THE GARDENER’S TOOLBOXHow a foreign language teacher can

develop professional competences in the light of the European profile

English for the futureBritish Council ELT Conference

Milan, 22 March 2011

Luisanna Paggiaro

“images- and the metaphors that help identify them- far from trivializing the search for alternative approaches, offer teacher educators a valuable tool: they are a powerful- perhaps the most powerful- force for change, and should be of critical interest to those whose business is educational change” Scott Thornbury, 1991

My butterflyDecorate the butterfly below, with words and colours to represent the conditions that will help you develop into the teacher butterfly you would like to become….

I remembered one morning when I discovered a cocoon in the bark of a tree, just as the butterfly was making a hole in its case and preparing to come out. I waited a while, but it was too long appearing and I was impatient. I bent over it and breathed on it to warm it. I warmed it as quickly as I could and the miracle began to happen before my eyes, faster than life. The case opened, the butterly started slowly crawling out….

Kazantzakis, N. (1952) Zorba the Greek, London, faber and Faber

REFLECTIVE PROCESSESThink about the way that you normally reflect on your

teaching practice and give your personal response:

• Do you ever reflect on aspects of your school training? Yes/ No

• When do you usually do this? Immediately after the lesson/when you go home/ at some other time

• Is this a private activity or do you share your thoughts/feelings with anyone?

• How long does this process last, roughly?• Do you have any systematic way of reviewing the

lessons? Checklists/notes/recordings • Would you say the time you spend in this way is

productive or unproductive?

TEACHER’S IDENTITYA socio-cultural perspective on teacher-learning posits a central aspect of this process as the reshaping of identity and identities within the social interaction of the classroom and outside.

Identity refers to the differing social and cultural roles teachers and learners enact through their interactions and during the process of learning. These roles are not static but emerge through the social processes of the classroom.

Identity may be shaped by many factors, including personal biography, gender, culture, working conditions, age, gender, and the school and classroom culture. The concept of identity thus reflects how individuals see themselves and how they enact their roles within different settings.

Professional behaviour

Selecting and/or learning

Knowledge about: pupils, language form and use, activities, process skills

Conceptualisations of: education, teaching, learning, professionalism, language-learning, language

Feelings, beliefs, attitudes, values

Planning Reviewing

SCHOOLEDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

SOCIETYCULTURE

The Teacher Iceberg

(Malderez 1996)

Basic conceptual framework

Teacher practices,beliefs and attitudes

School policy and climate

School context characteristics

Need for andparticipation inprofessionaldevelopment

ExperiencedImpact

Teacher background characteristics

From Chapter 5, Teachers’ Professional Development, TALIS,

VARIABLES FOR TEACHERS’ PARTICIPATION IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS

TEACHING EFFECTIVENESS

SCHOOL EFFECTS OF TEACHERS AS MEMBERS OF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

CHARACTERISTICS OF NATIONAL EDUCATION SYSTEMS

Teachers’ Professional Development, TALIS

TEACHER’S PROFESSIONALISMINSTITUTIONAL

• a managerial approach to professionalism that represents the views of ministries of education, teaching organizations, regulatory bodies, school principals

• There are likely to be procedures for achieving accountability and processes in place to maintain quality teaching. Such specifications are likely to differ from country to country.

PERSONAL

• independent professionalism, which refers to teachers’ own views of teaching and the processes by which teachers engage in reflection on their own values, beliefs, and practices.

• the current literature on professional development for language teachers promotes a wide variety of procedures through which teachers can engage in critical and reflective review of their own practices

FOUR COMMON EUROPEAN PRINCIPLES

•a well-qualified profession: high quality education systems require that all teachers are graduates from higher education institutions •a profession placed within the context of lifelong learning: teachers should be supported in order to continue their professional development throughout their careers •a mobile profession: mobility should be a central component of initial and continuing teacher education programmes •a profession based on partnerships: institutions providing teacher education should organize their work collaboratively in partnership with schools, local work environments, work-based training providers and other stakeholders.

