose.

If the role mod el becomes a gu ru, ther e is always a danger th at the uncr itical follower willfail to develop their own unique teaching style and possibly seek to imitate undesirableaspects of their teaching, or aspects that w ork for the guru bu t no t the follower.

What stops teachers developing?Having looked a t the way teachers can and do learn, let us now consider some constraints,some o f the obstacles that pre vent teachers from learning.

A t t i t u d esJohn Dewey lists three key attitudes as necessary for teachers: open-m indedn ess, responsibilityand whole-heartedness. A teacher with these attitudes is likely to succeed in developingeffectively. The opposites to Dewey’s three attitud es are fear of change, a tend ency to blameothers and laziness. Of course, teachers are not either one or the other, but we can examineourselves in term s o f these opposites an d plot ourselves at a point on a line somewhere

between the two. O ur att itudes are no t fixed - they vary according to wh at activities we areengaged in an d when - bu t the aggregate over the years will determine ou r development.

Col l eaguesColleagues are a potential source o f strength, confidence a nd insp iration, a positive su pportin ou r developm ent as teachers. They can also be a negative influence. Joachim Appel has

used the term ‘com mun ity of m oaners’ to describe him self and his staffroom colleagues.‘Staffroom talk is brim min g over with anger and aggression. I t is a release of tension. It is irrational and it accentuates the negative ... shared suffering is easily mistaken for a set o f shared values, which o f course does no t exist.’. Does this sou nd like a description o f thestaffroom where you work? A dash of realism and dark humour can have a positive effect,and is probably essential to some degree, especially in very challenging teaching contexts.But entrenched cynicism, particularly if it comes from senior staff, can serve to curb theenthusiasm and motivation o f others to take what they do seriously.

St re s sMaslach used the term ‘bu rno ut’ to describe the job stress often experienced amongindividuals who do jobs which involve a lot of personal contact with people, such asteachers, nurses and social workers: ‘Burn out is a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and reduced personal accomplishm ent’.

Teacher development can be a means of combating bur nou t, otherwise the bu rno ut cancramp the development.

Schoo l sTeachers’ reservations abo ut teacher developm ent are no t necessarily the resu lt ofresistance to change itself, but m ay reflect distaste for the organised ‘top -do wn’ versions o fdevelopment sometimes promoted in schools. Not everyone enjoys doing a Mexican waveat the m atch. Some people just want to watch the game. Well-intentioned schemes may

13



The ‘five circles’ model reflects both diversity and challenge.

actually discourage development if they are poorly managed. Equally, a lack of attention toteacher development in a school can seriously discourage teachers.

You, your colleagues and your school can all help and h inder yo ur development. It can cut bo th ways.

Five circles of developmentSo how can you approach teacher developme nt in practical terms? In order to un derstand

and talk ab out teacher d evelopment m ore easily, we can pro pose a model which organisesdevelopmen tal activity into five categories. These can b e represented in five concentric circles.

• The first circle, the inner circle, involves ‘you’, the teacher, working alone. Readingthis book or reflecting on a class you have taught w ould be examples o f suchindividua l activity.

• The second circle is ‘you an d your stu den ts’. Developm ent in this circle wouldinclude getting feedback from students abo ut your teaching or trying o ut new

material with them .• The th ird circle is ‘you a nd you r colleagues’. Activity here might includ e peer

observation, team teaching and staffroom sup port.• The fou rth circle, ‘you an d your school’, includes teachers ’ meetings, carrying ou t

pro jects, an d interac tio n w ith manag em ent and othe r m embers of staff.• The fifth circle is ‘you and you r profession’. Examples would be atten ding and

presenting a t conferences, mem be rsh ip of prof essional comm unities, and writingfor publication.

These circles are useful for two reasons:

T h e y c a t e r f o r t h e d i v e r s i t y i n E LTAs we have observed, teach ing English is a very diverse profession. Some teachers workin relative isolation as freelance teachers an d will find it useful to have activities grou pedtogether which don’t involve colleagues or institutions. And teachers have different preferreddevelopment styles: some will prefer to emphasise individual work, others will tend tocollaboration.

T h e y r e f l e c t t h e c h a l l e n g e s o f d e v e lo p m e n tThey represent a natu ral progression in teacher dev elopment in th e sense that activities tendto get more difficult the further we go from the centre. Working with colleagues and ourschool or profession presents challenges of leadership an d co-o peration.

Stephen Covey proposes a three-tier model for perso nal development, which mirrors our

14



Development is both pro-active and re-active.

Education versus on-the-job experience

growth as hum an beings from dependence to independence and finally to interdependence. According to his model, independence is a pre-requisite for interdependence. Applying thisto teaching, we can say that it is when we are confident and autonomous teachers that wecan most usefully contribute to bringing ab out change with o ur colleagues, in our schooland in our profession.

Flight attendants like to remind us to fit our own oxygen mask before attempting to helpothers fit theirs. As teachers, it makes sense to feel comfortable and confident in ourselvesand our classroom before attempting to engage with others. However, attention to each

circle will, of cou rse, never b e strictly chronological.

Steps to developmentIt can be helpful to think of development as having two potential ‘sources’:

• The kind we seek out (teacher as hunter).• The kind that is thru st upon us (teacher as hunted) .

Attending a local conference or experimenting with new material are m atters o f choice.A formal observation and appraisal from ou r director of studies, or an interview with adissatisfied parent, are not. We are hun ters an d hu nted and b oth types of scenario are likelyto influence our professional development.

It is importan t to cover both these sources of development. Some require you to hunt; othersrequire you to reflect on being hu nted . In either case, the steps you take will have varyingimpact on your development. It is difficult to generalise about what kind of activity or eventwill have the greatest impact, as this will probably depend on the individual teacher. Anothermetap hor for this might be th at o f a dance: the result of the interplay between the pro-activeand re-active elements of development, where leading and following are both key elementsin achieving smooth and harmonious movement.

The development co ntinuum illustrated below is based on research from the world of bus iness and rep resents w hat m igh t be seen as the likely impact of steps we take in ourdevelopment as teachers.

f "\Developmental impact

TrainingWorkshopsReading

Assessed training Role modelling

Feedback/coaching

Development in job

Job change

Knowledgetransfer Professionalsetting

Copying a skill or behaviour

CoachingBoss/mentor relationship

ProjectsResponsibility

Accountability

Education-based Education/Relationship-based Relationship-based Experience-based

The table suggests that experience-based development is likely to have more impact thaneducation-based development, particularly when the education is not combined with formalassessment and does not build significant relationships. This is not to devalue education. Amix o f education-based, relationship-based a nd experience-based activity is probably the

bes t way to max imise development. Formally assessed profess ional qua lifications, such asthe Trinity Diploma in TESOL or the Cambridge DELTA, incorporate relationship-basedelements, such as mentoring, and experience-based elements, such as supervised research,

15



Matching activity and attitude, challenge and skill

which go beyond knowledge transfer models of learning. This type of course is likely tostimulate a richer developmental experience.

There will be mom ents in y our teaching career when taking a course or working towardsa professional qualification is a very positive step, which will stimulate tremendousachievement.

However, the table also suggests that the jobs you do during your career will providethe m ost powerful influence on your development. This shouldn’t be a surprise.Developing throug h responsibility and accountability in your job is the equivalent of

your learners imp roving th eir English by having real conversations with English speakers,taking responsibility for successful communication. Just as good teachers integratereal conversations into the classroom to help their students develop their English, thedeveloping teacher will incorpo rate a developmental twist into their work to help their owndevelopment. We could say that development, in this sense, isn’t so much about activity asabout attitude.

So how doe s this a ttitu de look or feel? Csikszentmihalyi has de fined ‘flow’, or ‘satisfaction ’, asan optimum state of affairs where challenge and skill are matched. Low challenge combinedwith high skill leads to frustration and boredom (‘flight’), and high challenge with low skillto anxie ty (‘fight’). We can ad op t this idea to create what m ight be called ‘developm entalflow’, represented in the following diagram (adap ted).

NDevelopmental flow

High confidence

i l SMUG/CYNICAL

High on confidence - not aware of need ,/ DEVELOPING

to improve Aware of need to improve and confident in the ability to do it

Aware o f need to improve - lack of confidenceOVERWHELMED/DEFENSIVE

o High challenge

The aim, o f course, is to s pend as muc h time as possible in the middle sec tion, ‘Developing’,and to be aware that whe n we are outside this sector, we need to either boost o ur confidenceor give ourselves a challenge to get back there .

Stepping forwardWe have taken a very brie f overview of some o f the key theories a nd models o f teacherlearning to emerge in the last 50 years. The tendency has be en to move away from atransmission-style model of learning to favour a more experience-based approach. Formal

pro fessional qualific ations have them selves dev eloped to inco rporate m ore reflective andclassroom -based ac tivity and less knowledge transm ission , to the extent tha t ‘train ing ’ in thiscontex t has become what we migh t call ‘supervised develop men t’.

However, it is worth remembering that teachers (like language learners) learn in differentways and can benefit from a variety of experiences. There is no right and w rong way todevelop. The teachers qu oted in these pages su ppo rt different and even contradictory ideasabout how we learn. Questioned on the three mos t impo rtant events in their development,

16



An act iv ity-b ased approach

Four ways to keep developing successfully

answers included mention of role models, reading, teaching experiences, training courses,their next door neighbour, in fact all the above ideas an d theories o f how teachers learn wererepresented.

As its title suggests, The Developing Teacher takes an activity-based approach to teacherdevelopment. The differen t ways of teacher learning we have outlin ed are reflected, but ineach case the ideas and theories are framed and carried forward in a step-by-step activity.The activities themselves are u nde rpinn ed by fou r key principles.

Deve lop ing by do ingYou do things and learn from the experience. This is not to say that reading andunder standing th eory is no t a good idea. Reading and reflecting on the ory can be a powerfultool for development. As Michael Lewis once said, there is nothing more practical than agood theory. Reflection without action, though, is like making a shopping list when youhave no money or trolley. In The Developing Teacher, development is approached in terms ofimpact, as well as awareness.

M a k i n g t h i n g s h a p p e nFor teacher development to really work for you, you m ay need some help in m aking sureyou are organised and can prioritise. Reading that new methodology bo ok is the easy part.The ha rd b it is actually making tim e to sit down with it in the first place. You need to address

time managem ent, leadership, personal organisation and motivation to help you makethings happen.

M a k i n g t h e m o s t o f th i n g s t h a t h a p p e n t o y o uBearing in mind things will happen which you haven’t planned or aimed for, it is alsoimp ortan t to think ab out how to make the mo st of situations as they arise and exploit themto you r benefit or at least limit negative effects. When you can’t make the most o f a situation,you need to make the best o f it.

L i n k i n g t e a c h e r d e v e l o p m e n t t o s e l f - d e v e l o p m e n tYour students respon d to who you are as well as what you do in the classroo m, so keeping asense of balance between work and o ther pa rts o f your life will have a positive impact onyour teaching.

To conclude, a personal anecdote: I once interviewed a teacher fo r a job a nd asked herwhy she thou gh t she would be suitable for the post. ‘Well’, she said, ‘I am a happy, positive

person .’ Tha t certainly wasn’t the a nswer I was expecting an d of course , the re is muc h m oreto being a good teacher, but th at, I thou ght, is a very good place to start!

17



BibliographyAllwright, D and Bailey, K M Focus on the Language Classroom: An introduction to classroomresearch fo r language teachers CUP 1991

Appel, J Diary o f a Language Teacher Heinemann ELT 1995

Bailey, K M, Curtis, A an d N unan , D Pursuing Professional Development: The s elf as sourceThom son 2001

Bardu hn, S 1999 In ‘Continu ing Profe ssional Development - Some of ou r perspectives’Edge, J (Ed) IATEFL Publications 2002

Bartlett, L ‘Teacher developm ent th rough reflective teachin g’ In Richards, J C and Nun an, D(Eds) Second Language Teacher Education CUP 1990

Brown, J D and Wolfe-Q uintero, K ‘Teacher Portfolios for ev aluation: A great idea or a wasteo f time?’ Language Teacher 21(1) 1997

Clandfield, L and Kerr, P Professionalism in ELT: An obscure object of desire IATEFLPublications 2004

Covey, S The Seven Habits o f Highly Effective People Frank lin Covey Co 1989

Curran, C Counseling-Learning in Second Languages Apple River Press 1976

Csikszentmihalyi, M Beyond Boredom and A nx iety Jossey-Bass 1975Dewey, J How We Think Hen ry Regnery 1933

Edge, J (Ed) Continuing Professional Development - Some o f our perspectives IATEFLPublications 2002

Edge, J ‘Co-operative Dev elopm ent’ ELT Journal 46( 1) 1992

Evans, S M Professional Portfolios: Doc umen ting and presenting per formance excellence Teachers’ Little Secrets 1995

Fanselow, J Breaking Rules Pearson Education 1987

Freeman, D ‘Teacher training, development and decision making: A model of teaching andrelated strategies for language teacher education’ TESOL Quarterly 23(1) 1989

Heron, J The Complete Facilitator’s Handbook Kogan-Page 2004

Herrman n N, Herrm ann International website www.hbdi.com

Lewis, M Imp lem enting the Lexical Approach: Putting theory into practice LTP 1997

Luft, J and Ingram, H O f Hum an Interaction National Press Books 1969

Malderez, A and Bodoczky, C Me nto r Courses: A resource book fo r trainer-trainers CUP 19

Marlan d, P W ‘Implicit theorie s o f teaching’ In Ande rson, L W (Ed) Interna tional Encyclopaedia o f Teaching and Teacher Education, 2nd ed. Pergamon 1995

Maslach, C Burnout: T he cost o f caring Prentice Hall 1982

Mohamed, N ‘Meaningful professional development’ English Teaching Professional 42 200Perkins, A 1998 In ‘Co ntinu ing Professional Developm ent - Some of our perspectives’Edge, J (Ed) IATEFL Publications 2002

Richards, J C and Farrell, T S C Professional Development for Language Teachers: Strategies fo r teacher learning CUP 2005

Roberts, J Language Teacher Education Arnold 1998

Schon, D A The Reflective Practitioner: How professionals think in action Basic Books 1983

Sinclair, J et al Collins Cobuild Advanced Learners English Dictionary HarperCollins 2006

Zahorik, J A Acquiring Teaching Skills Journal o f Teacher Education 21(5) 1986

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http://www.hbdi.com/

http://www.hbdi.com/



The Developing Teacher provides a ba nk of activities spread over fivesections, our five circles. It is not inten ded th at you work throu gh the activities in the firstcircle in the ord er they appear. Nor that you w ork throug h th e five circles in th e boo k in

order. Your developm ent is exactly that: your development.

However, it is prob ably the case that as you move outwards, from circle to circle, theactivities become m ore challenging, so if you are looking fo r a good place to start, then sta rtwith yourself, ‘you’.

S t e p - b y - s t e p d e v e l o p m e n tTeachers are busy people. The activities are designed to require minimum time for you to dothem. Many, in fact, simply add ‘a developm ental twist’ to regular classroom practice, in thespirit o f what Allwright a nd Bailey refer to as ‘explora tory pra ctice’.

Teachers are also well-accustom ed to activities that have a clear step-by-step de scription, sothe recognizable presentation of these activities will be familiar to you and this should make

them easy to use.

• All the activities are preceded by a Ra tiona le. This describes briefly what theoutcome of the activity is and why it can be useful for your development. Theheading Act iv ity tells you w hat exactly you wTill be doing.

• The procedures are clearly set out in a series of Steps. These help you to break theactivity down and carry it through to its conclusion. Of course, you may wantto miss steps out, rearrange some o f them or add yo ur own: as with languageteaching activities, all procedures can be adapted.

The activities can be done on their own, randomly, or compiled. You may wish to simply dipin and experiment, as and when you can, or you may save them for f urthe r reference andreflection in a portfolio.

O rg an i s e d d e v e l o p m e n tYou can, therefore, create your own ‘teacher d evelopment course’

by selecting, c arrying ou t and saving the activit ies you choose. Ifyou do this, you will probably find tha t the ‘whole’ of everythingyou achieve adds up to m ore than the sum of the various parts.The decision is yours.

Many of the activities include the use o f a grid or Pro -forma tohelp direct and organise your p lanning and reflection. Space here doesno t pe rmit full-size photocopiable P ro-formas. In many cases, you can make copies whichyou will find perfectly usable. In others, you can recreate the Pro-forma yourself from the

model given, adapting it wherever necessary to your personal situation.

19



YouThe first circ le

The activities in the first circle can all be done independently,although you may find it useful to share them with others,

if you have the op po rtun ity There are good reasons forconsidering the activities in this circle as your starting

po int, one of th e m ost im po rtan t be ing that intera ctingwith students, colleagues and your school will require more

plannin g a nd mo re interpersonal and leade rsh ip skills.

There are two further reasons (one practical and one pedagogical) why this circle m igh t be of immed iate in terest.

• You work somewhere where you are the only teacher,or you are a freelance teacher who has little con tactwith other teachers.

• Your learning style is intra-pe rsona l. You prefer to do

things on your own.Opposite is a checklist of things you can do independently todevelop yourself and you r teaching. Which have you alreadydone? Which of the things are of particular interest to you?Which have you no t thoug ht o f doing? Which might you liketo con centrate on? Read thro ugh the list and give yourse lf ascore for each item.

The following brief introdu ction to the four sections of thefirst circle will help to contextualise the activities.

Thinking about your development

First of all, it is crucial to understand your own situationand motivations; this in tu rn will help you prioritise youractions.

There are four basic motivations for development. Theseare sum marised in the acronym RISE, which we shall beencountering again and again as we move from circle tocircle. We engage in professional developm ent with one (or acombination) of these motivations in mind.

• Recog nition: this can be sought from peers,colleagues, fellow professionals an d stud ents. Sharingyour materials with colleagues and publishing an

article are examples of this.• Impo sition: we engage in an activity because wehave to. It is imposed by our boss, our school, ou reducation autho rity or perhaps ou r students. Acompulsory staff training day is a good example ofthis.

• Self-im prove men t: we commit to activities in orderto become better teachers. An example might berecording o r videoing ourselves teaching.

• Enjoy men t: we engage in a professional developmentactivity simply because it is enjoyable or fun.

f \Personal checklis t

There are things you can do on your own to develop yourself andyour teaching. Read down the list.

• Give yourself a score from 0-5 for each item, according to howoften you do it (0 = ‘never done this’, 5 = ‘done this a lot’).

• Then complete the right-hand column, adding a tick (i<*) whereappropriate, if you would like to try something, or do more of it.

Things 1have done (or not done)...Score(0-5)

(* 0

Worked on my time management skills

Reflected on the best way for me to develop

Completed self-diagnostic tests to find out mylearning style or personality type

Reflected on my own teaching

Learnt another language

Dealt with something stressing me

Read a professional journal

Read a book about TEFL

Kept a teaching diary

Created a teaching portfolio

Improved my English

Improved my knowledge of grammar/phonology

CommentLooking at this list should help identify areas of particular interestfor you (or that you hadn’t perhaps thought of before) and will helpyou decide which activities you would most like to do, or feel youmost need to do!

Then there are two potential sources of develo pmen t

• The kind we seek ou t - the teacher as ‘hu nte r’• The kind thrus t upon us - the teacher as ‘hun ted’

Attending a local conference, or experimenting with newmaterial, are matters of choice. A formal observation andappraisal from our director of studies, or an interview with adissatisfied parent, are not. Both types o f scenario are likelyto influence our professional development. An alternativeto this metaphor, and one w ith a more hum an touch, isto think of development as a dance, where success andharmo ny arise from combining personal initiatives with anattentive response to the movements o f others.

Wh en making decisions abou t where to start ‘hunting’, orwhat moves to make o n the dance floor, checklists like the

20



one above can be helpful. An alternative is to take a particulardifficulty or irritation at work as a starting point, and try tosolve the problem. There is an activity to help you to do this.

Organising you rself The m enu in the checklist is deliberately appealing: selectingthings you would like to do is relatively easy. The hard

pa rt is making th em happen. This involves allocating time

and attention to activities and com mitting to seeing themthrough. There isn’t much use in a shopping list if you don’tthen go to the shops!

The activities in this section will help you to go shopping.They help you become aware of what is involved inthe action you have chosen and provide a step-by-stepframework which will supp ort a nd motivate you. The

principles of personal organisa tion and time m anagem en tare crucial to successful development.

Getting to know yourself There are three types o f question teachers ask themselves.

• Micro questions concern the hund reds of smalldecisions we make each day, such as: How long willit take my students to finish the vocabulary exercise?How will I stop Ivan disrupting the class today?

• Macro questions deal with less frequent and biggerdecisions about teaching: What coursebook will I usewith this group? How could I motivate my class ofteenagers better?

• Meta (mean ing ‘outsid e’ or ‘beyo nd’) questions areeven less frequent and even bigger: What kind ofteacher am I? How did I become like this? Why am I a

teacher?

The four activities in this section focus on meta questions.This is not to suggest that these questions are moreimp ortant, qu ite the co ntra ry in fact. They are, however, lessfrequently addressed in o ur day-to-day teaching an d it seemsworthwhile, therefore, to draw attention to them. There is,for example, a self-diagnostic learning style/persona lity test,which encourages you to discover your own typical style and

preferences (and colour! ) and to consider how these m igh timpact on your teaching.

How we teach is determined not only by the experiences,

training and development we undergo, but also theexperiences, assumptions and values we form before we startteaching. Another way of getting to know ourselves is byreflecting on past and present role models. The activities My

favourite teacher and The Magnificen t Seven focus on this.

Looking at yourself Starting with a new class, a photocopier which doesn’t work,dealing with school administration, a complaint from a

parent, unsympathetic managers, writing reports, beingobserved, a sense of stagnation: these are some of the day-to-

day challenges teachers face. Many teachers devote so muchattention to these challenges that they forget to take careof themselves! Looking after yourself (in mind , body andspirit) is central to your d evelopment as a teacher. If you arehealthy and happy, you are m ore likely to be able to help you rlearners and achieve your personal goals. Remember whatthe flight attendants say when d emonstrating the emergency

procedures : always make sure you fit yo ur own oxygen mask

before helping o thers with theirs ! In the activ ity Tea and two biscuits, you get a chance to thin k abou t how to manage stress.

There are also two activities in this section which get you tofocus on yo ur teaching through self-observation. This meansyou teach a class and m ake reflective notes, before, duringand after the class, with the aim o f understanding yourteaching better. It is a goo d idea to:

• try to incorporate this kind of activity into yourteaching rou tine. Set yours elf a mo dest goal (one selfobservation per m onth, for example);

• have a specific focus for the observation and

reflection (think about a specific concern you haveabou t your teaching or a bout a particular class);

• write things d own to he lp the reflective process. Youcan make no tes before, during or after the class, or acombination of all three;

• use a worksh eet (or ‘Pro -form a’) to guide you r notesand thoughts.

The advantage of self-observation is that it is nonthreaten ing. You judge yourself. You are not obliged todisclose your reflections, thoug h you may find it useful toshare and talk through your notes with a colleague, if youfeel comfortab le do ing so.

The last two activities focus on developing understandingof language and methodology. An imp ortan t compo nent ofdevelopment for non-na tive teachers may be improving theirknowledge o f English, while many na tive-speaker teachersfind it useful to un derstan d m ore abou t how the languageworks, including the rules that underpin phonology, lexisand gramm ar. For all teachers, reversing roles and actually

becomin g a language stu dent can be a very powerfu l tool,throug h experiencing what works (and doesn’t work!) foryou as a learner.

The activities in this circle help you to develop, throughgaining a much clearer under standing o f the kind o f teacheryou are a nd th e challenges you face in you r work. They alsohelp to develop key personal o rganisa tion skills which youwill be able to apply to th e activities in the o the r circles.

The sec ond circle activities will foster your d evelopm entthroug h engaging with your students, the people who

pe rhaps s tand most to gain from it!

21



YOU • THINKING ABOUT DEVELOPMENT

RISE and shineFour motivations fo r professional development

RationaleUnderstanding why you are interested in professionaldevelop ment will help you focus your efforts effectively.

Ac ti vi tyTo reflect on your career as a teacher and your motivations.

Step OneRead the story o f Laura’s career as a teacher, and notice he rdifferent motivations.

Step TwoLook at the motivations behind engaging in professionaldevelopment as summarised, using the acronym RISE, in the

box below.

Recogn i t i onThis can be in terms of job status, money or recognition from fellow professionals.

Impos i t i onParticipation in a development scheme, or completing a formal qualification; it may be imposed by your employer or be something you feel obliged to undertake to be marketable; or making changes in your teaching as a result of feedback from a student or director of studies.

S e l f - i m p r o v e m e n tDevelopment as a route to job satisfaction and a sense of self-worth. Improving your teaching knowledge and skills.

Enjoymen tDevelopment activity, such as travel and contact with fellow professionals, can be enjoyable for its own sake, without necessarily contributing to the above.

Read Laura’s story again and label the different events with theletters R, I, S or E. Some will have a comb ination s o f letters.

Step ThreeAssign events from your own career into the four categoriesusing the Pro-forma opposite. You will, of course, find thatsome events fit more than one category. In this case, try tothink of your prim ary motive. Do you notice any category pre dominating? Keep this docu men t on file.

Step Four Return to the do cume nt in three m onths’ time. Look backat your professional life over these three months. Whathas happened in each of the four categories? Add notes toyour document. You should now have a clearer idea aboutthe m otivations that influence your own professionaldevelopment. You may want to include this do cume nt at thestart of a teaching portfolio (see Part C o f The Developing Teacher).

Laura’s story

Laura graduated with a degree in Spanish

and spent two years teaching in Colombia.

She didn’t have a teaching qualification and

was obliged to learn about teaching on the

job. Fortunately, she worked in a school

where she found a lot of support from her

colleagues. She improved her Spanish and

enjoyed travelling around South America.

Laura decided she wanted to return to

Europe and as there was more competition

for jobs there, she signed up fo r an intensive

Certificate TESOL course in Barcelona. The

course was tough but she really enjoyed

it. After three years’ teaching in Barcelona

she decided to do a Diploma course, partly

because she really enjoyed learning more

about he r job and partly because she wanted

to work as a teacher trainer. She passed

the course and worked as a teacher trainer.

