tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388349147037750552024-03-06T11:54:22.445+03:00Reflections of a Teacher and LearnerTracking my experiences as an EFL Teacher, ICT Coordinator, and online learner in Bahrain and beyond!DaveDodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16896292275243412346noreply@blogger.comBlogger269125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338834914703775055.post-721741727308027142017-06-24T15:08:00.002+03:002017-06-24T15:08:40.979+03:00Recycle or recycle?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQIidzMLZ0xxDl2blynDDNTbzhsINKV4GC9unmdkSqHqqfQY1GQGjCj07RNZQ9CsZ8LM5MkeWvgJSYWnnGnjbhhS8G9ROv5ryH2KIcFgBj3yTsuBoTaFZJixWqwsaok0HhvPy7pHMyRZ0/s1600/tires-1846674_640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="640" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQIidzMLZ0xxDl2blynDDNTbzhsINKV4GC9unmdkSqHqqfQY1GQGjCj07RNZQ9CsZ8LM5MkeWvgJSYWnnGnjbhhS8G9ROv5ryH2KIcFgBj3yTsuBoTaFZJixWqwsaok0HhvPy7pHMyRZ0/s400/tires-1846674_640.jpg" width="400" /></i></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Feeling tired at the end of the school year? With a mountain of things to recycle?</i></td></tr>
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Another academic year has come to an end. Another year of learning, experimenting, and developing. Another year of juggling and balancing different demands (including yet more blogging lulls when the workload got cranked up - I still have several IATEFL related posts in draft form!)</div>
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And now I find myself having another clearout - going through my shelf in the teachers' office and deciding what to file and what to throw away.<br />
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As usual, I emptied a file of lesson plans and notes (I'm not very organised with these kind of things so I had a mix of printed plans following a template, notebooks with lesson outlines on each page, and scraps of paper with lesson notes) and took them off to the recycling bin.<br />
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One of my colleagues seemed taken aback.<br />
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"Aren't you going to reuse those?' I was asked.<br />
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"No, why would I?" I replied.<br />
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"But those are all your lesson plans for this year. What if you get the same levels again?'<br />
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"You're right," I said. "These are all my plans and notes for <i>this year</i>. Even if I get the same levels, I won't have the same classes again. If I have the same classes, I won't have the same levels."<br />
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It seemed there was a clash of approaches between me and my colleague. We both saw an opportunity to recycle. However, they identified a chance to reuse the same notes and plans, or at least refer back to them to save time and refresh ideas when teaching the same level again. I took the point of view that these were fit for recycling of a more literal kind. I had planned my lessons for each individual class, incorporating the interests of my students, emphasising certain language points that they had been struggling with, and only quickly touching on other areas that they seemed more comfortable with.<br />
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Even if I teach the same level next year, I won't teach the same class. The students will be different. The group dynamic will be unique. My relationship with them will not be the same as with this year's groups. They will have their own unique interests and their own strengths and weaknesses that I will need to identify and address. Even though the syllabus and the core material will be the same, I will have to approach the course taking all of the above factors into account.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbHfznG9-38Ajxk3uwdCDiuWzCBmsib2ASRAK-4tIykySPOK3IFCXxEShDM_X5ZkKQrBlc5HZLVTbnbDuJCY1Tb4a9uYEDixhT-Qfz1B7OfHq-VEKzspqlkV-pJXTqVLLt48SeSmrln5c/s1600/waste-paper-194219_640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="640" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbHfznG9-38Ajxk3uwdCDiuWzCBmsib2ASRAK-4tIykySPOK3IFCXxEShDM_X5ZkKQrBlc5HZLVTbnbDuJCY1Tb4a9uYEDixhT-Qfz1B7OfHq-VEKzspqlkV-pJXTqVLLt48SeSmrln5c/s400/waste-paper-194219_640.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This issue was also raised when re-organising the shared computer drives was discussed recently. Some people were in favour of standard materials being stored on the drive with a lesson by lesson, course by course breakdown of IWB flipcharts, handouts, and extra digital resources available for teachers to pick and choose from. This would help us avoid several teachers having duplicates of the same or similar material.<br />
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But I found the idea to be a strange one - surely, we would rather have each teacher keep their own personalised materials tailored to the needs of their classes on the storage drive, even if that means five teachers with the same level saving 5 different sets of resources. Encourage planning to meet each class' needs or save space and time with standard materials?<br />
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I am curious as to what other teachers around the world would do - would you archive your lesson plans and notes for possible re-use? (I do keep materials I have made by the way as they are resources that could potentially be re-adapted) Would you prioritise saving time and virtual space over having unique and tailored resources?<br />
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Please share your thoughts and experiences through the comments!DaveDodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16896292275243412346noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338834914703775055.post-29660642047632591982017-03-29T09:30:00.000+03:002017-03-29T09:30:02.622+03:00Reflections in Open Space - My MA Dissertation<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5TvAm3UJYY0/WNbC_69ohbI/AAAAAAAACgY/Lamvk1evbNA3n1TuiUmkqNuQV0u5NUvXwCPcB/s1600/dog-734689_640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5TvAm3UJYY0/WNbC_69ohbI/AAAAAAAACgY/Lamvk1evbNA3n1TuiUmkqNuQV0u5NUvXwCPcB/s400/dog-734689_640.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>No! It's a dissertation on blogs, not a dissertation on d... Nevermind - cute pic!</i></td></tr>
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Since blogging first caught my interest as a reflective platform and self-development tool for teachers, I have written a lot about it: academic assignments, articles for teaching magazines and websites, even blog posts about blogging (most of which are<b><a href="https://flipboard.com/@eltsandbox/connected-development---teacher-reflection-and-online-networks-iatefl-2017-skhpjr20y" target="_blank"> handily collected in this nice Flipboard magazine</a></b> - Click! Share! Subscribe!)</div>
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The most comprehensive piece of writing I have done to date on this topic, however, is my MA dissertation so I thought "why not share that as well?" And here it is - all distinction awarded 16,433 words of it!</div>
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If you fancy indulging in a long read, please click on the link below.</div>
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9vlODfT-Q97MG4zR1NjOFBneWc/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Reflections in Open Space</b></span></a> </div>
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And please use the following reference if you wish to share and/or quote it:</div>
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Dodgson, P.D. (2012). Reflections in Open Space: The Use of Blogs by Language Teachers as a Platform for Engaging in Critical Reflection (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Manchester, UK<br />
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<i>You can see my talk on <b><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1161955774" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">Thursday 6 April, 12.00</span></span> – 12.30 </b>in<b> Boisdale 1 Room </b>as part of the <b>LTSIG Day.</b></i><br />
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</i><br />
<i>Title -</i><b><i> </i><i>Connected Development – teacher reflection and online networks</i></b><br />
<br />
<i>If you are not attending IATEFL, don't forget you can follow the conference via...</i><b><i> </i></b><br />
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<a href="http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2017" title="IATEFL Online Banner 2017 - 600x222 v2"><img alt="IATEFL Online Banner 2017" border="0" height="222px" src="https://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/banner-600x222_v2.png" width="600px" /> </a></div>
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DaveDodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16896292275243412346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338834914703775055.post-25890759802332585422017-03-28T22:45:00.001+03:002017-03-28T22:45:25.609+03:00Connected Development: How blogging has aided my reflection and development (Part 2)<div style="text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gVrWhIeiAdk/WNqr-RCdfCI/AAAAAAAACkY/Jm74UHKIkD4bGc5npuoaOFx2gdyVHvi5wCPcB/s1600/colour-316776_640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gVrWhIeiAdk/WNqr-RCdfCI/AAAAAAAACkY/Jm74UHKIkD4bGc5npuoaOFx2gdyVHvi5wCPcB/s400/colour-316776_640.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Sketching things out reflectively</i></td></tr>
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<b><a href="http://davedodgson.blogspot.com/2017/03/connected-development-how-blogging-has.html" target="_blank">Yesterday's post</a></b> (cunningly titled as above but with <i>'(Part 1)'</i> on the end) focused on examples of how blogging has helped me reflect on the daily challenges of teaching and how the community around teacher blogs has caused my thinking to develop further.</div>
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Today, I will be returning the questions I signed off the last post with, namely:</div>
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<ul>
<li style="text-align: left;">Beyond single lessons, classes and 'moments', <b>how has blogging helped me
develop my thoughts and beliefs about teaching?</b> </li>
<li style="text-align: left;">And<b> how has it helped
me develop beyond the classroom?</b></li>
</ul>
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<h3>
Epiphany Spaces</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://Don’t just fill the gaps - try leaving some space…" target="_blank"><b>Don’t just fill the gaps - try leaving some space…</b></a></li>
</ul>
Revisiting this post, I vividly remember the walk home that led to this post as well as the talk by Luke Meddings that led to the simple and obvious yet completely overlooked solution to the problem of getting students to speak more and speak better. I arrived home that evening knowing I had to put those thoughts into words and how else would I do that other than through this blog?<br />
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There was a lot of background to this of course - engaging in the blogging community, finding out more about dogme ELT, getting ideas about incorporating creative activities such as art and drama into language lessons, and discussing the merits of choice and open-ended learning tasks all contributed to the belief that I could offer more to my students by giving them less. Fewer worksheets and more personalisation, more student input, and more learning.<br />
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A lot of those ideas would then become the backbone of my approach to preparing students for the <a href="http://davedodgson.blogspot.com/search/label/Cambridge%20YLE%20Tests" target="_blank">Cambridge Starters, Movers, and Flyers tests</a>. They would also prompt me to focus more on personalised tasks and student-generated content in class, which would in turn involve increased collaboration between students, self and peer editing, and encouraging my learners to also engage in a reflective process.<br />
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That 'ah-hah' moment was amplified though the blog. I had a platform on which to share my developing ideas, tap into the insights of others, and set off in different directions in my classroom practice. Without the blog, that thought process may well have ended when I arrived home that evening.<br />
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<h3>
Expanded Spaces</h3>
Writing blog posts has played a big role in processing my thoughts and exploring new ideas as well as connecting with like-minded teachers around the world, but it has also played a big role in other activities I have engaged in during this more active, reflective part of my teaching career.<br />
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Native speaker, fluent speaker or developing language learner, writing is a skill that needs work. If we don't write much, we lose an element of our written fluency. Finding the right words can be tougher and the prospect of having to compile a report or submit an assignment can be daunting.<br />
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However, when we write regularly, we can write more readily. By taking a critically reflective approach to our own writing style, we can write better. This has helped me in a number of ways over recent years:<br />
<ul>
<li><b><b>Conferences</b> - </b>It's no coincidence that I started to present
sessions outside the comfort zone of my own school around the same time I
started blogging. Sometimes, ideas lead to blog posts, blog posts lead
to more ideas, and those ideas end up becoming workshops or conference
talks - like this blogging and blogging idea on the road to IATEFL. :)<b> </b></li>
<li><b>Assignments</b> - when it came to time to <a href="http://davedodgson.blogspot.com/2016/04/out-of-dip-part-4-unit-2-research.html" target="_blank">research and submit three extended assignments for my Trinity Diploma</a>, my experience of writing blogs was an advantage for me. Having analysed, reflected on, written about my in-class experiences so many times over the years, the prospect of conducting action research by identifying an aspect of my teaching I wanted to develop, and reflecting on my progress over a series of lessons was one I was able to approach with more equanimity than trepidation (granted, <a href="http://davedodgson.blogspot.com/search/label/MA" target="_blank">my MA studies</a> also helped but that is intertwined with my blogging experience as well).</li>
<li><b>Formal observations</b> - again, my reflective experiences were useful when it came to<a href="http://davedodgson.blogspot.com/2016/04/out-of-dip-part-1-unit-4.html" target="_blank"> the assessed lessons on the Dip TESOL</a>. While the lessons may not have been stellar, I felt comfortable about honestly analysing my teaching and engaging in a reflective discussion with the tutors afterwards. In my current working contexts, this has meant my 'performance review' observations are followed up by a detailed written reflection and discussion, which allows for a more developmental focus than writing three or four lines prefaced by "I think the lesson went well because..." </li>
<li><b>Writing articles</b> - with blogging came guest blogging, and then came invitations to write for 'big blogs' like <a href="https://oupeltglobalblog.com/tag/david-dodgson/" target="_blank">OUP Global</a>, <a href="https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/blogs/davedodgson" target="_blank">Teaching English</a> and <a href="http://itdi.pro/blog/author/davedodgson/" target="_blank">iTDi</a>. Writing for my own audience and the audiences of others gave me the confidence to apply to be the <a href="https://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/users/david-dodgson" target="_blank">IATEFL Roving Reporter</a>. From there, I started to submit proposals and articles to teaching newsletters, magazines, and, most recently, <a href="http://www.tesl-ej.org/wordpress/issues/volume20/ej80/ej80int/" target="_blank">a journal</a>. Without a background in blogging, I doubt I would have had as many writing opportunities.</li>
