In my end is my beginning: Trainee teachers’ personal aims

Peter Beech

peter@peterbeech.com

• 21 trainees

• 2 courses

• 4 trainers

• 193 lessons

Trainee 1A

The aims were in two broad areas:

• planning activities

• teacher language

This trainee’s best four grades averaged 4.5, with the higher grades generally coming towards the end, as should be expected when a trainee improves during the course.

Trainee 1C

The aims were generally different each time, and it could tentatively be hypothesized that a correlation might emerge between this and the trainee’s relatively high average grade of 5.

Trainee 1E

1E provided an early indication that there might perhaps be a correlation between aims relating to the trainee’s own language awareness and poor overall performance.

Categories of Aims

Interaction Interpersonal Personal Planning Student Language Teacher Language Teaching Skills

Interaction

Increase interaction between students

More pair work Encourage group work More student-centred

activity

Interpersonal

Build rapport Make students feel

comfortable Get students involved &

having fun Be aware of students'

difficulties

Personal

Be more animated / enthusiastic

Be more relaxed Stay calm & focused

Planning

Prepare more material Anticipate difficulties Cater for various learning

styles Create interesting activities More challenging activities

Student Language

Increase STT Focus more on

pronunciation

Teacher Language

Grade language Speak slowly & clearly

Teaching Skills (1)

Clear instructions & explanations

Check comprehension Clear correction feedback Pace & time management Context setting Modelling & examples

Teaching Skills (2)

Pay attention to all students

Elicit response from quieter students

Enhance confidence of less able students

Encourage a range of student output

Most common aims

Increase STT 25 Speak slowly & clearly 21 Clear instructions 13 Grade language 9

out of 193 lessons

Data ordered to show the individual lessons with the

lowest grades…

Each trainee’s first two lessons are ungraded.

Of the 7 lessons that received a grade of 3:

• Each was a different trainee

• Four were on the third lesson, one on the sixth and two on the ninth.

Aims following these lessons were:

• Prepare more material (twice)

• Clear, concise instructions

• Plan instructions

• Use language students can understand

• Develop less formal teaching style

• Increase STT

17 lessons received a grade of 5:

• One trainee scored this grade six times

• Three trainees scored this grade twice

• Five trainees scored this grade once

Aims following these lessons were:More detailed lesson planStay calm & focusedClear, concise instructionsGrade languageFocus more on pronunciationCheck spellingIncrease STTBuild rapportGet students involved & having fun

Enhance confidence of less able students

Aims following poor lessons: Aims following good lessons:

Prepare more material (twice) More detailed lesson plan Clear, concise instructions Clear, concise instructions Plan instructions Use language students can understand Grade language Develop less formal teaching style Build rapport Increase STT Increase STT

Focus more on pronunciationCheck spelling

Stay calm & focused

Get students involved & having funEnhance confidence of less able

students

Data ordered to show the trainees with the highest

overall grades…

For the trainee with the highest overall grades, aims concerned interpersonal skills or student language:

• Be aware of students' difficulties

• Build rapport

• Get students involved & having fun

• Create interesting activities

• Focus more on pronunciation

• Increase STT

Data ordered to show each observer…

Number of instances of each type of aim

Observer

D K P

Interaction 7 5 0

Interpersonal 4 3 5

Personal 4 4 4

Planning 12 7 2

Student Language 7 16 3

Teacher Language 20 16 2

Teaching Skills 26 18 7

Total 80 69 23

Number of instances of each grade

Trainer

D K P M

3 1 5 1 0

3.5 7 2 1 1

4 44 42 18 1

4.5 4 2 5 0

5 4 5 3 5

Average

grade 4.09 4.00 4.14 4.64

High degree of standardization in the average grades awarded by the first three trainers

Grades given by M were significantly higher because:

• All the lessons she graded were at the end of the course, where trainees generally perform better

and / or

• She hadn’t been trained sufficiently to standardize grading

Little discrimination

Grades given by the three main trainers:

• Made no use of the very highest and lowest available grades (2 and 6) or half grades (2.5 or 5.5)

• 72% of all grades were 4

Progression of Grades

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 6 11 16 21 26 31 36 41 46 51 56 61 66 71 76 81 86 91 96 101 106 111 116 121 126 131 136 141 146 151

Lesson Number

Gra

de

Repetition of the same aims

It’s generally true that trainees who are making progress

won’t state the same aim repeatedly. But…

1B 4 4-Inter Clear, concise instructions1B 5 4-Inter Clear, concise instructions1B 6 4-Inter Clear, concise instructions1B 7 4-Inter Clear, concise instructions

Progression through the course

Following lesson 1, most aims concern Teacher Language.

From lesson 2, Teaching Skills become more significant.

After Lessons 3 and 4, along with Teaching Skills, the focus shifts to Student Language.

After lesson 5, there’s more emphasis on Interaction.

Correlation between aims and level of students

Teaching practice for these courses was with three groups of students:

• Starter (1)• Elementary (2)• Intermediate (4)

Number of instances of each type of aim

TP Class

1 2 4

Interaction 4 4 4

Interpersonal 3 7 2

Personal 3 5 4

Planning 7 8 7

Student Language 15 4 8

Teacher Language 11 20 11

Teaching Skills 18 16 18

Observe existing practice

Action Research Cycle

Select area to focus on

Implement change

On-Going Teacher Development

Examine your own teaching

Tools of Observation

Video or audio recordings of lessons

Observation guidelinesChecklists

Guidelines for Reflection What went well, and why? What went less well, and why? What were your aims? Did you achieve them? How do you know? What would you do differently next time? What is your personal aim for the next lesson?

Some areas to focus on

Were your instructions clear? Did the students understand your explanations? How do you know? Was your timing accurate? What was the balance of TTT/STT?

Action Research for Trainers

Perspectives on our own development

What we focus on

What we choose to comment on