The Classroom Experiment (Ep.2)

The Classroom Experiment (Ep.1)

Very interesting video about the differents points of view that are involved in new strategies to improve classroom engagement, motivation and outcomes.

school start time

This is a very nice topic to debate in class: Should school start times suit students or viceversa? This issue is being dealt with in the U.S.A. http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/08/28/education-school-start-times-your-say/14757747/.

student engagement and motivation

STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AND MOTIVIATION STRATEGIES https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9yOOwGYYfU

OBSERVING TEACHERS

Dilemmas in Observing, Supervising and Assessing Teachers Rod Bolitho, Norwich Institute for Language Education, UK Readers who are in any way concerned with the observation, supervision and assessment of teachers and teaching will recognise that these processes involve a complex web of issues and dilemmas for both observers and observees. This paper looks at some of these issues, largely from an observer/supervisor/assessor perspective, under four main headings and also includes some recommendations for improvements in our practices in this important area of our profession. A fair amount has been written on supervision cycles (Gaies and Bowers 1990, Randall with Thornton 2001), and on models of the supervision process (Freeman 1982, Gebhard 1990), stressing the need to differentiate between degrees of directiveness in feedback, but there is relatively little on attitudes, affect and on the psychological factors at play in the observation encounter. This article sets out to redress that balance. Introduction Very few teachers can put hand on heart and say that they enjoy being observed. But why is this? There may be several reasons, but one of the most likely ones is that it is perceived by an observee as an extremely high stakes event. The decision to become a teacher is an existentially significant one, and the thought that one’s professional judgement and skills are under scrutiny by an ‘outsider’ to the class community one has striven to mould and develop is usually seen as scary, perhaps even more so because a single observation can never be more than just a ‘snapshot’ of the longer term endeavours which are crucial in teaching and learning. The potential for misunderstandings seems, in the mind of the observee, to be immense. Yet it is the observer who is the ‘senior partner’ in this process and I will now look at ways in which observers can be more self-aware and better prepared for the task they are charged with, whether they are observing for assessment, for training, for research or for professional development (cf. Maingay 1988). I see four main categories of dilemma, each of which needs to be explored and understood at a deeper level. Dilemma 1: Observer ‘Baggage’ When we go into a classroom to observe a teacher we are very seldom able to do this in a completely non-judgemental way. Let’s look at what we take in with us: i Our own view of what constitutes good teaching. Most observers are experienced teachers with their own ideas about how to teach and how to behave as a teacher; 8 Assessing and Evaluating English Language Teacher Education ii Our own view of what a classroom should look like, and of the ‘proper’ relationship between teachers and learners. These assumptions are often culturally rooted and they are of particular importance in crosscultural observation encounters, for example, when a British teacher educator observes a class in a developing world context; iii i & ii above mean that we are in constant danger of thinking, “I wouldn’t do it like that” or something similar; iv In many contexts, the observer may know the teacher, the class or both, with the result that he/she takes preconceptions into the classroom. “I know she isn’t up to teaching at advanced level”; “I don’t expect to see a brilliant lesson from X” etc; and v We may go into an observation stressed by our last private or professional encounters, with our mind on other priorities, maybe feeling unwell or tired, or just in a bad mood after a terrible journey to work or a disagreement with a family member or colleague. None of this ‘baggage’ is easy to deal with, but awareness of it is half the battle. Here are some of the things I tell myself before any and every observation: • “I am going in to observe this teacher and her class on her terms and not on mine. I need to clear my head of my own preferences and practices and try to see what this teacher is trying to do and why. What I would do in her situation is simply not relevant.” • “In order to be fair to this teacher, I have to understand what she is aiming to do before I go in. I need to have a chat with her and allow her to tell me all about the class from her point of view. Any advice I give, directly or indirectly, needs to be based on this understanding.” • “I need to go into this class with an open and curious mind, and learn from what I see and hear. I need to remember that there are many ways of being a good teacher.” • “I need to clear my head of all the preconditioned noise it contains before I enter the classroom so that I can be fully ‘present’ and attentive during the lesson.” Dilemma 2: The Perception Gap Any detective investigating a crime will tell you that there are usually as many versions of events as there are witnesses, and that these all have to be sifted and sorted in order to arrive at the common ground that is needed to move the investigation forward. So it is with classroom observation. A teacher, managing