</ul>
And that is one of the big benefits of writing for an audience, whether it be on my personal blog, another website, or for a magazine. I not only reflect on my own teaching and thoughts about language learning but I also think how I can convey these experiences in a way that will be relatable and useful for a wider audience. That helps me reflect and develop with more detail and more focus. That helps me teach and learn.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>--------------------------------------</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<i>You can see my talk on <b><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1161955774" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">Thursday 6 April, 12.00</span></span> – 12.30 </b>in<b> Boisdale 1 Room </b>as part of the <b>LTSIG Day.</b></i><br />
<i>
</i><br />
<i>Title -</i><b><i> </i><i>Connected Development – teacher reflection and online networks</i></b><br />
<br />
<i>If you are not attending IATEFL, don't forget you can follow the conference via...</i><b><i> </i></b><br />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
</h3>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2017" title="IATEFL Online Banner 2017 - 600x222 v2"><img alt="IATEFL Online Banner 2017" border="0" height="auto" src="https://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/banner-600x222_v2.png" width="100%" /> </a></div>
DaveDodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16896292275243412346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338834914703775055.post-9690739965228442332017-03-27T23:41:00.000+03:002017-03-28T00:15:25.749+03:00Connected Development: How blogging has aided my reflection and development (Part 1)<div style="text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FxYmgx5oJjE/WNliXRRWbbI/AAAAAAAACjU/5xzPxPnBdGYhi_ARhaBzsILbNaPhVKvQQCPcB/s1600/books-1670670_640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FxYmgx5oJjE/WNliXRRWbbI/AAAAAAAACjU/5xzPxPnBdGYhi_ARhaBzsILbNaPhVKvQQCPcB/s400/books-1670670_640.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>What my collective blog posts would look like in old-fashioned book form... probably</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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You may have heard (or read) these words from me a lot:</div>
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<b><i>"I would not be the teacher I am today had I not started blogging."</i> </b></div>
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<i>(or you may be reading them for the first time, in which case welcome to my blog!)</i></div>
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But what do I mean? What are some specific examples of how blogging has helped me develop? When has engaging with other teachers caused me to rethink and reflect?</div>
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Read on for some answers...</div>
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<i>Food for thought from 'pink elephants'</i></h3>
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<li><b><a href="http://davedodgson.blogspot.com/2010/10/outdone-by-pink-elephant.html" target="_blank">Outdone by the pink elephant</a></b></li>
<li><b><a href="http://davedodgson.blogspot.com/2011/06/like-crossing-alps-with-pink-elephants.html" target="_blank">Like crossing The Alps...</a></b></li>
<li><b><a href="http://davedodgson.blogspot.com/2011/12/food-for-thought-and-for-better.html" target="_blank">Food for thought... and for better classroom management</a></b></li>
</ul>
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We've all had tough classes at some point, especially those of us who have <strike>suffered with</strike> had the pleasure of teaching young learners. I had a class like that some six academic years ago and it was tough. I got some advice from colleagues but nothing seemed to have more than a temporary effect.</div>
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Observing a trainee teacher lead a lesson with them while having far fewer discipline issues prompted me to ask myself some questions about my approach to teaching that class and I took those questions (and my half-formed answers) to my blog later that week.</div>
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This was one of the first times I had started to 'get critical' with my reflections. Beyond simply describing what had happened in the class, I started to probe deeper with questions. Even if I didn't have the answers at that time, I had set my own reflection in motion.</div>
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I brought that class back to my blog at the end of the school year to update on their/my progress and also to explore what I could do differently if I had a 'difficult' class again in the future - an important part of any reflective process.</div>
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That future would not be far away as I got the same class back the following year. That provided a great opportunity to apply the plan of action to come out of my reflections and see how effective it was. </div>
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Would all that have been possible without putting my thoughts into words on this blog? I doubt it...</div>
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<i>4 Cs of blogging</i></h3>
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No, not <a href="http://davedodgson.blogspot.com/2011/12/food-for-thought-and-for-better.html" target="_blank">Tyson Seburn's excellent blog</a>, but 4 Cs that have ensured blogging has become a key part of my CPD: <b>community, collaboration, comments,</b> and <b>challenge</b>s.</div>
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You could argue that old-fashioned journal writing could have enabled critical reflection and self-development in that same way my blog has... but that would be missing the crucial element of community. A blog post is immediately shareable for the author and readable for teachers around the world. That might sound daunting but it plays a crucial role in furthering critical reflection.</div>
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Sharing blogs through social media platforms helps build a community of teachers. Reading other teachers' posts can set off reflections about our own contexts. Comments allow author and reader to ask questions of each other to clarify, offer advice, and share experiences.</div>
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All of that is evident in the above examples. If you read the initial 'pink elephant' post, you will see a reference to Jason Renshaw's use of the term on his own blog, which set off my train of thought. The comments at the and of that post are a critically reflective goldmine, offering different perspectives and ideas on why my students were behaving as they did and the best way to approach the issues. The second post came about due to a request from another teacher for an update on how that class had developed for better or worse through the year and the final post was my attempt to give something back by sharing my new and improved ideas for classroom management.</div>
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The interactions and sharing through these posts and many others all represent an indirect form of collaboration from teachers around the globe. Some posts were also the direct result of collaboration as well - one of my favourites was my split-screen chat with <a href="https://twitter.com/cecielt" target="_blank">Cecilia Lemos</a>, in which we shared and discussed our developing understanding of dogme (sadly, the video platform we used to make the recording is now offline and <a href="http://davedodgson.blogspot.com/2010/11/dogme-blog-challenge-no-5sharing-my.html" target="_blank">our chat</a> has been lost with it).</div>
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That post was the result of <a href="https://kalinago.blogspot.com/2010/10/dogme-challenge-introduction.html" target="_blank">an on-going challenge set up by Karenne Sylvester</a> to get teachers discussing and exploring dogme in their teaching contexts. This prompted a large group of teachers to reflect through their posts and several more to engage through reading and commenting. Other challenges around the similar time were <a href="http://jasonrenshaw.typepad.com/jason_renshaws_web_log/2010/10/the-wandrous-whiteboard-challenge.html" target="_blank">Jason Renshaw's Wandrous Whiteboard Challenge</a> and my own <a href="http://davedodgson.blogspot.com/2011/03/every-blog-has-silver-lining-mini.html" target="_blank">Word Cloud Blog Challenge</a>. These, and many other 'blog challenges' before and since, provided a fun way to build community through informal collaboration and a great way to prompt reflection by relating our own experiences and reading about/commenting on relatable experiences of other teachers in different contexts.</div>
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<i>Wait... there's more</i></h3>
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I was also planning to delve into the following questions:</div>
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Beyond single lessons, classes and 'moments', how has blogging helped me develop my thoughts and beliefs about teaching? And how has it helped me develop beyond the classroom? Well, it's getting late here in Bahrain so I will leave those questions to a post in the near future. :)</div>
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<br />
<i>You can see my talk on <b><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1161955774" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">Thursday 6 April, 12.00</span></span> – 12.30 </b>in<b> Boisdale 1 Room </b>as part of the <b>LTSIG Day.</b></i><br />
<i>
</i><br />
<i>Title -</i><b><i> </i><i>Connected Development – teacher reflection and online networks</i></b><br />
<br />
<i>If you are not attending IATEFL, don't forget you can follow the conference via...</i><b><i> </i></b><br />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
</h3>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2017" title="IATEFL Online Banner 2017 - 600x222 v2"><img alt="IATEFL Online Banner 2017" border="0" height="auto" src="https://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/banner-600x222_v2.png" width="100%" /> </a></div>
DaveDodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16896292275243412346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338834914703775055.post-32611699443161562702017-03-25T22:01:00.000+03:002017-03-27T21:56:06.337+03:00Reflective Teacher Blogging: looking back and moving forward<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--Yr85kXT6bg/WNeQpaqkT7I/AAAAAAAACh8/Rr-6pZLr4a8icDrcXqHFcAi1LxXRQtM3QCPcB/s1600/light-643954_640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--Yr85kXT6bg/WNeQpaqkT7I/AAAAAAAACh8/Rr-6pZLr4a8icDrcXqHFcAi1LxXRQtM3QCPcB/s400/light-643954_640.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Looking back, moving forward</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In the summer of 2015, I had one of my first articles published in the TDSIG Newsletter and it was a summary of findings from my MA research into blogs as reflective platforms for language teachers.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9vlODfT-Q97ME5yOGFCVkM4UTA" target="_blank"><b>Click here to download the article</b></a> in full. Enjoy and please use the following reference should you decide to share and/or quote it:<br />
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Dodgson, D. (2015). Reflective Teacher Blogging: looking back and moving forward. <i>IATEFL Teacher Development SIG Newsletter, </i>72: 3-5<br />
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<iframe height="960" src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9vlODfT-Q97ME5yOGFCVkM4UTA/preview" width="98%"></iframe>
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<br />
<i>You can see my talk on <b><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1161955774" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">Thursday 6 April, 12.00</span></span> – 12.30 </b>in<b> Boisdale 1 Room </b>as part of the <b>LTSIG Day.</b></i><br />
<i>
</i><br />
<i>Title -</i><b><i> </i><i>Connected Development – teacher reflection and online networks</i></b><br />
<br />
<i>If you are not attending IATEFL, don't forget you can follow the conference via...</i><b><i> </i></b><br />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
</h3>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2017" title="IATEFL Online Banner 2017 - 600x222 v2"><img alt="IATEFL Online Banner 2017" border="0" height="auto" src="https://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/banner-600x222_v2.png" width="100%" /> </a></div>
DaveDodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16896292275243412346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338834914703775055.post-87474776774765679742017-03-24T09:00:00.000+03:002017-03-27T21:56:54.540+03:00Connected Development - Blogging's not dead! <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ToN83dQyHPY/WNQisab_b1I/AAAAAAAACcU/Kfvnsps8br4wQN2Smak_PaddWawH_VAzwCPcB/s1600/hands-1531590_640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ToN83dQyHPY/WNQisab_b1I/AAAAAAAACcU/Kfvnsps8br4wQN2Smak_PaddWawH_VAzwCPcB/s640/hands-1531590_640.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>It's not even resting... </i></td></tr>
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Over the last few years, I have heard this one a lot. The glory days of ELT blogging (if they ever exisited) have dwindled and died. Hardly any teachers still blog, and those that do share lesson plans and/or promote 'products'.</div>
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On the surface, that seems to be right. Of the community of bloggers I engaged with around 2010-2013, very few are still active. Several blogs lay dormant having seen no new posts in a long time, and others have sadly disappeared either at the writer's discretion or through expired domains.</div>
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A few bloggers from that period, such as <a href="https://theteacherjames.com/" target="_blank">James Taylor</a> and <a href="http://fourc.ca/" target="_blank">Tyson Seburn</a>, are still active but posting quite infrequently and it is perhaps only <a href="https://sandymillin.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Sandy Millin</a> who has kept the blog machinery in working order.</div>
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<br /></div>
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My own blogging is also not as prolific as it once was. Expand the archives tab on the right of this page and you will see a peak of over 80 posts back in 2011 but only 10-20 per year since 2013.</div>
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A couple of years ago, I informally looked into this apparent decline. Despite having finished my MA, I was finding it increasingly difficult to make the time to blog or even keep up with the posts in my feed reader. It wasn't that I was no longer writing about my in-class experiences though. In fact, I had started writing for <a href="https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/blogs/davedodgson" target="_blank">Teaching English</a> and <a href="http://itdi.pro/blog/?s=david+dodgson" target="_blank">iTDi</a> and would then begin contributing to magazines and newsletters, which didn't leave much time for reflecting here.</div>
