The Collaborative Blog:

Serving Pre-Service Teachers &

Program Administrators

By: Dr. Erin O’Reilly and Val Abbott

Intensive English Institute

Who we are

Key part of the IEI Mission:

supporting graduate teaching assistants in

their professional development

Need to comply with CEA standards

What we needed

• Training for new, inexperienced TAs

• Documentation of trainingAlignment with CEA standards

• To build a learning community

• Ongoing content instruction

• Within TA contract time parameters

Increased support for TAs

What we did

Developed a semester-long approach to TA orientation

and training

Elements included:

Revamped pre-semester orientation

Added drafted teaching philosophy requirement

Implemented hybrid collaborative reflection model

Tech in the classroom presentation

Collaborative reflection blog

Hybrid model

WordPressplatform

Journal prompts

WordPress platform

Reflection questions about

the observation

Replies to the reflection

questions; sharing of

experience

Reaction to the student

feedback

Sharing a practice

F2F Brainstorming – Classroom Management

F2F Brainstorming – PD

Excerpt from Classroom Management

Debrief Meeting

Judith: When I see they’re, too like absent-minded or you know, they’re not really in the classroom. Um, I- I have them do an online practice on their phones. Uh, because I can just quickly design it. So, I can just quickly ask a question like survey among- among everybody.

Lucy: Ohh.Judith: And they take their phones out, they know the code. They

have the app.Ashley: That’s cool.Judith: And um, yeah, so they- it makes them come back to the

classroom. And plus they love it because it’s with their phones. It’s the same as if I ask the question on the board put it on the board, but they love it because they get to-

Dir.: -touch their phones.Judith: Yeah.Ashley: (chuckling) Yeah.Lucy: Do you do that with Socrative?Judith: Yeah.Catherine: I wanna explore that a little bit more (quietly).

Successes

Central location for professional development evidence

Building a learning community

TAs felt valued regardless of experience level

Safe environment

Social bonding

Exposure to a model of reflection

Future Considerations

More explicit instruction on reflection and purpose of

the exercise

Set up automatic prompt postings and reminders

Not just TAs – new teachers as well

Invite others to be mentors and participate in the

experience

Future Considerations

More interaction on the blog or in-person, not an

increase in both

Effects of required reflection/comments

Holding a F2F meeting at the end, discussing the

effects of the experience