Af ter two years, the school where Laura

was working closed down. She decided to

make a change, too. Feel ing a litt le burnt out

with training teachers on intensive courses,

she decided to return to the classroom as ateacher of business English. Laura was very

successful and her employers decided to

promote her to the position o f senior teacher.

r ~ ' \RISE

R

1

S

E

oo



YOU • THINKING ABOUT DEVEOLPMENT

The hunter and the hunted D-l-Y developmentTwo sources of professional development Planning a start on your development

RationaleThis activity helps you to reflect on how you r deve lopme nt isa result of both pro-active and re-active measures you take.You seek out events (hunter) and respond to events whichhappen around you (hunted).

Acti vi tyTo reflect on key mom ents in your c areer experience,

become mo re aware of how they have affected you , andconsider changing your strategy in future.

Step OneThink about your ca reer so far. Identify six (or more) keymom ents, events, activities or projec ts which have had asignificant impact on you.

Step Two Note them down in the two columns. Were you hu nter orhunted?

Hunter Hunted

Decided to move to a different school.

Observed by my director of studies.

Step ThreeConsider the following questions:

• Which column has had the most influence on yourteaching and your career?

• Are you happy with the balance you have?• Think about one or m ore role models you have in

your work o r profession. What hun ting have they done? How do they react to being hunted?

Step Four The first thr ee steps of this activity have been reflective.

Now looking forward , are you going to change any thingabout the way you approach your working life as a resultthis reflection? Do you think you need to do more (orless) hunting, or to react differently to situations whereyou are hunted? Can the two types o f scenario be resolvedharmoniously? Write down and keep what you propose todo, for future reference.

RationaleOne way to start thinking abou t your development is to askyourself what you don’t like abou t your work an d plan somechanges: some ‘do it yours elf’ developm ent.

Ac tivi tyTo think about some dissatisfactions with your working lifeand resolve to make changes.

Step OneLook at the grid below. Make a list in the left-hand columnof things you dislike about your job, inside and outside theclassroom. Some examples are given for you.

1don’t li ke ... Can 1change it?[ y ? X)

Spending so much time marking homework

My long journey to work

The coursebook for my upper-intermediate class

My salary

Step TwoRead through your list and for each item in the list decide ifyou can change it. Put a i^ , ? or X in the box beside it.

is* Definitely can change? Maybe can changeX Definitely cannot change

Step Three Now look at the X items and think about the m again. Bemore optimistic. Change at least one of them to a ?.

Step Four Choose one of the u* o r ? items and complete the chart

below. Write the item and the n w rite some notes o n how youwill make th e change.

I don’t like:

How I will change this?When?How?Who will be involved?

Step FiveYou have created your o wn teacher deve lopme nt activity.Good luck with it. When you have done it, create another‘mini action plan’ like this one. Keep going!

23



YOU • ORGANISING YOURSELF

First things fir stDeciding what matters most

RationaleOne reason teachers give for not achieving developmentalaims is ‘lack of time ’. This activity helps us to th ink abo utusing the time we do have m ore effectively.

Ac tivi tyTo use the ‘four q uad ran t’ mod el to man age your time.

Step OneRead the explanation of the fou r quad rant model opposite.

Step TVvoLook at the example o f how a teacher m ight classify someweekly activities. Notice tha t these activities can appe arin different quadrants. Some of the teacher’s lesson andmaterials prepara tion is important, b ut some may be

unnecessary or u nim portan t. The same goes for meetings.

Step ThreeThink about y our last week at work. Write the differentactivities that occupied you in the fou r quadrants.

Step Four Make more time for Qu adrant II activities. Look at the otherthree quadrants and do the following:

• Think of one activity you could move from QI to QII(to reduce last-minute-panic working).

• Think of one item from QIII and one from QIV whichcould be reduced or eliminated (to create more time).

Step FiveDuring your working week, pause at random mom ents andask yourself: Wha t quadrant am I in now? Make some notes.

Step SixRepeat Step Three o ne week later. Use your field notes fromStep Four to help you. Remember, your aim is to make QIIgrow and the other three quadrants shrink.

Step SevenReflect: Are you makin g progress? Is Q uad ran t II growing?If not, try to look again at the oth er three quadr ants, enlist

the help o f a friend or colleague if you can, and b rainstormideas, and then try one more week!

The four quadrant model (adapted from Stephen Covehas two axes, ‘important’ and ‘urgent’, which generat four quadrants, inside which we can classify the differactivities we do in a week. To manage our time effectivespecially with professional development in mind, we need to maximise the time we spend in Quadrant II.

• Quadrant I activities are routine (teaching a clameeting a parent, writing reports).

• Quadrant II activities involve planning and development (planning to use new material, reading, thinking, following a course).

• Quadrant III and IV activities are not importantoften occupy a lot of our time, especially the thquadrant, where apparent urgency can create a false impression of importance.

f \ Important

c0)O)

IUrgent and important

Teaching classes

Some admin

Some e-mails

Parents ’ meetings

Last-minute lesson planning

II IUrgent and not important

Some meetings

Some admin

Some e-mails

Some lesson planning

Some materials preparation

Marking

IIImportant and not urgent

Developmental activities:

• Reading• Actio n research• Getting feedback

from students• Applying to do a

course

Planning classes ahead of time

>IVNot import ant and not urgent

Gossiping

Pottering

Some decision making

Meetings that go on too long

Not important

OA




Eight days a weekManaging you r time effectively

RationaleSome professional development activities require timeoutside class to carry ou t, so it is im portan t to allocate thistime if you want to make them h appen. The key to timemanagem ent is being com mitted to fulfilling your agenda.

Ac tivi tyTo plan time to carry ou t your developmental agenda and tostick to you r plan.

Step OneBuy a diary which shows a week on each d ouble-page spread.

Step TwoAt the start o f the week, or the end o f the previous week, block your teaching hours and o ther comm itments in the diary.

Step ThreeDo the following:

• Allocate an amou nt of time to your developmentactivity (DA). For example, if you want to read a

professional jou rnal , a llocate the time yo u need (say30 minutes).

• Decide when you will do this and block the time intoyou r weekly plan.

• Take note of the advice below.

Managing t imes j

DO ... DON’T ...• plan weekly; • open your e-mails first• use a diary and have it to thing in the morning;

hand; • always say ‘yes’ to• block in time to do things, people;

as if they were a class. • admit interruptions.

Step Four Either:Celebrate! You did wha t you planned. You manag ed yourtime.

Or:Reflect and try again. You didn ’t do w hat you plan ned, or

pe rhaps you succeeded only partially . Think ab ou t why, andmake some notes using the following prompts.

s ' 'N

Trying times

Did you allocate time in your diary?

What happened exactly at that time to stop you doing what you planned?

Did you follow the suggested Dos and Don’ts?

How can you ensure success next time?

Step FiveRepeat the activity every week for the rest of you r life! If thisseems a little ambitious, try one week per month for a while.

Step Six

After some time, re-evaluate your progress.• Do you think you could allot more time to your

developm ental activity?• Is it taking up too much time?

Adjust your schedule accordingly but, whatever you do,don ’t give up y our activity completely.

25




Be my coach An in te rac t iv e s trat eg y t o help yo u ac hieve yo ur go als

RationaleMaking use of an interpersonal approach to setting personalgoals can help you achieve them more effectively. Themotivation comes from commitment to interaction withanothe r person, in the same way that going to a class, ratherthan teaching yourself, can help you learn a language.

Ac ti vi tyTo set weekly goals for a m on th and wor k with a ‘coach’ tohelp motivate you to achieve them, even though you areworking on your own.

Step OneFind a coach. This person can be a friend or acquaintance,or your partner. They could be a colleague, too, althoughthis activity can work better if the coach is not pa rt o f yourwork situation. The coach needs to be willing to mee t/chatonline/e-mail you once a week for a m onth for about 20minutes each time.

Step TwoSet yourse lf some goals you w ant to achieve for the weekand write them down as in the example Pro-forma opposite.Assign a time for each one. There are check boxes to tick ifthe item is done an d a space for comments, which you willfill in later.

• The goals can be classroom related (as in 1 and 2),related to general development (3) or practicalcareer/job issues (4).

• You could add per sonal goals, too, if you want. Forexample: Send my sister a birthday card.

• The goals should be things you would like to achieve, bu t the re is a chance yo u w on’t, as you ma y n ot perceive t he m as ur gen t. Go to work on Thursday wouldn’t be a goal, in this sense!

Step ThreeE-mail your goals to your coach or hand them over ona piece of paper. The coach should simply acknowledgereceipt. They shouldn’t comment.

Step Four Arrange to meet or e-mail your coach at a specific time atthe e nd o f the week, to repo rt on what you have achieved.

s \My goals

What? When? Done Comments

1 Get some feedback from my morning intermediate class.

Wednesday

2 Use a DVD in class with my advanced evening group, as they have requested this.

Friday

3 Read three articles from Modern English Teacher.

Tuesdaymorning

4 Fill in the job application form for summer school job.

Mondayevening

Step Five

At the end o f the week, when you make contact with yourcoach, hand in or send the completed form, with notes onwhat you have or haven’t achieved and comments. The coachcan prom pt you, if they feel you could explain more, bu t thisisn’t essential. The role o f the coach is principally to makesure you report back, rather than offer advice or evaluate.

Step SixDo th e sam e for the n ext thre e weeks. You will probably findyourself transferring some of the not done items from oneweek to the next, as well as addin g new goals.

Step Seven

At the end of the fo ur weeks, thank your coach and offer todo the same for them if they are teachers.

Step EightReflect: Has this procedure helped you achieve more thanyou w ould have otherwise? Why? Why not?

26



YOU • GETTING TO KNOW YOURSELF

Why I am a teacher Thinking positively about b eing a teacher

My favourite teacher Role models from your school days

RationaleReminding yourself of the good things a bout being a teacherwill help you feel more relaxed abou t dealing with small day-to-day challenges and irritations. A good activity to do whenyou are feeling negative about y our job!

Activi tyTo help bring to m ind the many good reasons you are ateacher and compare teaching with ano ther job.

Step OneFor each of the statem ents, pu t a tick in the ‘Teacher’ columnof the P ro-forma below if it is true for you. Add three morereasons at the bottom if you can.

Me and my job

Teacher New job

1get a sense of satisfaction from helping people progress.1like working with people.1am paid well.1like the variety in the job.I’m good at teaching.1have long holidays.Teachers are respected in my country.

It’s a very secure job.1like the challenge.1enjoy working with my colleagues.1can be creative.1am my own boss a lot of the time.1have fun at work.1am seldom bored.

Step TwoCou nt up your ticks. You probably fou nd you had at leastsix. If you are still not convinced, try Step Three.

Step ThreeImagine you weren’t a teacher. What wou ld you be? Returnto the checklist and repeat the exercise for your new job. Ifyour new job gets more ticks, think about changing jobs! Onthe othe r hand, liking what you do a nd doing wh at you likearen’t so different, are they?

RationaleReflecting on powerful role models from your past helps youto un derstan d the teacher you have become.

Activi tyTo think about you r favourite teacher at school and how youcompare to them.

Step OneRead this description.

C ! ^My favourite teacher

He was my German teacher. He shared stories with us about his life and had a great sense o f humour even when doctors had to ld him to give up smoking and he

was obliged to suck lollipops all day! I always felt he took an interes t in me personally. He was encouraging, too, and made me push myself. I ’m not sure if everyone in the class felt that, though. I th ink he may have been less interested in the students who were no t so keen on learning the language. He was demanding, too, giving us regular tests and encouraging a competitive atmosphere in the class, which I thought was fun. The materials he used were not original, I think, though he was happy to help us translate a German pop song when we brought one to class. I remember I felt good in his classes.

Step TwoWrite a description o f your favourite teacher from yourschool days.

Step ThreeRead through what you have written and consider thesequestions:

• Would your students say the same abou t you/yourclasses now?

• Does the teacher you have written abo ut have thesame style/approa ch/beliefs as you?

• Was your favourite teacher your classmates’ favourite,too?

Your answers will help you become aware of how a powerfulmodel from y our past can shape your present.

Step Four Repeat Steps Two and Three, thinking ab out you r least

favourite teacher. How have they shaped the teacher you have become?

27




The Magnificent SevenYou and six teachers you know

RationaleConsidering how teachers differ, and what k ind of teacheryou are, helps you to empathise with colleagues and see yourown development more clearly.

Ac tivi tyTo think about different kinds of teacher and which types ofteacher development activity would suit each one.

Step OneRead the descriptions of the six teachers on this page.

Step TwoAward between one a nd five stars according to h ow far youidentify with each.

Step ThreeRecomm end one development activity from the personalchecklist on page 20 in the introduction to this circle, whichyou thin k w ould benefit each of these teachers.

Step Four Add a description of you in the seventh box, plus a ratingand a reco mm endation for yourself.

Step FiveCarry out your recom mendation to yourself from Step Four.

f \Six teachers and me

Jim is a very busy person. He is always attending workshops and meeting other teachers. He is full of enthusiasm in the staffroom, keen to share ideas with other teachers and talk about teaching and students. The other day I found him surfing the net for sites for new materials.

Star rating:

Recommendation:

Jeremy is interested in doing lots of courses. He has invested a lot in training. The other day I saw him filling in an application for an MA TESOL course online. In the staffroom he likes talking about the courses he is doing or planning to do.

Star rating:

Recommendation:

Jane is always talking about her students and their progress. She likes using materials she has prepared specially for them. Yesterday I saw her making a cut-u reading activity about that earthquake using a text and pictures she had found on the internet. She said I was welcome to use it, too, if I wanted.

Star rating:

Recommendation:

Nancy is very keen on social events with students and teachers. Last week she organised a trip to see a play in English with the students. Her classes sound like fu We can hear the students laughing and shouting from t

other end of the school.Star rating:

Recommendation:

Scott seems quiet. He doesn’t say much in staff meetiand doesn’t spend a lot of time in the teachers’ room. seems to be very popular with students. I think he goe away a lot at weekends. Someone to ld me he is really mountain climbing.

Star rating:Recommendation:

Penny complains a lot, especially about all the extra work we have to do ‘unpaid’ and how there is no chanof promotion for her. She’s also quite sarcastic about tmanagement of the school. Quite funny, though. She wtelling me the other day how she was thinking of leavteaching and finding a new job.

Star rating:

Recommendation:

Me

Star rating:

Recommendation

28




What colour teacher are you?Looking at the way you think

RationaleThis activity helps you reflect on your own thinking style andhow it might influence your teaching and you r developmentas a teacher.

Acti vi tyTo decide what ‘colou r’ you r thinking style is and be awareof others.

Step OneRead the inform ation below about brain colours.

Psychologist Ned He rmann divides the brain into four sections,and proposes that people tend to think predom inantly inone of the four sections: blue, yellow, green or red.

f i s\Your brain colou r

BLUELeft brain - rationalYou are logical and analytical. You like to get straight to the point. You listen attentively. You are realistic and independent. You may appear distant and arrogant. Your favourite question is: Why?

YELLOWRight brain - rationalYou are creative and intuitive. You see the big picture rather than the details. You generate ideas. You are independent and like variety. You tend to gesticulate. You can appear impatient and unrealistic. Your favourite question is:

What for?

GREENLeft brain - emotionalYou are organized and well ordered. You like to plan and don’t like interruptions. You are meticulous and can be upset by risk taking. You are very observant. You may appear inflexible and cautious. Your favourite questions are: When,

where, how many?

REDRight brain - emotionalYou are sociable and intuitive. People and teams are important to you. You like to personalise. You may appear gossipy and manipulative. You feel strongly about injustice and dislike coldness in others. Your favourite question is:

Who?

Step TwoAccording to the descriptions in the four boxes, decide towhat extent each descr iption fits you. Allocate up to five starsfor each section: no stars if it is ‘no t you a t all’, five stars if thedesc ription describes you very well. Write you r stars at thetop of the Pro-form a opposite.

Step ThreeLook at your stars and see what the d om inant colour of your

brain is. You will pro bably find you are a mix o f colours,with some more dom inant than others.

Step Four Think about a colleague or colleagues you know well and dothe same for them.

Step FiveConsider the following questions:

• Wh at kind o f professional development activities willsuit your colour?

• What are the strengths and weaknesses of teachers ofyour colour?

• How does you r colour affect you r teaching style?• Wh at are the strengths and weaknesses of your

colleagues’ colours?

Make notes in the Pro -forma, which has been started for youwith some examples.

c r '\Your teaching colour

BLUEStar rating:

YELLOWStar rating:

Activiti esNeeds analysis, problem solving, planning and organising...

Activiti esExperiments, trying out new methods, learning about new technology...

Strengths and weaknesses Strengths and weaknesses

Teaching style Teaching style

GREENStar rating:

REDStar rating:

Activiti esSyllabus design, writing tests, resources management...

Activiti esTeacher observation, team teaching, feedback from studen ts...

Strengths and weaknesses Strengths and weaknesses

Teaching style Teaching style

VariationThink a bou t the brain colours of your students. Do Steps Fourand Five, thinking ab out your students an d how they learn.

29




The Johari WindowFour versions of you

RationaleThe Johari Window is a tool for helping you to thin k aboutyourself and y our teaching.

Ac ti vi tyReflecting on the teacher and person you are and the wayothers see you.

Step OneLook at the first grid opposite and read ab out the JohariWindow below.

There are four ways of viewing yourself and your actions through the Johari Window:

• The open self is the self everyone sees, you and other people.

• The blind self is what others see but you yourself don’t. It is often revealed in observation and feedback.

• The secret self is the opposite, what you know about yourself and others don’t. You can choose to reveal secrets, so they become part of the open self.

• The hidden self is the part of you which no-one knows about, neither you nor others, until it surfaces. 7 didn’t know you had it in you. ’ ‘Neither did I!’ Unexpected challenges can help reveal the

hidden self.

Step TwoThink ab out your own teaching or other area of your life.Write an example in each of the four boxes in a grid like theone opposite. A second grid has been filled in with someexamples, to help you get started.

Step ThreeReflect on the secret self: Wh at would happe n if you revealedthe secret you have written down in the secret self box? Whatwould the advantages and disadvantages be?

Step Four Reflect on th e blind self: W ho helped you to ‘see’ and how?Did you benefit fr om seeing? If so, how? Would you like toknow m ore abo ut your blind self?

Step FiveReflect on the hidden self: H ow did you find it? What was thesituation , what were th e circumstan ces, who was involved?

r \The Johari Window

Known to self Unknown to self

Known to others Open Blind

Unknown to others

Secret Hidden

My Johari Window

Known to self Unknown to self

Known to others

Open1like to use music in my classes.

Blind1used to stare at people and unnervethem. 1didn’t realisethis un til a colleaguepointed it ou t to me.

Unknown to others

Secret1find one o f my students really hard to understand when he speaks. I’ve never had the courage to tell him.

Hidden1invented bedtimestories for my children when they were young.

Step SixYour responses to the q uestions in Steps Three to Five willhelp you unde rstand how you have changed and can changemore as a teacher and, perhaps, as a person. Choose one ofthe three sections of the window you have thoug ht a boutand comm it to an action which will help you look againthroug h the Johari Window. Write what you plan to do, anddo it.

NoteThe name ‘Johari’ is derived from combining the two namesof its inventors, Joseph Luft and Harry Ingram.

3D



YOU • LOOKING AT YOURSELF

Tea and two biscuits An ac ti vit y f o r chal lengin g st ress

RationaleThinking carefully and objectively abo ut the causes of stresscan help you generate more positive feelings. Writing thingsdown systematically, and alone, gives you time and personal

space to do this.

Activi tyTo help you und erstand your stress, and w ork out a plan o faction to dea l with it.

Step OneFor this activity, follow the Steps and make notes in th e P roforma opposite. Give yourself time an d a qu iet environme ntto do this. At home on the sofa rather than at your desk atwork, for example, and with a cup of tea and maybe two

biscuits. Don’t worry abo ut crumbs on the paper!Step TwoThink o f something that is causing you stress at the mom entin you r work. State the prob lem clearly and specifically.

Step ThreeAdd some infor mation and examples to illustrate the

prob lem you have identified. Use the se three prom pts to helpyou: When d o you feel this stress? Where? Who is involved?

Step Four Generate possible solutions. At this stage, just bra instorm .Don’t rule any ideas out. Make notes under these threeheadings:

• Avoiding/leaving the situation• Altering the situation• Altering your perception of the situation

Step FiveEvaluate the different options and choose one or two.

Step SixDevelop a plan of action. What will you do? When an dwhere? Who will it involve?

f ~\Solutions for stress

The problem

The details

When:

Where:

Who:

The solutions

Avoid:

Alter the situation:

Alter the perception of the situation:

The action plan

What:

When and where:

Who:

31




Mirror, mirror What do you think of your teaching?

RationaleThis self-observation task is designed to help you evaluateyour own teaching by focusing on three key areas: your plann ing , your performance in class, and you r le arners’

pe rfo rmance in class.

Ac ti vi tyTo reflect on a range of aspects of your teaching and identifyspecific areas for futur e self-observation.

Step OneDecide on a class you wou ld like to observe yourse lfteaching. It can be any you teach, though it can be moreinteresting to choose one you feel is prob lema tic in someway.

Step TwoCopy the Pro-forma opposite. It will help you to focus yourobservation an d give you a written record of it.

Step ThreeMake notes in Section 1 of the Pro-fo rma before the class.

Step Four Immediately after the class, complete Sections 2- 4. Awardyourself a mark out of ten in each section. This will helpyou to ‘get off the fence’ and really pinpoin t strengths andshortcomings.

Step FiveFinally complete Section 5 of the Pro-forma.

Step SixDecide on a specific area to focus on in a future selfobservation. Use your notes in Section 5 to help you. Forexample, if you have decided you want to improve the wayyou correct students, you can make this the single theme o f afuture self-observation.

Self-observation: diagnosis and reflection

Section 1 - Class info rmation

Level: Date:

Class profile:

Aims:

Section 2 - Planning My score

Did I anticipate the problems my students had?

Were the aims appropriate for these students?

Did I achieve my aims (linguistic and communicative)?

Section 3 - Teacher perfor mance My score

Did the students understand my instructions?

Were all my students catered for?

Did I vary interaction patterns between students?

How much did I talk?Was any of my talk ‘inappropriate’?

How/when were students corrected? Was there any peer or self-correction?

Section 4 - Student performance My score

Was there a positive learning environment or not (teacher rapport, humour, listening to students with interest, inappropriate use of L1 by students, bad atmosphere)?

How authentic was the communication?

How much did my students talk (to other students/to me)?

Section 5 - Conclusions My score

In what areas do I need to improve?

32




Go with the flowLooking at student motivation in your class

RationaleMotivation is arguably the m ost im por tant factor affectinghow much your students learn. Challenge is a crucialelement of motivation, so it is a good idea to loo k at yourteaching on a regular basis in terms of how easy or difficultthe work is for your students.

Activi tyTo reflect on how your studen ts are reacting to a lesson andraise your awareness of the level of challenge in you r class.

NoteCsikszentmihalyi has defined ‘flow’ or ‘satisfaction’ as anop timu m state o f affairs where challenge and skill arematched.

• Low challenge comb ined with high skill and a lotof confidence leads to frustration a nd bore dom(‘flight’).

• High challenge with low skill and a lack of confidenceleads to anxiety (‘fight’).

This can be represented in the first diagram opposite.

Step OneOn a piece of A4 paper, sketch a diagram like the oneopposite.

Step TwoAs you are teaching, m ap the differen t lesson stages andactivities into the chart, according to your perceptions. Thereis a completed example opposite.

Step ThreeAfter the lesson, look at you r char t. Ask yourse lf thefollowing questions:

• How could I achieve more flow, less flig ht and less fig ht next time?

• How could I move some o f the items in ‘Flight’ and‘Fight’ into the middle ‘Flow’ section, matching b othchallenge and skill for my students?

VariationsInstead of thinking o f the group as a whole, focus on oneindividua l and m ap their ‘flow’ in your lesson.

Fill in a ‘flow diagram’ for your own life as a teacher. Whendo you feel you are in each o f the three zones

Developmental f low

r nFight or flight?

High confidence/skill

i L

FLIGHTGrammar presentation: /They seemed toknow the superlativeforms already, / FLOWand completed / Vocabulary matchingthe exercise / and feedback:extremely / Lots of newquickly. / vocabulary for them,

but they worked wellin pairs, helping /each other.

FIGHTSpeaking activity:They resorted to useof L1 in some groups.

Lowchallenge ^ High

Low challenge

confidence/skill

High confidence/skill 4

FLIGHT

FIGHT

Lowchallenge

Low

confidence/skill

Highchallenge

33




The icing on the cakeImproving yo ur English

RationaleThe better your English, the more confident you will feel,

bo th in the classroom and comm un ica ting w ith otherspeakers of English outside the classroom. This activity

helps you to focus your efforts where you feel they are mostneeded.

Ac tivi tyTo evaluate different aspects of your English and decide whatyou would like to improve on.

Step OneRead and re spond to th e statem ents in the ‘My English’questionnaire opposite.

This is a per form ance/imp ortance qu estionnaire. For each

statement you give two ratings: the performance rating,according to h ow well you perform in that aspect of yourEnglish, and the importance rating, according to howimp ortan t it is for you to perform well in that aspect. Forexample: for the last statement, ‘I can read a novel in English’, you m ight feel that you can do this quite comfortably andscore 3 or 4 on performance , but tha t it is not imp ortan t foryou (you don’t like reading novels and never need to), so youscore 0 or 1 on importance.

Step TwoIn the spaces provided, add othe r aspects of you r English you

would like to rate, which are not listed. These could be morespecific examples o f the aspects already listed. For example: Dri lling students fo r pronunciation in class Writing informa l e-mails to colleagues in English

Rate the new items for performa nce and importance.

Step ThreeDecide on one aspect you would like to improve and howyou will do it. Use the perform ance/imp ortance scores to helpyou do this, by looking at where you have a lower score for

performance than importance. Write down w hat you decideto do.

Improving my performance

I have decided to improve m y ..................

• How? ............................................

• When? ..........................................

• Who with ? .....................................

• How will I measure my progress?

My English

Performance(0 = not at

all true,5 = completely true)

Importance(0 = not at

all importan5 = very important)

1feel comfortable speaking in English when 1am teaching.

1can understand the coursebook 1use.

1feel comfortable speaking to other non-native speakers.

1feel comfortable speaking to native speakers.

1can communicate effectively in writing.

My pronunciation is good enough to be always understood.

1can understand films and TV in English.

1can read a novel in English.