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In a way, blogging had perhaps served a couple of purposes. In terms of my own CPD (and <a href="http://davedodgson.blogspot.com/2017/03/connected-development-why-blogging.html" target="_blank">as mentioned in Wednesday's post</a>), the reflective part of my teaching persona was now very much active and I was engaging in a cycle of analysing and learning from my lessons, whether I got round to publishing it online or not. Professionally, blogging had opened doors to the aforementioned writing opportunities as well as webinars, conferences, and other projects and all of those things took up time.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Other bloggers seemed to be the same, not blogging as much but still active on social media in Facebook groups, guest writing for other sites, or at conferences online and off. Perhaps the golden age had come to an end after all...</div>
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But then I saw a comment from one ELT blogger, <a href="https://twitter.com/michaelegriffin" target="_blank">Michael Griffin</a> (who, with impeccable timing, posted on his blog for the first time in a long while - by his standards at least - <a href="https://eltrantsreviewsreflections.wordpress.com/2017/03/22/5881/" target="_blank">just 2 days ago</a>). He stated (I'm obviously paraphrasing here but you'll get the idea) that saying ELT bloggers are not as active as they used to be is just silly. They're still out there but perhaps are not the names and urls you have previously followed - you just have to find them.</div>
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He was right. :)</div>
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Over the last several months as I have been thinking ahead to IATEFL and looking to re-engage with ELT blogging, I have found several active, interesting, and reflective ELT Blogs that I will share with you here:</div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://hanatichaeltblog.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><b>How I see it now</b></a> - Hana Ticha's posts are always worth reading! These are the reflections and developing thoughts of a 'frontline teacher' sharing her classroom experiences in a very realtable way.</li>
<li><a href="https://mymathima.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><b>My Mathima</b></a> - Christina teaches in Greece and shares two of my passions: reflecting on her teaching and game-based learning. :)</li>
<li><a href="https://cecilianobreelt.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><b>Cecilia Nobre ELT Blog</b></a> - Cecilia shares lesson plans but she also conducts interviews with a variety of people in ELT, which offer several interesting insights into ELT contexts around the world.</li>
<li><b><a href="https://freelanceteacherselfdevelopment.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Freelance Teacher Self-Development</a></b> - Marc began his blog to address the lack of training and CPD that comes with the territory of being a freelancer but browse his posts and I'm sure you'll agree there are reflections worth reading for all language teachers.</li>
<li><a href="https://myeltrambles.com/" target="_blank"><b>My ELT Rambles</b></a> - Joanna rambles in the exploration sense reflecting on critical moments in her career and general thoughts on ELT and blogging as well.</li>
<li><a href="https://martinesl.com/" target="_blank"><b>Martin Cooke's Teaching Blog</b> </a>- Martin shares thoughts and reflections from his experiences in Taiwan, offering insights into effective lessons, conferences and online courses.</li>
<li><a href="https://futurealisreal.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><b>Mark: My Words</b></a> - Interesting insights into language teaching in Japan and a recent series of posts on teacher identity that are worth your time.</li>
<li><a href="https://pmateini.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><b>pmateini's blog</b></a> - Priscila is another teacher from Brazil who likes to discuss some of the big issues in ELT (see her recent posts on accents and discipline as prime examples)</li>
<li><a href="https://annloseva.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><b>Ann Loseva's Space</b></a> - Ann made a welcome comeback a couple of years ago after a blogging break. She has an interesting writing style and plenty of thought-provoking posts.</li>
</ul>
These bloggers represent exactly the same thing the bloggers I first connected with several years ago did/still do. They are a diverse group from a number of different teaching contexts around the globe. They come from different linguistic backgrounds and they all have different approaches to teaching and ways of reflecting in their online spaces.<br />
<br />
But they all share one thing - a desire to develop and improve by sharing experiences and engaging with like-minded teachers around the world.<br />
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And that is why the ELT blogging community is far from dead. It continues to thrive and develop. You just have to keep up with it.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mXwQXe2UvPw/WNQlFtDxO3I/AAAAAAAACdE/SoNaEf6cikwo84yulh7gsGVQ4Rd7Rno_QCPcB/s1600/action-1822412_640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mXwQXe2UvPw/WNQlFtDxO3I/AAAAAAAACdE/SoNaEf6cikwo84yulh7gsGVQ4Rd7Rno_QCPcB/s400/action-1822412_640.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Reflection is still alive and kicking!</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<i>You can see my talk on <b><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1161955774" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">Thursday 6 April, 12.00</span></span> – 12.30 </b>in<b> Boisdale 1 Room </b>as part of the <b>LTSIG Day.</b></i><br />
<i>
</i><br />
<i>Title -</i><b><i> </i><i>Connected Development – teacher reflection and online networks</i></b><br />
<br />
<i>If you are not attending IATEFL, don't forget you can follow the conference via...</i><b><i> </i></b><br />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
</h3>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2017" title="IATEFL Online Banner 2017 - 600x222 v2"><img alt="IATEFL Online Banner 2017" border="0" height="auto" src="https://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/banner-600x222_v2.png" width="100%" /> </a></div>
DaveDodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16896292275243412346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338834914703775055.post-14040719213970614862017-03-23T22:16:00.000+03:002017-03-27T21:57:40.247+03:00Connected Development - A Preview of my #IATEFL Talk [Video Post]<i>Ahead of speaking at this year's IATEFL Conference as the Diana Eastment Scholarship winner, the good folks at LTSIG asked me to make a short video preview of my talk. Please find the video below and remember to like, share and subscribe to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/DaveDodgson" target="_blank"><b>my YouTube channel.</b></a> :)</i><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qTXo7f01zKY/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qTXo7f01zKY?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<i>You can see my talk on <b><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1161955774" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">Thursday 6 April, 12.00</span></span> – 12.30 </b>in<b> Boisdale 1 Room </b>as part of the <b>LTSIG Day.</b></i><br />
<i>
</i><br />
<i>Title -</i><b><i> </i><i>Connected Development – teacher reflection and online networks</i></b><br />
<br />
<i>If you are not attending IATEFL, don't forget you can follow the conference via...</i><b><i> </i></b><br />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
</h3>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2017" title="IATEFL Online Banner 2017 - 600x222 v2"><img alt="IATEFL Online Banner 2017" border="0" height="auto" src="https://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/banner-600x222_v2.png" width="100%" /> </a></div>
DaveDodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16896292275243412346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338834914703775055.post-59874045746835512492017-03-22T22:42:00.000+03:002017-03-27T21:58:25.813+03:00Connected Development - Why blogging still matters<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f3aLKpJbmpY/WNLL4ffxq0I/AAAAAAAACbU/PF2T7AlRtYoYfAYHdZ6Brp2ROMd_lLVJwCPcB/s1600/chain-1742943_640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f3aLKpJbmpY/WNLL4ffxq0I/AAAAAAAACbU/PF2T7AlRtYoYfAYHdZ6Brp2ROMd_lLVJwCPcB/s400/chain-1742943_640.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Strength in connections</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We are once again on the verge of the annual IATEFL Conference to be held this year in Glasgow.<br />
<br />
I will be there and I will be talking about, among other things, blogging.<br />
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I am of course mindful of the fact that this is IATEFL 2017 and not IATEFL 2007, so I will not be describing what a blog is or how one works. I will instead be focusing on the role blogging has played in pushing my development as a teacher forward over the last 6 or 7 years.<br />
<br />
I can honestly say that I would not be where I am today had I not started blogging. Engaging with a community of bloggers has provided a platform for me to share my experiences, share in the experiences of others, find new opportunities and challenges, and, most importantly of all, become a better teacher.<br />
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Blogging has helped me connect with a diverse group of teachers around the world in a manner that would not have been possible otherwise. The ELT blogging community is a vibrant staffroom turned up to 11.<br />
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There are those who say blogging for teachers has proven to be superficial. Too many posts lack substance and only focus on the procedure. They share lesson ideas or even whole lesson plans with little to no discussion of what makes it a successful lesson or what potential issues need to be anticipated.<br />
<br />
But that is only part of the blogging story. There is also the part in which teachers get critical. They share and analyse success and failures. They offer advice, support, and empathy through comments. They have critical moments in which they further their understanding of the impact of a specific in-class moment and also their beliefs about teaching in general.<br />
<br />
The interesting thing is that I do not reflect this way often with my immediate colleagues whom I see every day. Our staffroom conversations tend to be social and the work-related chats are usually to pass on information or share materials. It is when sat here with my keyboard under my fingertips that I start to engage in a reflective process. I analyse and try to make sense of my thoughts in a way that other people can read and reflect on.<br />
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That doesn't always lead to a blog post. There have been several occasions when I have identified something in class as a 'bloggable moment'. I then think it over, analyse it, reflect on it, and consider its impact on my teaching. Without blogging enabling that reflective mindset, most of those moments would have just passed me by.<br />
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Through connecting with other teachers and connecting with that reflective space in my own mind, blogging still matters to me a great deal. My own posts, other teachers' blogs, the comments, discussion, and introspection they inspire, and the community that forms around them all connect to constantly challenge me to become a better teacher and that's why blogging is still worth talking about at IATEFL 2017.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
----------------------------------------------------------------- </div>
<br />
<i>You can see my talk on <b><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1161955774" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">Thursday 6 April, 12.00</span></span> – 12.30 </b>in<b> Boisdale 1 Room </b>as part of the <b>LTSIG Day.</b></i><br />
<i>
</i><br />
<i>Title -</i><b><i> </i><i>Connected Development – teacher reflection and online networks</i></b><br />
<br />
<i>If you are not attending IATEFL, don't forget you can follow the conference via...</i><b><i> </i></b><br />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
</h3>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2017" title="IATEFL Online Banner 2017 - 600x222 v2"><img alt="IATEFL Online Banner 2017" border="0" height="auto" src="https://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/banner-600x222_v2.png" width="100%" /> </a></div>
DaveDodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16896292275243412346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338834914703775055.post-46251833169005106952017-03-06T22:08:00.000+03:002017-03-06T22:18:22.700+03:0017 Years a TeacherIt was 17 years ago to the day that I started my first ever teaching job! In mid-February, 2000 I had returned to the UK after a whirlwind few weeks taking my Trinity Cert TESOL in Barcelona. Within a week, I had been offered a position at Kent English, a school in Ankara, Turkey and by March 6th, I was there ready (?) to teach.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not far from where it all began, part of the old walk to work...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I am not going to focus on my first experiences as a teacher, however (I have <a href="http://davedodgson.blogspot.com/2014/03/14-years-back.html" target="_blank">done that before</a>). Instead, this is a look back at the expectations, belief and attitude I had at the time and how it all has (of course) changed...<br />
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<h3>
From pre-career step to career</h3>
A familiar tale this one I'm sure but I (shock, horror) never planned to remain a teacher. Having graduated from university, I had not yet decided what to do with my life. I wanted to travel and I wanted a way to fund and sustain my travels. TEFL was sold to me as a way to do just that. I had some vague ideas about working for a year or so in Turkey and then, provided I was up to it, move on to South Korea or Japan in time for the 2002 World Cup.<br />
<br />
Somewhere along the way, I morphed into a professional language teacher. Teaching became my career and I wanted to move my way up into more senior and experienced positions. And here I am now as the ICT Coordinator at the British Council Bahrain after having been a Language School Coordinator in Gabon. Ironic that when I was more traveller than teacher, I never moved on from Ankara and now that I consider my self a career teacher, I am continent-hopping!<br />
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<h3>
From much to learn to still learning</h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">In those early days, I was constantly worried about being 'found out' - what if my students ask me a tough grammar question? What if they fail the end of course test? What if they expose me as a kid who just has a UK passport and a certificate from a four-week course? However, I was confident that these were only initial hiccups. Within a short time (months? a couple of years?) I would master teaching English. I would then be entrusted with advanced classes and life would be easy.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">But what did 'mastery' of teaching English entail? Becoming a grammar expert of course! Kent English was an environment where grammar thrived - the students loved it and the teachers delivered. Once I had got my head around passives, relative clauses, and inversions, I would have it made.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">I soon realised there was more to it than that - I would also need to master some teaching techniques such as presenting grammar, practising grammar and producing it... but I also saw those as things to be mastered, after which, life would be easy.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Now, I have long since accepted that 'mastery' is not what teaching is about. Reflection and development are what make me a better teacher. As I go through the cycle of develop and reflect, new targets for improvement and exploration emerge. New jobs and different teaching contexts bring with them new challenges. Indeed, each student in each class requires me to adapt my approach to find what works best for them. This is a never-ending process and... that's ok. Accepting that is a big part of becoming a better teacher (again, ironic that as I became better at teaching, I realised that mastering it was an unattainable goal).</span><br />
