What's
the point of Teacher Development?
What
is teacher development, and why is it considered to be such
a crucial part of a teacher's career path? This question
can be answered best through, firstly, the eyes of students.
They know straight away when a teacher is just trotting
out the same old routines, doing it the way it has always
been done. Then ask teachers. You can tell very soon which
ones have stagnated and which are still fully engaged with
the process of teaching and learning, and are ever open
(though not uncritically) to the latest ideas and issues.
Teacher
development is the name that has been given to any activity
designed to help teachers stay alert and interested. This
might involve self-directed classroom research (see the
action research section in the first book extract for this
module), working with colleagues in some way, or doing something
slightly different. But all TD activities have as their
principal aims the maintenance of interest, personal growth,
and the opportunity to become a better and better classroom
practitioner.
Which
colleagues are best, and how well do they talk to each other
anyway?
Most
teachers benefit enormously from talking to each other,
sharing ideas, resolving problems, and dreaming up new ideas.
That, after all, is one of the commonest forms of teacher
development. Discussing teachers' issues in groups is one
way of making teaching a less solitary activity.
But
it's not quite as simple as that, of course. In the first
place it seems to matter who organises the groups. Is it
the teachers themselves (where no one has higher status
than his or her colleagues), or does the school management
run TD sessions for the staff?
How
good are teachers at discussing things anyway? Do we listen
or argue? Are meetings played out in accordance with rules
of adversarial discussion? That's what Steve Mann's article
addresses in this module He makes a strong case for a version
of co-operative development.
How
can teacher development move out of the teacher's own classroom?
Teacher
development is about developing the whole teacher and about
helping ourselves to keep growing as professionals and as
people. Of course attention to what we do in our own classrooms
is a major part of this, and so are the discussions we have
with colleagues about it.
Teachers
will gain a lot, however, from moving beyond this. One fertile
area for development is when teachers go back into the language
classroom, but as learners, not teachers. It's always interesting
to see how perceptions are changed by this experience. Roger
Gower's article discussing just this kind of experience
shows that there are surprises in store when we change our
roles.
The
last article in this month's module looks at an often neglected
resource which teachers rely on the whole time - their voices.
Roz Comins discusses problems we encounter with our voices,
and makes suggestions for exercises to counter them. Developing
a respectful attitude towards our own voices is crucial
in a profession which relies so heavily upon them.
These
are my opinions and you will have your own, download the
Development Pack and join
me in the next live chat session - go to The
Forum for details.
Jeremy Harmer