34




Voda ne perliva prozim A less on in an oth er languag e

RationalePutting yourself in your learners’ shoes by remindingyourse lf how you react and feel in a language lesson is a very

powerful way of provoking reflection a nd reassessment o fyour ow n teaching.

Act iv it yTo experience a language lesson and consider theimplications for y our own teaching.

Step OneYou are going to partic ipate in a lesson in ano ther language.It can be one you already speak partly, or a completely newlanguage. Decide the language and find a teacher (yourchoice may be defined by wh at is available to you ). It can be

a group class (you may have to sign up for more than onehour) or an individual class.

Step TwoEstablish the time and place for the class.

Step ThreeAt some po int before the class, take five minutes to com pletethe sentence stems opposite abou t your feelings andexpectations in the ‘Before’ column.

Step Four Attend the class. Participate as ‘natur ally’ as possible, butmake a few notes about yo ur reactions to jog your memory,if you feel it helpful.

Step FiveShortly after the class, make notes in the ‘After’ colum n o fthe grid abou t what actually happened in relation to yourexpectations. Add any other thou ghts an d insights that occurto you.

Step SixRead your notes and perhaps discuss them with a colleague.What change(s) will you make to you r own teaching as aresult of this experience? List them in the Pro-forma, too.

NoteVoda ne perliva proz im m eans ‘Still water, please!’ in Czech.

Feelings and expectation s

Before Af ter

1hope to learn...

1hope we don’t...

1hope we do...

Thinking about the class, 1feel...

1hope the teacher...

(for a group class) 1hope the other students...

Thoughts and insights

Changes

35



You and your studentsThe second circle

Wh o better to help you develop as a teacher than yo ur ownstudents? These are the people who work with you m ost

and know you best as a teacher. Engaging in developmentalactivities which involve you r learners will benefit bo th youand them.

We are now in the second circle, where the activities canagain be carried ou t without help from other teachers. Thesame advantages therefore apply as in circle one, althoughthe level of challenge increases slightly, as you now need toengage with others. Your students are a captive audience, ofcourse, so you have plenty o f influence over what happ ens inclass. However, whe n you are finding ou t their needs, askingfor feedback and experimenting with new ideas, you willhave to thin k carefully about how best to com municate withthem, so that they feel a sense of partnersh ip.

This is the circle where your development and their development go explicitly hand in hand. The activities here:

• can be used in any teaching context;• are simple to carry out;• require very little or no extra preparation.

Developmental activities with your students work onthe S and E motivations in the RISE model (see theintroduction to the first circle and the activity on page 22):Self-improvement and Enjoyment. However, you may find

you can also share you r experiences with colleagues in thestaffroom, in writing or w orkshops, for example, and gainRecognition.

Opposite is a checklist of things you can do an d whichinvolve you r students. W hich have you already done? Whichhave you n ot tho ug ht o f doing? Which migh t you like toconcentrate on? Which o f the things are of particular interestto you? Read throu gh th e list and give your self a score foreach item.

This second circle is comprised of three sections and we begin by first looking at what o ur stu dents need.

Your students’ needsWhat we know about o ur students can be divided into anum ber of categories, all of which can influence how weteach them.

• Personality• Personal life• Likes and dislikes• Hobbies and interests• Learning styles and intelligences• Strengths and weaknesses in English

f \Personal checklist

There are things you can do with your students in mind, to developyourself and your teaching. Read down the list.

• Give yourself a score from 0-5 for each item, according to howoften you do it (0 = ‘never done this', 5 = ‘done this a lot’).

• Then complete the right-hand column, adding a tick (y0) whereappropriate, if you would like to try something, or do more of it

Things 1have done (or not done) ...Score(0-5)

Made some new material

Used authentic materials (DVD, internet,newspapers, etc)

Got feedback from my students

Talked to my students socially

Experimented with a new method, approach

or technique

Got to know more about an individual learner

Held tutorials with my students

Learnt my students’ mother tongue

Done a needs analysis with my students

Got my students to teach me something

Learnt about my students’ culture

Recorded my students on tape or video

CommentLooking at this list should help identify areas of particular interestfor you (or that you hadn’t perhaps thought of) and will help youdecide which activities you would most like to do.

• Cultural background • Attitude to learning English/to being at school• Reasons for learning English

The exten t to which we are able to, or wish to, cater for

individu ality in the class will depen d on the size of classand the culture we come from or are working in. In somecultures, considerable emphasis is placed on a ttempting totailor learning to individual needs. In others, there is moreempha sis on achieving collective goals.

The first two activities help you find ou t more about yourlearners as individuals. In Dear teacher... y ou ask the studento reflect on themselves, while in Man overboard! you do thopposite, and you reflect on one o f your studen ts. Findingou t abou t the priorities of individuals is an impor tant firststep forward for teachers. An im por tant s econd step in class

36



teaching, as opposed to o ne-to -one teaching, is for studentsto become aware of how their individual needs will fit in withthe rest o f the group. Negotiating what we might call groupneeds’ is addressed in the activities How can we help each other? and Needs from the heart.

When you are teaching children and business Englishstudents, the classes are usually paid for by parents or thestude nts’ companies. The students are the ‘users’ of the

service and the parents or the comp any are the ‘clients’. Inthese situations, it can be importa nt to find out ab out theexpectations and needs of the clients as well as the users. Youmay find you can ada pt these activities in you r own classesto incorporate them.

Getting feedbackWhen was the last time you got some feedback from yourstudents? It may seem like com mon sense to find ou t whatstuden ts thin k o f you r classes, so why isn’t it com mon

practice? One reason for this is tha t teachers are na tur allyanxious about asking students for feedback. Criticism,however well-meant, can be hard to accept in all areas of ourlife! In man y schools, you r learners will be asked formallyto give some feedback on the classes, often throu gh aquestionnaire distributed at the end o f term. This procedurecan be useful for the teacher, the students and the school,

but the re are two sho rtcomings. The first is t iming. Thefeedback comes too late to be acted upon. The second is thatthis manner of collecting feedback can create a sense that thestudents are passive recipients o f the teaching rather th anactive participants.

Getting regular feedback throu gho ut the course will help

you become aware of possible problems in advance, inspireconfidence in your learners and increase your confidence asa teacher.

The activities in this section have three key features:

• They prom ote a collaborative attitude, where theclassroom is seen as place where teacher and studentscan work together to make improvements. With thisin m ind, you will find it easier to get feedback, acceptit and act on it.

• They are designed to be easy to use, because askingfor feedback is difficult.

• They incorporate a variety of approaches, becausewhen you get feedback and how you get feedback willhave an effect on the kind of response you get.

The mo st imp ortan t thing abo ut feedback is to get some!You spend a lo t of time feeding you r learners, you deservethe chance to get ‘fed back’ in r eturn!

Trying something newJohn Fanselow suggests that teachers should incorporatechanges and surprises into their teaching, to keep studentsengaged an d alert. It is also a good strategy for teacher

development. We can group possible changes in teacher behaviou r in to five categories:

• Change who - teacher becomes student, student becomes teacher.

• Change where - change the room layout and your posit ion , teach somewhere else.

• Change how - vary the techniques you use and yourmodes of working.

• Change when - vary the sequence of your lesson plan.• Change what - teach something completely different,

varying your materials.

Trying something new can involve observing what you do,changing what you do, reflecting on wha t you do, keeping a record of what you do, or a co mbination of any of these.For example, if you are won dering ab out the best way tocombine you r students in pairwo rk activities, you can do thefollowing:

• Observe your students in pairwork one day and makenotes on how they perform.

• Try ou t different types of pairing, eg strong withweak students, strong with strong, extrovert withintrovert, and so on.

• Devise a questionnaire for the students, asking abouttheir preferred partners for pairwork.

• Ask othe r teachers what they do.• Reflect on the above.

Training courses for teachers often prom pt you to tr you t these kinds of changes. The activities here helpyou to explore som e o f these possibilities. They involveexperimenting with class management, teacher roles,methods and materials. In some cases, you will find youwant to adop t the change. In o ther cases, you find youdon ’t, but you will und erstand your cu rrent practice

be tte r as a result o f try ing s om eth ing different. Either way,experimenting with change can be a powerful developmentaltool for you and an enjoyable adventure for your students.

Innovations work best if they relate to something th atspecifically concerns you in your teaching. These activities areexamples for you to try out, so you should feel completelyfree to ada pt the ideas and use them simply as a springboardin your own personal situation.

The activities in this circle help you to develop throughgaining a much clearer understanding of your students andthe effect you have on them. You will find tha t you both havequite a lot o f fun, too, particularly with th e activities in theTrying something new section.

You will no do ub t also be keen to talk to colleagues aboutyour experiences, which provides us with a natural link tothe activities in circle three, You and yo ur colleagues.

37



YOU AND YOUR STUDENTS • YOUR STUDENTS’ NEEDS

Dear teac h er ... Man overboard!Casual needs analysis ||j Rescuing the ‘miss ing’ student

RationaleA less formal approach to needs analysis can often elicitmore information than traditional form-filling andquestionnaires.

Ac tivi tyYou find out the bac kground and needs o f the individuallearners in y our class.

Step OneWrite a letter to you r students, adap ting the mod el below toyour ow n teaching situation.

Step TwoIn class, get the students to read the letter. Make sure theyhave understo od it by eliciting examples of what they could

write in reply.Step ThreeAsk them to write you a reply. Tell them they can write inEnglish, or a mixture of English and their own language.

Step Four Collect the replies. Read them and reply to each oneindividually. If you want to let the students r ead each ot he r’sletters and y our replies, pin them up a roun d the class andinvite the students to walk round and read them.

Variation

You could do the activity via e-mail.

A le tter to your st ud ent s j

Dear Students,

I am your teacher. I want to help you improve your English. I have been teaching English for four years. I like playing tennis and listening to music. My favourite singer is Tracy Chapman. I like my job, although it is sometimes quite difficult. I am always interested in ways of improving.

I want to make these classes useful and interesting for you. Can you help me by telling me something about yourself, your life and your experience of learning English? Can you tell me why learning English is important for you and some things you would like to do in class? Thank you.

Yours,

Liria

RationaleThe ‘man overboard’ (or woman, boy or girl!) is the studentin your class who does no t participate, is often absent or lateand seems generally unmo tivated. You would like to help

them o r at least find out more a bout them. Ac ti vi tyYou think abo ut a studen t who is not getting much out ofyour class.

Step OneBefore class, write down everything you know about thestuden t in the first column o f the Pro-form a below.

Step TwoThink abou t what else you would like to know, and write

questions in the second column. Read your q uestions andchoose three which are the m ost interesting/easy to find theanswer to.

Step ThreeGive yourself one week to find the answers to your threequestions, and write the answers in the third column. Youmay need to talk to other teachers, to other students, or thestudent in question, to find the inform ation you need.

Step Four Now look at the info rm ation y ou have in the grid. Think ofa strategy or activity which might help engage your student.

Write it down and tr y it next week.

Student rescue |

1know I’d like to know

Whafound

Personal data

Interests

Behaviour in my class

Contacts/incidents with the student (in or outside class)Behaviour in other classes

Other information

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How can we help each other?Group needs analysis

RationaleIt is useful for you and y our studen ts to be aware o f howlearning is affected by the social dynamic o f the classroom.Results come from the interaction of three players: the

student, their classmates and you, the teacher.

Acti vi tyYour students complete and discuss a questionnaire abo uthow to make the most of themselves, their classmates andtheir teacher as resources f or learning English in class.

Step OneHand out the questionnaire opposite. Ask the students toread Sections 1 and 2 and add at least one statemen t to eachsection.

Step TwoAsk the students to rank each statement in these sections asfollows: 5 = very important, 0 = not at all important.

Step ThreeAsk them to compare a nd discuss their rankings and theiradditions.

Step Four Get some feedback on this. Listen, mostly. Highlightconsensus, and lack of it, where appropriate.

Step Five

Now ask the students to rank each sta tem ent in Section 3, How can the teacher help me?, in the same way as withSections 1 and 2, adding the ir own suggestions.

Step SixHold a ‘pyramid’ discussion. The students work in pairs andagree on a ‘top six’ for this section. Then pa irs combine intogroups of fo ur a nd negotiate further, if necessary, to agreeon a new top six. Finally the whole class negotiate, includingyou, and you all vote on a final top six.

Step SevenThe students make a poster with the six top tips for the

teacher. Put up the pos ter in class if you can.

Making the most of my English class

Score (0-5)5 = very important,0 = not at all important

1 How can I help my self in class?

Use English as much as possible.

Ask questions.

Go to class as often as possible and arrive on time.

Participate as much as possible.

Add more suggestions:

2 How can my classmates help me improve my English?

Listen and talk to me.

Help me when I have difficulties.

Correct me when I speak English.

Do exercises with me in class.


3 How can the teacher help me improve my English?

Listen and talk to me.

Give me opportunities to talk and listen in English.

Give me encouragement.

Make the lessons enjoyable.

Make the lessons useful.

Make the lessons challenging.

Give me opportunit ies to read and write in English.

Show me how to do things in English.

Help me when I have difficulties.

Help me learn new vocabulary and grammar.

Correct me when I speak English.

Help me pronounce English better.


39




Needs from the heartStudents help plan your lessons

RationaleIf students are involved in setting objectives and choosingtasks themselves, classes will be mo re relev ant andmotivating. Their willingness to engage in this kind of

activity may vary according to age, culture and their reasonsfor learning English.

Ac ti vi tyYour students participate in planning a lesson or series oflessons.

Step OneElicit from y our students some things they w ould like todo, or need to do, in English. They might say, for example,‘un de rs tan d films’, ‘talk about my hom e tow n’, ‘read newsstories on the i nter net’ or ‘pro duct pr esen tation’. Elicit quite

a few and write them on the board.

Step TwoDraw a heart shape in the centre of the board or O HPtransparency. Ask the students to choose one of the itemsfrom Step On e which they would like to wo rk on, taking avote if necessary. Write the item they decide inside the h eart.

£ \ Planning a presentation

Step ThreeIn pairs, the stude nts discuss possible activities in class whicwTould help th em improve in th e ch osen aim . For example,if they chose ‘talk abo ut m y home tow n’ they m ight suggest

‘listen to som eone talking a bou t their ho me town’, ‘learnwords and phrases to d escribe a town ’, or ‘practise talkingwith a partner about o ur hom e town’.

Step Four Get feedback. Add the suggestions to the bo ard in the formof a mind map or spidergram. You can, of course, prom ptand make suggestions of your own. See the example below,which is taken from a business class.

Step FiveGet the students to copy the finished spidergram (or

photoc op y it, i f you have used an OHT ). You can also get

two students to make a poster-sized version, to put up inclass for reference.

Step SixAgree with the students an approximate timeframe tocomplete what has been proposed. It may be one lesson or awhole series o f lessons.

Step SevenYou have created a mini-syllabus. Now ma ke sure you do it!Use your pos ter/OH T/stude nts’ copies to tick things off asyou do them.

or audio?By teacher

Teacher helps with language

40



YOU AND YOUR STUDENTS • GETTING FEEDBACK

Three against one Face down, face upBalancing positive and negative feedbac k | | l§§|; Comm ents on cards prom pt student feedback

RationaleStudents can find it difficult to criticise their teacher. Andfor the person receiving feedback (the teacher, in this case),‘suggestions’ are easier to a ct on than criticisms. This activity

works well mid-course.

Activi tyThe students express what they like about the class andsuggest improvements.

Step OneAt the beginning of a lesson (midway throu gh a term orcourse), distribute the questionnaire below and ask thestudents to complete the first part. Com plete one yourself, too.

Three-against-one questionnaire

1 Three things I like about the class:

©©©One suggestion I have for the teacher:

2 One more ‘like’:One more suggestion:

Step TwoAsk the students to stand up with their questionnaire andwalk arou nd the roo m. When you call out Stop! they shouldstop and talk to the person nearest them about wha t theyhave written. After a minute or two, call out Move! and thenStop! again. The students now talk to a different person.Repeat until the students have talked to three or fourclassmates (abo ut five minutes in total). Join in the activityyou rself if you would like to.

Step ThreeTell the students to sit down and th ink abo ut their

classmates’ likes and suggestions. They choose their favourite‘like’ and their favourite suggestion fro m a classmate a ndadd the m to th eir questionnaire in the space provided.

Step Four Collect the questionnaires. Thank the students and tell themyou will read the m after class.

Step FiveAt the next class, give the s tuden ts feedback on theirquestions or suggestions. Highlight at least one suggestionyou will definitely be implementing .

RationaleGetting students to discuss their reactions to the class helpsthem to elaborate on thoug hts more tha n in writing, and to

become aware o f othe r stude nts’ opin ion s. Pr om pts will help

to get them think ing and talking.

Ac tivi tyThe students discuss their opinions about the class byresponding to prom pts on cards while you listen to theircomments.

Step OneBefore class, cut out the prompt cards below, adding two ofyour own. Make one set of cards per three or four students.

Step Two

Put the students into groups of three or four, with one setof cards for each, face down. Explain that the cards containcomments students sometimes make about English classes.One stud ent should tu rn over the first card and read it to thegroup, who then discuss the statement, saying if they agreeor disagree. Encourage them to refer to examples fromlessons to s upp ort the ir points. When they are ready, theytur n over another statement and discuss it. Begin by startinga discussion o f one of the statements as a whole-class activity.

Step ThreeAfter about ten minutes, tell the studen ts to stop. Ask them

to choose one of the statements (the one they found m ostinteresting or the one which caused most disagreement, forexample) and nom inate a person to repor t back.

Step Four The sp okesperson re ports back to the class. You listen, andhelp with language if necessary, bu t don’t dispute any of the

po ints raised.

Step FiveThank the students, summarise any key points tha t emergedand promise to take their suggestions into acco unt in futurelessons.

We should speak more in class.

We speak our own language too much in class.

I think the listening activities are too difficult.

Sometimes the lessons are too easy.

We learn useful vocabulary.

I wish the teacher would correct my mistakes more.

We could improve the appearance of the classroom.

The materials we use in class are interesting.

41




Pain and gainComparin g learning and fun

RationaleCan learning be fun? Are your studen ts’ ideas o f fun thesame as yours? You might be su rprised by the feedback youget in this activity.

Acti vi tyYour students reflect on the differen t stages of a class theyhave had an d rate them in terms of learning and enjoyment.

NoteYou need 15 minutes for this at the end of the lesson, so plana shorter lesson.

Step OneElicit from the students the stages/activities in the lesson,and get them to write them in a Pro-forma (see the example

opposite). You don’t need to cover the whole lesson. Three orfour stages are enough. Use the board o r OH P to help you.

Step TwoAsk the students to award each stage a score from 0-3,according to how useful and how enjoyable they tho ugh t itwas. (0 = ‘no t useful ’, 3 = ‘very useful ’). Ask them to writesome comm ents in the last column, such as:

• I w anted more time on this.• The examples were very helpful.• This was fu n because we spoke a lot.

Do the same yourself.

Step ThreeIn groups of three or four, the students discuss what theyhave written, while you monitor.

Step Four Collect the questionnaires and read them. C ompare theirresponses to yours. Are there any differences? Write downthe most im por tant thing you have learned from thisfeedback. Share this with your students at the next class.

Pain or gain

Lesson activity/stage (What we did)

Useful(0-3)

Enjoyable(0-3)

Comment

The class talking about holidays with the teacher.

Listening to a CD with someone talking about their holidays and answering T/F questions.

The teacher explaining how to form questions in English.

Doing a gap-fill activity on question forms.

Talking in pairs about our last holiday.

The teacher discussing our mistakes after the speaking activity.

42




Four fast f eedback formatsQuick, easy and effective

Hot feedbac kHow are you feeling?

This activity explores the affective side of learning. It givesyou a quick snapshot of how students are feeling at a given po in t in the lesson. This is useful in itse lf and requires nospecific follow-up.

Step OneStop the class at some poin t in the lesson. It can be at anymomen t: while you are addressing them or while they areworking in pairs or groups.

Step TwoWrite on the boa rd the following question:

How are you feeling a t the mo me nt?Give out slips of paper and ask the students to write a few

lines in response to the question. Tell them you want them to be ho nest and that the slips are anonymous. Give them a fewminutes to do this.

Step ThreeCollect the slips of paper and read them after class, but don’tfeel you need to discuss them with the students.

Cooi feedbackWhat can you remember?

This activity helps you u nders tand w hat is memorable forstudents, not necessarily in terms of what they learnt b ut

what they think about the lesson in hindsight.

Step OneAt the start o f the lesson, write on the boar d the followingquestion:

Wha t can you remember about the last class we had?

Step TwoGive out slips of paper and ask the students to write a fewlines in response to the question. Tell them they can writeany memories that come into their head:

• wha t they did, saw, said, learnt;• the room, the people, the teacher;• what they heard, something funny, anything.

Give them a pro mp t or two to help them focus.

Step ThreeGive them a few minutes to d o this and do it yourself, too.

Step Four Tell the students to pin their pieces of paper on the wallfor others to read, or pass them rou nd. Join the students inreading and c omm enting on what they have written. Keepthis light-hearted: d on’t write anything down, b ut make amental no te o f everything.

Feedback on learningWhat did you learn today?

Inp ut rarely corresponds to intake in teaching. This activityhelps you to see the lesson content through the studen ts’eyes. You may (or may no t) be surp rised to find that your

perceptions and those o f your learners do n ot always coincide.

NoteAllow ten minu tes at the end of class for this.

Step OneAsk the students to write down on a piece of paper three things they have learned or practised today. Do the sameyourself.

Step TwoGet the students to pass the papers round the class in aclockwise direction, reading each one as they go, until theyget their ow n pap er back, so they read everyone else’s. If youhave a large class, you can do this in smaller groups.

Step ThreeIn pairs or small groups, the students discuss what theywrote an d read. You read and listen, as you mo nitor thegroups.

Step Four Write on the bo ard your three things, and ro un d off with alight-hearted plenary discussion h ighlighting any differences

between you and the students and between different students.

Feedback on funWhat did you like best today?

This simple procedure helps you to und erstand where in thelesson the students are having fun, an d if different studentshave different ideas o f fun.

Step One Near the en d o f the class, write these two questions on the board :

• Wh at was the mo st fu n pa rt o f the class today?

• Why?Step TwoThe students discuss the two questions in pairs or groups.

Step ThreeHold a feedback discu ssion with the whole class.

VariationSubstitute the wo rd fu n for boring.

43




Learning from young learnersThey can give you feedback , too

RationaleMost young learners can give valuable and helpful feedbackto teachers. Wha t is more, they enjoy doing so. Thequestionnaire here can be translated in p art o r fully into the

learners’ first language if necessary. Ac ti vi tyYour young learners give you m id-term or mid-cou rsefeedback on different aspects o f the class.

Step OneDistribute the questionnaire opposite to the children. If it is inEnglish, make sure they understand it. Check the vocabularyand do some examples. Tell the children to complete thequestionna ire individually. Tell them you wou ld like them to

be honest in their answers and tha t it will help you a lot: you

will read them afterwards.

Step TwoCollect the questionnaires and read them after class. Don’twrite on them bu t keep them safe. Act on what you find out.

Step ThreeGive the children their questionnaires back at the samestage the following term, for example. Tell them to read thequestionnaires and change any answers they want to. Collectthem again and read them.

Stage Four

You may choose to follow Steps Two or Three with adiscussion, if you feel this would be useful.

Four fast feedb ack form ats• Write the day’s activities on the board. The children stan d

next to the activity they enjoyed most. Make a mental noteof their preferences, perhaps comm ent on them, and tellthem to sit down.

• Make a chart which lists all the days you have a lesson and pu t i t on the wall. At the en d o f each lesson, the children put d ifferent colo ured stickers by the date o f that lesson:

a green sticker for ‘a great day’, blue for ‘okay’, red for ‘notvery good’.

• Write on the board in three columns: I learned a lot today. I learned some things today. I did n’t learn a lot today.Leave the room, having asked the children to put a tickund er the comm ent they think is true for them.

• Ask the children to rate the lessons privately in theirnotebooks, using the same m arking scheme you use withthem: ABC, or a mar k ou t of 10, for example. Wh en youcollect their books to mark some of their work, look at

your marks.

C [ \

My English class

Name..............................................................................

Read and draw stars.I like it a lot: ★★★ It’s OK: ★★ I don’t like it much:

TickWhen the teacher speaks ...

I always understand. □I sometimes understand. □I never understand. □

When I don’t understand, it’s OK to ask the teacher.

YES □ NO □ MAYBE □

Ch oo se a f ac e: © © ©

Easy or diff icult? Put the num ber in the ‘Easy’ box or the ‘Difficult’ box.

1 Spelling 5 Understanding the CD2 Listening tothe teacher 6 Reading on my own3 Remembering words 7 Listening and repeati4 Speaking 8 Writing a story

Acknowledgem en tThe young learne r feedback activities are based o n ideasfrom Nicola Meldrum.

Doing exercises from the book

Learning new words

Writing stories Tests

Games Speaking in English with my friends

Reading stories with the teacher

Watching videos

We work in We workgroups. alone.

We work in We speak to everyonepairs. in the class.

I want to do more

44



YOU AND YOUR STUDENTS • TRYING SOMETHING NEW

Together or alone? To pre-teach ... or not? An ex per im en t wit h g roupw ork writ in g g j 0 1 An experiment with vocabulary in reading

RationaleExperimenting with different ways of teaching helps youto und erstand w hat works best for you and your students.Studen ts enjoy partic ipating in exper imen ts’, which providevariety and give them the op por tunity to reflect on an ddiscuss how they learn best. Inc orporatin g activities like thisinto your teaching shows them th at you take their learningseriously.

Ac ti vi tyYour students compare w orking alone with working in agroup on a writing task.

Step OneBefore class, choose an e-mail/letter-writing task from your

coursebook or other source with two parts. For example, thetask could be writing to complain about som ething and thenwriting a reply to the complaint, or writing an e-mail to afriend and then writing a reply.

Step TwoDivide the class in half, and set the first par t of the task.

Group A: Ask them to complete the first part of the writing task individually.

Group B: They complete the first part of the task in groups of three, with one person acting as scribe.

Step ThreeCollect the scripts from the Gro up A students and distributethem to each Group B student. Do the same for Group B,distributing their scripts to Group A, who should now be

put in threes.

Step Four Tell the studen ts to write the replies to the letters/e-ma ilsthey have been given. Group A are now working in threesand Group B individually.