<br />
<h3>
From much being privileged to privileged to be here<b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></b></h3>
<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Of course</span></b><span style="font-weight: normal;">, a large part of me being able to take that first job despite being a 21 year-old recent graduate with no prior teaching experience was my passport. I was a 'native speaker' and I had been recruited to a school of only Native Speaker Teachers. I recall how, </span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">before I left the UK, </span>friends and family would ask me how I would teach people English without knowing their language. I explained how it would work - they would have no option but to speak to me in English and I, as a native speaker, would provide a perfect model of pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. The fact that my first employers had (and as far as I know still do) a strict 'English only' policy, even for beginner classes, only served to reinforce the idea that this was the way to go.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Thankfully, that's all different now. My later experiences of working with some fantastic teachers, both native and non-native speakers, (as well as some far from fantastic examples from both groups) made me realise that nationality and first language are not the key factors for an effective teacher, not even close. Passion for your work and your students and a commitment to engaging in a constant cycle of development are the real key factors. I am now happy to say I work in a school where all teachers are valued (and paid) the same regardless of mother tongue. Nationality and L1 are not factors in recruitment or advertising to students. Employer attitudes to these things are factors for me, however, when looking for work.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">It is truly a privilege to work in such rich international environments. Diversity is a strength and a great way to build a language learning and teaching environment of depth and accessibility. The only common ground we need between different teachers (and students) is a desire to learn and develop. That is what I will continue to do for as long as my career lasts.</span>DaveDodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16896292275243412346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338834914703775055.post-61312744918020020792017-01-28T01:26:00.001+03:002017-01-28T01:26:34.243+03:00When didn't the wheels fall off? #tdsigcarnival<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>This post has been written as my contribution to the <a href="http://tdsig.org/webcarnival/" target="_blank"><b>IATEFL TDSIG 2017 Web Carnival</b></a></i><i>- if you happen to be reading this post on or before the morning of the 28th January 2017, click on the link for details of how you can watch the live sessions. If not, click anyway - you might find recordings, links to other blog posts and all the other cool work the TDSIG is invovled in.</i><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Just another day in the classroom...</i></td></tr>
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The difficulty with this particular topic is narrowing the focus down to one moment. There have been several classroom clangers in my career, some that could have been avoided with better planning and more awareness, others that even a seasoned professional would have struggled to have seen coming, prevent, or keep under control.<br />
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There was my first lesson with my first ever class, an elementary group of adults in Turkey - it had been going quite well until a student asked "How old are you, teacher?" I honestly answered '21'. There was a queue outside the office of the DoS during the break. I was 25 for the next four years.<br />
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There was the time I decided <a href="https://youtu.be/LNvXRJQ0XDU" target="_blank">'Being Around' by The Lemonheads</a> would be a perfect song for an intermediate level group learning the second conditional. It makes me cringe simply to think about the lesson now. Yes, plenty of examples of second conditional but a high degree of unfamiliar vocabulary plus a room full of students not well-versed in 90s indie rock made for a painful 45 minutes.<br />
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There was my move into teaching kids and the class when, taking advice to be firm and uncompromising too literally, I spent 20 minutes repeatedly entering the room, glaring at the kids who would not stand quietly before announcing 'again' and, well, doing it again. Routines! I simply didn't have an effective start-of-the-lesson routine in place.<br />
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Oh my! There was the morning when a kid, without any warning whatsoever, puked his guts all over the desk. Chaos ensued with cries of "I'm going to be sick!" reverberating from every corner of the class. Unfortunately, one kid was not over-reacting and actually did follow through. Or up. Or both. Ugh! I hastily left the room to get the corridor manager's help and saw a girl arriving late. "Hello teacher!" she said with a smile on her face and a cute wave as she passed me. Before I could turn around and say 'stop!' I heard a wretch and a splash, and sure enough... there she stood in the class doorway, pebbledash on her shoes and her Minnie Mouse backpack still on her shoulders.<br />
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Oh, the technology! We've all had the moments when the internet is not working when we want to play a YouTube video the entire lesson plan hinges on, or we turn up to class to see a gaping hole under the desk where the computer should be. How about booking the computer lab for a lesson to test out a digitised text-reconstruction activity you have designed for your MA with deadlines looming, only to find the room locked with no sign of the ICT teacher or janitor, both of whom woud later claim they thought I had requested Thursday not Tuesday?<br />
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Moving on to a time when I was becoming more aware of the wider world of CPD, I once spend an entire introductory lesson to an IELTS course referring to the 'IATEFL exam'. I only realised when a students asked me what the difference between the IATEFL and IELTS tests were!<br />
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Forgetting about a timetable change while working in Gabon, I once walked into my classroom prepared to do a 'My perfect school' lesson with Year 5 and 6 EAL students only to find the Year 11 IGCSE English B class in there. We still went ahead and did the lesson and they came up with some serious suggestions for improving the facilities and opportunities available to high school students on our campus. I just didn't show them my illustrated model example paragraph containing a bouncy castle and an ice-cream machine on every corridor.<br />
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Almost my entire Trinity Dip TESOL face-to-face experience when I suddenly forgot how to manage time efficiently or reach outcomes within a 60-minute lesson. Years of teaching in a non-language school environment where an approach of "We'll come back to this after break/in tomorrow's lesson" had caused me to get lax in the fundamentals of planning a 'tight' lesson and I had to relearn quickly. I just about managed it.<br />
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And onto my current job in Bahrain. Teaching beginner teenage learners for the first time. Being told that as we were more then halfway through the academic year, they should be at 'a decent A1 level by now'. Failing to see the column on the register that listed 12 of 15 students as newly enrolled. True beginners, nowhere near ready enough to get into groups and brainstorm questions to ask their new teacher. A three-hour lesson plan had to be quickly scrapped and we spent the afternoon working on common vocabulary, writing letters (the alphabet kind, not the communicative kind) and basic "Nice to meet you" dialogues.<br />
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That's just a sample of the things that have gone wrong. However, there are lessons to be learned in all of them. Some moments made me reflect on how I present myself to my learners, others caused me to investigate better classroom management techniques. I also realised (the hard way admittedly) that there is a lot more to consider when selecting authentic materials than the grammar they contain.<br />
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Being prepared, not just planned, is another key point to take away from some of these experiences - check and double-check the equipment, the room booking, the timetable, and the information on the register. Make sure your pens have ink on them and your flies are done up (ah... didn't mention that one until now, did I?)<br />
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Most importantly, be prepared to adapt - in some of my early 'wheels fell off' moments, I made things worse by pushing on when it was obviously not working but in the more recent moments, I was able to recognise the situation early on and make the lesson more suitable to the students in the room.<br />
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Oh, and if a kid throws up in class, just get everybody out!</div>
DaveDodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16896292275243412346noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338834914703775055.post-90574221638927877362017-01-08T09:46:00.001+03:002017-01-08T09:47:54.934+03:00Just About Managing - IH London's Certificate in Academic Management<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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A nice surprise awaited on the first day at work in the New Year - my Certificate in Academic Management had arrived during the holidays. Less than a year into my ICT Coordinator role with the British Council and I already have an extra line to add to my CV under 'Qualifications'.</div>
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When I passed my <a href="http://www.davedodgson.com/search/label/Trinity%20Dip%20TESOL" target="_blank">Trinity Diploma</a>, I honestly thought I was done with courses and assignments. I had the top level qualification for EFL teachers and that was backed with by my MA. I was set.</div>
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But that wasn't really the case. During my time as<a href="http://www.davedodgson.com/search/label/erv" target="_blank"> Language School Coordinator at ERV in Gabon</a>, I struggled at times with the management side of things. I was used to designing courses, creating placement tests and assessments and mentoring individual teachers but having a cohesive, long-term development and training plan in place, reviewing and managing performance, and running an observation programme were all new challenges for me. I haven't even mentioned marketing the school, pitching our courses to corporate clients and managing the budget yet!</div>
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I came to Bahrain having gained valuable experience in many of those areas - <a href="http://www.davedodgson.com/2016/04/out-of-dip-part-4-unit-2-research.html" target="_blank">my Trinity Diploma in particular had prepared me to be an observer</a> - but I felt I had been just about managing in Gabon and more training on the management side of things was needed, especially with my new management responsibilities within the British Council's internal structure. One curiosity about ELT is that the Trinity Dip/DELTA are often seen as qualifications that lead into management positions when they are in fact teaching courses (as was highlighted in <a href="http://www.davedodgson.com/2016/04/iatefl-2016-moving-into-management.html" target="_blank">Shirley Norton and Karen Chambers' IATEFL session</a> last year) so, despite having previously decided "that's it" when my Dip was complete, I found myself taking one more course - the <a href="http://www.ihlondon.com/courses/certificate-in-academic-management/" target="_blank">IH Cerificate in Academic Management.</a></div>
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This is an entirely online course divided into three eight-week modules. The modules focus on:</div>
<ul>
<li>an introduction to academic management and managing teacher performance</li>
<li>conducting observations and giving feedback</li>
<li>setting up and running INSETTs</li>
</ul>
After each module, there is an assignment of 2,500 words focusing on how you are applying/will apply the learning to your context.<br />
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The modules are all delivered through Moodle with new topics on a weekly basis. Each week there are set tasks to do. These generally involve forum discussions with the tutor and coursemates, 'group work' tasks conducted through private messages with summaries posted on the forum afterwards, and reflective journal tasks which are only seen by the tutor.<br />
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In my previous online experiences for my MA and <a href="http://www.davedodgson.com/2016/04/dip-with-moodles.html" target="_blank">Dip</a>, the discussions and interactions were at times hampered by a lack of consistent participation with each programme eventually dwindled down to 3 or 4 regular contributors. In a refreshing change, that is avoided on this course as participation is compulsory. Each candidate must complete at least 80% of the online tasks to pass. As someone who generally participates actively, I welcomed this stipulation and it worked as during my course, everybody was online and interacting over each of the three modules.<br />
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This course also differs from my previous experiences in that there is no 'live' component - no weekly webinar or Skype chat as had been done on my MA and Dip. At first, I thought this was strange and that I would miss that element of synchronicity. However, that did not prove to be the case. Our new topics went up every Sunday and my Monday evening, almost everyone would have posted. I didn't miss the webinars at all - although that element of direct contact was not there, there was also no frustration as that week's webinar was scheduled for a time I was not free or we lost 15 minutes to connectivity issues. The content of the course (input from the tutor, articles to read, video interviews, discussion with coursemates) was all more than enough to prepare me for the assignments.<br />
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In general, this course is also more low key than the Dip or an MA. The workload is not as heavy and weekly tasks can often be completed in 3-4 hours per week. Spread out over 5-6 days (as is recommended by the course providers) it is really not that much extra work at all. As participants are likely to be Dip/DELTA qualified teachers with several years' experience, a lot of the content will be familiar. That is not to say there is nothing new but rather that the concepts and issues presented are easy to get to grips with and you never feel out of your depth when undertaking the tasks. It is pleasant to be able to enjoy a course without the constant feeling of being under pressure or being rushed.<br />
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So that is the course, but what about its impact on my work? On reflection, has it helped me improve as a coordinator?<br />