the class and engaging with his/her learners through spoken interaction and Assessing and Evaluating English Language Teacher Education 9 eye contact, often from a standing position and from the front of the classroom, is likely to perceive classroom incidents differently from an observer sitting at the back or the side of the classroom, remaining passive and avoiding eye contact with learners. The teacher will notice things that the observer fails to see, and vice versa. And there is a third perspective which in certain situations will also need to be taken into account: that of the learners themselves. Left unexplored and unarticulated, these differences in perception may lead to misunderstanding and resentment. Properly broached, for example, through questions in a postlesson feedback session, they become learning opportunities and also a chance for the teacher to explain the rationale of a particular course of action. An experienced observer or assessor will be aware of the potential for learning and understanding if the perception gap becomes the focus of dialogue between him/her and the observee. Productive exchanges such as these may then ensue: Observer: “I noticed that most of your questions were directed at stronger learners, and that some of the others seemed bored.” Teacher: “Was I really doing that? It definitely wasn’t deliberate.” Observer: “Did you know that some of the kids at the back were texting on their mobile phones?” Teacher: “To be honest, I didn’t. It’s quite difficult for me to see what the pupils at the back are doing in such a crowded classroom.” Observer: “Any ideas on how to deal with that in your next class?” Teacher: “Not at the moment, but I’ll give it some thought.” Teacher: “I was a bit concerned that I was too hard on students when they made mistakes. I think I jump in too quickly with corrections.” Observer: “I thought you handled the mistakes pretty effectively when they were giving their summaries. Sometimes you need to intervene briefly and supportively, and I thought you got that about right, to be honest.” Teacher: “Thanks. Maybe I’ll also ask them how they felt about that when I see them next time. I don’t want to discourage them.” Observer: “Good idea!” Focussing selectively, from different perspectives, on three or four incidents in a lesson can lead to concrete action and improvement in a teacher. We need to remember that this is often more helpful to a teacher than to be confronted with ‘big picture’ comments on the lesson as a whole, which may leave her wondering where to start when planning the next lesson. It also encourages dialogue on an equal footing between teacher and observer, and in the context of an assessed lesson, may help the observer-assessor to understand the reasons behind a teaching decision and find out if the teacher has acted in a principled way – or not. 10 Assessing and Evaluating English Language Teacher Education One consequence of the existence of the ‘perception gap’ as a potentially fruitful area to explore through dialogue is that observers may need training in supervision procedures and may need to be observed giving feedback in order to become more aware of the value and impact of the different options available to both parties in the post-lesson discussion (cf Freeman 1982, Gebhard 1990). Dilemma 3: The Impact of an Observer’s Presence Whatever their purpose, an observer is, at best, an invited guest and, at worst, an intimidating presence in a classroom. A teacher has to find a way of explaining the appearance of the observer to his/her students and this may be a delicate matter, especially if the lesson is to be assessed. No observed lesson is ever completely normal, and the visible presence of a ‘foreign body’ is all too often a distraction for both teacher and learners. As an invited observer, but also as an assessor, I have frequently realised that I was witnessing a ‘staged’, one-off lesson, sometimes even pre-rehearsed, that bore little or no resemblance to what happens between teacher and class on a day-to-day basis. In some training and professional development contexts, a code of practice has been established to provide a basis for classroom observation, supervision and assessment. This might include the following guidelines, for example: • The observer should keep a low profile, sitting where she can get a good view of the lesson with the least possible distraction to teacher and learners; • The observer may be introduced to the class as a guest who is interested in the teaching and learning that goes on in the classroom. (These first two guidelines will help the learners’ curiosity to be satisfied and may also lead to a quicker resumption of ‘normal’ classroom behaviour.); • The observer should let the teacher know if she wishes to take notes, stressing that the teacher should not jump to any conclusions when she notices the observer writing – this is merely a way of capturing data which may be helpful to the teacher in the feedback session; • The teacher should make the lesson as ‘normal’ as possible, and explain to the observer where it fits into a longer sequence of teaching; and • The observer should not play any active part, or intervene in any way, in a lesson unless invited to do so by the teacher. (In one observation in an Eastern European country, I was accompanied by a head of department whose patience snapped half way through the lesson, resulting in her standing up and taking the class over from the poor teacher, causing what I can only imagine was a painful blow to her selfesteem.) Assessing and Evaluating English Language Teacher Education 11 In a procedure