Step FiveAfter the writing tasks are completed, get the students todiscuss in their groups (or new groups) the differences

between the two ways o f working, and which they pre fer red .

Step SixRound off with a plenary feedback session. Wh at do thestuden ts have to say? Will the expe riment cause you tochange the way you teach writing?

RationaleThe issue explored here - whether to pre-teach vocabularyor have the students work o ut meaning from context - is onewhich is very often debated by teachers and which providesan ideal activity for both research and innovation.

Ac tivi tyYou test and evaluate two d ifferent ways of reading andlearning vocabu lary in class.

Step OneBefore class, choose a text from your coursebook or othersource. Decide on a set of ten words or phrases yo u wantyour stude nts to learn from it.

Step TwoDivide the class into two halves and tell them that bothgroups are going to read a text and learn some vocabulary,

but in dif ferent ways. Tell them the y have 20 m inu tes , a t theend o f which time they will have a short test on the text andthe vocabulary.

Group A: Give them the vocabulary list and somedictionaries. After ten minutes, give them the text to read, with the words underlined. The students work in pairs.

Group B: Give them the text with the words underlinedbut no dictionaries. After ten minutes, give them the dictionaries. The students work in pairs.

Step ThreeGive all the students a copy of the text with com prehensionquestions (as in the coursebook, or y our own if you prefer)and the ten un derlined words taken out. (You will need tohave prepared this.) Tell them to fill the blanks with thecorrect word, and answer the questions. Give them fiveminutes to complete the test on their own.

Step Four Put the answers to the test on the bo ard o r OHP, for the

students to check. Which group got the best results on the test?

Step FivePut the students in groups of four, with two As and two Bsin each group. They discuss the differences between the twoapproaches, and which they preferred.

Step SixRoun d o ff with whole-class feedback. Wha t do the studentshave to say? Will the expe rimen t cause you to change the wayyou teach vocabulary with reading texts?

45




Correction traffic lightsDifferent ways of correcting speaking errors

Interactive interruptingOffering new opportunities in listening practice

RationaleIf you are curious about experimenting with different waysof correcting your students, you will find this activity useful,as it helps you to learn abo ut you r students’ preferences.

Ac tivi tyYou compare different approaches to correcting errors inspeaking activities.

Step OneChoose a speaking activity that will keep the students talkingfor 5- 10 minutes, depending o n the ir level. The activitycould be a roleplay, a group discussion, or pair conversation.It is important that the activity allows the students to speakfreely.

Step TwoDivide the class into three groups: Red, Yellow and Green.Each group mem ber should be identified with a coloursticker on their arm, or anywhere clearly visible. Tell thestudents th at w hen they are speaking, you will be walkingaround listening but treating each colour differently.

Red: You will be correcting every mistake you hear them make. They can ask you for help.

Yellow: You will not correct them at all. They can ask you for help.

Green: You will not correct them at all. They can’t ask you for help.

Step ThreeDo the activity, correcting the stud ents (or not) according tothe criteria.

Step Four Put the students in groups o f three (with each groupcontaining one p erson o f each colour). Get them to discussthe differences between the three ways o f working and w hichthey preferred.

Step FiveRound off with whole-class feedback. You may find youwant to change your approach to correcting errors after this,or you may find it reinforces your belief in your currentapproach.

RationaleMany students find listening the most difficult skill, andrep ort high levels o f anxiety w hen doin g listening activitiesin class, perhaps because com mon practice in coursebooks is

to a do pt a ‘test-like’ appro ach. S tudents typically listen to arecording and answer some q uestions afterwards. Here, theydon’t have to wait.

Ac tivi tyYour students listen to a recording and interrupt, askingquestions to clarify' their understanding.

Step OneChoose a listening text from your coursebo ok or o thersource, and prepare copies of the script if necessary and ifyou plan to give it out.

Step TwoDo your usual pre-listening activities, to raise awareness othe topic/context and pre-teach the key language.

Step ThreeDo no t set any listening task or questions. Instead, followthis procedure:

• Tell the students tha t you will start playing therecording and they should ask you to stop wheneverthey want to ask a question or com men t on whatthey have heard.

• When a student asks you to stop the recording, youand the o ther students sho uld listen to the questionor comment, and respond as appropriate. Encourageother students to respond if they can, rather than

you. Replay if necessary.• Continue, until you have listened to the end of the

recording.• Play the recording again, this time without stopping,

for students to listen to the whole text.

Step Four Give the students the script if you wish and carry out anypost-listening follow-up work tha t you would norm ally do.

Step FivePut the stud ents in group s o f three. Get them to discuss whatthey thou ght were the pros and cons o f listening in this way.Wo uld they like to listen in this way in the future?

Step SixRo und off with whole-class feedback. You may find you wantto change your approach to listening after this, or it mayreinforce your belief in your curren t approach.

46




A VAK experimentVisual, Auditory and Kinaesthetic learning

RationaleThis task helps your students to become aware of differentlearning styles and to consider which they prefer.

Ac tivi tyThe stud ents w ork on a text in three different ways: visual,auditory and kinaesthetic.

Step OneChoose a story-type text from your coursebook o r othersource: not too long, between 100 and 300 words. Photocopyit by itself on a bare white page with nothing aroun d it.

Step TwoDivide the class into three groups, and give each group acopy of the text and the following instructions. Give thegroups ab out 20 minutes to complete the task.

f \ A VAK exp eri men t

Group V: VisualThe text is for a coursebook for students o f English. Your

job is to provide some visual support to help students understand the text and the vocabulary in it. You can draw pictures, diagrams, maps (or download pictures from google images if you have a computer available).Make a poster to illustrate your ideas. You can cut the text and put it in the middle of the poster if you wish.

Group A: AuditoryThe text is for a coursebook for students of English. Your

job is to make a good recording of it so that students can listen to it, as well as read it. Decide how you will record it and rehearse. Your teacher will help you with pronunciation. Prepare a recording and, if you can, record it.

Group K: KinaestheticYour job is to create some mime and action to accompany the story, to help people understand the text and the vocabulary in it. Prepare to perform the story.

Step Three• Group V present their poster to the rest of the class.• Group A play their recording or read the text aloud.• Group K perform their mimes/actions while Group

A are performing.

Step Four The students discuss in groups o f three (V+A+K in eachgroup) the three ways of working, and which they preferred.

Step FiveRound of f with whole-class feedback. You could repeat theactivity another day with a different text and the groupstaking a different letter.

The black bookKeeping a record of stud ents’ mistakes

RationaleThis activity will help you to listen carefully to you r learnersand be m ore sensitive to their difficulties in speaking English.

Ac ti vi tyYou keep a systematic note o f your learners ’ mistakes for oneweek, for use in future classes.

Step OneBuy a noteb ook (A4 o r A5 size). It do esn’t have to be black!Assign a page for each lesson you are teaching th e followingweek. You can do this chronologically, or gro upe d by class orlevel. Divide each page into fou r columns (or qua rters, as inthe example Pro-form a below).

Step TwoIn each lesson, and for one week, make notes in the book, onthe approp riate page and in the app ropriate place, when thestudents are doing a speaking activity.

Step ThreeAt the en d o f the week, read throug h the book.

Step Four Choose one of these three options:

• Use the notes you have made as a kind of min isyllabus for future teaching of language points.

• Photocopy a page (or pages) from the boo k and giveit to your students to discuss and correct.

• Write a text or dialogue containing the mistakes andask the students to correct it.

You may choose to hand the black book over to a stude ntfor a lesson and let them keep a record of the errors andsuccesses they notice.

f \Keeping a record

Gr ammar /Vocabul ar y Pronunciation

1go always to cinema.

She have got a cat.

Does she can swim?

Swimming bath

My fathers

Comfortable

Bag - said ‘back’

Intonation very flat in ‘Can 1help yo u?’

Use of L1 Very good English

Bodega

Ocio

lY o que se?

1don’t ever see my sister.

Have you seen Quantum of Solace?

Good pronunciation o f ‘amazing’

47




Ready, steady, record!Playing back fo r future planning

RationaleThis is a very simple idea a nd it is no t new, bu t it isimmensely useful for teachers and studen ts. You will havethe time to analyse their perform ance in mo re depth tha n

in class, and your students will become more aware of theirEnglish. The procedure here is designed to make it as easyas possible to carry out. There are two versions, according toresources you have available.

Ac ti vi tyYou record your students speaking then play the recording

back, so that they and you can bo th hear how they perform.

1 If most of you r stud ents have MP3s.

Step OneTell the s tudents to bring their MP3 players to class. Theseusually have built-in microphones. You will need one per

pair, so it d oesn’t ma tte r i f som e forget. I f you have fewerthan half the students with an MP3, do a second speakingactivity and pass the MP3 recorders ro und.

Step TwoSet the students a short speaking task to do in pairs andtell them, when they are ready, to record themselves. Forexample, ask them to talk about two cities they know and tosay which they prefer.

Step ThreeThe stud ents listen to their conversations in their pairs, usingtheir headph ones (one ear-piece each). They can repeatthe activity and make a second recording if they wish. Theyusually want to improve, and it is good to encourage this,although yo u need to set a time limit.

Step Four Ask for a copy of the files. These can either be transferredonto yo ur or th e school’s computer, or the students can sendyou the file as an e-mail attachment.

Step Five

Listen to the reco rdings a fter class. Make notes on difficultiesthe students had. You can use the following catagories:

• Grammar • Vocabulary• Pronunciation• Use of LI

Use a Pro-forma like the one opposite to organise yournotes: the information will help you plan future classes. Noteexamples o f successful usage, too.

C \Recording students’ performance

Grammar/Vocabulary Pronunciation

Is more big.

There are too much cars.

Did you was there?

The people are sympatic.

Is very pollution.

Important

‘Poluthion’ (for pollution)

The weather was very bad.(stress!)Walk v work

Use of L1 Very good English

Acera

Museo

Ladron

iQ ue dices?

1wouldn’t recommend it.

There is a lot more to do inBarcelona.

The nightlife in Madrid is better.

2 If your students don ’t have MP3s, you will need anMP3/dictaph one/tape recorder with microphone.

Step OneHave a set of speaking prompts prepared. (For example: ‘talkabo ut yo ur b rot he r o r s ister’, ‘discuss the wea ther’, ‘tell your

pa rtne r a bo ut a film you have seen rec ently’.) You nee d one pr om pt for every two stu dents .

Step TwoPair the students, and give each pair a prompt. Tell them totalk for about two minutes. Record one of the pairs.

Step ThreeRepeat until you have recorded all the pairs.

If you have more th an eight students, you m ight want tospread this over two or three lessons, recording just four

pairs pe r lesson. Alternative ly, in a large class, you can ask forthree or fou r volunteer pairs to record.

Step Four Play the recordings to the class. (You can always leave thisstage out, depe nding o n how you think th e stude nts will feel

abou t it.)

Step FiveListen to the recordings after class. Make notes on thedifficulties the students had. Use the Pro-forma above tohelp organise your notes: the inform ation will help you planfuture classes.

VariationThe students can be given the Pro-form as to correctthemselves when they listen back.

48




Teaching back to frontVarying the arrangem ent of the room

Rationale‘Psychogeography ’ refers to the way seating arran gementsand p ositioning can affect commu nication. This activityencourages you to play with this, an d observe the effects it can

have in your classroom. It can be as simple as you standing atthe back of the classroom rather tha n at the front.

Ac tivi tyTrying ou t new seating arrangemen ts in yo ur classroom.

Step OneIn the diagram opposite, there are ten examples ofclassroom layouts for students. Look at the list of typicalclassroom activities below and decide wh ich layouts could

be appropria te. Be creative. Think of at least two poss iblelayouts for each activity type.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Classroom activities

Layout

Discussion/debateRoleplay in closed pairsTeacher presenting grammar or vocabularyDrillingListening to a recordingWatching a DVDReadingWriting, with teacher correctingPeer dictationPractising speaking on the telephoneDoing written exercises with other studentsFree speaking with a partner Project workPlaying a gameSpeaking with lots of other studentsListening to a teacher anecdote

Performing a roleplay to the classPractising reading a dialogue with a partner Doing written exercises aloneDoing a class survey

Step TwoChoose a layout which you d on’t norm ally use and choosean activity in one o f your classes to use it for. For example,if your students are norma lly in a horseshoe for pairwork

practic e (layout 1), try a wheel (layout 4).

Classroom layouts

1 Horseshoe

<-/

/

3 CircleI I

/ \

/

5 Lines facing inCI - > <r-

7 Rows wide apart Z

9 ClustersL

/ \ \ / / \

\ /

/ \

\ /

2 RowsC I

4 Wheel1 J

(I ' 1\ ^ y

6 Lines facing outl---------- 1

< - l

8 PairsI I

/ / W

10 Random seating

/

n

\

Step ThreeWhen you come to do the activity in class, tell the studentsyou want them to move the chairs. Draw what you want onthe board, to help them.

Step Four The students do the activity.

Step FiveAfter the activity, get a quick reaction f rom the s tudents.How d id the layout change the way they worked or the waythey felt? Having don e this activity, you may wan t to usemore va riations of classroom layout in the future.

VariationTry any of these seating arrang ements standing up.

49




Teaching inside outUsing mother-tong ue materials to practise English

Teaching in reverseTeacher-student role reversal

RationaleLI materials such as songs and newspaper articles are easyto find, relevant to students and can generate very usefullanguage work, as students start on the inside, with their

own language, and turn it into the target language. Activi tyIn a monolingual class, you teach English using an item ofmother-tongue input as the basis for your class activity.

Step OneYou (or you r students) choose an LI text: a song, an articlefrom a newspaper or magazine, or from the internet. Considerthe English your students will need in order to deal with thematerial an d the possible help you will need to give them.

Step TwoPrepare th e activity. Here are some ideas:

• Give the students two minutes to skim read the text.Then one studen t turns it over and gives a summaryof the text in English to an other, who checks, correctsand clarifies any problems.

• Alternatively, the student with the text asks questionsto the student who has turne d it over. Both questionsand answers should be in English.

• The students translate the first 50 words on their ownin writing. They then compare.

• Turn the text into a listening task. Read out a

translation of the text, but include a few factualmistakes. Then give out the LI texts, and the studentsread to see if they can spot the errors.

• Give the texts out. The students work alone andchoose five words o r phrases they would like to knowthe English for. They then work w ith a partne r andcompare words an d phrases, peer teaching each otherthe trans lation where possible. They must make anew list of five remaining words o r phrases. Repeatthis process with pairs joinin g pairs.

Encourage the students to ask questions like: Ho w do you say ‘X ’ in English? Be prepared to offer help, but avoidoverpreparing su ppo rt materials. Let the students do thework, and simply be prepared to respond to requests for help.

Step ThreeWhen you have carried o ut the activity, you an d yourstudents can com plete the two promp ts below and discuss:

• This activity was good because ...• This activity was difficult because ...

This will help you and th em to un ders tand the advantages anddisadvantages of using material from their mo ther tongue.

RationaleExchanging roles can be very empowering for students an denlightening for teachers. It is often funny, too, which is

probably why it is a pop ular device in several Hollywood

films. Ac tivi tyYou exchange roles with a student.

Step OneIf your students are familiar with Hollywood films, you canset the scene with a brief discussion of Big, Freaky Friday, othe r role-reversal films.

Step TwoSet up a speaking activity. For example, the students work in

pairs or small groups to discuss the ir plans for the weekend.

Step ThreeAsk for a volunteer to exchange roles with you for fiveminutes (or draw names fro m a hat to choose who it is).Sit down in the studen t’s seat and invite the s tudent to sitin yours o r stand where you usually stand. Give the stude ntyour boa rd pen. You can brief them on w hat to do if you feelit necessary.

Step Four Continue the class. The students do the speaking activitywith you, the teacher, as one o f the students, and the new

‘teache r’ mo nitorin g, co rrecting, etc.Step FiveAfter the activity, ask the s tudent-teacher to continue in therole, if you feel they wou ld like to, condu cting feedback,nom inating students to re port back, correcting their English,offering praise, and so on.

Step SixRetur n to your origina l roles. Get the class to give thestudent-teacher a ro und of applause.

50




Teaching upside downTrying a com pletely new method

RationaleTrying out a new me thod, an d turn ing your regular teachingroutine on its head, can give you im porta nt insights intoyour own m ethod of teaching. Your students will enjoy the

change and learn from the experience. It may open up adiscussion about methods in general. In this activity youexperiment with Com mu nity Language Learning (CLL*).

Act iv it yYou teach a lesson using Community Language Learning (ina monolingual class - the oth er method s suggested are moreopen).

NoteYou need to be able to speak you r stud ents’ LI to do this.The activity works best w ith elementary-level students. Youneed a small group (m aximum eight students). If you havemore, you can designate extra students as ‘substitutes’ andhave them change places with the starting eight as the lesson

progresses. Also, you need to record students in this activity.

Step OneTell the students they are going to be sampling a newmetho d. Tell them the activity will take 20 minutes.

Step TwoThe eight students and you sit in a circle, with a recordingdevice at the ready.

Step ThreeTell the s tuden ts they are going to have a conversation inEnglish abou t anyth ing they want. You will help them bytranslating wha t they want to say (or just the items theydon’t know in English) from their mo ther tongue intoEnglish, and by helping them with pro nunciation. They willrecord the conversation.

Step Four The conversation begins, with a student raising their hand andtelling you in their LI what they w ant to say For example:

‘I w ant to ask Pablo if he saw the match last night.’

You, the teacher, supp ly the English version and, if necessary,drill it. Then the student addresses the question to Pablo:

‘Did you see the match last night?’The question is recorded.

Step FivePablo replies, and the conversation continues in this way,with othe r students joining in, for about 10-15 minutes.

Step SixPlay the recording of the conversation to the students, andwork furthe r on the languag e/pronunciation if you wish.

Step SevenDiscuss with the students how they felt about learningEnglish this way.

• What are the pros and cons?

• Would they like to repeat the experience?Are there elements of the new metho d they found

partic ula rly helpfu l which y ou could inco rporate in yourusual class?

^Community Language Learning is an approach in whichstudents work together to develop what aspects of a languagethey would like to learn. The teacher acts as a counsellor anda paraphraser, while the learner acts as a collaborator.Themetho d was developed by Charles A. Curra n, a professorof psychology at Loyola University, USA. It is also knownas ‘Counselling Learning’, as Curr an likened th e teacher-

student relationship to tha t of counsellor and client.

Multiple methodsIf you want to expe riment some mo re with teaching upside down, there are many o ther method s which you might liketo try with your students.

• You can keyword search on the interne t for moreinformation.

• For detailed descriptions of how these methods workin class, you can consult Techniques an d Principles in

Language Teaching by Diane Larsen-Freeman (OUP

2000 ).

The Silent WayThe teac her says very little. The metho d entails a good dealof eliciting from students, who pu t sounds together fromvisual clues. The teacher uses gesture to create meaning andcontext.

SuggestopaediaA relaxing and inspiring environment is created withcomfortable chairs and music. The students read and‘abso rb’ language from texts in the targe t language, andtrans lation is also used.

Aud io -l in gual MethodBased on b ehaviou rist psychology, which views languagelearning as habit formation. The m ethod entails mainly‘listen and repeat’ activities, with dialogues and drills an dstrictly no use of the m other tongue.

Total Physical ResponseBased on students listening to and following instructionsgiven by the teacher. It resembles the way we learn ou r firstlanguage: through listening to parents and responding with

physical m ovement.

51



You and your colleaguesThe third circle

In the first two circles, we looked at development activitiesyou can do alone and w ith your students. We are now in thethird circle, where the activities incorporate other teachers,sometimes with your students and sometimes without. Theseactivities can be m ore difficult to set up, given that theyrequire more negotiation and co-operation, as we move fromindependent to co-dependent action. On the other hand, theycan be very satisfying and rewarding for this same reason.

Development activities with you r colleagues work mainly onthe S and E motivations in the RISE model (see theintroduction to the first circle and the activity on page 22):Self-improvement an d Enjoyment. However, as they are bynatu re more ‘pub lic’ activities, you may also gainRecognition.

Opposite is a checklist of things you can do in collaborationwith you r fellow teachers to develop yourself and you rteaching. Which things are of particular interest to you?Which have you already done? Which have you n ot th ough tof doing? Which might you like to concentra te on? Readthro ugh the list and give yourself a score for each item.

There are two fundamental places where developmentalcollabora tion can occur with colleagues: inside theclassroom, with your students, and in the staffroom (inother words: outside the classroom). However, some activity,like men toring , will move between the two, and will take

place ‘in and out’.

In the classroomPeer observation, in various forms, and team teaching(teaching a class together ) are two key ways for teachers todevelop their awareness of their own teaching. One problemwith peer observation can be the interpretation of therole of the observer. Despite the best intentions , observerscan often find themselves being critical and judgemental,

perhaps because this is the model they are familiar with , as aconsequence of evaluative observations on training coursesand from employers. The effectiveness of peer observa tion as

a developmental, rather than evaluative, tool depends on:

• the relationship between you and your colleague;• how you structure the activity;• the ability of you both to comm unicate clearly and

with sensitivity;• taking care with the use of judgemen tal feedback.

The activities in this section are structured to encourageteachers to share classrooms in a non-eva luative way, orwith evaluation strictly controlled by the observee. In

C \Personal checklist

There are things you can do with your colleagues to develop yourselfand your teaching. Read down the list.


• Then complete the right-hand column, adding a tick (/*") whereappropriate, if you would like to try something, or do more of it


(**)

Discussed TEFL theory/literature with a colleague

Observed a colleague

Been observed by a colleague

Swapped materials

Shared the teaching of a lesson with a colleague

Videoed myself teaching

Acted as mentor or mentee

Spent time socially with colleagues

Taken part in team-building activities withcolleagues

Set up a blog, wiki or web project with colleagues

CommentLooking at this list should help identify areas of particular interest

for you (or that you hadn’t perhaps thought of) and will help youdecide which activities you would most like to do.

othe r words, they are activities for development rather thantraining. And there are certainly plenty of areas that you canfocus on, bo th general, regarding your way of teaching, andspecific, regarding a particular class. These areas can covermultiple aspects o f you r teaching:

• Language - how you correct students or how youexplain or clarify new language.

• Classroom routines - how you give instructions, usethe whiteboard, or how m uch time you talk.

• Classroom management - your responses todisruptive behaviour, and how you control yourstudents’ reactions an d the ir performance inactivities.

• Rapport - your body language and movement, andyour interactions w ith individual students.

The activity Be m y judge does allow for more judgem entalcomment from a colleague, but in a well-defined framework,

52



and it focuses on three of these areas. Scary Movie is perhapsespecially helpful for looking at aspects o f your teachingsuch as you r body language and yo ur ‘teacher talk’.

So how can we ensure that we receive the information wewant, in order to be able to act upon it, without feeling‘un de r attack’? Below are some suggestions o n how tocommunicate effectively with colleagues when conducting

peer observations.

Observers should:• allow the observee to control the situation;• ask the observee what they would like them to

observe exactly, and follow their instructions;• say, if asked to give feedback, three positive things for

every ‘suggestion’ they wish to make.

Observees should:• control the situation;• give the observer some specific instructions abo ut

wha t they would like them to observe;• elicit as much or as little feedback as they want.

Both of you should:• mind your language;• describe rather than evaluate;• listen carefully.

If you are interested in working m ore on your comm unicationskills, you can tr y the ac tivity Six ways o f talking, in circle five.Opposite here are some guidelines on what to do and whatnot to do (and say), when collaborating with other teachers.

In the staffroomThe staffroom (both as a place and as a collection ofcolleagues) can be a key factor in you r developm entas a teacher. The atmosphere in the staffroom, and therelationships you form with colleagues, can provide theconfidence, support and motivation to inspire development.The activities in this section are aimed at helping you tocreate and maintain a positive staffroom atmosphere and to

bu ild ra pp or t with your colleagues. They cover collabora tive pro jects, bondin g, discreet observation and tr iallingactivities.

And for teachers who work off-site or don’t have a staffroomto gather in, the best way to stay in contac t with colleagues

and build a sense of community is online. This can bedone th roug h the use of blogs, or tools such as Facebookand Moodle, which provide a space for teachers to storeinformation and exchange ideas. The final activity in thissection, Virtual staffroom, deals with this.

In and outThe two ‘mento ring ’ activities in this section involve workingwith a colleague both inside and outside the classroom. Amentor is a (usually experienced) person who gives supportto the growth and learning of anoth er person (usually

f \Observation

Observers do say...

Observers don’t s ay...

Recommendations

Two of the pairs were speaking in Spanish in the second practice activity.

There’s lots of Spanish spoken in

your class.

Be objective rather than subjective when describing the lesson. Avoid generalising.

1noticed some students weren’t sure what they had to do.

Your instructions weren’t clear.

Focus on outcomes rather than making

judgements.

There was... You should have...

Remember that description is better than prescription.

1enjoyed your lesson / 1got a really useful idea from your lesson.

That was a really good lesson.

Avoid evaluating the lesson. Make any judgements subjective.

You could... What 1always do in these situations is...

Be helpful, avoiding the message ‘1am a better teacher than you’.

Students arrived late... 1often

wonder what to do in these situations.

Students arrived late...

but that wasn’t your fault.

Encourage your colleague to find

solutions rather than excuses.

less experienced), to help the m integrate in a specificcommunity. Because mentoring is a relationship-basedactivity, it can have significant impact on deve lopment for

bo th the mentee or the mento r. Standing in the shadow focuses on the mentee role, and Mentor fo r a m onth on theme ntor role.

These activities have concentrated on developing atmosphereand relationships, through informal collaborations withcolleagues.

More formal interactions are dealt with in the nextcircle, where we take one step further, building on thiscollaboration with colleagues to incorporate activities whichinvolve the school manag em ent as well as fellow teachers inan institutional setting.

53



YOU AND YOUR COLLEAGUES • IN THE CLASSROOM

Be my guest A coll eag ue vis it s yo ur cl ass

Be my student A tea c her jo in s your class as a l ear ner

RationaleInviting a colleague to come to your class as a guest providesan informal context to see each other interacting withstudents. It also provides some variety and fun for your

students! This is a good activity to do i f you have a problemclass or problem student a nd you would like to introduce adiscreet ‘second set of eyes and ears’ into yo ur classroom.

Ac ti vi tyA fellow teacher partic ipates in you r class as a guest.

Step OneFind a colleague to do this activity with.