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Well, one of the strengths of the course is that it is just about managing (unlike the DELTA/Dip which only have a limited focus on this area). You can also do it 'on the job'. Being able to immediately apply and evaluate some of the ideas discussed by adapting them to your immediate context really helps enhance the learning that takes place. I was able to support a colleague on my teaching team who was applying to take the DELTA while doing the module on performance management. This experience then formed the basis of my assignment. The ideas discussed for observation went far beyond the typical 'quality control' default and explored a number of different options for conducting the observation and giving feedback - all very much focused on the teacher and not going along with <a href="http://www.davedodgson.com/2012/02/some-observations-on-observation.html" target="_blank">the 'box ticking' that often takes place</a>. As we enter the New Year, I find myself preparing a series of training sessions for using iPads in the classroom and the final module and assignment have proven very useful for that.<br />
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My main takeaways from the course are:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>the importance of communication</b> - it sounds like an obvious one but I think we have all worked in places where unclear communication has caused issues in the teachers' room. Teachers and other admin staff need to be in the loop to avoid any unwanted surprises.</li>
<li><b>avoiding box-ticking</b> - there needs to be a purpose behind what we do, especially when we are asking the teaching staff to do an extra task. Both managers and teachers should always know that there is a purpose behind what they are doing other than 'because it has to be done'.</li>
<li><b>seeing the teacher as a customer</b> - we shouldn't simply view teachers as people who work for the school. We need to view them as another kind of customer who has come here with expectations. We should be focused on helping them develop and feel valued, which in turn will help the school offer better lessons to the student customers.</li>
<li><b>not just focusing on the teaching team</b> - this does not just apply to teaching staff of course. Our admin team and any other employees within the school need to be included and vlaued.</li>
<li><b>being direct especially when saying no</b> - although meeting teachers' needs and staff needs is important, there are times when refusals are necessary. A direct 'no' will usually be more effective than a "well, I can see where you're coming from and ideally we'd like to.... but..."</li>
</ul>
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If you have finished your Dip/DELTA and are about to embark on or have already begun a more senior role, I would recommend the course. It will provide you with specialist training that your previous qualifications perhaps haven't. The workload is manageable and can easily become part of your weekly routine. You potentially get Shaun Wilden as a tutor. The topics covered are likely to be relevant even at the first rung on the academic management ladder and you get the chance to immediately apply ideas and reflect on your own context. I certainly feel more comfortable in my role now than I did a few months ago.<br />
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Have you taken the Certificate in Academic Management? Or are you thinking of taking it? Please share your experiences and thoughts in the comments.<br />
<br />DaveDodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16896292275243412346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338834914703775055.post-81040688979722426192016-12-31T12:30:00.000+03:002016-12-31T12:30:09.440+03:00The 2017 List<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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2016 was quite a year (see previous post) and now, inevitably, thoughts turn to the year ahead. Here's a quick list of what I am planning/hoping for in the year ahead:</div>
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Career Consolidation</h3>
<ul>
<li>After a big move both in career and location terms last time round, I am looking forward to being more settled this year.</li>
<li>Now I have learned the ropes at the British Council, I want to exceed expectations in my ICT Coordinator role with a view to moving up the management ladder in the future.</li>
<li>I have two big projects to oversee this year - the introduction of an online forum for our adult classes, and training teachers to use iPads. Both big projects with plenty to learn for me and my colleagues.</li>
</ul>
<h3>
Courses!</h3>
<ul>
<li>No qualifications or assignments this year!</li>
<li>I will, however, still do some courses - MOOCs - just to participate and see what I can learn.</li>
<li>January will see the start of the <a href="http://evosessions.pbworks.com/w/page/103533067/2016_EVO_Minecraft_MOOC" target="_blank">Minecraft EVO course</a></li>
<li>...and I am also currently working through the <a href="https://www.edx.org/course/video-game-design-history-ritx-game101x" target="_blank">edx Video Game Design History MOOC</a>.</li>
<li>We will see what else of interest comes up - perhaps a course of my own....</li>
</ul>
<h3>
Writing</h3>
<ul>
<li>I will probably write fewer articles this year - it's useful for my development but time consuming!</li>
<li>I have plans to be more active on this blog and on <a href="https://eltsandbox1.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">ELT Sandbox</a> - I will not put a number or a frequency on it as that will only be a target to miss but I will make an effort to focus my written work more on my own blogs than the publications of others.</li>
<li>E-books? Yeah, I'll write the ones I didn't write last year or the year before! ;) </li>
<li>I would like to try my hand at writing a more academic article this year. There are a couple of opportunities coming up and hopefully, I'll get something of a good enough standard submitted in time.</li>
</ul>
<h3>
Conferences</h3>
<ul>
<li>IATEFL is coming and I'll be there as a first time presenter - yikes!</li>
<li>I have also applied to give a talk at the Bahrain ELT Conference. </li>
<li>I need time for all the above projects so that may be it unless an unmissable event/unrefusable invitation comes along.</li>
</ul>
Whatever the New Year brings, I'll be reflecting on it here and hope you will join me! DaveDodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16896292275243412346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338834914703775055.post-75174472794533270062016-12-22T00:27:00.000+03:002016-12-22T00:35:09.475+03:002016... You just made the list!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>2016 deserves its own list</i></span></div>
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Still 10 days to go as I write but 2016 has been quite a year and one that won't be forgotten in a hurry. Plenty of people have bemoaned the seemingly never ending stream of bad news this year has brought from the deaths of beloved celebrities to shocking acts of violence and major political upheaval. I was myself caught up in the middle of the attempted coup while visiting relatives in Turkey...<br />
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But this post is not about all that. It has been a year of big changes for me professionally as well. I started the working year as participating in a team building day on a tropical beach in Gabon (that's where I was when the news about David Bowie broke) and I end it having just configured a set of 20 iPads for use in the classrooms of the British Council Bahrain. There was much to be proud of and much to reflect on... too much to go into in detail so here are a few lists.<br />
<br /><b>Career Changes </b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>I had already decided in January I would leave Gabon at the end of the school year. Personal matters meant I left earlier than that but that proved to be for the best as an opportunity soon came up at the British Council Bahrain.</li>
<li>That meant dropping the 'language school' part of my coordinator title and replacing it with 'ICT'. I enjoyed my time in Gabon but the whole marketing and business side of the role was not for me. I am happy now to be in a role where I can build on all that edtech learning from my MA studies. </li>
<li>I do miss the international school aspect of my role in Gabon though. It was tough to balance the two very different roles of EAL teacher by day and language school manager by night but I really enjoyed working with the kids. This was not only for furthering their language development but also being part of the school community and that is a branch of teaching I would like to return to one day. </li>
<li>I also sadly lost my Minecraft after school club when moving on - an addition to the British Council's summer school programme next year perhaps? </li>
<li>It was quite a shock to move from teaching quite high levels kids in an EAL environment to total beginners in an EFL setting, especially as this is the first time my students come from an L1 background with a non-Latin alphabet. I'm getting used to it but it was a good reminder that there is always something new to learn when you are a teacher. </li>
</ul>
<b>Qualifications</b> <br />
<ul>
<li>The year started with confirmation of a pass in the Trinity Diploma. That was a tough course but it opened the door for my current role at the British Council so it was definitely worth it.</li>
<li>I blogged about <a href="http://www.davedodgson.com/search/label/Trinity%20Dip%20TESOL">some of my struggles during the course</a> earlier this year and challenged the relevance of some of the assessment criteria to my international school context. However, now at more traditional ELT confines of the British Council a lot of the focus on things like communicative outcomes and planning self-contained lessons makes a lot more sense. I still think the Dip TESOL and DELTA could benefit from catering to more specialised fields but the learning from that course is serving me well in my current role.</li>
<li>During my MA, I found a lot of the research to be a chore but on the Dip, perhaps with some more professional and academic experience behind me, I found it a lot more enjoyable and it is something I would like to continue with in the future.</li>
<li>I was going to be one of the last people to take the CELTYL but as I have a Trinity Cert, I was told I would not get a certificate (it is an extension after all) so next year I will take the TYLEC when my centre starts offering it.</li>
<li>It was only a couple of short months on from passing the Dip that, thanks to my new employers, I ended up enrolled on the <a href="http://www.ihlondon.com/courses/certificate-in-academic-management/">Certificate in Academic Management</a> course and my strong pass was confirmed earlier this week!</li>
<li>It was an interesting course on an area that teachers are often expected to just get on with - a more detailed review is to come on the blog.</li>
</ul>
<b>Training</b> <br /><ul>
<li>In addition to the qualifications obtained, I also completed training to be an IB examiner for English B - a nice way to utilise my experience from the international school in Gabon.</li>
<li>My final piece of training for the year was to become a local tutor on the Distance DELTA. It has been interesting to be on the other side of the process. Interestingly, I have found it very useful for my own CPD - advising another teacher on lesson planning, observing classes and giving feedback has all given me plenty to think about in terms of my own teaching. </li>
<li>Nearly forgot - I also completed in-house recruitment training so if you apply for a job at the British Council Bahrain, you may find me asking the questions! </li>
</ul>
<b>Writing </b><br /><ul>
<li>This one's a big 'un! I count thirteen different articles published this year either online or in print. Highlights include: </li>
<li><a href="https://www.etprofessional.com/uploadedFiles/Redbox/Pavilion_Content/Our_Content/ELT/ETP/ETP2010s/2016/102/dodgson.pdf">Learning to play the students’ way</a> – published in <a href="https://www.etprofessional.com/">ETp</a>, Jan 2016 </li>
<li><a href="http://newsmanager.commpartners.com/tesolcallis/issues/2016-03-01/4.html">Helping Your Students “Escape the Room”</a> – Published in On CALL (TESOL CALL Interest Section Newsletter), Mar 2016 </li>
<li>Pixelated Circles: 30 Years of Digital Game-based Learning – published in <a href="http://yltsig.iatefl.org/newsletter/">C&Ts (IATEFL YLTSIG Newsletter)</a> Special Pearl Jubilee Edition, April 2016 </li>
<li>When technology is the solution: feedback and error correction with web tools – published in <a href="https://www.modernenglishteacher.com/homepage/">Modern English Teacher</a>, April 2016. </li>
<li>Take a look around – training learners to notice, record and review language - published in <a href="https://www.modernenglishteacher.com/homepage/">Modern English Teacher</a>, Oct 2016. </li>
<li><a href="https://www.english.com/blog/making-game-based-learning-epic">In search of something epic… Making game-based learning greater than the sum of its parts</a> - published as part of the <a href="https://www.english.com/blog/tag/blendedelt">'Blended ELT' series</a> on english.com, Oct 2016. </li>
<li>Stories of Survival – to be published in <a href="https://www.modernenglishteacher.com/homepage/">Modern English Teacher</a>, Jan 2017 but available now as a free download in the <a href="http://edition.pagesuite.com/html5/reader/production/default.aspx?pubname=&edid=59d8a192-c62f-4d2a-8b69-0b264f565e94">Modern English Teacher Top Ten e-book</a>. </li>
<li>I have found writing for a wider audience to be a great way to reflect on my lessons and think about how they could be applied to other contexts. This in turn feeds back into my own teaching. </li>
<li>Next year, more blogging and maybe I'll finally get round to that e-book...</li>
</ul>
<b>Conferences </b><br /><ul>
<li>I gave a webinar for YLTSIG on game-based learning back in January - <a href="https://youtu.be/hUakDTzAYvg">A language teacher’s guide to DGBL</a> </li>
<li>I also took part in The <a href="http://www.virtual-round-table.com/profiles/blogs/games-symposium">Games Symposium</a> at VRT in May. </li>
<li>I was a speaker at the 5th Bahrain ELT Conference. </li>
<li>And the one that will dominate the first part of 2017 - I was awarded the <a href="http://www.iatefl.org/scholarships/current-list-of-scholarships">Diana Eastment scholarship</a> to present at the next IATEFL! Hope to see you there. </li>
</ul>
Quite a year all told! I feel I have grown a lot professionally, not only in terms of qualifications and job status but also in terms of how I teach, how I engage with my learners, and how I work with others. I'll be looking for more of the same (though with fewer late nights planning, writing assignments and preparing training sessions please!) in the new year. :)DaveDodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16896292275243412346noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338834914703775055.post-54263734271481708522016-10-29T22:39:00.000+03:002016-10-29T22:39:55.804+03:00Review: Exploiting Infographics by Nik PeacheyNik Peachey has been at the forefront of educational technology in ELT for many years, always exploring new ideas and media and linking them to best practices and effective learning.<br />
<br />
He is now well-established as an independent publisher and in this review, I will look at his latest e-book <i><a href="http://payhip.com/b/Sypm/af5728eec9ed523"><b>Exploting Infographics</b></a>.</i><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://payhip.com/b/Sypm/af5728eec9ed523" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://payhip.com/timthumb.php?w=660&src=https://pe56d.s3.amazonaws.com/o_1atnk94h81knern7uctarrvnem.jpg" width="245" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://payhip.com/b/Sypm/af5728eec9ed523" target="_blank">Exploiting Infographics by Nik Peachey</a></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://payhip.com/b/Sypm/af5728eec9ed523" target="_blank"></a></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span class="_Tgc"><i>Available to buy from <a href="http://payhip.com/b/Sypm/af5728eec9ed523">payhip.com</a><br />A free copy of this e-book was provided by the author for review purposes</i></span></div>