EIGHT KEY COMPETENCES

1.Communication in the mother tongue2.Communication in foreign languages3.Mathematical competence and basic

competences in science and technology. 4.Digital competence5.Learning to learn6.Social and civic competences7.Sense of initiative and entrepreneurship8.Cultural awareness and expression

KC5: LEARNING TO LEARNLearning for change

While traditional views of teacher-learning often viewed the teachers’ task as the application of theory to practice, more recent views see teacher-learning as

the theorization of practice—in other words, making visible the nature of practitioner knowledge and providing the means by which such knowledge can

be elaborated, understood and reviewed.

Current views of teacher-learning as arising from research which has the following characteristics

L2 teacher learning as normative and lifelong: as learners in classrooms and schools, as participants in professional teacher education programs, and later as teachers in settings where they work

L2 teacher learning as socially negotiated and contingent on knowledge of self, subject matter, curricula, and setting.

L2 teachers as users and creators of legitimate forms of knowledge who make decisions about how best to teach within complex socially, culturally, and historically situated contexts.

SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING

• Inquiry: asking questions about one’s own teaching practices and seeking the information needed to answer these questions

• Self-appraisal: assessing one’s teaching and development on the basis of evidence from oneself and others and the ability to critically reflect and a desire to analyze oneself to determine one’s strengths and weaknesses

• Experience: personal experience becomes the basis and stimulus for learning

• Personal construction: meaning is personally constructed by the learner

• Contextualized learning: learning takes place in a particular context and social setting and is socially constructed

From “outsider” approaches to “insider” ones.Central to self-directed learning are the following processes:

KC7: SENSE OF INITIATIVE AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

it involves creativity, innovation and risk-taking, as well as the ability to plan and manage projects… The teacher’s ability to plan learning paths, to implement them and evaluate the outcomes

the ability to turn ideas into action In teaching theory and practice intermingle , but the process is not only on one direction (from ideas into pragmatism) but also vice versa

the individual is aware of the context of their work and is able to seize opportunitiesAn attitude of self consciousness and self reflection

It is the foundation for acquiring more specific skills and knowledge needed by those establishing or contributing to social or commercial activityTeaching is a job set in a certain historical, social and economic context

awareness of ethical values and promote good governanceSense of professionalism, independence and ethics

TEACHER DEVELOPMENTWhich activities have you found more useful to develop your professional

competences?Choose one or more of the following or add your own:

A structured course A Comenius/Grundvig scholarship

An exchange project

Peer/group work

School teacher training

Communications with students/parents

Seminars/conferences

Keeping a diary

Case analysis and action research

Using a Portfolio

………………………………………….……………………………………………….

Literature/sources ICT

THE EMOTIONS OF CHANGE

OPTIMISM

T I M E

1. UNINFORMED OPTIMISM

2.INFORMED PESSIMISM (DOUBT)

3.REALISM (HOPE)

4.INFORMED OPTIMISM (CONFIDENCE)

5.REWARD (SATISFACTION)

NO TEACHER IS AN ISLANDFeedback from colleagues

Forum

Networking

The classroom community

Wider educational community

NOT A LONELY PROFESSION, BUT COOPERATIVE, LIVELY AND IN PROGRESS!

BIBLIOGRAPHY• Action Research for Language Teachers, M.J.Wallace, CUP, 1998.• Doing Teacher Research, D.Freeman, Heinle&Heinle publishers, 1998.• Professional Development for Language Teachers, J.C.Richards-T.S.C.Farrell,

CUP 2005.• Reflective Teaching in second Language Classrooms, J.C.Richards-

C.Lockhart, CUP, 1996.• Teachers in Action, P.James, CUP, 2001.

European Documents• European guidelines for validating non formal and informal learning‑ ,

CEDEFOP 2009.• Teachers’ Professional Development, An analysis of teachers’ professional

development based on the OECD’s Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), EU, 2010.

• The European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning, 2008

THANK YOU AND……..HAVE A NICE PROFESSIONAL JOURNEY!

luis.paggiaro@libero.it