teacher development: reflective teaching & peer observation

Imane NejjarENS - Rabat, July 2009

Teacher Development:Reflective Teaching & Peer Observation

“You can train me, and you can educate me, but you can’t develop me–I develop”

Presentation Outline:

1. What is Professional Development?2. What is Teacher Development?3. Why should teachers develop?4. How can teachers grow and thrive?5. Video Viewing & Discussion of:

a. Peer Observationb. Reflective Teaching

What is Professional Development? (P.D.)

or

Continuous Professional Development? (C.P.D.)

What is Continuous Professional

Development? CPD is:the attitude and process of being a

lifelong learnerthe conscious updating of professional

knowledge and the improvement of professional competence throughout a person's working life

a necessary requirement for insuring survival & quality in any profession

What is Teacher Development (TD)?

“Teacher training or education is something that can be managed by others;

Teacher development is something that can be done only by and for oneself”

(Wallace, 1991)

What is Teacher Development? (cont.)

It is about dealing with the needs and wants of the individual teacher in ways that suit that individual

It is not limited to language teaching or even teaching (for an EFL teacher)

“It’s about language development, counseling skills,

assertiveness training, confidence-building, computing, meditation, cultural broadening …”

But Why Teacher Development ?

When teachers do not take charge of their career, they can experience stress, or burn-out, or they can stagnate:

1. They feel much stress especially during the first years of teaching, or

2. They burn-out: they no longer feel the capacity to meet external or internal demands. They experience this state as a reaction to chronic stress, or

3. They stagnate: they stay the same. They do not grow or develop

Stagnation!!

Sometimes, teachers refuse to learn & improve!!

Teaching can be a challenging profession!

Teaching is quite a demanding job. It requires physical, psychological and intellectual energy!

It is an emotionally exhausting profession. Students on all levels, in different ways, need, want, require, and demand GIVING from their teachers.

BUT it can also be very rewarding at all levels if teachers are willing to grow and develop by updating their knowledge, skills and tuning themselves to the ever-changing needs of their students.

How can Teachers grow and thrive?

To grow Teachers need to… plan and pursue numerous opportunities

that will enhance professional growth and development.

They should …interact with other teachers of same and

different subjectslearn from their students (ask for their

feedback)attend conferences or professional meetingssubscribe to professional journalsread in areas other than education

Teachers should …

try to use new materials or revise old oneswrite and edit articles, develop teaching

materials …take part in in-service trainingTake courses that are not related to language

or teachinglearn from each other through Peer

observationreflect on their teaching in order to improve it

Otherwise…?!?

Video Viewing & Discussion of: a. Peer Observation b. Reflective Teaching