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Of all the recent trends in digital media, infographics have been one of the most intriguing. They offer the chance to digest topics in a concise but detailed manner with an added layer of engaging visuals. Indeed, the visual element can provide a great deal of support for the struggling L2 reader and this book aims to provide ideas for both using and creating infographics in class.<br />
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The book itself is available in pdf format and is quite short at 30 pages. However, much like infographics themselves, there is a lot packed into this volume. It begins with an introduction examining why we should use infographics followed by a useful look at how the students can view them in class. Considering a range of tech settings, Nik gives ideas for sharing the images in the well-resourced classroom with tablets and/or laptops available, for the online classroom, and even for classrooms with just one PC and projector or no digital technology at all.<br />
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The next section looks at generic activities that can be adapted to whichever infographics we decide to bring into class. Each activity is presented through a brief overview followed by the rationale for doing it. I personally found the ideas for fact-checking and investigating author bias and motivation interesting as my teenage students have a tendency to view infographics as entirely factual and free of opinions.<br />
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Following on from there, Nik shares ideas for getting learners to create their own infographics. These can mimic the factual ones commonly shared online or they can present personal information as an alternative 'getting to know you activity'. My favourite suggestion is that of researching and presenting a grammar point, which sounds like a great way to get students analysing and thinking about the language they have studied more carefully. In fact, combining those two ideas, students could make a personal timeline and then use it to demonstrate examples of past simple and present perfect - a great way to personalise the learning process.<br />
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Of course, creating infographics can be daunting so they next chapter looks at the whole process from researching a topic to structure to design. This is a particularly useful section of the book, not only for students but for teachers as well who are looking to create sample infographics tailored to their students' needs.<br />
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The final part of the book gives overviews of eight tools available online for creating infographic images. All of them are either completely free or 'freemium' (free basic account with some paid-only content) and Nik provides brief details about the affordances of each site.<br />
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As mentioned earlier, the book is not particularly long but it contains a lot of useful information and ideas. It will provide a great reference for teachers interested in exploiting infographics in the language classroom and also for those interested in creating them. The only thing which could have made the book even more appealing would have been a few samples to represent the ideas shared. However, as one of the aims of the book is to encourage critical thinking, perhaps it is better for the readers to be encouraged to make their own.<br />
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I am certainly looking forward to adapting some of the ideas for use with my classes in the near future.<br />
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If you are interested in doing the same, <a href="http://payhip.com/b/Sypm/af5728eec9ed523"><b><i>Exploiting Infographics</i></b></a> can be purchased for <a href="http://payhip.com/b/Sypm/af5728eec9ed523">£2.99 via Peachey Publications</a>.</div>
DaveDodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16896292275243412346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338834914703775055.post-85016974225417390772016-10-15T23:49:00.001+03:002017-03-28T00:00:27.278+03:00PLNing Development: The (d)evolution of Twitter<i>Having delved back into past posts over the summer to reflect on <a href="http://www.davedodgson.blogspot.com/2016/07/me-and-my-dogme.html" target="_blank"><b>how my teaching has been influenced by dogme</b></a>, I am now in the process of looking back through my old posts on online CPD (Continuous Professional Development) and growing a PLN (Personal Learning Network). The first in what will hopefully be a series of posts focuses on where the whole online journey of self-development began for me - Twitter.</i><br />
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<b>A Slow Start</b></div>
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I first heard about teachers using Twitter to connect on the forums of my MA course back in 2010. Intrigued, I signed up but then.... didn't know where to start! I followed the account for the Teaching English website and a couple of people I knew but nothing happened and I wasn't sure how to make it happen. I then left Twitter alone for a while.</div>
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<b>Getting Connected</b></div>
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By the summer of that year, I had become interested in the idea of blogging for teacher development but finding an audience was tough and my posts were going largely unread. A colleague on my MA suggested sharing my blog on Twitter to drive traffic towards it. I then returned to the 'micro-blogging' site and followed people my MA coursemates were following. Slowly but surely, people started to follow me back. Through links shared on Twitter, I found blogs to read, and I discovered the world of online conferences and webinars. Perhaps most importantly, I connected with other teachers from different contexts around the world. We started to share ideas, offer advice and push each other's thinking forward.</div>
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It was around this time that I blogged about <a href="http://www.davedodgson.blogspot.com/2010/07/building-up-my-pln-one-tweet-at-time.html" target="_blank">using Twitter to build up my PLN</a> for the first time. Over the next year or so, I would check Tweet Deck (haven't used that in ages!) several times a day always keen to see the links that had been shared and the conversations that had been taking place since I last checked in. These would often give inspiration for blog posts, ideas to try out in class, or areas to focus on in my MA studies... Exciting times!</div>
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<b>Chats, Challenges & Conferences</b></div>
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Shortly after I became active on Twitter, <a href="http://www.davedodgson.blogspot.com/2010/10/another-valuable-part-of-my-pln-eltchat.html" target="_blank">#ELTchat started up</a> and things really took off. Wednesday afternoons and evenings were crunch times in my weekly professional development as a global group of teachers engaged in a fast and furious analysis of important issues in ELT. That led to more connections, and more ideas to take into class and turn into blog posts or workshops.</div>
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Then there were the challenges that came up, inviting teachers to write a blog post, make a video or in some other way communicate an idea about teaching or teacher development. There was even a <a href="http://www.davedodgson.blogspot.com/2010/11/adam-simpsons-twitter-challenge-10.html" target="_blank">challenge to post about top people to follow on Twitter</a>...</div>
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And then there was the almost obligatory and inevitable <a href="http://www.davedodgson.blogspot.com/2011/04/professional-development-beyond.html" target="_blank"><b>workshop session on using Twitter</b></a> (one of hundreds that must have been given around the world at this time!) That helped me dig into what is was about Twitter that was so important: it was never about the numbers of followers and tweets; it was about the connections made with people and the ideas that were shared and developed. I can honestly say that had I never got involved on Twitter this much, I would probably be entering my 15th year of teaching primary school kids in the same establishment in Turkey...</div>
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<b>From sharing ideas to sharing links</b></div>
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I also did some research into Twitter, blogs and social media for CPD during my MA. I remember how I scoffed at one article I read (apologies but the exact quote and reference has long since escaped my mind) that described such platforms as merely places for 'one-way broadcasting' - the author obviously had not engaged in such an active community as I had, I confidently declared to myself, and did therefore not regard PLNs and online CPD in the same way that I did.</div>
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However, nowadays I would agree that the author has a point. I don't go on Twitter that often these days and when I do, it's usually to share a link to one of my blog posts or articles. Others seem to do the same, sharing links either to their own work or to interesting articles. These get 'liked' and 'retweeted' but there is very little conversation going on. 'One-way broadcasting' seems a good phrase to describe it all. Like a radio channel, we send tweets out, other pick them up but very little comes back...</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Something seems to be missing...</i></td></tr>
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So why has this happened and what does it mean for the current state of online CPD? I would suggest the following (all based on my own observations and personal experience rather than any rigorous research I should add):</div>
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<b>The Rise of 'Social Media & Sharing' Apps</b></div>
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In
its early days, Twitter's 140 character limit made it unique. It
facilitated a quick exchange of to-the-point comments which actually
allowed for more back-and-forth interaction than one might have
expected. Indeed, it was designed to mimic the space given to write text
messages on our phones. However, other social media and sharing apps
that have come along in recent years have been more about sharing things
found online in the age of the smartphone: Pinterest, for example, is
mainly used for sharing images and links; Flipboard is about aggregating
articles into stylish 'magazines'; recent arrivals like Snapchat are
about sharing the moment. The way people use Twitter seems to have
changed accordingly - it's less about SMS-style conversation now and
more about that smartphone driven quick sharing of links.</div>
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<b>Migration and Moving On</b></div>
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People move on and trends come and go, and this is especially true of technology. I think I caught the crest of a wave when I joined Twitter but that has ebbed away to an extent. That is not to say of course that those people are no longer active professionally or no longer engage in CPD, just that they have moved onto other things. Some people who were active on Twitter a few years ago have now gone quiet and are most likely giving their all in their classrooms and schools as I write. Others have migrated to Facebook, staying connected with their closest connections from Twitter and elsewhere. And others still have moved up professionally and now have more demands on their time or no longer teach so much in the classroom, which was and always will be the primary inspiration for blogging. Many of the bloggers and tweeters I originally connected with are now still writing but they often contribute to blogs, websites and newsletters run by teacher development groups like <a href="https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/" target="_blank">Teaching English</a> and <a href="http://itdi.pro/blog/" target="_blank">iTDi</a> or teacher associations like <a href="http://www.iatefl.org/" target="_blank">IATEFL</a>.</div>
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<b>Downsizing CPD</b></div>
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One thing I have come to reflect on about my own CPD is that it simply does not need to be as continuous as it once was. At the time I first got involved in making PLN connections, I had been teaching for only half the time I have been teaching now. I was in the midst of an MA and exploring what language education is all about. The constant exchanges and sharing of ideas on Twitter was exactly what I needed at that time and really pushed my thinking forward, helping my with my studies and with developing my career.<br />
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Now, the ability to analyse, reflect on and adapt my practice is part of who I am as an educator. Instead of looking to the Twittersphere for inspiration and help, I look at how I can connect and share ideas with the teachers in my own staffroom. It's smaller scale but it is just as effective. Without those experiences on Twitter, I would probably not engage in local small-scale CPD in the same way.</div>
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So thanks Twitter for helping me connect with so many great people, several of whom I have had the pleasure of meeting in person and look forward to seeing again at IATEFL next year. Thanks for helping me collaborate, reflect and develop. And thanks for helping me transfer that back to my working context.</div>
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Now, I'll just tweet this post and my reflections for the day are done. ;-)</div>
DaveDodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16896292275243412346noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338834914703775055.post-8002853351728787182016-09-14T00:32:00.000+03:002016-09-14T00:32:07.100+03:00ELT e-book review: 50 Activities for the First Day of School by Walton BurnsSeptember is here again and that means for many of the language teachers out there that you have either just met your new classes or you are soon to meet them. First lessons can be tough - beyond the level of the class and the number of students, you may not know much about them before you walk through the door. Things may be made even tougher in the class if the students don't know each other either!<br />
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And that's why the first lesson is a big deal - as teachers we need to set the right tone for the year, create a welcoming atmosphere, learn the names and make everyone else learn the names, and conduct some sort of needs analysis or diagnostic test.<br />
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I therefore was more than happy to review the following book:<br />
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<a href="http://www.alphabetpublishing.xyz/book/first-day-of-school/" target="_blank"><img alt="http://www.alphabetpublishing.xyz/book/first-day-of-school/" border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UtDkIILdlTQ/V9hgj_nJxVI/AAAAAAAACQo/jSUeD48iiKUe_EOyTp0xiC_jXVq_NoSwgCPcB/s320/Frontcoversmaller.jpg" width="224" /></a></div>
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50 Activities for the First Day of School is an e-book by Walton Burns published by <a href="http://www.alphabetpublishing.xyz/book/first-day-of-school/" target="_blank">Alphabet Publishing</a> also sold in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/50-Activities-First-Day-School/dp/0997762810/" target="_blank">paperback and Kindle editions on Amazon</a>. It does exactly what it states on the cover, outlining fifty first day activities. There are some well-known ideas here like 'Find Someone Who...' and '2 Truths and a Lie' but there are also some ideas I hadn't come across before such as '4-3-2 Intro' in which students have to talk about themselves first for four minutes, then three, and then two including the same information each time, and 'Time Capsule' in which the teacher collects snippets of the students' language, stores them in a box and then brings it back near the end of the course for comparisons with what the students think then.<br />
