Comments on: poll – how do you learn to teach?

By: the lives of teachers » Blog Archive » comfortable shoes, no powerpoint, free coffee and a good plenary

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:39:03 +0000

[...] I asked ‘How do you learn to teach?’ this was another of the popular choices, at about 20% of the popular vote. People love a [...]

By: the lives of teachers » Blog Archive » i was looking back to see if she was looking back to see if he was looking back at me

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:55:43 +0000

[...] is the first in a series, inspired by this originally off-the-cuff, just-for-fun poll, looking at teacher development techniques the old-fashioned way… teacher development [...]

By: Anne Hodgson

Anne Hodgson — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:31:33 +0000

Hi Darren,
Action enquiry has taught me most. Now, I like teacher training courses very much, and have found it very helpful to be part of teachers’ association that organizes good ones. We’ve been a bit backward in tech matters, though, which is why I spent so much time on Twitter last year, focussing on tools. But for me, the actual learning comes in measuring work against goals. My current adult learners aren’t interested in online tools, so I haven’t had the chance to hone my tech teaching ideas properly in action research.

By: darren

darren — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 07:15:15 +0000

I think Angela puts her finger on it best when she says that being forced to choose one forced her to think about it. Although I must admit that her point about different needs at different career stages is a complication. Carolina’s experience as a language learner is a significant omission from the poll options, too. I think most of us would agree that being a language learner makes us a better teacher.

Thanks for all the great feedback, everyone. I’ll be starting a new series on the blog tackling these topics in more depth over the coming weeks, so please come back and visit. For that reason, I won’t respond to all of your comments i detail now. Coming up shortly will be ‘Observation’.

I’ve also been asked to write this up for IATEFL’s Teacher Development SIG newsletter…thanks Duncan for that.

By: Peter Fenton

Peter Fenton — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:01:41 +0000

In reply to Duncan’s question, I usually ask some questions that I think are pertinent to the students I’m teaching. Sometimes, they can be quite broad questions such as ‘What have you enjoyed most about the course so far?’ and sometimes they can be more specific such as ‘What do you think about the level of correction?’ I’ve also tried giving statements to a class about the lessons and asking them to give a number from 1 to 10 based on how much they agree with the statement. An example would be something like ‘We don’t do enough speaking’ or ‘I would like to be corrected more.’ However, I usually prefer open questions as I want to give students the opportunity to say as much as possible. I also usually prefer written feedback to spoken feedback as I find that not only does it give students more time to think, but they are also usually more honest with written feedback. That said, I think it’s always good to vary different types of feedback and do it in a way that both the teacher and the students are comfortable with.

There is a section on getting feedback from students in a great book I’ve just read. It’s called ‘The Developing Teacher’, maybe you’ve heard about it

By: Carolina Lapointe

Carolina Lapointe — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:53:46 +0000

I started teaching without having the necessary preparation. Once I finished my studies I had lots of knowledge about methods and techniques but what really helped me digest all this information was to put it in practice and when I made mistakes. Boy, have I learned from my mistakes. I think that learning to teach is a long ongoing process, that’s why all your options in the list are still part of my continuous training.
Since I teach adults, the other thing that helped me reflect deeply on my daily practice was when I started my French studies. Then, I could see that I was expecting from my students things that I couldn’t do myself. I don’t keep a reflective journal per se, but I guess permanent reflection on a day by day basis is still the most important feature in my development as a teacher.

Interesting discussion!
Thanks

By: duncan

duncan — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:03:06 +0000

for me feedback tends to make a big impact, especially from learners, though I think I have not always sought this feedback as frequently and carefully as I could have. Has anyone got any suggestions on how they have got useful feedback from their learners? Thanks for sharing this research and creating the forum Darren

By: Angela Buckingham

Angela Buckingham — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 23:55:17 +0000

This post has really been making me think. The interesting thing is, once you are forced to pick one, that it becomes a question of which point in my teaching career do I refer to? How I developed at the beginning (feedback on my teaching, reflection, books etc) is very different from how I’m developing now (e.g. right now I’m trying hard to improve with my use of the IAWB and the ways I’m finding the most helpful are watching others teach and by reading about it.) And since we’re constantly trying to become better teachers, the emphasis can change all the time.

Actually my understanding of teaching I think has mostly improved/developed by becoming a trainer myself and teaching other people how to do it. Hmm.

Now if I could have just gone through the list and ticked all the boxes, I wouldn’t have spent the day wondering about this…

By: Peter Fenton

Peter Fenton — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 18:21:57 +0000

If I had to choose one, I’d probably go with learner feedback. For me, it has often been quite an eye-opener to discover that students often don’t view things in exactly the same way as I do. I would also add that for me it is usually the most gratifying form of development, especially when the feedback is positive.

I would also say it largely depends on who you ask though. There’s no point in only asking the students who think you’re a great teacher or who are not likely to be very forthcoming with their views.

The same is probably true for the other forms of development too though. It depends who you observe, who observes you, who gives the workshops, what book you read, who your colleagues are, etc.