Step TwoTell your colleague you wo uld like them to make a guestappearance in your class and agree what form this couldtake. Here are som e suggestions:

• Chat show - you interview them about their job,their life in general, or s ometh ing specific, like ahobby or a trip they have been on.

• Press conference - the students interview them ab outany of th e above.

• Mini-talk - your colleague gives a five-minute presentatio n, followed by questions fro m y ou and thestudents.

Step ThreeAgree a time to do th is wh en you r colleague is free. Agree aduration for the activity, for example 20 minutes.

Step Four On the day, introduce your colleague to your students andcarry out the activity. For a press conference and mini-talk,you can take th e role o f ‘language resource’ for your learners,helping them to formulate questions and clarifying difficultlanguage.

Step FiveAfter the class, discuss with your colleague their impressionsof your students - their use of English and their motivation,for example. If you have a problem studen t or students, youcan discuss them with your colleague and consider possiblecauses and lines o f action.

Step SixCarry out any actions tha t em erged as potentially beneficial,

bo th for you an d y ou r s tud ents, an d offer to do the s amefor your colleague, inviting them to choose the form of you r ‘appearance’ in their class.

RationaleHaving a colleague participate in your class as a student andthen feed back to you helps you to become more aware ofhow your students experience the lesson.

Ac ti vi tyA fellow teacher participates in your class as one of yourstudents, helping you and helping them in the process

Step OneFind a colleague to do this activity with. This should be acolleague who you trust and respect.

Step TwoTell them you would like them to participate in your class asa student, and agree a time to do this when your colleague

is free.Step ThreeAt the start of the lesson, introduce the colleague to yourstudents. Explain tha t the y will be joining th e class as a ‘veryadvanced s tud ent ’. They will particip ate in all the activities,sometim es helpin g thei r ‘fellow stude nts’ when they have theopportunity, in pair- and groupwork for example. They willalso be getting homework!

Step Four Teach the class as you woul d normally, treat ing yourcolleague exactly as you do the other students. Encourage the

colleague to ‘peer teach’ where useful. Create h um ou r where possible, too, for example by cor rec ting t he ir pro nunciatio n!

Step FiveAfter the class, ask your colleague for some feedback on theirexperience as a studen t in you r class (see the suggestionson colleague/observer feedback in the intro ductio n to thiscircle).

Step SixHomework! Ask your colleague to write and e-mail to youa shor t ‘learner diary en try ’ for the class, describing theexperience.

54




Be my judge A co ll eag ue observ es you r cl as s an d giv es yo u fe ed b ac k

RationaleYour colleague will hear and notice things which youcan’t. In addition to noting objectively what happened,

judgemental comments can be helpfu l as long as you limitand define their scope.

Act iv ityA fellow teacher observes your class and makes notes and

judgemental comments on an aspect of you r teach ingchosen by you.

Step OneChoose an aspect of your teaching tha t you feel you would liketo improve or under stand better. The topic can be a generalone which applies to all your classes, or a specific one about a

par ticular class you teach. The examples opposite are related to:• Discipline problems• How you give instructions• Your use of the whiteboard

Step TwoFind a colleague to do this activity with. This should be acolleague who you trust and respect.

Step ThreeTell them you would like them to help you und erstand bettera certain aspect of your teaching. You would like them toobserve your class and make notes, but only on this aspect,

and afterwards discuss their notes with you. It can be usefulto devise a Pro-fo rma for your colleague to use, like thoseopposite, which have been filled in to illustrate how theymight work.

Step Four Agree a time to do this when y our colleague is free.

Step FiveAt the start o f the lesson, introduce yo ur colleague to yourstudents. Explain th at they will be obse rving the class to helpyou understand your teaching better. Make it clear they willno t be assessing the s tuden ts in any way.

Step SixTeach the class.

Step SevenAfter the class, read and discuss the notes you r colleague hasmade.

Step EightOffer to do the same for your colleague. If you are theobserver, think carefully abo ut ho w you will express yourself.See the introduction to this circle, for some suggestions.

r ~\Disruptive behaviour

Description of incident

What the teacher did

How the students reacted

Observer’scomments

Violeta and Karina talking while

you were addressing the group.

Said sharply and in a raised voice: ‘Violeta, can you stop talking and listen?’

They stopped talking.

Why did you only address Violeta?

Instructions |

Description Time How the Observer’sof the taken students carried suggestions for instructions out the task improvement

You 4 One pair put Make it clear explained mins. their hands up whether youthe task and asked you want studentsand did an to explain to to speak or example them again. write. Check with one The other pairs understandingstudent. did the activity of task by You asked as you wanted, asking aif everyone except one randomunderstood. pair who wrote student: ‘What

the dialogue do you have

instead of to do?’ speaking.

f \ Whiteboard

Instructions to th e observer: Draw illustrations (or take photos) of the whiteboard at different stages of the lesson, and make comments in the spaces provided.

Feb 24th .

It ’s som ething you use fo r ...

You can _____________ with it.

Prying

Cutt ing

Sharpening

hammer

nail

scissors

hair-dryer cardboard

sa w

pencil-sharpener

ironing-board

Observer’s comments:The picture o f the hammer and nail is very clear.You could illustrate the form: ‘something you use for cutting paper’.You erased the vocabulary. Leave it for reference?

55




All change!Planning and teaching someone else’s lesson

Dream teamYou and a colleague teach a class together

RationaleThis activity will help you to see your stud ents an d yourcoursebook from a different perspective. The process ofwriting out a lesson plan for a colleague to teach and the

reverse - having to teach to a plan your colleague has writtenfor you - helps you to under stand your own teaching better.

Ac ti vi tyYou and a colleague plan a lesson for each other. This activityrequires about an ho ur to do, as it involves writing a lesson

plan in a mo re detailed way th an you would normally do.

Step OneFind a colleague to do the activity with.

Step Two

Choose a class, or pa rt o f a class, you would like yourcolleague to prepare for you (about 30 minutes to one hour).Ask them to do the same for you.

Step ThreeBrief each other a bou t the class (in person or via e-mail).Include information on the following:

• The level of the students• Where they are in the coursebook • The types of activity they enjoy• Wh at you would like the lesson to cover (this can be

specific: ‘page 45, ex. 1 -4’, or vague: ‘vocabu lary andspeaking on the theme of transp ort’.

Step Four Write a plan for each other, based on the briefing. Here aresome tips for writing the plan:

• Make the aims clear.• Make the steps clear.• Don’t include too much detail - one page of A4

maximum.

Step FiveExchange plans with yo ur colleague and clarifyunderstanding, as necessary.

Step SixYou do the class as your colleague has plann ed for you. Theydo the class you have planned for them.

Step SevenExchange feedback on wha t you learnt fr om the experience.For example, you could tell your colleague:

• one thing which you learnt from their way of planning;

• the part o f the plan which you thoug ht worked best.

RationaleSharing preparation and teaching allows you and yourcolleague to bond and learn from each other throughcollaboration. It also provides an interesting change for your

students. Ac ti vi tyYou prepare and teach a class together with a colleague.

Step OneFind a colleague to work with. You are A and B. Decide on aclass you are going to team teach. It can be a class of eitherof you.

Step TwoTeacher A , the re gular teacher o f the class, plans the lesson.

Step ThreeTeacher B looks at the plan and allocates who will lead whichstages o f the lesson and the role o f the other teacher in thosestages (Spectator, Participant, Model). For example:

• Teacher A gives the instru ctions for a speakingactivity. Teacher B watches. (Spectator)

• Teachers A and B demon strate the activity for thestudents together. (Model)

• Finally, as the students do the activity, Teacher B joinsin the activity (Participant) while Teacher A circulatesand notes down language problems the studentshave.

Aim to allocate a good balance o f the SPM roles.

Step Four Teach the class together, as you have planned.

Step FiveDiscuss the experience briefly and informa lly with yourcolleague after the class.

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IN THE CLASSROOM • YOU AND YOUR COLLEAGUES • IN THE STAFFROOM

Scary Movie Sharing boardSomeone videos you teaching j | p Pool in g m at er ia l wit h coll eag ues

RationaleThis is one o f the simplest an d most effective ways tohelp you reflect on your teaching , and develop as a result.Teachers often fear this procedure, perhaps feeling anxiousabout how they look on camera more than about theirteaching!

Ac ti vi tyA colleague or f riend videos you teaching.

Step TwoFind a video camera a nd someone to operate it. This needn’t

be an othe r teacher. I t can be a friend or adminis tra tivecolleague. The per son needn’t be skilled in any way, but theywill need:

• to know how the camera works (on/off, zoom);• to be given an idea of what you want them to film.

Step ThreeChoose a room to film in, if possible one which is small andhas carpet, as this will give better sound. Arrange the roomso that the cameraperson can move easily. If the cameraworks from the mains, make sure the cable is long enoughto move a roun d with, or arrang e the class to be within view

from a fixed position.Step Four At the start of the lesson, explain to the studen ts that youwill be filming parts of the lesson to help you learn abou tyou r teaching. Help th em to relax, perhaps w ith a few jokes.

RationaleSharing material and ideas often takes place naturally. Thesharing board allows this to be done more systematically andreach m ore teachers. It is a place where teachers can attachsom ething they would really like to share with colleagues.For example:

• Material they have made• A desc ription of a good activity they have used • A photocopy o f an interesting activity they have

found in a book or on the internet

Ac tivi tyCreating a space in the staffroom where teachers can pin upmaterials and lesson ideas to share.

Step OnePrepare a sharing bo ard in yo ur staffroom. If you have anexisting notice boar d you can create a space on it. If youdo n’t, you can create a shar ing boa rd by simply sticking alarge rectangle of coloured paper on the wall with the title‘Sha ring B oard ’.

Step TwoPut up the rules for using the sharing board next to it. Youmay want to add fu rther rules of your own to the onessuggested here.

Sharing Board - Rules for Use

• Post one idea at a time.• Leave space for others.• Put your name on the material, or near it so that

people will know who posted it.• If you post something, make sure it is clear how to

use it.• If you use something, thank the person who posted it.

Step ThreeStart by putting up on the board something you would liketo share with you r colleagues. Encourage a colleague to dothe same, so there are already two activities on the board forothers to use and as examples to follow.

Step Four Manage the board . When it gets full, start removing theoldest activities to create space for new ones.

Step OneBefore you start, read the tips in the box below.

Teaching on f l l m j

• Take charge of the procedure. You tell the cameraperson what you want them to film and when.

• Don’t film everything: 20 minutes in total is enough. This can be a 20-minute chunk, or short takes, at different points of the lesson.

• Film the students doing activities with you monitoring, not just you at the front of the class.

• Watch the video after class, on your own if you prefer. Don’t feel obliged to let others watch with you.

• Brush your hair and wear something nice.

Step FiveTeach the lesson, while your colleague films.

Step SixWatch the video. You may want to do this several times, asyou will start to notice different things each time you watch.

57



YOU AND YOUR COLLEAGUES • IN THE STAFFROOM

Book club A j ig saw read in g p ro je c t fo r t eac her s

Try before you buyTesting a teachin g activ ity with a coll eague

RationaleReading and reporting back to colleagues is motivating

because i t is interactive and because i t entai ls an element ofresponsibility. If you are expected to re por t on a book, you

are more likely to read it. Ac ti vit yYou read and report back on an ELT book and find outabout two others.

Step OneFind two colleagues to do this activity with.

Step TwoEach person chooses an ELT book to read o r browse, onewhich they haven’t read or have hardly read. It c an be anactivity book o r a more theoretical book from th e shelf ofyour staffroom, from the library, or from a bookshop if youhave some money to spend.

Step ThreeAgree a deadline with your two colleagues for finishing thetask. Somewhere arou nd tw o weeks may be suitable. Arrangeto meet for an hour, to report back on what you have read.Enter the appointm ent in your diary.

Step Four Read/browse the book and make notes. Use the Pro-forma

below, and make copies for your colleagues if they wish.

f \Book club project

Name of the book:

What type of book is it?

What does it contain?

Examples of interesting ideas in the book:

Examples of useful activities in the book:

Step FiveMeet for one hour and report back to each other on the

books y ou have read. Spend 20 minu tes on each book. Youall use your notes to help you rememb er what you want tosay.

VariationInstead o f a book, you can choose a professional magazineor website for language teachers or learners.

RationaleThis activity will help you with y our lesson plan ning. Youfind ou t if an activity works, how it works and w hat languageyour students will require to carry it out.

Ac ti vi tyYou trial a speaking activity you in tend for your stud entswith a colleague first.

Step OneFind a colleague who is willing to help you.

Step TwoDo the speaking activity you are plan ning to give yourstudents with yo ur colleague, exactly as you plan to do it. Forexample: if the activity is ‘compare two cities you know well, using the following promp ts . .. ’, then do exactly tha t with yo urcolleague. You can reco rd the conversation if you w ant to.

Step ThreeWhen you have finished, consider the following:

• Any difficulties you had think ing of things to say• How much time you needed • Whe ther you needed any preparation• Whether your students would have enough English

to do the task • If the activity is intended to practise a particular

language point, did this language in fact get used byyou a nd yo ur colleague?

Step Four Use your reflections from Step Three to adapt the activityand ho w you set it up. For example, you may find you needto pre-teach students some key vocabulary. Or you may findthat the target language you are aiming for doesn’t arise andyou need to ada pt the activity or the instructions, or evenreplace it with another one

58



YOU AND YOUR COLLEAGUES • IN THE STAFFROOM

Fly on the wall The name is bondListening to staffroom talk A five-minu te rapport-building crosswor d

RationaleWhat we talk about in the staffroom, and how we talk aboutit, says a lot about the place where we work and our attitudesas teachers. This task is intended to be light-hearted,nonetheless it will be thoug ht-provoking and may causechange.

Acti vi tyYou listen and make a record of what you an d yourcolleagues talk about in the staffroom.

Step OneFor one week, listen to conversations in your staffroomand note down the categories they fall into, using the Proforma below. In some cases, you will ma rk two categories,

for example if you hear a conversation where someone iscomplaining about a student. Do this discreetly, so that yourcolleagues don’t notice.

Here is an example o f how your sheet might look at the endof the week:

r "\Staffroom talk

Talk about school administration 1111

Talk about teaching 111

Talk about students 111111

Complaining 1111111Celebrating 111

Talk about life outside the school 1111111111111

RationaleDoing an activity together encourages bonding. This activitymay get teachers from different sub-groups in the staffroomto come together.

Ac tivi tyYou complete a crossword w ith colleagues. This activityworks well with two to five teachers.

Step OnePhotocopy a simple crossword (from a bo ok or newspaper)and p in it up in the staffroom during a break. Invite anyoneinterested to complete it with you. When you have assembleda few colleagues, nominate one of them to write the answers.

Step TwoDo the crossword as quickly as possible (or as much as youcan in five minutes) as a team, with one person writing andthe others calling out the answers.

Step ThreeRepeat the activity on a daily or weekly basis, aiming to beatyour best performance.

Step Four Try some more bonding activities, particularly if the first one

proved successful.

r >Basic bonding activities

Brain teasersPost a brain teaser or lateral-thinking problem on the board in the staffroom. This will encourage discussion during the day. Post the answer at the end of the day.Self-diagnosti c testsTests on themes such as leadership, multiple intelligences, personality type, learning style, and so on, can be found on the internet. In many cases, they offer a print-out with results, sometimes in a light-hearted style. Find a test and post your result. Encourage your colleagues to do the same and read each other’s.Food and drinkBring in some food or drink to share. In some cultures, this is done for someone’s birthday, but it is a simple and effective way of boosting togetherness at any time. Avoid the temptation to over-organise this with a rota or ‘biscuit club’. It works best as a spontaneous gesture.‘Top six’ listsPost a top six list on the noticeboard: your top six films, top six local restaurants, top six games for teaching, etc. Invite other teachers to do the same and start new lists of their own. These lists provide an interesting focus for discussion and source of useful information.

Talk about colleagues 11

Talk about management 1111

Step TwoWhen the week is over, post your sheet on the noticeboardwith an explana tion o f your ‘research’.

Step ThreeProvoke some (light-hearted) discussion on how you an dyour colleagues talk in the staffroom and what that saysabout you as a group.

59



IN IHE STAFFROOM • YOU AND YOUR COLLEAGUES • IN AND OUT

Virtual staffroomOnline commu nicat ion with col leagues

Standing in the shadowBeing with a m entor for a day

RationaleEven if you are in regular face-to-face conta ct withcolleagues, there are good reasons to b uild an onlinestaffroom:

• Teachers can keep in touch easily when th ey are awayfrom school.

• Some people comm unicate more effectively inwritten form.

• You can share materials, ideas and links to usefulwebsites easily and ‘paper free’.

Ac ti vi tyYou create a virtual space online for staff to co mmu nicatewith each other.

Step One

Create a blog* at www.blogger.com . A blog is a mini web page. It is very s imple to create and use, a nd is free.

Step TwoGet people to visit the blog by posting something:

• very interesting (gossip, news);• very useful (teaching links, a lesson plan, materials);• very essential (a map o f how to get to a party).

Don’t w orry if the blog takes a while to get going o r hassome per iods o f relative inactivity. This is quite normal.

Step ThreeUse your blog to do the following:

• Write messages to other teachers• Debate and exchange views on a partic ular subject• Share teaching materials such as han d outs, sound

files and pictures• Share links to interesting sites

Step Four Outward s an d onwards. If your blog is successful, you maywant to link up w ith oth er schools. You could use the blog tocreate a link with a school in anot her coun try, for example.

*You can also create a virtual staffroom using a Wiki,MySpace or Moodle.

RationaleThis is a kind of extended peer observation, or ‘reducedmen torin g’ activity. The advantage o f spending the dayshadowing an experienced colleague is tha t you learn m ore

abou t how they deal with th e challenges of the day insideand outside class time. You also grow to und ersta nd yourcolleague better.

Ac ti vi tyYou spend a day with an experienced teacher (or a half-dayif tha t is easier).

Step OneChoose a ‘me ntor type’ colleague, one who you t hink youcan learn from.

Step TwoAsk the me ntor if you can shadow the m for a day. Being ashadow means spending the whole t ime by som eone’s side(well, nearly the whole tim e): wh en they prepare, w hen theyteach, when th ey relax between lessons.

Step ThreeArrange a suitable day for your shadowing.

Step Four Spend as muc h tim e togeth er as is practically possible:

• Accompany your me ntor to all their classes andobserve unobtrusively.

• Spend some time outside class with them while theyare preparing. Offer to help.

• Chat with your mento r between lessons about thelessons and the stu dents in general.

Step FiveSend your m entor a follow-up e-mail, thanking them andsaying what you gained from th e experience of standing intheir shadow. This will consolidate dev elopmental benefitsfor them, as well as for you.

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http://www.blogger.com/

http://www.blogger.com/



YOU AND YOUR COLLEAGUES • IN AND OUT

Mentor for a monthMentoring a colleague over a period of time

RationaleHelping a new teacher adjust to w orking in your schooland possibly to cultural challenges (coming from anothercountry, for example, or a school with a completely different

system) can be rewarding in itself and a useful contributionto you r school, as well as to your ow n developm ent.

Ac tivi tyYou mento r a new teacher for one mo nth.

Step OneWrite an e-mail to y our director of studies, explaining youwould like to volun teer to m entor a new teacher. Include anexplanation of the benefits for the teacher, for the school andfor you. Say why you think you would m ake a good mentor.

Step TwoArrange to meet to discuss who you will mento r and how.Your mentee shou ld be s omeone who:

• will benefit from the men tor-mentee relationship;• you can establish trust and ra ppo rt with;• is eager to learn;• has a positive attitude to learning throug h a mentor

relationship.

Remember tha t mento r-men tee relationships can work verywell with people who are different in terms of age, gender,attitudes and interests - not necessarily someone just like you.

Step ThreeWith y our m entee, decide on the objectives o f the schemeand write these down. Here are some suggestions:For the mentee:

• To feel they have had the necessary sup po rt to teacheffectively in the early stages o f the new job.

• To feel happy and well settled in the school (and theculture, if this is new).

• To feel they have bene fitted from the m en tor ’s help.• To feel they can continue to teach effectively and

develop after the m entoring has finished.For the mentor:

• To feel the positive effects of the mento ring and howthey might improve as a me ntor next time.

For the school:• To feel that the m entee has adapted better to the

job as a resu lt o f the scheme, and to recognise thecontribution of the mentor.

Step Four Decide with your mentee what to include in your men toringscheme, and why. A checklist of possible elements is suggestedhere, and you can obviously add your own.

With mentoring in mind ''j

Mentor observes mentee.Mentee observes mentor.Mentor co-teaches with mentee for one class or part of a class.Mentor gives mentee a guided tour of the teaching resources in the school.Mentee explains the school administration procedures.Mentee shares inside knowledge of the school ‘culture’ (who’s who, typical issues at the school, school policy, school philosophy, etc).Mentor introduces mentee to the other staff at work and socially.Mentor helps mentee to plan lessons.Mentor shares teaching materials with mentee.Mentor and mentee arrange to meet periodically for informal chats.Mentor and mentee arrange to meet formally to discuss teaching, preparation and progress in adapting to the new job.Mentor sets mentee tasks, such as self-observation and reflection or getting feedback from learners , and requests feedback on these tasks.Mentor encourages mentee to e-mail reflections on their teaching and to raise any concerns they have.

Step FiveDirect the mentee to some of the activities in The Developing Teacher, particularly those on self-observation and reflection,and getting feedback from students. T he activity Six ways of talking from circle five is useful for both of you, as it dealswith effective communic ation.

Step SixStart your mentoring. Plan tasks, meetings and deadlines forthe m onth, using your diaries. Good luck!

Step SevenAt the end of the mo nth, evaluate the scheme with yourmentee (and d irector of studies, perhaps). You can bo thconsider these questions:

• Did you achieve you r objectives?• What else did you get out of the programme?• Which elements of the programm e were most

effective?• How could the programm e have been improved?

You may decide to continue mentoring. If so, repeat StepsFour to Seven.

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You and your schoolThe fourth circle

In circle three, we looked at deve lopment activitieswhich involve informal collaboration with colleagues inthe classroom and the staffroom. We now take one step

further, incorporating activities which involve the schoolmanagement and fellow teachers in an institutional setting.

Developmental activities with your school work on all fourareas in the RISE model. Imposition and Recognition arelikely to feature m ore tha n in previous circles. Schools canimpose materials, training schemes, observation, qualitycontrol, an d so on, and you r response to these challenges willform an im porta nt p art o f your development. You can gainrecognition if you respond effectively, as well as suggestingsome initiatives of your own.

Opposite is a checklist of possible development actions and

opportunities involving you in the wider context o f yourschool. Which are of partic ular inte rest to you? Which haveyou already done? Which have you not th oug ht o f doing?Which might you like to concentrate on? Read the list andgive yourself a score for each item.

There are two imp ortant features of institutionaldevelopment: the concept of ‘interdependence’ and the ideaof growth for bo th you and your school.

Moving towards interdependenceStephen Covey describes three stages of personaldevelopment. ‘Dependence’ (I need others to do thingsfor m e) ,‘indepe ndenc e’ (I can do things for myself) and‘interdep endenc e’ (I realise I can achieve even more th roug hworking with others).

If we apply this m odel to teaching, we think o f the newly-qualified teacher, dependent on guidance from seniorteachers, trainers and coursebooks; the experienced teacher,independent , able to fun ction effectively with out outsidehelp; and the interdependent teacher, ready to help o therteachers and to engage with the ir colleagues, their schooland their profession.

The four th circle is about interdependen t development,arguably the most challenging and the most satisfying. Nowwe have fitted our own oxygen mask, we turn our attentionto helping others fit theirs and to working together toaddress challenges that we have in common.

Growing w ith your schoolFor you a nd y our school to grow together effectively, youwill need to engage with other teachers and m anagement informal contexts, such as staff meetings an d job appraisals, aswell as the more informal interactions we have looked at.

C ' ' "Personal checklist

There are developmental actions you can take in the context of yourschool, its staff and administration. Read down the list.


• Then complete the right-hand column, adding a tick (w0) whereappropriate, if you would like to try something, or do more of it


( ^ )

Participated in staff meetings

Proposed academic innovation

Proposed administrative innovation

Participated in the marketing of the schoolImproved the appearance of the staffroom

Organised a social event

Worked on a project with colleagues/management

Participated in teacher workshops

Thought about how 1communicate withcolleagues

Approached my boss about my development

Worked on my communication skills

Comment

Looking at this list should help identify areas of particular interestfor you (or areas that you hadn’t perhaps thought of) and will helpyou decide which of the activities you would most like to do.

A school, like any comm unity o r organisatio n, will haveits traditions, politics and personalities, which will requirecareful handling. For this reason, activity will draw onideas from outside ELT - from th e fields of leadership,managem ent and comm unication, encouraging you to thinkabo ut an d develop the skills which will help you becomea more effective team m emb er an d tea m leader. You will

address issues which affect everyone in the school and willwork tog ether with colleagues and man agem ent. You won’t

be able to do these activities on your own!

This fou rth circle is divided into two sections, with activitieswhich approach development on multiple fronts, fromgeneral communication and organisational skills to morespecific developmen tal actions.

Appro achin g ch angeThe terms leadership and management refer to skills which

62



all of us use at work and o ther spheres of ou r lives, toaddress challenges and bring abou t change. They are notsimply terms wh ich describe wha t bosses do! Every one of usis called upon to lead and to manage at various times in ourday- to-day lives.

Leading and managing explores how we can pro moteeffective development. In classrooms, teachers naturallyfind themselves using leadership and management skills in

helping their students to learn. Outside class, we can findit challenging to transfer these skills to promote our own

pro fessional growth and the growth of the organisa tionwhere we work.

Circles of influence, adapted from Stephen Covey, addressesthe issue o f wha t we can and can’t change, individually andtogether. We need to be both realistic about the limitationsof ou r influence, and optimistic abo ut ou r ability to growour influence. The more we un derstand this, the moreeffectively we can choose o ur activities and interventions .

A good school looks at what makes just that: a good school.

Opinions will vary, of course! W hethe r you feel very positiveabout the place you work or w hether you have mixedfeelings, considering how you can improve your workingenv ironm ent is a very worthwh ile activity which will helpyou set an agenda for development with your colleagues.

If the first activities in this circle are abo ut setting a course,defining what we can an d want to achieve, we now addressthe problem of carrying projects through , whether they belittle, as in Coffee stains, or large, as in SMART ER planning. This is about how we achieve ou r deve lopmen tal aims: how,for example, we approach ou r frequent and often inefficientteachers’ meetings. How can we help to incorporateimprovements and even innovation?