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The activities are divided into three parts:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Getting to Know Them - a section with plenty of ideas for learning names, finding out about your students and getting them talking to each other</li>
<li>Assessing and Evaluating - this section focuses on diagnostic tasks to find out what our students do and don't know and what they can and can't do in English</li>
<li>Setting the Tone - these activities are centred around agreeing rules, establishing routines and highlighting study skills to be built on throughout the year</li>
</ul>
Indeed, many of the activities set the tone for how the lessons will run with a strong student-centred focus and tips for bringing in strategies for encouraging self and peer correction from the first lesson. Most of the activities require little to no preparation as well and there are enough options to cover different levels of learner from beginner to advanced.<br />
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I started new classes last week and I decided to give a few of the ideas in the book a try out.<br />
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My first new class this term was a beginner (A1) group of 12-13 year-olds. Knowing their language would be limited, I decided to use 'Name Chain' to start things off. After getting everyone to say their names a couple of times each, I got the students in a circle and asked one to introduce himself. the next student then had to say 'this is... and I'm...' The chain built up till the last person had to recall everyone's name. We then mixed the circle and began again. This was a great way to ensure even in a class of fourteen people, we all knew each other's names within 15 minutes.<br />
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Later in the day, I met a group of 14-15 year-old intermediate (B2) level learners. I tried two activities with them. First, we did 'Tell me about me,' a task in which the class first had to say what they knew about me already. After a little prompting, they started to volunteer things like "we know you're married because you're wearing a ring" and "you own a Samsung Note phone". They then said what they thought they knew (e.g. "You're Canadian" and "You can't speak Arabic") and I then confirmed or corrected their ideas. We then repeated the task with the students in the group and we really learned a lot about each other.<br />
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Later in the class, we engaged in 'Goal Setting' as the students thought about what they wanted to learn/improve and what skills they would need to reach those goals. They then compared and discussed with me listening carefully to get a picture of my new students' self-perceived needs. It also gave use the groundwork to start thinking about learning plans and autonomous activities for the term ahead.<br />
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Overall, I would recommend this book. The activities are presented clearly and concisely and they are adaptable. They do not simply focus on learning names and finding out about hobbies and interests either They also encourage teachers and students alike to think about what they need from the course and help set the right tone for a successful year. Not every idea is a new one but credit is given for the ideas adapted from others are their are enough new tasks and variations on classic ones to make the book worthwhile.<br />
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<i>50 Activities for the First Day of Class is available now in e-book, Kindle and paerback formats.</i> <br />
<br />
<i>Official publisher website - http://www.alphabetpublishing.xyz/book/first-day-of-school/</i><br />
<i>Amazon Store page - https://www.amazon.com/50-Activities-First-Day-School/dp/0997762810/</i><br />
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<i>A free copy of the e-book version was supplied by the author for review purposes.</i>DaveDodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16896292275243412346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338834914703775055.post-27145659238748091722016-07-10T17:07:00.000+03:002017-03-28T00:03:49.909+03:00Me and My DogmeBack in the early days of this blog, dogme was quite a popular topic. There were virtual debates that played out over several blogs, twitter feeds and YouTube videos (at times prompted by and at times spilling over into the real world of conferences and other ELT events). There was also the "dogme blog challenge" which led to<a href="http://www.davedodgson.blogspot.com/2010/10/dogme-blog-challenge-no-4not-to-be.html" target="_blank"> my first teaching-related YouTube video</a>, my first ever <a href="http://www.davedodgson.blogspot.com/2010/11/dogme-blog-challenge-no-6a-staffroom.html" target="_blank">animated video</a>, my first ever <a href="http://www.davedodgson.blogspot.com/2010/11/dogme-blog-challenge-no-5sharing-my.html" target="_blank">split-screen interview</a> conducted with <a href="https://twitter.com/cecielt" target="_blank">Cecilia</a> (sadly, the site we used has since shut down and the recording has disappeared with it).<br />
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But enough of the rose-tinted reminiscence. Dogme has become less of a 'hot topic' these days, at least on the pages of this blog. Having been inspired to revisit the whole idea by <a href="http://www.davedodgson.blogspot.com/2016/05/iatefl-2016-barefoot-with-beginners.html" target="_blank">Ceri Jones' recent IATEFL talk on going "Barefoot with Beginners"</a> this post will serve as a retrospective of my blogging journey with dogme and where I stand today on the subject.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Many plugs have been pulled over the years...</i><br />
<i>Image via Pixabay.com</i></td></tr>
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A lazy Sunday morning in October, 2010 saw my first tentative steps into what was at the time a raging online debate with the post <b><a href="http://www.davedodgson.blogspot.com/2010/10/my-take-on-unpluggeddogmecoursebook.html" target="_blank">My Take on the Unplugged/Dogme/Coursebook Debate</a></b>. Aside from the semi-apologetic ramblings about any false claims, I stand by most of what I wrote about - teaching unplugged does not simply mean not using a coursebook; rather than using them as a safety net, new teachers need to learn how to use coursebooks effectively; and over-reliance on coursebooks is a problem in many different teaching contexts.<br />
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Continuing with Sunday as dogme day, I shared some more thoughts a couple of weeks later, this time posing the question <a href="http://www.davedodgson.blogspot.com/2010/10/could-dogme-work-with-young-learners.html" target="_blank"><b>Could dogme work with Young Learners?</b></a> At this time, I hadn't dabbled with the unplugged arts in classroom myself so it was all speculation. A lot of what I anticipated, however, would ring true later on - kids enjoy the personalised approach and the idea of creating something away from the constraints or specific targets of set coursebook tasks; despite the benefits, persuading stakeholders and decision-makers of the value of doing things this way is tough, even when you have proof that it works; small steps are therefore needed to enact change and perhaps weaning teachers and language departments off coursebook-dominated syllabi is a more realistic target.<br />
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After a month and a shift to a late-night Friday blogging slot, I was ready to reflect on <a href="http://www.davedodgson.blogspot.com/2010/11/planting-seeds-of-dogme-unplugged.html" target="_blank"><b>Planting the seeds of dogme - unplugged lessons with YLs</b></a>. (<i>As a quick aside, this emphasised one the great things about having a blog like this - re-reading the post really brought back vivid memories of those lessons from almost six years ago!)</i> When it worked well, we had some productive and positive lessons and I recall the togetherness we felt as we talked, explored collocations, tried out some past simple and wrote a descriptive paragraph to bring it all together. There was also the reminder though that with kids, a rigid structure to the lesson often helps with classroom management.<br />
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My experiments with dogme really started to take off when I started <a href="http://www.davedodgson.blogspot.com/2011/02/unplugging-exam-prep.html" target="_blank"><b>Unplugging Exam Prep</b></a> in order to get my students better prepared for the Cambridge YLE Tests. <a href="http://www.davedodgson.com/2011/11/meet-pompiskotch.html" target="_blank"><b>Pompiskotch</b></a> made his first appearance as we started to use student artwork and stories as the point from which our lessons began and the ultimate goal of succeeding in the exam helped provide a focus for the more unruly groups. This led to me using dogme long-term in classes for the first time as we based our preparation for the <i>Flyers</i> test on unplugged principles with <a href="http://www.davedodgson.blogspot.com/search/label/Cambridge%20YLE%20Tests" target="_blank"><b>Lessons on the Fly</b></a>.<br />
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During this time, I became fully convinced that dogme was indeed a viable alternative to materials-driven courses as my students <a href="http://www.davedodgson.blogspot.com/2012/09/lessons-on-fly-back-down-to-earth.html" target="_blank"><b>did just as well as those who worked through practice books and past papers</b></a> and I was honoured with the TeachingEnglish Blog of the Month award for my reflections on the lesson <a href="http://www.davedodgson.blogspot.com/2012/02/lessons-on-fly-let-it-snow.html" target="_blank"><b>Let It Snow</b></a>.<br />
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Although I was not teaching dogme all the time, it started to influence my thinking more and more, eventually leading to what I view as a critical moment in the evolution of my teaching style and beliefs - captured in the post <a href="http://www.davedodgson.blogspot.com/2011/09/dont-just-fill-gaps-try-leaving-some.html" target="_blank"><b>Don't just fill the gaps... Explore the space</b></a>. This remains in my mind a fitting analogy for a lot of what I see in English language classrooms and course programmes - so much time and focus is on filling gaps and ticking boxes that there is not enough space for students and teachers to explore and develop in.</div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">It's easier to move when you're not plugged</span></i></div>
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From September 2012 onwards, there is an apparent decline of entries on this blog specifically focusing on dogme. Part of that stems from the eventual dimming of the flames elsewhere in the blogosphere on the topic (indeed, as noted at the start, the inspiration to revisit this topic came from Ceri Jones' recent IATEFL talk on 'Barefoot' teaching with beginners) but part of it is also down to me reaching and passing that critical moment as a teacher. The reality is that, apart from those 'Lessons on the Fly,' I have never had the chance to teach 'pure' dogme. There have always been (and probably always will be) external demands for certain goals to be met and certain materials to be used.<br />
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However, exploring and experimenting with dogme has allowed me to take a more critical view of what my students do in class and why. It is simply not good enough to say we are going to do something just because it is the next item on the syllabus. I always evaluate learning aims and set material in terms of how they meet my students' needs. If adaptation is necessary, we adapt. If too much adaptation is necessary, we throw it out and go our own way. I bring this up with management too, explaining why I skipped over a set task and why, also emphasising how the alternative approach was more suited to their needs.<br />
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The other key change in my teaching has been the ability to recognise and pursue those 'unplugged moments'. Without my past reflections and experiments, I would never have experienced <a href="http://www.davedodgson.blogspot.com/2015/01/picture-thisa-favourite-lesson-from-2014.html" target="_blank"><b>my favourite lesson in 2014</b></a> or used <a href="http://www.davedodgson.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-lesson-spring-board.html" target="_blank"><b>The Lesson Springboard</b></a> to engage students in cross-curricular learning or responding to the learning outcomes of students from different age groups.<br />
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Pulling the plug completely may remain an ideal rather than a reality for me but it has had a strong influence on me, and my teaching is all the better for it.</div>
DaveDodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16896292275243412346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338834914703775055.post-34504166784724169562016-05-03T20:47:00.002+03:002016-05-07T00:18:43.603+03:00#IATEFL 2016 - Barefoot with beginnersThis was a talk title that immediately took my mind back to the early days of building my online PLN. 'Barefoot teaching' is a phrase I remember from <a href="http://bcnpaul1.blogspot.co.uk/">Paul Braddock's old blog</a> to describe his experiment of teaching a group of teenagers without adhering to a pre-selected coursebook. Instead, he responded to learners' immediate needs, incorporated authentic resources based on the students' interests, and let the lessons flow.<br />
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The other flashback to those days was the speaker <a href="https://twitter.com/cerirhiannon?lang=en-gb" target="_blank">Ceri Jones</a>, who has been a key member of my network and an influence on my development over the years through her <a href="https://cerij.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">excellent blog</a>, involvement in <a href="http://www.eltpics.com/" target="_blank">#eltpics</a>, and work as a tutor on my <a href="http://www.davedodgson.com/search/label/Trinity%20Dip%20TESOL" target="_blank">Trinity DipTESOL</a> course.<br />
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I've never seen Ceri speak though and neither have I met her (despite us both being at IATEFL Manchester last year!) so I picked this recorded session out to watch. This was not just a selection based on personal preference though - I was also intrigued by what an established coursebook writer had to say about teaching without any published materials.<br />
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<b><a href="http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2016/session/barefoot-beginners" target="_blank">Watch Ceri's session in full here</a></b></div>
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The concept was made even more interesting by the fact that the group in question was a class of beginners. The idea of 'materials light' teaching is often associated with learners past the beginner stage, who have enough language to at least try to express themselves. In turn, that language becomes the starting point for the teacher to build the lessons around. But what do you do when there is hardly any language coming form the students?<br />
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Ceri gave an example from the very first lesson when a student said he was from an obscure village in central Spain. Building on that, extra language such as "where's that?" and describing where places are. This is the kind of personalised learning moment that I feel language lessons often lack. Perhaps with a standard coursebook exercise, this would have never come up. Instead, it stood out ehre as a learning opportunity.<br />