based on good practice in person-centred counselling, Quirke (1996) suggests that it is sometimes better for an ‘observer’ not to be present during a lesson but to give feedback based on a teacher’s account of the event. Though this at least deals with the whole issue of the impact of an observer’s presence, it is more likely to be effective in an atmosphere of trust within an institution, possibly between peers working together on a reciprocal basis, rather than in a more power-based relationship such as between a teacher and a manager or a trainee and a supervisor-assessor. Dilemma 4: The Delicate Matter of Assessment The difficulty in attaining even a modest level of objectivity in assessing teachers was alluded to in the discussion of the first dilemma above. This is compounded by the stresses and strains involved for all parties when a teacher is assessed. For a pre-service trainee it can be a ‘make or break’, life-changing moment; for an experienced teacher self-esteem and self-worth are at stake. Here are just some of the conundrums an assessor faces: • On pre-service training courses, observers are often saddled with the dual role of trainer and assessor. After a series of developmental observations followed by formative feedback sessions, they are suddenly required to carry out a summative assessment which may ultimately decide whether a trainee is a suitable entrant to the teaching profession. It can be difficult to reconcile these two roles; • Is it better to use a checklist and to look for discrete points of competence in a lesson or should assessment be conducted on a more holistic basis, encompassing a view of a lesson as a complete event? • Are the criteria the assessor will use clear and transparent to the teacher being assessed? Are the criteria ‘global’ in nature or do they take account of the teacher’s individual characteristics and the context in which he/ she operates? In short, does the teacher know what the assessor is looking for? • How can an assessor know that his/her assessment practices are in line with those of others charged with the same responsibility? • Is the teacher capable of self-assessment? If so, to what extent can an ‘external’ assessor take account of this when coming to a verdict on a lesson? The question of fairness and principled objectivity in assessing teachers and teaching comes up again and again and is the cause of upset and grievances when the views of the assessor and the assessed teachers cannot be reconciled. Here are some examples of good practice in this vexed area of assessment: • Criteria need to be clear, accessible and transparent. No teacher should be surprised by the criteria used in their assessment; 12 Assessing and Evaluating English Language Teacher Education • Box-ticking on a checklist of competences can distract an assessor from the ‘big picture’ of a lesson. Checklists can be useful to refer to as evidence for a grade allocated initially on the basis of a holistic impression, but attempts to use them as criteria during an observation can result in a skewed focus on micro-issues at the expense of a more complete view of the lesson; and • Assessors need regular training and updating, using video-recorded lessons for benchmarking. These often involve useful discussions about the meaning of criteria and the balance of factors contributing to a decision about a grade. Exercises like this help assessors to be more aware of their own preconceived ideas about ‘good teaching’. Conclusion In recent years there has been a welcome increase in attention to the training of teacher trainers and educators. The practicum in pre-service training and developmental observation for serving teachers are acknowledged as crucial planks in maintaining and improving standards of teaching, and yet the trainer’s or educator’s role as an observer, supervisor or assessor remains largely underexplored, susceptible to subjectivity in its practices and cloaked in silence and handed-down traditions rather than opened up in public debate. In this article I have tried to open up some of the issues that need to be talked about and resolved if this situation is to be improved. References Duff, T. (Ed) (1988): Explorations in Teacher Training. Harlow: Longman Freeman, D. (1982): ‘Observing teachers: three approaches to in-service training and development’ in TESOL Quarterly 16/1 Gaies, S. & Bowers, R. (1990): ‘Clinical supervision of language teaching: the supervisor as trainer and educator’ in Richards, J.C. & D. Nunan (Eds) (1990): Second Language Teacher Education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Gebhard, J (1990): ‘Models of supervision: choices’ in Richards, J.C. & Nunan, D. (Eds) (1990): Second Language Teacher Education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Maingay, P.

connective devices f.c. - c.a.e.

http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=2163

basic exercises on conjunctions 2 elementary and intermediate levels

http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=1791

basic exercises on conjunctions for elementary and intermediate levels

http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=232

CAN CHIMPS TALK ?

ARE WE THE ONLY SPECIES THAT CAN DEVELOP LANGUAGE AND USE IT EFFECTIVELY ? YOU LL BE SURPRISED TO READ THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE : http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/ling002.html

idioms related to money and finance

If you want to read more about MONEY issues, here s there is a long list of idioms that the ENGLISH use a lot http://www.learn-english-today.com/idioms/idiom-categories/money/money1.html