By: Bob Wilkinson

Bob Wilkinson — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 16:27:32 +0000

As many others have remarked, I would have preferred select almost all options. Most will have had some impact at different times, and some concurrently. It’s difficult in hindsight to determine which has been the most influential. An option that is not included is presenting or writing about your teaching (and learning experiences); this can be amazingly helpful for reflection – more so in my case than a reflective diary (which I haven’r really pursued, except when conducting a specific ‘experiment’ and I want notes on the processes).
A challenge today is the sheer scale of the resources available, which I scarcely have time to access, let alone read or watch; I feel that in many ways technology hasn’t changed one thing very much; there’s a lot there, but I end up using what I like, what suits me, what seems to work, etc., but there are probably dozens, hundreds of other techniques or approaches I could have used, some which may have been ‘better’, but there’s never time to find out about them. However, perhaps the most important thing about learning to teach is really learning learners to learn. That way we can cope and reflect together.

By: Sally Hirst

Sally Hirst — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 14:27:16 +0000

I’m in the ‘can’t choose one’ camp, though eventually plumped for ‘reading’ given that it is set up for only one choice. How about ‘doing what the teachers books told me to’ as an option. Not that I’m saying they were perfect (or even in some cases very good, though some do seem to have got very good lately). But the volume of hours / need to cover ground as that is what is prescribed by institutions can mean you try an awful lot of techniques over time and then you carry those techniques forward.
If you add in things from the TB resource packs and then supplementary materials you end up scouring through when you realise a book just isn’t meeting some needs you end up with a wide repertoire gleaned over the years of things that work well for particular occasions that you can (if you are squirrelish about these things) adopt, adapt, slot in as the need arises.
I think technology just allows me to deliver some of it differently (and to access more information faster), rather than having been a source of learning in itself.
Both in language teaching and in training I think learners and CPs suffer from the same thing I do – they can access masses more information a lot faster, but that is not necessarily useful if you do not have the time to process it into a working whole.

By: darren

darren — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 14:25:17 +0000

Thanks all – I’ll reiterate… of course we would all select more than one, but I would suggest that one in particular may have been more useful to you than the others.

Marisa – I’m not sure… yes, a subject can choose to participate or not, but I think it is also fair for them to point out the shortcomings of research design. Reviewers certainly will. Pauline and others are correct in the substance of their criticisms. If I were actually conducting research into this topic (as I have in the past) I wouldn’t do it like this. But this is not formal research – it’s just a question to spark a bit of discussion.

If any readers are interested in seeing what a proper research project looks like when blogged, they could do a lot worse than pop over to Marisa’s always excellent blog and check this one.

By: Wolfgang Ridder

Wolfgang Ridder — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 12:32:28 +0000

Me, too, I would have liked to vote for several because training is never done in one medium only. The first 5 would have been all my choices + learner feedback which I personally find to be of crucial importance. All too many teachers regard the mistakes learners make as their fault in teaching. I maintain the opinion that that is not the case; instead they indicate those learning phases which need to be improved on by the teacher. A “good” mistake makes it evident that in the preceding teaching phase something went wrong and thus we know how to improve our ways. I finally chose the option from which I assume I learnt the most from: “conferences, workshops, etc.”.
Wolfgang

By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 12:13:11 +0000

Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by livesofteachers: New blog post: poll – how do you learn to teach? http://bit.ly/a7jDbi...

By: Marisa Constantinides

Marisa Constantinides — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 12:08:04 +0000

I would have liked to select more than one, too, Darren, but would hesitate to call your decision “ridiculous”

A researcher has the right to call the shots on how s/he performs her/his research and you, as a subject, either take part in it or not.

A researcher does not expect the subjects to ask her/him to change the scope of the research because they think it’s “ridiculous” ! I am shocked by this remark and lack of manners it displays. I guess there are a lot of people out there who shoot off whatever comes into their head without thought.

I think you were overly polite. I would have deleted this rude comment and banned the commenter.

By: Mike Harrison

Mike Harrison — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 12:06:05 +0000

Hi Darren,

I picked ‘Obsevation OF other teachers/trainers’. During my PGCE training, I always thought I could gain a lot by seeing what my mentor did in class and picking up tips and tactics to use for myself. I do agree with Anita, in that you need to be able to see how it fits into the larger context of the lesson/course otherwise it can become difficult to gain much from this observation.

However, I can say fairly confidently that I’ve learnt a lot all the alternatives in you poll at one time or other. I think one can only learn through discussion with colleagues; being observed (while potentially nerve-wracking!) when done for professional development and in a positive way can be great; workshops and conferences are great places where you can often see approaches to teaching that you might not in your immediate environment. I’d also add that, like Daf, a lot of this can now be done online.

Thanks for making me think about that =)

Mike

By: Sean

Sean — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 11:23:46 +0000

I can see them all on my Mac too.