Teachers do no t always speak positively of meetings atschool. The six main complaints seem to be:

• Lack of clear aims• Boring objectives, such as going over adm inistra tion• Meetings dominated by one or two people• Time wasted in idle chat• Too many people in the meeting, lack of pair- or

groupwork to increase participation• Poor timing

Most of these complaints can be rectified by applying thesame criteria to meetings as we do to learning activities inthe classroom - by thinking about how to get the m ost outof them, and also considering alternative ways to achieve ourobjectives.

Approac hi ng coll eag uesWorking w ith people we don’t know, people we possiblydon’t like, and people who have authority over us in anorganisation, isn’t easy. We need to think about and improveon our com munication skills. This may soun d odd. Aren’t

teachers by definition good at com municating w ith people?There are three points to consider:

• Teachers are no t always able to transfe r classroomskills to the wo rld outside. For example, someteachers are very good at listening to students, butvery bad at listening to colleagues.

• The comm unica tion skills require d for effectiveinteraction with colleagues, parents and managers are

possibly different to those required for dealing withstuden ts and, as they are used less frequently, mayrequire mo re practice.

• Com munication outside the classroom is often takenfor granted. Teachers don’t tend to plan and reflecton staffroom conversations, or what they say and doin meetings, in the same way as they m ight plan whatthey will say in a lesson.

John Hero n’s ‘Six Categories o f Interventio n’, or ways ofconducting conversations, is aimed at professionals in

job s which require giving feedback , sup po rt and guidanceto individual clients, and was adapted for the context oflanguage teach ing by Jim Scrivener. Six ways o f talking helpsyou to think about the way you speak to and listen to other

peo ple and to evaluate the effects o f wha t you say, as well aswha t you do.

Place, Manner, Time also invites you to reflect on howeffective ou r conversations are from the po int o f view7ofwhere they take place, how (with what tone o f formality) andwhen.

Colleagues, of course, also includ e ma nagers and bosses. Weoften feel threatened by our employer or director of studies,and consequently spend o ur time fearing, or even avoiding,appraisal and feedback. In many schools, formal appraisaland the dreaded evaluative observation by a director ofstudies or senior teacher are common practice. In others,they are not. Whichever kind o f place you work in, or even ifyou wo rk as a freelance teacher, it is a good idea to t ur n thesesituations around, to pu t your h ead in ‘the lion’s mou th’. Andwho better to offer an opinion and to agree to institutionalcooperation and innov ation than your boss? Why not take a

pro -ac tive approach in y ou r relation ship, an d get it stra igh tfrom ‘the h orse’s mouth ’?

In the fou rth circle, as we have seen, you ca rry yourdevelopment forward hand in hand w ith your school, yourteaching colleagues, administration staff and your boss(es).You discuss, plan and evaluate. You develop, and yo urcolleagues and you r school do, too.

In th e fifth and final circle, you will take a final step beyondthe school boundaries, involving yourself in developmentalactivities which will impac t on ELT as you r profession.

63



YOU AND YOUR SCHOOL • APPROACHING CHANGE

Leading and managingTwo approaches to challenges

RationaleIn the classroom, teachers are both leaders and managers.It is useful to explore this distinction and apply it to solving

problem s outs ide the classroom, too. Being aware o f two

approaches to pro blem solving will help you to take effectivesteps and unde rstand the responses you get from others.

Ac tivi tyYou reflect on the differences between leading and managing ,and apply this distinction to some typical challenges at work.

Step OneWorking w ith a colleague, think o f ways in which teachersare ‘leaders’ and ‘managers’ for their s tudents. Look togetherat the quo te from Stephen Covey below and then discussyour own ideas.

Ma nagement is a bo ttom -line focus: How can I best accomplish certain things? Leadership deals with the top line: W hat are the things I w an t to accomplish? In the words of Peter Drucker an d Warren Bennis ‘managem ent is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things’.

Step TwoLook at the pairs o f words opposite and decide which refersto leading (L) and to managing (M). The first two have beendone for you. There is a key at the bo ttom of the page.

Step ThreeReferring back to the pairs o f words, tell your pa rtnerabou t an occasion when you have been a manager for yourstudents an d one where you have been a leader.

Step Four Now look at the scenarios below. Choose two or three whichare of particular interest to you. For each one, think of anddiscuss a leader response and a manager response to thechallenge, and decide the pros and cons of each response.An example has been do ne for you.

• The courseboo k you are using is not very relevant toyour students.

• You think you are overworked/dese rve a pay rise.

• A paren t has complained about he r child’s progress.• The classroom is always in a mess from the previous

class when you arrive.• You find staff meetings boring and n ot useful.

Step FiveLook back at your response s in Step Four. Do you favour theleader or manage r responses in general? What ab out yourcolleague? You will probably agree th at both responses havemerits, sometimes one mo re than the other, depending onthe situation. Sometimes a combin ation is best.

Leading or managing?

change L M stabilitysubordinates M L followers

vision objectivessets direction plans detailformal authority personal charismare-active pro-activepassion controlbreaks rules makes rulestakes blame blames othersminimises risks takes risksnew roads existing roads

r \Leader or manager?

Half of your students d on’t do the ho mework you set.

Leader response Manager response

Set more interesting homework.

Introduce incentive fo r doing homework, o r penalty for no t doing it.

Pros: Students could be more motivated to do it. Cons: Might not necessarily relate to the

syllabus requirements.

Pro s: Could encourage more students to do homework.Cons: Might only work

short-term.

You think you are overworked.

Leader response Manager response

Pros: Pros:

Cons: Cons:

Step SixThink of some scenarios that affect you directly, anddiscuss those. Try to consider both leading and managing when taking on developmental activity: this requires closecollaboration with colleagues and bosses and will work

be tte r i f you have an awareness of the roles an d responses ofleadership and mana gemen t in effecting change.

Key: Leading or managing?Leading: change / followers / vision / sets direction / personal charisma / pro-active / passion / sell / breaks rules takes blame / takes risks / new roads

64




Circles of influenceBuilding your influence in your school

RationaleIt is impo rtant for us to focus our limited time and energyon acting where we can make a difference, rather thanworrying a bou t things we can’t influence. This activity,

adapted from Stephen Covey, helps you to think aboutgrowing your circle of influence and reducing your circle of concern in the context o f your workplace.

Ac tivi tyYou reflect on your work ing life and dec ide on the areas youcan influence and those you can’t, by using circle diagrams.You can work on your own, but this works better if youcompare with a colleague or colleagues and brainstorm ideastogether.

Step OneLook at how we can represent things that w orry us in twocircles, as in the top diagram. The circle in the cen tre is thecircle o f influence and contains elements in your life, in thiscase you r working life, which worry you b ut you feel youhave influence or contro l over. The outer circle is the circle

o f concern. It contains elements which worry you bu t whichyou feel you cannot influence in any way.

Step TwoDraw two circles and write in some elements fr om you r life.See opposite for a sample diagram.

Step Three Now reconsider you r circles. Th ink abo ut how you couldexpand the inner circle by moving some elements from theou ter circle. To do this, you will have to thin k ab out ways you can influence those elements.

Step Four Work with a partner. Discuss and help each other withsuggestions.

Step FiveDraw two new circles, with the middle one expanded. Thethird diagram is an example o f how the circles might be

changed. Here, the teacher has decided th at while the choiceof coursebook is outside their influence, the way they useit isn’t. They have also moved M y timetable to the circle ofinfluence, perhaps because they feel they can negotiate thiswith their school.

Step SixWorking with a new partner, if possible, explain the changesyou have made in your circles. Can either of you think offur ther changes? Use the insights you have gained from thisactivity abo ut influence to m ake decisions concerning how to

bu ild yo ur influence in you r school.

My salary

/ % \/ The way 1teach \ % \

My relationship withmy students

\ My materials /

My salary

My timetable for next year

The way I teach

My relationship with my students

My materials

My grumpy colleague

The way I use the coursebook

65




A good schoolWhat makes a good work environment?

RationaleWhat is imp ortant to you and you r colleagues in terms ofyou r working environment? This diagnostic activity will helpyou to decide, and to think about what you want to changeabout it.

Ac ti vi tyYou come to a consensus with some colleagues in a pyramiddiscussion on w hat makes your school a good place to work,and consider making improvements.

Step OneWorking on your own first of all, look at the list opposite of

possible features o f a good school. Add three more o f yourown if you wish. Your colleagues do likewise.

Step TwoWorking with a partner (you are A and B), tell each otherwhat you have adde d to the list. Discuss and reach aconsensus on the ‘top six’ most important features of a goodschool. Both of you make a note o f you r agreed top six on a

piece of paper.

Step Three Now all the As group together and all the Bs group tog eth erand you repeat the exercise. You each read your lists to theother mem bers of the group and reach a consensus withinthe group. Each group puts its list on the board.

Step Four Everyone now discusses the two lists and reaches a consensuson one single list.

Step FiveMake a poster with this list, and p ut it up in the staffroom.

Step SixYou may want to do this final step as a separate activity,depending on the time you have available. Work first with asingle partne r.

• Choose one of the six areas you would like toimprove in the school.

• Brainstorm ideas on how to improve it.• Decide on one thing you propose to do, making notes

using the Pro-form a opposite. An example has beenmade fo r you.

• Explain you r idea to ano ther pair. If they approve,carry ou t your proposals.

Referring to the activity Circles o f influence can help toensure th at your proposals are realistic.

Features of a good school j

• Trust

• Mutual respect

• Clear communication• Change

• Stability• Sense of ownership or belonging

• Participation• Feedback on how you are doing

• Praise• Resources

• Consultation

• Clear rules• Fun

• Attractive environment

Proposals for a bett er school

Proposal What to do? When?

Improving the appearance of classrooms by having work displayed on the walls.

Send a circular e-mail to other teachers and DOS to brainstorm ideas for activities which will generate wall displays. Choose one and do it.

Aim to have walls decorated by the end of November.

66




Coffee stains SMARTER planningDealing with small i rr i tat ions at work | | | 111 Making sure you get the job d one

Rationale‘Coffee stains’ is a term tha t can describe small irritationsat work, such as the room being stuffy, a poor quality CD

player, mess from the previous class, a deficient photocop ier

or a grum py colleague. They are not hugely important, bu twithou t cleaning up they can accumulate, and demoralise us.

Acti vi tyYou thin k ab out th e ‘coffee stains’ in your work a nd how toclean them up quickly and efficiently.

Step OneMake yourself a cup o f real coffee or get one from themachine. Try not to spill any!

Step Two

Sit down and make a list of three coffee stains in your work.They can be in class, in the staffroom, or with specific people.

Step ThreeWrite them in the left-hand column of the Pro-form a below.

f \Coffee stains

What i rr it ates What I can do When and howme about it 1can do it

1

2

3

Step Four Now choose one of the stains to clean up first. Decide how youcan do it, and when, and write it in the Pro -forma . Make sureyou com mit to cleaning up the coffee stain by putting it in yourdiary (or acting immediately). An example is given for you.

Cleaning stains j

Wh at ir ri tat es Wh at 1can do When and howme about it 1can do it

The room 1 Talk to the teacher / see her Tuesday teach in at of the previous and Thursday 5pm is always class. Suggest mornings inin a terrible she allows three the staffroom.mess when 1 minutes at the end I’ll talk to her get there. of class fo r tidying this Thursday.

up. I’ll do the same. This is a better Circulate an e-mail time than at theto all the teachers, changeover,suggesting this as when we arepolicy? both in a rush.

RationaleWe often generate great ideas for our personal developmentor making improvements at work, but find it difficult tomake them happen. This activity gives you a framework to

make it easier to transform good intentions into results.

Ac tivi tyYou plan a project with colleagues, using the SMARTERframework.

Step OneLook at th e acrony m SMARTER below, which gives us auseful tool for elaborating on and refining objectives.

Step TwoWorking w ith a colleague or colleagues, agree on an

innovation or improvem ent you would like to make to yourschool, your course or your teaching. In the example, youwould like the students in the school to read more Englishoutside class.

Step ThreeRefine you r pro ject by d iscussing you r SMARTER objectives,

bu ild ing in the t ime fra me and feedback mech anism.

Step Four Try some more SMARTER planning, perhaps in new groups,with o ne o r mo re projects, such as using DVD/YouTube clipsmore, sharing materials, getting feedback, helping teachersget to know each other, and so on.

r \SMARTER objectives

Specific For all the students to read one book by the end o f November.

Measurable Each teacher reports on how many of their students have read a book.

Agreed Yes, by teachers. Need to get the students to agree, too.

Realistic Need to use graded readers. Do we have

enough graded readers? Teachers will have to encourage, monitor and do support work on reading skills. Ambitious? Do a pilot project with jus t a few classes?

Timebound November 30th deadline.

Ethical/Exciting

Worthwhile to get the students reading more. It will help their language acquisition.

Recorded Send e-mail to the teachers concerned, outlining the project. Teachers to report on the results by Nov 30th.

67



i u u m i n u i u u n o u n u u L • AHH'HOACHING CHANGE

Meetings, meetings Meetings, what meetings?How to make the mos t of our meetings How to hold meetings with out meeting

RationaleIt is common practice in many schools to call frequentface-to-face meetings, alth ough th ey are n ot always positiveexperiences for participan ts. If th at is the case in your placeof work, you can help to improve the situation.

Ac ti vit yYou and some colleagues thin k ab out how effective themeetings in yo ur school are, and consider alternatives.

Step OneWorking with two colleagues, think a bou t recent meetingsyou have attended or organised. Do this from memory, oruse the publ ished agendas i f they exist. Organise what youthink happened into four categories, using the Pro-forma

below. T here is an example in each column.

Meetings, meeting s

Social Administrative Creative Other thingsachievements achievements achievements that happened

Got to know Was told Discussed Listened totwo new about ideas for a colleagueteachers. the new using the complaining

policy on internet about twouse of the more students inphotocopier. effectively

to help students

learn.

their class.

Step TwoChoose three items from your Pro-forma and, for each one,discuss with your colleagues the following:

• Could it have been achieved more effectively in themeeting?

• Could it have been achieved more effectively witho uthaving a meeting. If so, how?

• Was it useful for everyone in the meeting?

Step Three Now l ook at the four th column. Co uld the it ems there beeliminated or converted into achievements? Is this columntoo long, or too full?

Step Four If you are someone who initiates meetings, use thereflections from this activity to help you pla n m ore effectivemeetings in the future. If you are someone who attendsmeetings but doesn’t initiate them, th ink abo ut how you canuse these reflections to influence those th at do.

RationaleMany schools call face-to-face meetings to discuss policyand take decisions. In ma ny cases, alternative forms o fcom mun ication can be m ore effective. This activity can becombined with the activity Meetings, meetings.

Ac ti vi tyTo lead and moderate an e-mail or wiki discussion withcolleagues.

Step OneLook at the agenda for your next meeting at work.

Step TtooChoose an item which involves discussion and decisionmaking. For example: changes to the th ird level end-o f-termexam, discipline problems, choosing a new coursebook, the

end-of-term party.

Step ThreeSend a group e-mail* to the colleagues involved, putting t heitem you have chosen as the title of the e-mail.

In the text of the e-mail, do the following:• Briefly summ arise the issue.• Invite colleagues to contribu te to a discussion on the

issue via e-mail. Remind them to always ‘reply all’, sotha t everyone has a chance to read w hat they say.

• Set a time limit for the discussion (eg one week).

Step Four Monitor the discussion through the week. If participationis low, encourage yo ur colleagues with brief responses tomessages received and invitations to others to respond.

Step FiveAt the end of the week, summarise the key points from thediscussion and list the ac tion points/p olicy decisions.

*If your school has a wiki, blog, or M oodle, you can use oneof these tools instead of e-mails.

68



YOU AND YOUR SCHOOL • APPROACHING COLLEAGUES

Six ways of talkingImproving communication with colleagues

RationaleUnfor tunate conversations, as much as unfortunateevents, can be a cause of stress and confusion at work. Thisactivity (based on John Heron’s Six Category Interv entionAnalysis) helps you to understand and reflect on how youcommu nicate with other people at work and how you coulddo it better.

Acti vi tyWith colleagues, you roleplay ‘difficult’ conversations at wo rkand analyse the com munication achieved.

Step OneLook at the six categories o f ‘interv ention ’, or types of talk,in the box opposite.

Step TwoThink about a conversation you have had recently at workwith a colleague or boss, or with a student. What types ofinterve ntion did you make? Make a few notes on what wassaid. Your colleagues do likewise.

Step ThreeWorking with a partner, talk about your thoughts an dwhat you noted down. Discuss whether you though tthe conversations were effective. Could you have spokendifferently?

Step Four Now wo rk in g roups of three (A, B an d C). A and B will actou t a roleplay for about five minutes. C should listen andnote do wn the types of interventions they hear.

Step FiveChoose on e o f the ‘six-way’ roleplays in the box and do it.

Step SixAfterwards, discuss what the observer noted down. Whattypes of intervention did B use? What o ther interventionswould have been possible?

Step SevenChange your ABC roles and do some mo re roleplays. Usethe examples here o r write your own, related to your own personal work s ituatio n.

/ ------- — NTypes of tal k

Intervention Definition Example

Supportive Helping or being sympathetic It must be hard when the children behave

like that.

Catalytic Provoking the person to think about change

How do you think they might change their behaviour?

Confronting Referring directly to unpleasant truths

Was your lesson boring?

Cathartic Helping the other person express their feelings

How do you feel?

Informative Providinginformation

1know a good website with ideas for motivating teenagers.

Prescriptive Giving advice You should talk to the director o f studies.

f ~~~ ' N‘Six-way’ roleplays

A: You are an intermediate student. You are very unhappy about your progress in English. You decide to talk to your teacher about the situation after class one day.

B: You are a teacher. One of your students asks to speak to you after class one day.

A: You are a teacher. You are having problems with low attendance in one of your classes. You decide to speak to your director of studies about it

B: You are a director of studies. A teacher comes to speak to you about a problem they are having.

A: You are a director of studies. Some students have complained about one of the teachers. They say there is too much grammar in the lesson and they don’t speak enough. You decide to talk to the teacher in

your office.B: You are a teacher. The director of studies has asked to

speak to you in their office.

A: You are a teacher. You are in the staffroom and stuck for ideas for a class you are teaching later today. You decide to ask a colleague for help.

B: You are in the staffroom. A colleague asks for some help with a class they are anxious about.

69




Place, Manner, TimePlanning conversations at work

RationaleMany conversations are less successful than they cou ld be

because they h appen in the wrong place, a t th e wrong timeor with the wrong degree o f formality; or perhap s all three!

Reflecting on the PMT factors will help you to understandand achieve better inter actions w ith colleagues.

Ac ti vi tyYou and your colleagues think about where, how and when conversations take place at work, and the effect this has onthem.

Step OneLook at the list of possibilities in the first table opposite.

Step Two

Working alone, think a bout a conversation you have hadrecently at work with a colleague, boss or with a student.Define the PMT. Your colleagues do likewise.

Step ThreeWorking with a partner, discuss whether you thou ght theconversations were effective. How would a d ifferent PMThave made a difference?

Step Four Now w orking with a differen t partne r, look at the roleplayscenarios opposite. Discuss what you think would be themost appropriate PMT for these conversations, and why.

Step FiveChoose one or m ore o f the roleplays to act out with your

partn er , according to the PMT you have discussed in StepFour. You may want to have a third person who can observethe conversation.

Step SixDiscuss how successful the interac tion was. Did plannin g thePMT help?

r \The PMT of talk

Place Manner Time

Staffroom Formal, By appointmentPrivate office peer-peer On the runCorridor Formal,

boss-subordinate After class

Bar/pub/cafeFormal,

Defined durationClassroom teacher-student Undefined duration

Reception Informal, In the heat of thearea peer-peer moment

Home Informal, After a cooling-off By the boss-subordinate periodphotocopier Informal,E-mail teacher-student

r aPMT roleplays

A: You are a teacher. You would like the school to sponsor you to do a teacher development course.

B: You are the school director. A teacher has asked to see you about training.

A: You are a teacher. You have been ill for a week, and would like to talk to the teacher who covered your classes while you were absent about what they did.

B: You are a teacher. You have been covering a colleague’s classes for a week while they were ill.

A: You are the director of studies. A member of staff hasn’t been keeping their registers up to date. You would like to talk to them about it.

B: You are a teacher. The director of studies asks to see you.

A: You are a student. You think there is too muchgrammar in the class. You want to spend more time on conversation. You decide to speak to your teacher.

B:You are a teacher. One of your students asks to see

you.

70




The lion’s mouthGetting feedback fro m your boss

The horse’s mouthTaking on new roles and instigating new activities

RationaleIt is easy to feel threa tened by the idea of observation andappraisal from an employer o r director of studies. If youcan pu t yourself in charge o f the situation, put your h ead ‘inthe lion ’s mo uth ’, you will feel stronge r an d m ore confidentabout yo ur teaching (and your boss will be impressed!).

Activi tyYou take the initiative and ask you r boss to observe yourteaching.

RationaleRather th an wa iting to be asked, you ca n take a pro-activeapproach to finding new challenges and raising your profile inyou r school. By involving your boss, you will get some ideasstraight fr om the ho rse’s mouth! You can then plan to engagein som ething that will benefit both you and the school.

Ac tivi tyYou discuss with your boss ho w to link you r perso naldevelopment to something beneficial for the school.

Step OneFind an op portu nity to talk to your boss, either byappo intme nt or casually in the staffroom. Think a bout the

best way to do this (you can refer to Place, Manner, Time on

page 70).Step TwoExplain that you would like them to observe you teaching

because you feel you would benefi t from having somefeedback from someone with their experience.

Step ThreeSuggest an aspect of your teach ing you would like them tofocus on in particular. (See the activity Be my judge in circlethree for some ideas.)

Step Four Fix a time and place for the observation, an d agree a wayof doing feedback (a brie f discussion after the lesson, or bye-mail if either o f you are busy).

Step Five No turn ing back now! You go ahead with the observationand the feedback.

Step Six Now you have put your ‘head in the lion’s mou th’ you mightwant to do the same next year - unless of course it was bittenoff!

Step OneRequest a meeting with your boss. Explain th at you wouldlike to discuss ways you can h elp the school to develop.

Step Two

In the meeting, explain that you w ould like to take o n a newchallenge, as par t of your ow n dev elopment as a teacher.Discuss suggestions for projects which could benefit boththe school an d you. Be clear abo ut how m uch time you haveavailable and that you do not expect remun eration.

Step ThreeAgree on a project. It should be something like a partnership,which benefits you personally in your development and isuseful to the school. Below are some ideas, bu t you will bothobviously have others.

C i 'N

Partnership activitiesMake an inventory of teaching materials.Create or improve a feedback questionnaire for students. Organise a workshop for teachers.Organise a film night for students.Suggest a new course for students, and do some research to find out if there is demand.Start a blog or wiki for staff or students.Create a DVD library for teachers, with teaching materials. Improve an end-of-course exam.

Step Four

Use SMARTER objectives to define the param eters of yourchosen projec t (see page 67). Do this toge ther with yo ur bossor director of studies, or prepare a plan you rself and e-mailit to them for comments and suggestions.

Step FiveDo it.

Step SixReport back via e-mail or meet again, to discuss theoutcome. Was the project a success for the schoo l and foryou? Would you like to take o n ano ther project?

71



You and your professionThe fifth circle

The activities in circle four related to development in yourschool. We now move one final step outwa rds. The activitieshere involve engaging in some way with what we migh t call‘the profe ssion ’, yo ur profession.

We can use this term to describe the organisations and practices which link and regulate the language teach ing pro fession. For example:

• Exam bodies providing teacher training and Englishlanguage qualifications

• Teachers’ assoc iations, such as IATEFL• Teacher sup por t groups• ELT pub lishers and websites

This is obviously the widest o f the five circles we work in

and involves varying degrees of difficulty and involvement.Publishing an article abou t motivating teenagers is a moreambitious project than trialling a new piece of materialwith your teenage learners. Writing for a wide audience orspeaking at a conference are substantial challenges. In thiscircle, you will again work on R, I, S and E.

• Recognition - as your co ntribution is noted by fellowteachers

• Imposition - if you submit to the demands of aformal qualification

• Self-improvement - as always!

• Enjoyment - in this case, from new challenges,working with different people and perhaps travel

Opposite is a checklist of possible professional developmentactions and opportun ities. Read the list and give yourselfa score for each item. Which of the things are o f particularinterest to you? Which have you already done? Which haveyou no t thou ght of doing? Which might you like to try?

The developmental focus in this circle is divided into threesections, covering the areas of options for qualifications;writing for p ublication, speaking at conferences, and linkingup with other ELT professionals; planning and organising

your priorities, thinking ab out what you wan t to achieve andhow to commit to achieving it.

A qual if ied tea ch er You may already hold a battery of qualifications, you mayno t have any. The diversity of the ELT profession andthe range o f face-to-face and online o ptions for trainingcan make choosing a course or professional qualificationdifficult. The two activities in this section focus o n he lpingyou to decide the best option for you to enhance your futuredevelopment as a teacher.

C \Personal checklist

There are things you can do in your professional capacity to developyourself and your teaching. Read down the list.


• Then complete the right-hand column, adding a tick (*«") whereappropriate, if you would like to try something, or do more of it


( * )

Attended a conference

Been a member of an online teachers’ group

Lead a workshop or talk at a conference

Written material for a website or in print

Written an article for a website or in print

Written a book

Created my own teaching-related website

Considered my career aims

Completed a course leading to a qualificationsuch as a Diploma or Masters

Completed a professional development course

Trialled material for a publisher

CommentLooking at this list should help identify areas of particular interestfor you (or areas that you hadn’t perhaps thought of) and will helpyou decide which of the activities you would most like to do.

A profes sio nal t eac her These activities are designed to supp ort those of youwho w ant to take on the challenges of writing and publicspeaking in ELT - being ‘a profe ssional’, beyo nd th e confinesof the classroom or even the school. It needn’t be as big astep as you think! The step-by-step approach taken here willhelp you build on your teacher skills and transfer them to amore pu blic arena.

