I would like to have more staff development on Learner-centered teaching. What are some strategies for doing this with long-time, underpaid teachers who have a minimum of prep time?
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In my opinion there is always a challenge involved in staff development focused on real shifts in instructional thinking and behavior, esp. for long-time, underpaid teachers with a minimum of prep time and presumably "their own thing" established which helps - and probably has always helped - get them through the day etc.
But challenges aside, it's necessary. I think it's helpful to think there are no good or bad teachers, there are only teachers who are learning and changing and growing and teachers who are staying still.
In general, I believe language teacher development is a lot like language learning. You don't learn much through transmission - some kind of transformation is necessary, engagement with trial, error, and noticing the gap, etc. Teacher learning must be 'teacher centered' just as student learning must be 'student centered'. Both are person-centered. So, don't present this development as something you are going to transmit to the teachers - instead, present them with something intriguing and let them engage with it.
Like language learning, learning teaching works best when teachers can see, feel, and notice. Surely they'll all AGREE with the core concepts of 'student-centered learning' (they aren't dinosaurs) but if they don't develop a 'feel for it', it's no use.
I'd give them a chance to do some self-monitoring for discovery. How much Teacher Talk Time is normal in their classes? Ask them to record and transcribe a class, to find the 'ratio of utterances' involved. Have a look at this Fanselow article for a taste of the kind of feelings/insights/thoughts doing this inspired in lots of teachers: http://www.slideshare.net/mattnoble4/abcs-i-ding-rules-before-breaking-them
Having teachers do this kind of personal 'action research' on their own gives them control and doesn't require extra time they don't have. Feedback can be given via email, or on a shared Google Doc.
The worst thing is to make teacher development focused on transformational concepts (the basis of so-called student-centeredness) itself transmissive and authoritarian even in subtler ways. Instead, give these teachers AN OPPORTUNITY to look, to notice, and to think and feel for themselves.
Video of student-centered classes is great. Contrasting T-centered and S-centered interactions in transcript form or recorded. Lots of real examples and modeling. I don't think teachers change by talking and reading talk about teaching, just as dancers can't develop by talking about dancing. They have to watch each other, stretch, move, experiment, and get lots of feedback-in-action.
Anyway, that's my initial 2 cents and I look forward to hearing what others have to say! Love this topic, and it hits home...
Beyond Fanselow, I'd also mention:
> Nunan & Lamb: The Self-Directed Teacher
> Bailley, Curtis, Nunan: Pursuing Prof. Dev.: Self as Source
> Wajnryb: Classroom Observation Tasks
> Scrivener: Learning Teaching
> Randall & Thornton: Advising and Supporting Teachers
This is very general, but I love it for teacher development: http://www.slideshare.net/mattnoble4/relc-journal-2010richards10122
I was expecting a bit more active conversation/dialogue on this important issue...I guess everyone's busy..:)
"fmwh", what do you think about the issues I brought up? Please share more about the context behind your comment/question as well, when you get a chance! :)
Matthew
I too, was hoping for more input from others who teach and do teacher training in the field of adult ESOL. Please know that your input is highly valued by many who read the posts. I always learn new ways of doing things from reading the ideas of others.
Phil Anderson
Adult ESOL Program Specialist
Florida Department of Education
I think p/t teachers (and teachers generally) experience PD as burdensome because of the direction of feedback (or lack thereof). I believe that the best thing for teachers' development is for them to be given a chance to theorize their practice for output, not to be subjected to more imput, to have new approaches suggested to them, etc. Teaching will always be highly individualized and personalized by the teacher, and I think the best approach is to work from outside in. If we give teachers' tools for reflection that they can use on their own terms, we empower them more than if we force them to grapple with theories "to be applied" by them. The teacher IS the 'application'. They need to upgrade themselves.
Given that teacher change is based on internalized, internalizing self-reflection and awareness, I think video and other recording methods used as "estrangement devices" work well for generating highly individualized 'raw material' for teacher engagement in development. If teachers see themselves and others on video and have a chance to reflect (this is a distibuted process that doesn't "fit" into a 2-hour PD seminar anyway) in their own way, on their own time, I think they benefit greatly. See these on video for PD: http://www.ncsall.net/index.html@id=1107.html and http://www.ncsall.net/index.html@id=232.html, plus the work of John F. Fanselow esp. on transcribing and analyzing segments of class instruction/interaction.
Given the premise of this http://www.ncsall.net/index.html@id=297.html, the fact that past obstacles to PD are, to some degree, melting away with the advent of online connectivity and flexibility, I think any and all efforts at designing helpful pathways for teachers' PD should consider the internet as the basic medium.
Matthew Noble’s comments on the need for teacher-centered professional development that is evolutionary rather than revolutionary (my terms) fit well with the concept of reflective practice as described by Thomas Farrell, Brock University, Ontario, Canada, in the LINCS-reviewed resource "Reflective Practice in the Professional Development of Teachers of Adult English Language Learners." Farrell, T. S. C. (2008). http://www.cal.org/caelanetwork/resources/reflectivepractice.html, reviewed at http://lincs.ed.gov/professional-development/resource-collections/profile-221 Farrell talks about using action research, journaling, and teacher development groups. Other suggestions for teachers’ professional development can be found in the brief "Professional Development for Experienced Teachers Working with Adult English Language Learners." (Rodriquez & McKay, 2010; downloadable at http://www.cal.org/caelanetwork/pdfs/ExpTeachersFinalWeb.pd; reviewed at http://lincs.ed.gov/professional-development/resource-collections/profile-220). I particularly like the distinction made in this brief between experienced and expert teacher, and the suggestions made for how to guide an experienced teacher to become more expert. As it says in the review: “Professional development initiatives are often planned with newer teachers in mind, but this brief raises considerations for teachers who have been in the classroom over five years and deals with the questions of how to keep them enthusiastic about their work and in a professional growth mode.” One more quick note – although both of these resources are written specifically for those working with adults learning English, there is clearly carryover for teachers across the entire ABE field, as is also stated in the review.
Miriam Burt
Center for Applied Linguistics
Adult ELL CoP SME