By: darren

darren — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 11:09:33 +0000

Daf – Two good points. I assume most people would use all or most of these tools to some degree, but I am curious to know which is seen as the MOST valuable. There is certainly one which I valued above the others in the early stages of my career. On the second point, I agree we can replicate these activities in the online world… perhaps not all of them though. However, I am seeing a lot of talk about the magic of the online Personal Learning Network these days, and I just wanted take a look at what can be done the old fashioned way

Pauline – Thanks, and I didn’t expect anyone to take my offer to point out my idiocy so literally! I can see them all on my macintosh, but you are right, of course. One choice, and one alone, is ridiculous. What can I say? If you don’t like it, start your own blog

By: Pauline Johnson

Pauline Johnson — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 08:09:34 +0000

As already mentioned, the options to be chosen from did not appear until I had opted for Other and was able to look at the results.

I found it ridiculous that you were only allowed one choice from the various options (which were not visible on Macintosh anyway). Pressing one button automatically precluded the others, but surely most people wished to opt for a combination – i.e. reflection, reading and attending conferences, etc.

Pauline

By: Daf

Daf — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 03:18:11 +0000

I would have liked to select more than one. So, I selected other, and wrote “all the above”. However, I would like to add that each of the offline aspects you listed can also be used/done online.

By: darren

darren — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 21:44:58 +0000

Yes, Angela..it should! Ooops!

Pick one, then come back and tell us why it is far too simplistic to pick only one ; P

Nick, Anita, Eric.. excellent responses, thank you. I won’t reply in detail just yet… I think it’s another post.

By: Angela Buckingham

Angela Buckingham — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 21:40:01 +0000

I’d like to select a number of answers, not just one. Can’t seem to do so. Is it me?
(Should the question read ‘which one..has..’?)

By: Eric Roth

Eric Roth — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 21:12:15 +0000

“The wise are instructed by reason, average minds by experience, the stupid by necessity, and the brute by instinct.”
Marcus Cicero, Roman statesman and orator

Perhaps the largest gap that I’ve noticed between ESL and EFL faculties is the level of both formal education and teacher training. For better or for worse, many EFL instructors have become inspired to become English teachers or tutors while traveling abroad and looking for a few extra dollars/yen/baht. Confident, worldly, and often quite intelligent, these impromptu English teachers often make outstanding instructors. And sometimes they less than successful, partly due to a false assumption that teaching is easy and teaching English easier. As the Bulgarian proverb goes, “many learn to walk by stumbling.” Over time and after several awkward classes, they reflect upon their teaching. Some develop personal learning networks and become through experience better, stronger, and more effective teachers.

Of course, the intense need for English teachers and the pervasive “study 60 hours and get certified as an English teacher” programs play into this myth that anybody can be an exceptional English teacher. That’s unfortunate on multiple levels. So while the naturally gifted and classically educated can often share their knowledge of our confusing language, the vast majority of English teachers do benefit from EFL conferences, professional seminars, carefully observing successful English teachers, and finding a mentor. Given the reluctance of so many English language schools to spend money to pay better salaries, invest in professional development, and widespread perceptions that any native speaker can teach English, many EFL teachers will have to find their own path to becoming an outstanding instructor.

“Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.”
Will Durant, historian

By: Anita Kwiatkowska

Anita Kwiatkowska — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 07:40:24 +0000

Hi Darren,

The question you asked is crucial – so many EFL teachers think they know how to teach just because they were taught a language themselves. I’m ashamed to say I shared that view on teaching when I began my ‘carrer’ in education.

Observing other teachers works up to a point – you need some background knowledge to be able to understand why he/she does or doesn’t do certain things during a class. Without, what I call, ‘Celta basics’ you’re going to end up sitting and focusing on activities you personally liked, the teacher’s accents or the seating arrangement. That’s what happened to me at least.

Being observed by a professional, on the other hand, can help you learn a great deal. During my Celta course, after TPs we would all gather in a classroom and everyone would write both positive and negative comments about the trainees teaching that particular day. I learned e.g. that my handwriting is not always clear for Turkish students, a problem I never had in Poland. Obviously all depends on the attitude of the trainer and your collagues. I believe in positive feedback aimed at helping you improve and if you want to get better, you will.

By: Nick Jaworski

Nick Jaworski — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 07:07:29 +0000

I think one of the biggest problems facing ELT is that there is little organized development for teachers. It is quite rare to find a school that holds development, encourages it, or does observations (unless of course there is a complaint, then management swoops in in a flurry of paper and ink). Why do so many teachers fear observations? Because at most schools, they are never done for positive reasons.

What about peer observations? I’ve worked at many schools where other teachers don’t want you in their classes. At least in countries I’ve worked many teachers are sadly not that serious about teaching. That’s one reason the online community is great. Everyone on it is serious.

Conferences are great, but rare, hard to get to, and expensive for many teachers.

The most development most teachers I’ve known were able to get is student feedback. Student feedback is nice, but students are not trained teachers. They usually don’t know what to look for or how to give constructive criticism.

This is why the online community is so important. It’s a free and easy way to develop your teaching. It provides us with the resources most schools aren’t willing to spend time on. Plus the people online are serious, experienced, and professional. That’s more than I can say for many a DoS I’ve had.