Writing for publication can be an unfamiliar activity formo st teachers. Writing itself, though , isn’t; at least, not anymore. It has become increasingly impo rtant in the 21stcentury to comm unicate in this way, with e-mails, blogs andforums being the m edium of choice where once telephonecalls, meetings and face-to-face deba te would have prevailed.Because blogs and forums are often public, the line between

publish ed an d un pu blishe d w rit ing has bec om e less clearly

72



drawn. We are all published writers i n a sense. Fromthe p oint of view of your professional development, thequestion is not whether you are read, but how widely you areread and with what degree of interest.

You can develop your writing (in terms of skills andconfidence) by breaking down and unwrapp ing the task inhand, just as you do for your students. In the activities in

pre vious circles you have w rit ten reflections, dia ry entries ,

e-mails, lesson plans, and so on. This circle takes writing onestep further, as you learn to shape and direct what you writeand how to write to meet the needs of a wider readership,whether trialling material for an ELT publisher and writing areport, writing an article, or writing a repo rt on a conferenceyou have attended.

Speaking, however, is the subject o f the first ac tivity inthis section. The grow th o f written discourse doesn’t meanthat the good old-fashioned workshop is dead! Far fromit. Teachers attend w orkshops in schools, universities andconferences around the globe. But with the increasingsupp ort o f electronic media and use of written media totransm it ideas, participants will be looking for u nique

benefi ts when attending w orkshops or talks. Speeches andhando uts can be easily downloaded. Charisma, spontaneousinteraction, participation and a sense of community, less so.

The activity BE N HUR provides steps and tools for planninga worksho p wh ich will be as exciting as a chario t race!

A dev elopin g tea ch er Teacher learning, like language learning, can be dividedinto th e four skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking.Or i f you prefer, productive and receptive skills. It is useful

to think about which you are mo st comfortable with. Adeveloping teacher might comm it to a small developmentaltask each month for four months, for example: one involvingeach of the four skills. You block time in your diary to do itand will probably break the task down into several min isessions.

The examples o f developmen tal activities opposite aredivided into the fo ur skills. Choose o ne skill to star t with.

When the four mon ths have passed and you have done fourdevelopmental activities, you can reflect by conside ring thesequestions:

• Which did I get the most from?• Which did I enjoy the most/least?• Do I have a prefer red skill?

If you do have a preferred skill, then make the most of it!

In Back to the future, you think abou t your aims. It is goodto reflect in the longer term and visualise what you thinkyou will have achieved by the time you say goodbye to the profession . This activity reveals what it is you want to achieve.

But you also have to think a bout wh at you want to do in

f ASkillful resolutions

Reading Writing Listening Speaking

Books for teachers

Write an article for a website or ELT magazine or newsletter.

Watch a DVD of some teaching.

Give a workshop at your school or another

school. Anacademictext

Write a report on an ELT event for your school or a local newspaper.

Go to a workshop.

Give a workshop/ talk at a conference.

An ELT magazine or newsletter

Write a letter to the editor of a magazine.

Find a podcast relating to ELT and subscribe.

Go to a conference or event and make contact with three teachers from other schools.

An ELT website

Write an e-mail to an author/ publisher.

Meet a colleague for one hour to discuss an issue that interests you both.

the m ore immed iate future - to comm it, to get involved,to decide wha t it is you want to be and where you want to go. In Decisions, decisions! you plan for the achievement ofyour longer-term aims, with considerations o f three longer projects than the sh or t ac tivities that have been presentedwith so far in The Developing Teacher, and you take a vitalstep to comm itting fur ther to you r profession.

An imp ortan t feature of this book has been to encourageyou to reflect on you r developmental aims and how youwant to achieve them. Deciding what you want to happenand why, then how and when to make it happen, are the‘meta’ activities which shape and direct th e rest.

We have attem pted to address the two ‘elephan t questions’ ofteacher development:

• Why should I?• How can I?

We have raised the questions. Only you can provide theanswers.

73



YOU AND YOUR PROFESSION • A QUALIFIED TEACHER

RISE upChoosing a teachin g qualification

RationaleThe range of qualifications on offer to English teachers canmake it difficult to know which to choose. The diversityof the profession makes it impo rtant to choose the right

qualification for your situation and your future career.

Ac ti vi tyTo choose a qualification tha t will upgrade your ongoingdevelopment, open u p op portunities and raise your

pro fessional status.

Step OneSome questions, the answers to which can help you choose acourse, can once again be summar ised in o ur acronym RISE.Read the questions in the checklist opposite.

Step TwoDo some research. You may already have a qualificationin m ind b ut it is a good idea to look around , as this willhelp you understand your choice or even lead to a differentchoice. Find two or three options. Remember you canconsider qualifications which are no t directly relatedto TEFL, such as a language qualification or a businessqualification.

• Look on the internet and in ELT magazines forinformation.

• Ask colleagues/your boss for recommendations.• loin discussion forums and ask for further

information and recommendations.• Look at the qualifications of people in positions you

aspire to.

Step ThreeEvaluate the op tions you have found , using the ‘RISE up ’checklist.

Step Four Fill in the options table opposite with notes in each categoryand a rating out o f 5 for each.

Step FiveChoose the qualification you want, and apply!

RISE up checklist^

RecognitionWho recognises this qualification and why? Will it open

up new job opportunities fo r me? Will it give me higher status? Can I earn more if I have this qualification?

ImpositionIs the qualification required for me to maintain my present job? Has it been imposed by my employer? Am I imposing it on myself as something I feel obliged to undertake to be ‘marketable’?

Self-improvementWill the preparation/course for the qualification improve my job satisfaction and my sense of self-worth? Will it make me a better teacher?

Enjoyment

Will the preparation/course be enjoyable?

RISE up options

Option 1 Option 2 Option 3

RRating: Rating: Rating:

1Rating: Rating: Rating:

SRating: Rating: Rating:

ERating: Rating: Rating:

Cost:

Time:

Other factors:

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YOU AND YOUR PROFESSION • A QUALIFIED TEACHER

Course, what course?Choosing a short professional developm ent course

RationaleThere are a lot of professional development courses on offerfor teachers. This activity is designed to help you decide howto choose the most effective one for you.

Ac tivi tyTo review and evaluate options for a professionaldevelopment course and choose one.

Step OneOpposite is a checklist of six possible outcomes from a

professional development course. Score each one f rom 0-5 ,according to how important it is for you. Add up to twofurther possible outcomes in the spaces below.

Step Two Now co nsider the checklist of nin e course models and giveeach a mark o ut o f 5, according to how appealing it is to you.

Step ThreeFinally, consider you r own situation very carefully and veryhonestly:

• Why do you want to do a course?• Do you need a qualification?• Can you take time off?• Can you afford it?

Step Four Now you should have a clearer idea o f wha t you are lookingfor. Use the categories where you scored high ly in Steps Oneand Two, and make your own checklist when evaluatingcourses on offer.

Step FivePlan some time and set yourself a time limit. Do someresearch:

• Look at websites and ELT magazines for inform ation.• Ask colleagues or your boss for recom mendations.• Find forums on the internet where courses

are discussed for further info rmation andrecommendations.

Step SixIf you find a course which meets your requirements (andyour budget!), do it.

r ~\Course outcomes

Score

1learn something which will help me in my current job.

1learn something that interests me.

1acquire marketable skills or expertise, eg how to teach online.

The course is challenging so 1will benefit from meeting the challenge.

1make useful contacts on the course.

The course leads to promotion/new job possibilities.

f — \Course appeal

Score

Online learning, with frequent contact with

tutors and fellow studentsOnline learning, with little or no contact with others

Face-to-face learning, part-time

Face-to-face learning, full-time intensive

Course in my home country

Course abroad

Blended learning (a combination of online and face-to-face)

Driven by expert input

Driven by student input/collaboration

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YOU AND YOUR PROFESSION • A PROFESSIONAL TEACHER

BEN HURPlanning how to lead an effective worksho p

RationaleAs well as obliging you to articulate all you r ideas coherently,leading a workshop helps you develop your self-esteemas a teacher. You can develop your own communicationskills and sense o f com mun ity with othe r teachers. D on’tfeel daunted : a workshop is no t a lecture, it is more like astaffroom chat with some very careful organization.

Ac tivi tyTo plan a successful workshop with the he lp o f a checklist.

Step One Brainstorming

• Think about what your own areas of interest orexpertise are, or what unique experiences you have,

which might be shared with colleagues.• Think abo ut your audience and what will be useful

and enjoyable for them (the BEN HUR checklistopposite will help). If you are doing a worksho p inyour school, check with the teachers who will beattending ab out their needs and interests.

• Think abou t good workshops you have attended andwhat made them good.

Step TWo Planning

• There is no single, correct way to organise aworkshop. Plan in the same way as you do a languageclass, thinking abou t the participants an d their needs,and your aims and activities.

• Think abou t what you want to say, your inpu t (ananecdote, a schema , a list of tips).

• Think ab out what you will be getting participantsto do in the workshop, your activities and whatfeedback you will get from them.

• Think ab out what materials you will need for all theabove, and the timings.

• Plan the activities phase to last at least double thetime of the inp ut phase.

Step ThreeChecking

• Use the BEN HUR checklist to evaluate you r plan.• Check your plan with a colleague and make some

changes following any suggestions.

Step Four Remember: the max im ‘teach the students, no t the plan’applies to workshops, too! Be prepared to adapt your planand resp ond to the participants.

Relax: you are now ready to lead a very successful workshop .

BEN HUR

Building on the participants’ experienceParticipants have a chance to draw on their own experience and knowledge (of teaching or learning) and can feel they are building on these. Evolution is better than revolution.

EnjoymentThis could derive from performance-related factors, such as personal charisma, humour, and clarity of visuals; or participatory factors, such as interaction with participants and working together on a task; plus a pleasant environment, with elements such as sunshine, comfort, music and refreshments. Or a combination of any of these.

Novelty

Participants should feel that there is something new for them. This could be an approach, an activity, a new idea, a new angle on an old idea, etc.

Hard workIn input phases, challenge can come from listening and following new or complex ideas. In hands-on phases, challenge can come from the tasks the participants do, or the reflection and articulation required of them.

UnderstandingParticipants feel they have understood key messages and ideas and how they might be put into practice. In the case of ideas for specific activities, they understand exactly how they work.RelevanceParticipants need to see how the content of the workshop can be applied in their own teaching.

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Conference repor ter Join the CoPs Attendin g a confer en ce and repo rt in g bac k Par t ic ip at in g in a c omm unit y of prac ti ce

RationaleReporting on a conference you have been to, verbally or inwriting, helps you to focus on wha t you have learnt. It mayencourage your school to spon sor you: if they feel they aregetting something in return!

Ac tivi tyTo go to a conference an d r epo rt back to you r colleagues(either in writing or as a workshop).

Step OneFind a conference you would like to attend.

Step TwoBefore the conference, prepare a proposal for your direc torof studies.

• Outline the benefits of your going to the conferencefor you and for the school.

• Propose to report back on the conference in someway to staff via a workshop, a meeting, an e-mail, aconference file, etc.

• List the costs (conference fees, accommoda tion,travel, etc).

• Offer to pay some o r all of the costs yourself.

Step ThreeAt the conference, take notes, make contacts, collect freematerials.

Step Four After the conference, prepare your report (written or verbal)or a workshop. Here are some ideas to help you:

• Don’t feel you need to narrate the whole experienceor relate every session you attended.

• If you choose to replicate one of the workshopsyou attended, acknowledge the author and theirmaterials.

• For a report, or to organise your workshop, youcould use a s tructu re like this:

Conference comments

Best workshop I attended, and why:Best published material I found, and why:

Most interesting contact I made, and why:

Most relevant to our school was ...

Step FiveCirculate an e-mail of your report, with handouts and links,to all the staff. Invite you r colleagues to com men t and askquestions.

RationaleA comm unity of practice (CoP) is a group o f teachersformed online or face-to-face who share a common interestin some aspect of teaching, and come together to learn with and fro m each other. There are many benefits of joining one.

• You learn about teaching.• You learn abou t how to work with other people.• You make useful contacts.• You derive satisfaction from mak ing your own

contribution.

Ac tivi tyTo research some com munities of practice you could join,and join one.

Step OneBefore you look for a gro up to join, consider these threequestions and make some notes:

C Communities of practice

What do I want to get out of being in a group?

What am I prepared to put in?

How much time am I prepared to dedicate?

Step TwoLook on the internet for information about national andinterna tional teache r groups. Here are two sites to get youstarted:

• www.iatefl.org• www.britishcouncil.org/eltecs

Step ThreeDo some more research and find information a bout localteacher groups. (If you can’t find a local group, considerstarting on e yourse lf if you think there is interest.)

Step Four Choose one o f the groups you fou nd in Steps Two andThree, and join it.

Step FiveConvince a colleague or fellow teacher to join the group.

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http://www.iatefl.org/

http://www.britishcouncil.org/eltecs

http://www.britishcouncil.org/eltecs

http://www.iatefl.org/




Salami writer Planning to w rite fo r ELT

RationaleWriting is an essential par t o f engaging with the teaching

profession . You might feel da un ted by the p rospec t o fwriting fo r an aud ience. Take a slice-by-slice app roach to

developing as a writer and you will gradually build you r skilland confidence.

Ac tivi tyTo help you start writing, or move you forw ard if you havealready started, perhaps with a book review.

Step OneLook at the kinds of TEFL writing listed below. If you havealready published, tick (<^) the ones you have done and had

published. Pu t an a sterisk (*) by the ones you w an t to do, ordo mo re of.

r \ Writing for ELT

Done?

An essay or assignment for a professional qualification

A contribution to an ELT forum or blog

A letter to the edito r of a magazine or newsletter

A contribution to a newsle tter

A review of a conference

Teaching material

A book review

An article

A book

Step TwoLook at where you have put the *s. Think abo ut your (next)choice of writing project. Bear in mind these points:

• Some things are more difficult than o thers. It iseasier to be published on a website than in p rint, forexample.

• You can choose a project which repeats somethingyou have done already or you can incorp orate m orechallenge. Both have pros and cons. Think abou t them.

• You can write based on wha t interests you or whatyou have been told wo uld be o f interest to readers bythe editor or website co-ordinator. Both have prosand cons. Think about them.

• Remember: you can do it!

Step ThreeChoose your writing project. Set yourself a deadline and

block tim e in you r d iary to get the work d one .• Allow time for the following: reading; researching;

writing; getting feedback; rewriting.• Work backwards from you r deadline, if you have one.

Step Four Write your piece. Get a colleague to check it. Revise it.

Step FiveSend it.

A book rev iewThe constructive critic

Rationale

A review involves reacting to somethin g someone else haswritten , and may be a good place to start. You can write a bo ok review for co lleagues in a teachers ’ grou p or staff room,as part o f a training course, or for publication in a teachers’

journa l. It can be o f a coursebook, o f a supp lem entar yactivities book o r m ethodology book.

Step OneRead some reviews of books: mo st journals have a sectionfor book reviews. Notice how they are structured. Makenotes o f features of the reviews that you like.

Step Two

Make notes, as in the list below, for the book you intend toreview.

• Title/Author/Publisher • Wha t type of book is it and what does it contain?• Wh o is it aimed at?• In what way is it different to othe r books in the field?• An example of a unit/activity/chapter • Something you particularly like about the book • A reservation you have about the book • Your final evaluation. Who would find the book

useful an d why?

Step ThreeTurn you r notes into your text. If the review is for informalcirculation only, you could even leave it in no te form.

Step Four Review what you have wr itten and get a colleague to read it.Remember that, as readers, we tend to be interested in goodreviews’. You can pick ou t faults, but keep the to ne positive.

Step FiveSend it.

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Writing your voicePreparing an article for publication

RationaleAn article is a pro-active and personal perspective and ismo re difficult than a book review, for example. To write anarticle that voices your opinions, you need: something to say;

the com mitme nt to doing the work; a friend or colleague togive you some feedback.

Ac tivi tyTo write an article for publication on the web or in a

pro fessional jou rnal.

Step OneRead several articles on the web or in professional journa lsand make notes on wh at you like and dislike abou t them. Usethis as a checklist when you come to write yo ur own articlelater.

1liked ... 1disliked...

Step TwoLook at the selected list of article topics opposite, adap tedfrom the British Council site at the time of writing:www.teachingenglish.org.uk .

If you had to write an article on one of these titles, whichwould you choose and why? Can you think of others?

Step ThreeWith colleagues (if you can) think abou t your own teachingand make a list of six ‘areas of intere st’ (see the Pro -form aopposite) tha t particularly interest you. B rainstorming works

bes t i f you accept anyth ing tha t you th ink of, a t least initially,and avoid the temptation to dismiss ideas quickly.

These ideas could be: a strategy or techn ique you use, ateaching idea, a social or political aspect of teaching Englishthat interests you, or a metho d you have adapted to yourown teach ing situation. In sh ort, if it interests you, it will

probably in terest othe r teachers.

Step Four Choose one of your six options from Step Three. Use yourcolleagues to help you.

Step FiveMake some notes for your article using the final Pro-formaopposite to help you.

Step SixTurn your notes from Step Five into a draft version of thearticle.

Topics of interes t j

• Creative writing • Stortyelling• Learning vocabulary • Portfolios

• Using articles in the • Pronunciationnews through songs• Listening for teenagers • Large classes• E-learning • NLP• Arts and crafts with YL • Socio-cultural• Using authentic awareness

materials • Teaching one to one

f \ Areas of in te res t

1

2

3

4

5

6

S’ \ An ar ti cle of in te res t

Who will read it?

How long will it be?

Will it include visuals?(A diagram, table, illustration?)

In what way is it original?(Originality can be in the organisation or grouping of ideas, a new angle on an old theme, an adaptation of an idea from a different field ...)

Brief summary of what your article will contain (These could be sub-headings.)

Step SevenGet som eone to check it a nd give you feedback. Rewrite it!

Step EightSend the article to an ELT website or magazine. Bear in min dthat it is usually easier to be published on the former. Don’t

be dis couraged if you a ren’t accepted th e f irst time. Learnfrom the experience, and try again.

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http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/




Trial without error Hidden treasureTrying out material for a publisher Preparing your own material for publication

RationaleVolunteering to trial material can contribute to your

pe rsonal d evelopm ent by m aking y ou reflect on howmate rial works. Your students may well also appreciate

a sense o f involvemen t in the process. You will beacknowledged in the final publication and will establishcontact with the ELT publishing world.

Ac tivi tyTo try out some teaching material for a publisher.

Step OneChoose some p ublishers of books you use or like. Find therelevant contac t details, preferably a person ‘editorial’.

Step Two

Write an e-mail, offering to trial m aterial. State briefly:• who you are - your teaching context, and why yours

would be a good context for this;• why you would like to trial the material, and why you

like that publisher’s material, quoting examples.

Step ThreeWait. If you get no reply or a ‘not now bu t in the futuresometime’ response, wait three m onths and w rite again.

Step Four Trying out materials means trialling then writing a rep ort.Give evidence that you used the material in class (who youused it with, how often, how long it took, etc). Publishersvalue the following, so try to fulfil their expectations:

Quality feedback ]

• Informed feedback - Refer where possible to other published material (methodology books, articles, workshops you attended or other coursebooks).

• Constructive feedback - Say if somethingdidn’t work and suggest what could make it better.

• Balanced feedback - Say what youdid like, otherwise you seem like someone who is never satisfied.

• Honest feedback - If something is completely unusable, don’t be afraid to say so.

Step FiveSend your repo rt to the publisher. Thank them for giving youthe o pportun ity to participate. Let them kn ow that you would

be inte res ted in repeat ing the experience (if indeed you are) .

Step SixShould you th ink you can write material th at’s just as good,or better, than what you have been trialling, offer to sendsamples of your own work.

RationaleElaving shared your material with your students and perhapsyour colleagues (see the activity Sharing board in circle three),why hide it from the profession at large? Take things one step

furthe r and get pubished! Publishers are often looking forteachers who can write supplem entary materials forcoursebooks and activities/lesson plans for websites. This isone of the few activities in The Developing Teacher whichenhances your teaching and earns you mon ey at the same time!

Ac tivi tyTo present a piece of material to be published.

Step OnePrepare some material you have written and used in class.Make it look good.

Step TwoFind a contact in the pu blishing world. You need someone in‘edito ria l’.

Step ThreeMake initial contact. Introduc e yourself and offer yourservices as a writer. Explain your teaching context and your

pre vious publica tions (if any, even on the web or a localmagazine). Outline your interests (young learners, business,general, teenagers, etc).

Step Four All being well, you may be invited to sub mit a sample,according to specifications the publisher gives. Prepare yourmaterial carefully, perhaps using a Pro-forma like the one

below, an d send it.

Planning to w rite j

When?

Deadline:

Preparation work needed:

Doing the writing:

Checked by someone:

Step FiveIf you are accepted, celebrate. You are going to be published!

If not, bear in m ind th at many w ould-be writers don ’t even bo ther going beyon d Step Two above. Also, th at very manysamples are turned down. Don’t be discouraged if you aren’taccepted the first time. Learn from the experience, and tryagain. Think if there is any way you can ada pt your materialor its presentation for a more successful second try.

80



YOU AND YOUR PROFESSION • A DEVELOPING TEACHER

Back to the futureVisualising your career aims

RationaleYour career, like a language class, works better if you havesome clear aims. Once your aims are clear, it will be easier todesign your activities, the things tha t keep you busy.

Act iv it yTo think about the aims of your working life by placingyourself in the fu ture, and looking back.

Step OneFind a quiet place. Read and visualise the retirem ent par tysituation opposite.

Step TwoMake some notes on what you and the o ther people at your

pa rty said in the ir speeches in the Pro-forma opposite.

Step ThreeWhat you wrote in Step Two are your career aims. Nowconsider your cu rrent activities. In wha t ways are theycontributing to your aims? For example, think abou t yourday at work today. In what way did it contr ibute to youraims?

Step Four Now ask yourse lf if there are any aims which are no t beingworked on. Wha t could you change? Remember, you havefive years!

Step FiveDiscuss your notes and thou ghts w ith a colleague.

NoteThe activity is based on an idea from Stephen Covey’s bookThe Seven Habits o f Highly Effective People.

r ARetirement party

You are going to a retirement party. The time is five years from now.You dress and make your way to the place where it is being held. It is a formal party, with speeches and groups of people sitting around tables. When you arrive you see the other guests waiting. You realise you don’t know whose retirement party it is. You ask one of the guests the name of the person. They reply with yo ur name. The party is for your retirement!

Who can you see at the party?

Where exactly is it?What music is playing?

There are speeches at the party, one from you and others from colleagues and students, past and present.What do you say?What do they say?Now leave the party.

Retirement speeches

Me

Colleagues

Students

81



YOU AND YOUR PROFESSION • A DEVELOPING TEACHER

Decisions, decisions!Committing to a longer-term project

RationaleMany long-term development projects never get off thegroun d because either the individual teachers or the schoolhaven’t paid en ough a ttention to thinking the project

through. They take a lot o f work, so you are unlikely to finishthem unless you are really comm itted. This activity helpsyou to consider the benefits and weigh them against thecosts. It is best do ne w ith at least one o ther teacher.

Ac ti vi tyTo consider the pros a nd cons of three long-termdevelopment projects and make a decision whether to doone, and which one.

Step OneRead the descriptions o f the three longer-term projects:

a teacher diary, a teaching portfolio and a teacherdevelopment scheme in Part C of The Developing Teacher, on pages 84,87 an d 92.

Step TwoRead the objections to each project made by teachers in the

boxes opposite. Do you agree with them? If not , wh at are thecou nter a rguments? Discuss with a colleague or colleagues,if possible.

Step Three Now work alone. C hoose one o f the three projects . Make a per sonal list of pro s and cons for you.

Step Four Show your list to a colleague. Ask your colleague to play‘devil’s advocate’ and try to convince you n ot do it. Theywill argue, using your ‘cons’ list. You should argue in favour,using the ‘pros’ list. Exchange roles and do the same, eachusing the o ther list.

Alternatively, you can also do this the o ther way round : yourcolleague first plays ‘angel’s advocate’ and tries to convinceyou to do the project.

Step Five

Take a decision, yes or no, whether to do the project or not. Ifyou decide yes, follow the Step-by-step guide for it in P art C.If you decide no, well, your work is done ... for now.

Step SixIf you chose to com mit to one o f the three projects, youmay want to return to this activity and comm it to ano therat some po int in the future. If you chose not commit to a

pro jec t, you now have a clearer idea a bo ut w hat you wantfrom teacher development and what you are prepared to putin to it. You are taking big steps, either way.

1object to keeping a teacher diary ...'1

1haven’t got time for th a t... I’d rather spend the time preparing the next lesson.

1can’t see how writing a diary is going to help my teaching.

It’s a bit self-indulgent, is n’t it? Wouldn’t it be better to discuss classes with my colleagues?

I’m no t very good at writing. 1never know what to write.

Diaries are fo r girls!

1object to completing a teaching portfolio ...''j

1haven’t got time for that. It will take ages to pu t a

portfo lio together. 1have bette r things to do with my time.

Why should 1make a port folio ? 1know what I’m doing. 1don’t need to prove it.

This is ju st appraisal by the back door, a way fo r the school to check up on us.

My work is done in the classroom. A portfolio wo n’t reflect that.

Some people keep the ir photos neatly organised in albums, others have them stuffed in a drawer. It just depends on the kind o f person you are.

1object to teacher development schemes ...''j

It ’s too much hassle to organise!

1can organise my own development, 1d on’t need a scheme.

1don ’t have the authority to organise a scheme involving others.

I’m no t interested unless I ’m paid to participate.

If 1try to organise one, m y colleagues will resent me.

r \1think ...

Pros Cons

82



The Developing Teacher aims to take your development one step further.So far, activities have been suggested which are, on the whole, sho rt and des igned to fit intoand arou nd yo ur busy schedule. Development can also include long-term projects, and you

will probably find there are points in your teaching career when you can dedicate yourselfto taking these steps: you can do an MA, PhD or oth er practical or the oretical course, take asabbatical year and do some research, do a job exchange or secon dmen t for a year, and so on.

The three projects we are suggesting are no t ongoing in tha t sense. They are, rather,‘elongated activities’. They have a defined ending and outcom e, because th at pro bably makesthem easier and m ore m otivating to do: they work from the premise that development is

best conce ived no t as a continuous line, b u t a collection of moments . They enc ourage you tocreate and compile these moments, pause, reflect, celebrate, and then move on.

