Week 3

Teachers Observing Teachers: A Professional Development Tool for Every School (By Michele Israel)

Remarks

Every school nowadays should use “Teachers Observing Teachers” way of observation as a form of professional development that enhances teaching practices and student performance. Sharing of instructional techniques and ideologies between and among teachers are beneficial for teachers, administrators as well as the school.

Teacher observation is one model of professional learning and the most positive benefit of it is that it makes teaching a public rather than a private act. Teachers should help one another for professional development. This model allows them to interact with each other. Involvement to others generates lots of ideas, useful suggestions and opportunities to share successful teaching approaches which are very useful as grounds for improvements of every teacher. For instance, newly graduated teachers are being sent to practical teaching. In this course, they are handled by experienced teachers and they are sent to the class for them to practice teaching. In this way, the new ones will have the opportunity to share and apply their teaching skills. On the other hand, the veteran teacher can observe and watch the interaction between the students and the teacher. After that, they can discuss both the different teaching approaches of each other for the improvement of them both.

Establishing a culture for learning might be the most important challenge a teacher encounters. It is significant that the school administrators should practice a culture that nurtures a mutually respectful exchange of ideas and promotes a certain level of trust. It has been said that a culture exists where people report with pride that they put one another professionally. Open-mindedness and having a positive way of acceptance on different types of feedbacks from the observer’s motives and valuing collegial relationships leads to professional development.

To enhance further and to make Teachers Observations very effective is when teachers acquire new skills or ideas at trainings and conferences and then model those new approaches for their colleagues. Teachers observation is most successful when the teacher and the observer work together and reflect on the teaching behavior and least successful with analysis or dialogue. To have an effective teachers-observing-teachers program the following sequence should be followed: Overview, Observation, Discussion, Reflection and Application. Also, a variety of approaches to teacher observation support professional growth and student achievement such as Lesson Study, Peer Coaching, Cognitive Coaching, Critical Friends Group (CFG) and Learning Walk.

I am convinced that the tool of teachers observing teachers if applied properly will make a huge improvement in the classrooms of today and tomorrow.

Week 2

Reflective Journal Writing in the Practicum Course: What are the Roles of the Responder? (Ayasegül Daloglu)

Without feedback, the process of the Practicum may go astray. This tool besides of being interactive possesses the capability for exchanging thoughts, processes, and ideas not only between the facilitator and the student, but also between students.

The journal may serve as a powerful tool designed to meet the needs and the visions of people involved in this Practicum, which constitutes an elemental step in the formation of integral professional in the areas of Teaching and Translation.

As the reading points out, this journal will serve also other teachers that will come afterwards to the same activity hence the importance thereof. As we know, teaching is an ongoing task that will develop throughout a lifetime; therefore, the responder should be pointing out the strengths and integrally correcting the shortcomings of the student.

Another fact to underline is that the journal must be fresh and accurate, and by that, I mean that every entry should be done right when it is required and as faithful to the experience as possible. I think that the reading is very clear stressing the fact that a journal can only better and enrich the experience of the Practicum.

Week 1

Journal entry 1 - Expressing personal goals and priorities

Goals affect directly the performance and motivation of people in general, but when it comes to teaching and learning, they affect directly the output and performance in the teachers and students. A teacher without goals is like an aimless boat tossed back and forth by the slings of life and profession.

Expectations

How do I expect to benefit from the field experience (Student teaching) /Practica Profesional?

As the name of the course suggests it is a practice, an opportunity to apply what I have learnt in an actual school with hands on experience, therefore I expect to practice much and apply what I have learnt in the University and through previous learning processes.

In concrete words, I expect to get from this practice a greater experience in teaching, more fluency, better human relationships, and more knowledge in my profession.

Questions to reflect on my goals

What have you chosen Enseñanza y Traducción del Inglés as your career? What are your options?

At the beginning, I could have chosen any other career basically, but I chose this career because I like to learn and to transmit what I have learnt, and because I like literature very much.

What do you see as essential qualities for a teacher, which you are striving to develop? ( List them and describe role models, if any )

Essential qualities a teacher must have are the following: friendly, open minded, culturally open, willingness to learn from everyone and everything, sympathetic, perseverant, patient, good humored, critical thinker.

What do you expect from the Practica Profesional? What would you like to be the objectives of this course?

I expect to gain experience through practice and to transmit whatever I have learnt as much as I can. The objectives of this course I would like them to be focused on practice mostly as I see them they are so far.

Amongst my personal goals as a teacher for this practice and for my future professional undertakings the following aspects are relevant

Willingness to learn: teaching is an ongoing process, so I must be willing to learn and be corrected.

Organization: I consider this element fundamental in teaching all types of subjects and levels to a successful outcome.

Critical thinking: Learning is not a set situation, instead, it is a dynamic and ongoing process, therefore teachers can only guide students in the vast learning process and help them with the tools and to discern knowledge from different sources, to grasp what is useful and to consider all things under higher goals and aims.

Cultural sensibility and open mindedness: today there is a vast array of beliefs, aims, goals, cultures and ways of seeing the world, therefore a teacher must be willing to listen, discern, and cope with the different circumstances and thought.

Motivation and friendliness: this is necessary for every teacher, if a teacher wants to motivate he/she has to be motivated and friendly.