Teacher Professional Development

• Schools pride themselves on providing professional development (TD) opportunities, which vary in quality and quantity.

Teacher Development

• Often implemented as programs designed by senior staff for consumption by less senior staff, measured in workshops and observations.
• Programs provide value when inspiring teachers to experiment and encourage reflection.
• Teacher development is a process, not a product; requires teachers to be thoughtful about their own teaching.
• Teachers develop by teaching and thinking about their teaching.
• Organized activities address teacher needs, encourage critical reflection, and foster discussions on common interests to support developmental processes.
• Teachers can initiate self-directed development without waiting for programs.

Core Principles

• Teachers are teacher educators; they learn by:
  • Reflecting on lessons.
  • Discussing teaching and classroom experiences.
• Teachers value discussing professional concerns with each other.
• Staffroom conversations are typically:
  • Non-judgmental.
  • Based on mutual respect and empathy.
• Shared knowledge of teaching situations allows similar triumphs and failures to be related with.
• Conversations yield practical outcomes, such as sharing advice and solutions.
• Interaction brings social and collaborative learning possibilities.
• Even new teachers contribute to teacher education by discussing teaching and promoting principled learning.

Qualities of a Principled Model of Teacher Learning

• Reflective.
• Practical.
• Non-judgemental.
• Localised.
• Empathetic.
• Collaborative.
• Principles act as the basis for TD programs designed by teachers, for teachers.

Principles in Practice

• Reflective practice has teachers critically analyze teaching practices.
• Not new, John Dewey endorsed in the 1930s.
• Can be adopted as a structured thinking session or informal thought process.
• Should not be a solitary experience since reflecting with teachers can be highly beneficial for all.
• Jointly constructed insights are possible when colleagues are involved.

Shared Reflection

• Two ways to promote shared reflection are outlined:
  • Collaboration with colleagues to discuss successful aspects of teaching and suggested improvements after lessons.
  • Experimentation with new teaching techniques and discussion of outcomes with colleagues.

Using Word Bags as an Example Workshop

• Learners increase memory for new vocabulary when it is recycled.
• Small bag or envelope used to hold slips of paper with words and phrases from previous lessons to achieve this.
• Provides options for flexible, short activities during lessons.
• Lesson opens with the learners guessing which words from the previous lesson are contained in the bag.
• Choosing words at random from the bag checks meanings and asks the learners to use these words in a short narrative that they write with a partner.
• Learners can work in pairs and be given three words from the bag to elicit from their partner by describing the meanings or other associations.
• Nouns from the bag can be listed so learners can brainstorm adjectives and/or verbs that collocate with each one.
• Learners can take turns choosing the words for the bag from that lesson.
• Words can be elicited by giving the meaning.
• Colleagues can comment on workshop and share their experiences and ideas.
• New ideas allow for experimentation and reflection, and also prompt re-evaluation of current practices.
• School not having current program is no issue, a workshop can be created using the example as a guideline.
• Experience of using the activities should be noted with adaptions.
• Standing and presenting can be a challenge for some, supportive colleagues can offer assistance in this.
• Colleague presenting can also jointly present for comfort.

Observation

• Observation: Traditional part of school-organized TD program.
• When imposed, observation programs can feel like quality control; teachers feel defensive.
• Peer observation programs: Reciprocated with someone you trust and whose opinion you value; can be very useful.
• Watching others and yourself helps.
• Colleagues can also be assigned for what feels like a learner's perspective.
• Showing empathy should be a core-principle.
• Observers must be supportive and constructive.
• Feedback can be provided on experiments or difficult areas of teaching.
• Developmental and contrasts with defensiveness associated with more top-down observations.
• Good idea for teachers to get together and share practice that has occurred with observers introducing activities in turn.

Action Research

• Less-well-known TD activities- teachers take control of their own development.
• Teachers investigate very local, context-specific issues.
• A problem or a gap in knowledge identifies the research. Steps of Action Research:
  • Identification of a problem.
  • Implementation of plan.
  • Observation of results
  • Reflection.
• Cycle repeats, with final questions leading to further research.
• Action research: Ideal for teachers to find answers to questions, concerns learners or teaching techniques.
• No constraint on solo research, working with other teachers to address concerns can occur within a school.
• Results should be made public; sharing your results to colleagues for people to learn and contribute to the research process.

Reading

• Reading is part of action research for looking for principled solutions, also stimulates personal development.
• Done collaboratively and reflectively.
• Set up small reading group where you and colleagues read a text and discuss it's relevance to what you are teaching.
• Texts should be found by looking through back issues of ETp!.
• Find a variety of texts; all on the same teaching reading subject for example; have each teacher read, before coming together to share via a jigsaw-style activity.
• TD is not a product given to teachers, but a naturally occurring process when you think critically about teaching.
• Teachers can come together via organised activities in order to support this process.
• Great advantages to programs that are organised by teachers for teachers as this ensures relevant issues are addressed.
• Institute should organise a TD program, or outline ideas.