Three longer-term projectsHere, then, we are looking at three projects which take a certain amount of time to complete:

weeks or mon ths, rather than days or hours.• In the first project you keep a diary, where you reflect and c om men t on activities

you have carried out.• In the second and th ird projects you can incorporate a selection of these activities,

combine the m with other material from yo ur professional practice, and collateand reflect on them.

Both the portfolio project and teacher development scheme encourage you to link up andgroup together elements, creating a whole which provides shape, form and direction to thesmaller steps you take.

Three circles of further development

These three p rojects can be v isualised as concentric circles,moving from the individual and possibly private to the publicand collaborative. Because they take some time, it is importantto give them some careful consideration before making acomm itment to seeing them throug h. The activity Decisions, decisions! at the en d o f circle five should have helpe d you tochoose a particular project, by exploring the possible benefits andconsidering the drawbacks.

Some background information will first familiarise you with what each project entailsand how it can help yo ur developm ent as a teacher. A detailed guide will then provid e thesupp ort you need to help you get the most o ut o f each one, as you step forward.

83



A teacher diary 1A personal project

A teacher diary, or teaching journal, is a written account o f events that hap pen in theclassroom a nd your reflections on them.

A diary can be private, for your eyes only, or pub lic, ie shared w ith colleagues or published.It can be analysed by a researcher who is not the diarist (a ‘diary stud y’) or simply containyour unedited or ‘raw’ entries. It can focus on one grou p o f students or a range of groups.It can focus on a single area of your teaching or can be open-ended . Diary entries can bewritten imm ediately after the class (hot entries) or at some later point (cool entries), and thediary can be kept fo r a shor t intensive perio d (say a week) o r over an extensive period, suchas a term. Here is a summar y of the options:

• Private........................................... Public• Language learn ing ....................... Language teaching• Raw entries o n ly .......................... D iary stud y• With a focus .................................W ith ou t a focus

• About one class ........................... About various classes• Intensive....................................... Extensive

What form can it take?A diary can be handw ritten, though it is more co mm on to use a computer and keep ane-journ al. This allows you to circulate your diar y to others easily, should you choose to doso, and also allows you to add picture, video and sound files.

The form the diary takes will reflect your aims and w hat it contains. The handw ritten diaryis appropriate for private diaries and ‘hot entries’ when a com puter may not be to hand. Thee-journal is easy to share and publish.

What can i t contribu te to your development?We can refer again to ou r RISE acronym. Diaries are a good way to foster self-improvement.

There is a difference between writing about teaching and speaking about teaching. Diary writingcan encourage you to be m ore selective, reflective and analytical than y ou wou ld be if you werereporting verbally to a colleague or just thinking to yourself about a lesson. The process willhelp you to ‘open window s’ on your o wn teaching (see the activity The Johari Window in thefirst development circle for more on this). For these reasons, professional training coursessometimes use diary-type assignments as part of their syllabus and assessment procedures.

Writing a d iary is an introspective and individua l task. You may find this is a style of learningyou feel more comfortable with th an the more interpersonal an d collaborative learninginvolved in other teacher development activities. If you derive en joymen t from keeping a

personal dia ry yo u will p robably enjoy keeping a teach ing diary.

In terms o f recognition, you can share your diary with colleagues and the ELT profession.There are several ways to do this:

• Circulating your e-journal.• Info rma l discussion with colleagues.• A formal repo rt or presentation at a staff meeting.• Publishing a blog. You can keep the ongoing diary online, inviting other teachers

to read and c omm ent as you go.• Publishing the diary itself, or a repo rt on what you have gained from using a

diary, on an ELT website or teacher journal.

Keeping a teacher d iary is not usually an im po sit ion. You choose to do it. However it may be included by a school in a por tfo lio or teac her development scheme, or in a professionalqualification.

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A teacher diary 2A step-by-step guide

RationaleYou have com mitted to completing a teacher diary andlooked at the range of options for formats. The aim o f thisguide is to help you set up and carry through the project,step by step.

Ac tivi tyTo organise your diary and manage the work involved,thinking about:

• what it will contain;• how to organise it;• a timeframe for your work, with deadlines and

progress checks;• what to do with it when it is finished.

Step OneDecide your audience. Consider the four options in the ‘Myaudience’ table on page 86. Choose one, and think about therelated questions.

Step TwoDecide you r contents. Will the diary have a focus? If so,what? In general, a focus which relates to wha t happens inthe classroom, rather than the lesson planning stage, will bemore app ropria te. In the ‘My focus’ table are some examplesof areas teachers o ften write about. The list, of course, is byno means exhaustive. Think about what worries or interests

you.

Step ThreeDecide your timeframe a nd the n um ber o f groups you willwrite about. Make notes in the ‘My timefram e’ boxes, tohelp you decide which of the four models to choose. Thinkabout your current teaching situation, particularly the mostchallenging elements.

Step Four Commit to the project. Based on your notes in Step Three,decide on a time table and write it in the ‘My timetable’ grid.

Step FiveGet started. Choose from the four options below how youwill write your diary entries. You can exp erime nt withdifferent types of e ntry if you want.

• Narrative. ‘Stream of consciousness’. (Write abou twhat comes into yo ur head.)

• Narrative. Focus on key mom ents. (Write about aspecific incident or incidents in the lesson which youfeel were significant.)

• Analytical. (Evaluate you r lesson in terms of yourfocus.)

• A mixture of the above.

You will also need to consider when to write: soon after thelesson (ho t) o r after some time has elapsed (cool). Again,you can vary this from entry to entry.

Step SixFinish the diary. What ha ppens now will depend on whatyou decided in Step One, although you may have changedyour mind as the diary has developed. The diary can be:

• filed away;• discussed with a colleague or friend;• discussed with other teachers, reflecting on what you

gained from the exercise;• published.

Step SevenCelebrate! However you end, you will have made some

imp ortan t discoveries abou t your students and yourteaching. Write dow n the most striking thing you havediscovered.

Stepping forwardWo uld you like to repeat this activity?If you foun d it valuable, you m ightwant to make it a regular feature ofyour teacher development. You coulddecide to do a diary on a regular basis;once a year, for example, du ring a givenmo nth. If your first diary was private,you might wa nt to go public nexttime, perhaps publishing it in a blog.Of course, you may have decided thatdiaries are not for you and co ncentrateon other development activities. This isalso a good idea. It’s up to you!

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A teac her diary 3

My audience

Who wi ll read the diary? Points to consider

Me How will 1motivate myself to do it? Will 1let a friend read it?Me and other teachers How will 1organise the reading? Will 1invite comments? How will 1respond?

Will a colleague and 1keep diaries at the same time and read each other’s?

My supervisor on a course or DOS at my school

What are the agreed outcomes or assessment criteria?

The profession Who will publish it? Will it be raw entries or a diary study? If 1opt for a study, who will do that part?

f NMy focus

• giving instructions • my teacher talk • student attention• organising pair- and groupwork • dealing with pronunciation problems • student talk• correcting errors • use of visual supports for learning • student participation• my positioning in class • use of movement in class • use of learners’ mother tongue• use of the board • student misbehaviour • use of teacher’s mother tongue

My timeframe LIntensive, with a single group

A short diary (eg 2 weeks) with a focus on one classSlow burn, with a single group

A long diary (eg 2-6 months) with a focus on one class

Intensive, using various groups A short diary (eg 2 weeks) with a focus on several or all my classes

Slow burn, using various groups A long diary (eg 2-6 months) with a focus on several or all my classes

My timetable 'l

Start date: Number of entries:

End date: Entry dates:

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A teaching portfolio 1A practical project

Richards and Farrell refer to two kinds of portfolio: the working portfolio and the showcase portfolio. The working portfolio is put together for prim arily developmental purposes andwill probably contain more critical reflection of you r own work an d even examples o ffailures. The showcase portfolio is aimed at ‘presenting’ yourself for a new job o r pro mo tion,and therefore is likely to reflect the highlights of your teaching career, ‘a cleaned up versionof my professional self’, as David Nunan p uts it. This is the kind of portfo lio often u sed byfreelance workers such as artists, designers and architects to demonstrate the range of theirwork to potential clients. A portfolio can be a mixture of working and showcase.

Here is a definition of a portfolio w hich refers to the working portfolio, with its emphasis on per sonal reflection and development:

‘ A professional portfolio is an evolving collection o f carefully selected or composed professional thoughts, goals and experiences that are threaded wi th reflection and self- assessment. It represents who you are, wh at you do, why you do it, where you have been, where you are, where you want to go, and how you plan getting there.’(Evans)

This second definition refers to the showcase portfolio, with an emphasis on the display andrepresentation of your development and your ability to co ntribute to the profession:

(A portfolio is ...) ‘a purposefu l collection of any aspect o f a teacher’s work tha t tells the story of a teacher’s effort, skills, abilities, achievements a nd contributions to his or her colleagues, institution, academic discipline or community.’(Browne and Wolf-Quintero)

So we can thin k o f a portfolio as:

• A story of you r life as a teacher.• A way of demonstrating your ongoing development.• A CV fleshed out with examples.

• A tool for prom oting your ongoing development.• A record of your philosophy of teaching.• A structured collection o f materials you have made for teaching.

It places you as a teacher a t the centre o f your work. It allows you to view your w ork in termsof your pe rsonal achievements, though this, of course, will include your co ntribution toyour school and oth er institutions.

A portfolio can take so me time to complete. We can say ‘complete’ on the unders tandingthat it is motivating to give a long-term developmental project a beginning and an end, evenif you decide to repeat it soon af terwards o r on a regular basis. This is wha t makes it special,memorable, rewarding and fun. If you make it ongoing it will become buried in routine,tiresome and unremarkable. Aim for a feature film, not a soap opera!

What form can it take?The form the portfolio takes will reflect your aims and what you want it to contain.

• It can be a big file contain ing examples on pape r of you r work, such as materialsand course plans, as well as pictures, recordings an d DVDs.

• It can be an electronic doc ument which includes docu me nt files, PowerPoint pre senta tions , DVD clips, audio files and links to web sites.

• It can be a webpage, MySpace or blog, including all the above, with ad ded designfeatures such as visuals and menus.

Electronic forms are preferable from an ecological point of view and more practical if you

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A teaching portfolio 2A practical project

need to carry them around . A portfolio attached to a job CV works best as an attachm entor webpage which the employer can open and browse at will. For a personal, developmentalcompilation, a paper-based file may be the best o ption. Bear in m ind that some items, suchas DVDs, tapes and certain materials, ma y no t be easily stored electronically.

The portfolio can contain whatever you want it to contain. There are no rules. Your choicewill depend on the type o f portfolio you want to p roduce and y our own interests. You cancompile it retrospectively or pro-spectively. In the f ormer case, you sort out materials andactivities you have already done and compile them (a bit like taking a pile of photos youhave stuffed away in a drawer and collating them in a photo album). In the latter, you plan todo new activities or make new materials to include (like planning to take some more photosfor your album). O ne way to make a portfolio is to select and then make a compilation ofactivities from The Developing Teacher.

What can i t contrib ute to your development?We can look at the idea of portfolios in terms of the four motivations for development,captured in the acronym RISE.

In terms of recognition, if you are applying for a new post or pro motion , a portfolio islikely to impress, particu larly if it showcases your wo rk in the classroom. In a ddition , a good portfolio may well be used as a mo del o f bes t pr actice wi thin a school a nd is likely to att ractinterest from other teachers. If you are a freelance teacher, your portfolio/website may be akey factor in attracting work.

A portfolio often is a compulsory element o f Continuou s Professional Development programm es in schools and ins titu tions . I f this is the case, th e decision a bo ut wh eth erto produce o ne has been made for you, an imposition. How it contributes to yourdevelopment depends th en o n your a ttitude and h ow you pu t it together. As one teacherexplained:

‘Completing a portfolio once a year seems like a chore each time it comes round, but I always end up find ing the process of reflecting on m y work useful and I am often pleasantly surprised to see how much I have achieved.’

As far as self-improvement is concerned, the process of completing a portfolio will generatereflection on your work an d give you a clearer understand ing o f your c ontribu tion to yourstudents, your colleagues and your profession.

In the case of the retrospective portfolio, the process o f compiling involves reliving pastexperiences and seeing them from a new perspective. For example, you may decide toorganise your jumb le o f favourite materials you have created in chronological order for your

portfolio. This will he lp y ou to un de rs tand how yo ur approach to teaching has changed overtime. Both the process and the final product will reinforce this reflection.

In the case of the prospective portfolio, you may find you rself comm itting to new activitiesto fill perceived ‘gaps’. For example, you decide to include a section o n s tudent feedback andthen realise you have no examples to hand. This may lead you to getting some feedback fromyour students, perhaps using an activity suggested in The Developing Teacher.

Finally, provided yo u feel it is worthwhile, yo u will gain enjoyment from the process ofworking on the p ortfolio an d experience a sense of satisfaction in the final product. As withthe pho to album , your em otional reactions, visualisations, remem bering and reorganisingwill bring you pleasure and satisfaction, even if some o f the photos you find mayoccasionally cause you to wince with regret or embarrassment!

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A teaching portfolio 3A step-by-step guide

RationaleOnce you are com mitted to completing a portfolio, youneed to consider how to go about p utting it together. It caninclude material produced in the natura l course of your

work, as well as material o r items pro duc ed specially for the por tfo lio. You can also inc lude any o f the activities from The Developing Teacher.

Ac tivi tyTo answer the following questions:

• Wh at will the portfo lio contain?• How will I organise it?• Wh at is my timeframe for completing it?

Step SixOnce you have incorporated all the contents, put thefinishing touches to the portfolio. This may include:

• a clear contents page;

• an attractive presentation of the materials;• checking for accuracy.

Get a colleague to give you som e feedback, and makeadjustments accordingly.

Step SevenCongratulations! You have completed your portfolio.Celebrate.

Step OneThink abou t what type of portfolio you want to produceand how you will present it. Tick the de scriptions in the ‘My

po rtfolio’ Pro-forma o n page 90 which best apply, and addnotes where appropriate. Discuss with a colleague.

Step TwoThink about what will go in the portfolio. Look at the listof items in ‘A portfolio checklist’ on page 91 which could beincorporated, an d tick the ones you intend to include. Spendsome time discussing this w ith a colleague. Perhaps select amaxim um of twelve.

Step Three

Decide how you will organise the portfolio. On page 90 arefour suggested ways of dividing it up. Discuss the pros an dcons of each with a colleague and th ink o f at least one o therway of organising your portfolio. Choose one of the four, orchoose your own.

Step Four Return to your list of contents from Step Two. Match theitems to the appro priate section from your chosen formatfrom Step Three. For example, if you have decided to include‘Reports on classes I have observed’, this could fit in thesection ‘Teacher growth ’ of the CAST model. You now have acontents page for your portfolio, divided into sections.

Step FiveSet deadlines. Copy your con tents into a table forma t likethe ‘deadlines’ example. List items with deadlines and notes.Spread ou t the deadlines. As a rule, allow a total of 4- 12weeks. If you go beyond three months, you may lose interestand focus. In some cases a portfolio may span an academicyear (nine m onths). In this case, plan the whole ninemonths, giving yourself a mon thly objective or objectives.

Stepping forwardDo a portfolio once a year, or alternatewith a diary so you do one every twoyears. If you found it a very helpfulexperience, why not share it withothers? You could do this by writing anarticle about it, giving a presentationto colleagues or at a conference. If youdo this, concentrate on comm unicatinghow you chose to do it and what yougot ou t of the experience. Don’t dwellon the actual contents o f the portfolio,as this is usually specific to you and of

less interest to fellow teachers.If you didn ’t find the activity rewardingin terms o f your development, don ’trepeat it. Find something else to doinstead, to move forward. The decisionis yours.

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A teaching portfolio 4

My portfolio

A showcase portfolio

A working portfolio

A CV fleshed out with examples

A demonstration of my ongoing development to an employer or potential clients

The story of my life as a teacher

Paper format

Electronic format

Mixed format

c \The organisation

FIVE CIRCLES CAST TAP 1231 Me 1 Contributions to the 1 Teaching 1 First job2 Me and my students school and profession 2 Administration 2 Second job3 Me and my colleagues 2 Approach and philosophy 3 Professional development 3 Third job4 Me and my school 3 Student growth5 Me and my profession 4 Teacher growth

YOUR OWN

The deadlines

Item Deadline Notes

Feedback from peers 14th March Ask Juan, Nicola and Fiona fo r a paragraph.

DVD of me teaching 28th March Find someone to operate camera (Chemi?), think about good extract to shoot. Can someone edi t it? Ask Chemi.

Sample teaching materials 7th April Sort through file and select three.

90



A teaching portfolio 5

s A po rt fo lio ch eck list

Account of achievements of my students, such as passing exams, accessing university, getting a job

Account of classroom research I have done

Account of critical incidents and how I dealt with them

Comments on mentoring I have done

Comments on relationships with colleagues

Copy of my qualifications

Critique of my school’s curriculum

DVD of my teaching

Examples of my students’ work

Feedback from bosses

Feedback from a colleague/boss on observation of my classesFeedback from peers

Formal feedback from students

Informal peer support and guidance I have given and received

Joint projects

Diary entries

Lesson plans

List of books I have read which have influenced me, with an explanation

List of courses I have taken

List of groups I am a member of, with a descrip tion of the group activityList of journals I read regularly

Notes and materials from conferences and workshops I have attended

Notes of appreciation and cards from students

Photos of me and my students in class

Presentations to colleagues

Professional development plan for myself

Published articles, materials, book reviews

Reports on classes I have observed

Sample assessment procedures/material I use with my students

Self-evaluations

Special projects

Statement of how I have developed over a given period of time

Statement of my teaching philosophy

Teaching materials I have prepared

Workshops I have given

Writing I have had published

91



A teacher development scheme 1A professional project

When teacher development activities are organised and prom oted w ithin an institutionalframework o r educ ational com mun ity and systematically recorded in some way, we can referto this as a scheme or program me. While the diary an d portfolio projects fall more withinthe in ner circles of the ‘five circles’ model, this typ e o f activity correspo nds to the o uter

circles, as it involves engaging with colleagues and probably the s chool where you work.

W hat form can i t take?A teacher development scheme is like a teaching portfolio that is organised and suppo rted

by yo ur colleagues an d you r school. As wi th the portfo lio , it c an include a selection o f any ofthe activities described in The Developing Teacher, although the emphasis may be more oncollaborative activities such as peer observation, self-observation, workshops and attendanceat conferences. Whatever the content of a development scheme, there are importan tconsiderations for the setting up. Key features for success are:

• Owner ship. If you are a participa nt in a scheme, you need to feel you are at thecentre o f the project. If you are leading the scheme, you need to help foster this.

• Incentive. Whether voluntary o r compulsory, the scheme needs to have aclear idea o f pote ntial benefits. These could be intrinsic (a sense of personalachievement) and extrinsic (a prize).

• Uptake from influential group members. If respected and influential members ofa group participa te, others are likely to follow.

• Modelling and su ppo rt from the person setting up the scheme. If this is you, makesure you participate and are seen to be comm itted to your own development aswell as helping othe rs with theirs.

• Follow-up, with sched uled checks on progress.• Time limit. Nothin g is more dem otivating than the thou ght that this could go on

forever. A maximum of three months? Remember: feature film, not soap opera.

What can i t c on t r ibu te to your deve lopment?We have noted Julian Edge’s claim tha t development is something you do to yourself, asopposed to training, which other people do to you. If this is the case, the terms teacher development scheme or teacher development programm e appear somewhat contradictory. If Iam doing my own developing, how do schemes and pro gramm es fit in? If they are imposed,in wha t way can they be developmental? However, many schools an d teachers themselvessupp ort the idea that teacher development is something which can be actively sponsored and

prom oted by teacher groups, schools a nd insti tutions in the in terests o f all concern ed. Thereare various potential participants or stakeholders in a developm ent scheme.

You may find yourself in one or more of these roles: participating teacher, organisingteacher, director of studies, or school owner or director. What you get o ut o f the scheme interms o f your personal professional development will depend o n the role you play.

From the p oint o f view of an educational community, participation in a teacherdevelopment scheme may be par t of a formal appraisal, a job req uirement o r a voluntaryactivity organised by the school o r by teachers themselves to pr omo te development. Both‘top-d own’ and ‘bott om -up ’ style schemes can be equa lly effective vehicles for dev elopmentwhen pa rticipants are totally committed to them.

All four RISE motivations (Recognition, Imposition, Self-improvement and Enjoyment)may come into play, then, when engaging in a teacher development scheme. Teacherattitudes towards such schemes, and the amo unt of development which happens, will varyaccording to the scenario, the teachers themselves an d the leadership from the school or the

pe rson in charge of the pro jec t.

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A teacher development scheme 2A step-by-step guide

RationaleSetting up a deve lopment scheme in a school is atremendous challenge, but the rewards of a successfulscheme can be substantial for you and your school. The‘costs’, particularly in terms of pe ople’s time, can be h igh, sothe benefits need to be assessed carefully. This activity is for

bo th teachers and directors o f studies who wish to set u p ateacher development programme.

Ac ti vi tyTo set up a teacher dev elopme nt scheme.

Step OneDo som e reflection, before you start. Make notes, using thePro-forma ‘Considerations for teachers and schools’ on page

94, with a colleague if possible.Step TwoDo some research. Sound out two mem bers o f staffseparately and informally, one you think will be keen andone not so keen. Explain the idea of the scheme, hint at

possible contents or proced ure s, the w ork involved. After theconversations, add to your notes from Step One.

Step ThreeInvite teachers to a meeting. Before the mee ting, reviewthe ‘Six points for successful schemes’ checklist. Does yourscheme have these? Specify how in the right-hand column.

Step Four In the meeting, present your ideas, aiming to cover the sixareas from Step Three as well as you can. Here are some tipsfor the meeting:

• Let teachers choose what goes in the scheme froma list of options. The activities in The Developing Teacher are all suitable for inclusion in a schemeof this kind . Teachers can agree which activities toincorporate, perhaps using a pyramid discussion.

• The choice of activities may be limited by constraints.Peer observa tion, for example, may have logistic and

financial implications. Make any constraints clear toteachers.• Be enthusiastic about the benefits and honest about

the costs.• Com mit to participating in the scheme yourself.• Make it clear if the scheme is com pulso ry or

voluntary.• Set a date for a round-up/f eedb ack meeting (see Step

Seven).

Step FiveAt the end of the meeting, come to an agreement abo utwhat the scheme will contain and a timeframe. You can usethe activity SMARTER planning in circle four to help youdo this. Each teacher completes a table like the ‘Schedule’example on page 94.

Step SixPlan a regular time to meet or e-mail, to rep ort on progressand encourage and supp ort each other. This could be weeklyor monthly, depending on the schedule you have decided.Divide the teachers into sub-g roups, i f necessary, with agroup leader. The m aximum group size for these meetingsshould b e six, to ensure effective participatio n. In thesemeetings or reports, teachers can:

• ‘show and tell’ what they have achieved;

• request help and advice from colleagues;• encourage each other and give maximu m support.

Step SevenHold your round-u p/feedbac k meeting. This is for teachersto:

• talk about what they have gained from the scheme;• make suggestions on how it can be improved;• celebrate the completion of the scheme with

champagne or cake and coffee.

Stepping forwardThink about h ow successful the schemewas. You shou ld have a g ood idea afterStep Seven, but if you are still not sure,get some more individual feedback fromthe participants. If it wasn’t a success,this could be because you did n’t set it upwell or because it just isn’t the best wayforward for you and your colleagues. Ifthe sche me was a success and you wantto repeat it, suggest that so meone elseorganises it next time. Step back an d let

someone else step forward!

93



A teacher development scheme 3

Considerations for teachers and schools

What do I gain as a teacher from the scheme? (More teaching skills or knowledge? Improved relationships with colleagues? Enjoyment?)

What will the school gain from this scheme? (Better quality teaching? More students? Staff loyalty?)

Is the scheme compulsory or optional? What sanctions or incentives are there? Are these explici t or implicit?

What support do teachers need? (Files, worksheets, help with videoing classes, advice, time off teaching for peer observation, financial help with training or attending conferences?)

How much time am I prepared to allocate to the scheme?

What would happen if I didn’t set up/participate in the scheme? Are there alternative ways to meet the aims set out in the first two boxes?

f \Six points for successful schemes

1 Ownership

2 Incentive

3 Uptake

4 Modelling/support

5 Follow-up

6 Time limit

Schedule

What? When by? Notes

Observe two colleagues. Feb 28th Arrange time to observe Sonja and Ana. Check if they want me to observe for anything in particular. Pro-fo rma?

Get feedback from class X. Feb 14th Use a feedback activity from the Foord book.

Write a book review for colleagues. March 14th New book on pronunciation activities in staffroom?

94



From the editors

One o f the main premises of The Developing Teacher is that teachers themselves are the mos t pow erful agents of change an d d evelopm ent in their own professional career. Dun can Foordhas written a book th at is innovative in tha t it provides practical, achievable, accessible andenjoyable activities for teachers to shape their own development.

• An exam ination o f different aspects of, and issues in, teacherdevelopment.

• A discussion of how teachers learn and what prevents them fromlearning.

• A survey of the literature on language teacher development, helpfulfor those studying MA or Diploma courses on the subject.

• A model for teacher development which is both comprehensive anduser-friendly.

• Circles of expa nding developm ent, embracing all aspects of thelanguage teache r’s life, from students and colleagues to schools andthe profes sion at large.

• Activities that teachers can start doing righ t away and which takelittle time.

• Procedures tha t follow a step-by-step outline, making them easy tounders tand at a glance - perfect for the busy teacher.

• Tasks, checklists and questionnaires tha t prom ote reflective practiceand encourage commitment.

• A view of further teacher development.

• Longer-term projects - a diary, a portfolio and a teacher development program me .

• Step-by-step guides to each project, enabling and empoweringteachers to com mit to the ir continuing development.

In short, The Developing Teacher aims to be a comprehensive man ual tha t is an ideal vehiclefor teachers who wish to take control o f their own development: bu t also for those people in

positions o f responsibili ty for teacher development: d irectors of stud ies or adminis tra tors.It can also be seen as a useful complement to courses in language teacher education.

We hope we have been successful in helping to communicate Duncan’s knowledge andexperience, and his commitment to the profession, and that you find the book as useful asthe editors and the auth or f ound it exciting to pu t together.

Mike Burghall Lindsay Clandfield

B

95



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Talking Business in Class by Chris SionISBN 978-1-900783-64-4

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the developing teacher - practical activities for professional development

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