Professional development demands making choices, sometimes very hard, sometimes very easy ones. The first choice is deciding to follow the path of growth in the career we decided to pursue in education. As Wallace (1991) mentioned, development has to be done by the teacher, nobody can develop for another person. However, teachers have the choice …
In this post, I would like to discuss the teaching profession from a broader perspective, looking at the group of professionals collectively and using the metaphor of a constellation to analyse team work and cooperation. A while ago, when discussing teacher development with a colleague, he repetitively gave me feedback reminding me that I am …
I have recently been involved in discussions about excellence in teaching and have wondered what it means to be excellent as a teacher. From what I have observed in discussions as well as in my context, the definitions and criteria that state what an effective teacher does depends on the circumstances they work, institutional or …
Attending a TESOL conference Last week I had the opportunity to experience the TESOL international conference held in Seattle. From my perspective participating in conferences is an enriching way to seek for professional development. You are faced with so many different contexts that not only give you a chance to reflect on your …
Some teachers choose peer observations to enhance their development during the academic year. Working on observations helps teachers improve their awareness of their teaching, as well as broaden their repertoire of teaching techniques. The various possible perspectives that come with diversified tasks (e.g. in Wajnryb, 1992) may all add different aspects to the teaching and …
Diversity is one of the most frequent topics in current discussions around education. Its various interpretations can also be a form of diversity, accepting that we may all have opposing views on the same subject. In this post I will be discussing diversity and hope to generate more questions than provide answers. The University of …
The feeling that all our efforts to motivate, help students learn and get organised were in vain is common among teachers, especially towards the end of the year/ term. There is usually that one student in class who brings all the joy, does all the homework, and has all the answers. Many of us take …
As the year ends, we may enjoy planning the new year and write down a to-do list for professional development. The general idea is that we keep moving and keep learning. That way we may reach higher as teachers and inspire not only our learners, but our colleagues to develop and become better and better. …