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The idea of lesson summaries was an interesting one. I have found it is common for students and teachers to leave an unplugged lesson feeling they have discussed and learned a lot but without a written record, it can be quickly forgotten. Here the summary acted not only as a record but also as a map of the barefoot journey allowing Ceri to trace where and when particular language points had come up and how they developed.<br />
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The past simple example was a very interesting one - it first appeared early on as something the students genuinely needed. With a focus very much on meaning and use, it was recycled and developed until the grammar focus finally came a couple of months later. This stands in stark contrast to the usual procedure of covering the grammar early on and gradually expanding the communicative use.<br />
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As a result, the students' own summary of the classes focused on topics and content whereas Ceri's summary looked at grammar points more - a reminder that student and teacher perceptions of learning are not always the same. The summary also provided a starting point for in-depth self-assessment of strengths and weaknesses in the language learned to that point, something that may be more difficult with a proscribed syllabus.<br />
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The progression of the students as shown by the writing sample was impressive. The emergence of grammatical elements such as the past continuous without them ever being formally taught was a strong testament to the strength of this approach. At times, we need to give learners a chance to play with the language and jump ahead in the syllabus to the language they need to use. When they need to use it, it is more likely to stick than when it's covered just because it's in Unit 5.<br />
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All of which serves a nice lead in to my next series of posts - some reflections on dogme... :)<br />
<br />DaveDodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16896292275243412346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338834914703775055.post-56780093769065410902016-04-27T20:12:00.002+03:002016-04-27T20:12:40.123+03:00#IATEFL 2016: Moving into ManagementHaving looked at the forums on <a href="http://www.davedodgson.com/2016/04/iatefl-2016-forum-on-technology-in.html">technology</a> and <a href="http://www.davedodgson.com/2016/04/iatefl-2016-forum-on-mobile-learning.html">mobile learning</a> in my previous IATEFL posts, I now turn my attention to a more recent focus in my career: management.<br />
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Several years ago while working in a private college in Turkey, I was asked to assume responsibility for 'the language skills programme' with 4th Grade students, which meant writing the yearly plan, making sure teachers were on track with reaching learning goals, and making recommenddations for the following year. Later, the responsibility was extended to 5th grade, overseeing class blogs was added in and I also had to mentor new teachers. Officially, I was still an 'ESL teacher' but my role had morphed into a kind of management lite one.<br />
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I then went to Gabon where I had an official management role - Language School Coordinator. I was supposed to be in charge of designing the general and business English learning programmes, hiring and training teachers, placement testing and in-house assessment, and other logistical tasks like timetabling and scheduling cover. I was fine with all that and prepared for it but once I was there, I soon found myself involved in all sorts of other things - designing a brochure and website for the school, commissioning photographers, meeting company executives and HR managers, promoting the school at local events, conducting case studies and many more. These were tasks I struggled with, and it was all only compounded by my lack of French.... and I was teaching 20 hours a week as well!<br />
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At the British Council, I now have a slightly better teaching/management balance and I also have the support of an established system and clearly defined role, all aided by being enrolled on an academic management course. I still feel that I have a lot to learn about the management side of ELT though and that is why I picked out Shirley Norton and Karen Chambers' session <a href="https://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2016/session/stick-or-twist-teacher-manager-dilemma">"Stick or Twist: the Teacher to Manager Dilemma"</a> for this report.<br />
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Shirley began the session with an overview of how she became a manager and it seems my story from above echoes hers - through a combination of chance and invitation, she acquired more responsibility until she got a full-blown management role and felt she wasn't truly ready for it. The option to a course (in this case the DELTM) helped her get back on track. Interesting that she found her employers saw the management course as an optional extra. Indeed, this highlights an issue in ELT with employers having a slightly warped perception of the available qualifications. The entry-level certificate is often seen as all a teacher needs. The higher-level teaching diploma is often seen as an entry into teacher training or management when it actually officially prepares you for neither. Specialist management or teacher training courses are then seen as not necessary, but as my own journey to this point and Shirley's story show, they often are.</div>
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Karen spoke as someone who had entered into management roles but then moved to teacher training before returning to teaching. She mentioned that a significant number of managers do not choose to become managers and a high number of them also receive no management training, which is a potential recipe for the managers being 'a bit rubbish'.</div>
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The need for training for managers is an important point and one that many schools could invest more time in. There was an interesting need highlighted as well for teacher training to retain staff. It seems counter-productive to take a good teacher out of the classroom to give them management responsibility as a 'promotion'. There have to be other options to keep good teachers doing what they do best while still feeling a valued member of the team. Encouraging CPD through in-house training and sending teachers out to conferences and other events was highlighted as a way to do this and it's difficult to argue against that.</div>
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The idea of identifying key strengths in each teacher and encouraging them to develop them, whether they be materials development, marketing, or teacher training, is a vital one. This serves the teacher and the school better than forcing people into roles of responsibility that they are not keen on (like when a former employer tried to coerce me into joining an in-house coursebook writing project). I was also intrigued by the advice to allow teachers to take sabbaticals, work in different locations, or be relived of all teaching duties to work on a project while their jobs are held open for them - not something I have come across in my ELT career to date!</div>
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There were some different ideas shared in this session which moved away from the traditional management roles of the day-to-day running of a team. Investing in staff and offering opportunities are the way to keep good staff and develop better teachers and effective managers - language schools and ELT departments, take note!</div>
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DaveDodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16896292275243412346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338834914703775055.post-34563492170658141722016-04-26T23:44:00.001+03:002016-04-26T23:46:43.196+03:00#IATEFL 2016 - Forum on Mobile LearningHaving reviewed the forum on technology in the young learner classroom already, I have decided to stick with the "3-in-1" talk format with some thoughts and reflections on the forum on mobile learning. The teaching centre I work at has recently ordered a set of twenty iPads and as ICT Coordinator, it will be one of my major tasks throughout the remainder of this year to oversee their introduction to our programme and overall use. I am therefore looking forward to gaining some insights and picking up a few ideas for their use.<br />
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<b>Valentina Morgana - iPad in the EFL C</b><b>lassroom</b><br />
<i>The abstract promised a look into on-going research into student and teacher use of iPads and perceptions of mobile learning. </i><br />
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<li>Valentina begins with a depressingly familiar tale - she was handed a mobile device and wished good luck by her employers. In her case, she seized the opportunity to engage in research. However, I am sure that the majority of teachers would not know where to start. This is one of the biggest issues that needs to be addressed with ICT in education - the often blind investment in hardware and software that is rarely backed up with investment in training.</li>
<li>The research project was designed to focus on how iPads are used in secondary schools. The deliberate selection of experienced and qualified teachers was an interesting one. As Valentina says, the issue is not whether or not the teacher is comfortable with using a mobile device but whether or not the teacher is comfortable with facilitating language learning.</li>
<li>After my mini rant above, it was encouraging to hear that the school where the research is taking place requested a limited pilot programme before taking the decision to purchase iPads for all students or not.</li>
<li>The 'wow' factor seems to be especially prevalent with iPads. I guess this is all to do with the <strike>evil</strike> powerful nature of Apple marketing. In my teaching centre for instance, there is a keen sense of anticipation about the arrival of the iPads. Strange then that a set of Surface Pro tablets has apparently spent the last 18 months here collecting dust...</li>
<li>Students expected iPads to be most useful for improving their listening and writing skills... Listening makes sense I suppose due to the easy access to digital media such as videos, podcasts and music. Writing puzzles me though - I have always seen mobile devices, even tablets, as cumbersome for writing anything other than short messages. Maybe I need to rethink that one.</li>
<li>The expectation that students would be creating content may explain the focus on writing. Tablets are essentially personal devices and students expect to be able to have options to edit the output to their own tastes.</li>
<li>A important point made by Valentina was that just because students use mobile devices regularly and with confidence in their daily lives, it does not mean they will be the same in the classroom. They need to relearn how to use iPads with educational goals in mind and this takes time and training.</li>
<li>Good to see the selection of apps was small and included pre-loaded ones. One issue with iPads in schools is that they often get overloaded with hundreds of apps with little thought given to how and how often they will actually be used.</li>
<li>Valentina reports that student engagement was high in lessons with the iPads but stresses again that this is not to do with the devices themselves. It is more to do with the experience and knowledge of the teachers in the classroom.</li>
<li>The multimodal affordances of tablets were also highlighted as students could easily access visuals, add audio clips to Evernote, and multimedia to Thinglink and do much more.</li>
<li>There was in the end a mismatch between student expectations and actual experiences of improving writing skills, showing that the idea of productive skills with iPads does need some further thought and development.</li>
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An interesting presentation of research that stands as a good example of how some time and thought devoted to training and implementation is a good thing. More training, less top-down purchasing please!</div>
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<b>Kat Robb - Instant Messaging with Learners</b></div>
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<i>The subtitle of "chilled out chatroom or creepy treehouse?" certainly caught my attention! This raises the issue of considering how students feel about having their teacher pop up in their out-of-class life through class messaging groups.</i><br />
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<li>We begin with the puzzles of Kat's context - pre-sessional university students who lack motivation for academic writing and a over-use of L1 which excluded some students from other nationalities.</li>
<li>An attempt was made to tap into the students' constant use of messaging services by setting up a group for the class on WeChat. Kat was keen to avoid being seen as infringing on her learners' social media space.</li>
<li>One sample activity was for her to send high frequency words from her students' writing to the chat group and have them find synonyms as quickly as they could - sounds like a fun gamified idea but it would be interesting to hear if this had a subsequent effect on their writing.</li>
<li>Moving into the more productive side of academic writing comes the idea of having groups produce and share a short summary of a lecture and sharing in through the chat group. Everybody could then read all the contributions and comment on them. This sounds good and student testimonials refer to increased engagement and a stronger feeling of belonging to a group.</li>
<li>Far from being a 'creepy treehouse' it seems the students felt more of a connection with the teacher through these activities.</li>
<li>Motivation, peer-to-peer interaction, personalised learning, an easily-accessible record of work - all examples of an effective application of technology rather than a flashy show of it.</li>
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For me, this talk emphasised the need to identify an area or areas in which an intervention is necessary and then forming a clear plan for tech use. When we just assume what students need and decide to use a device or app and "see how ıt goes," we won't get the desired results. Considered thought and decisions based on contextual and pedagogical principles is what tech needs to be what the students need.</div>
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DaveDodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16896292275243412346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338834914703775055.post-47697981164002742092016-04-21T19:46:00.000+03:002016-04-21T20:11:41.096+03:00#IATEFL 2016 - Forum on Technology in the Young Learner ClassroomThe great thing about <a href="http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2016">IATEFL Online</a> is not only the chance to get a little taste of the conference as it is taking place but also the chance to watch the recorded sessions from the archive at your leisure. So, that is what I am doing today. As the recently installed ICT Coordinator at British Council Bahrain, a language centre with approximately 2,000 young learners, this forum seemed like the ideal place to start:<br />
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Here are my reactions, typed 'live' up as I watched:<br />
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<b>Maria Diakou - Snapshots from Implmenting Technology in Young Learners' Language Teaching Classrooms</b><br />
<b> </b>The first speaker's abstract promised a focus on 'practical, technology-enriched moments' from her teaching context in Cypriot primary schools.<br />
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<li>Maria began with discussion of the issue of lack of engagement from YLs in class and the subsequent problems of bad behaviour and overly-strict teachers.</li>
<li>She then suggested technology as the solution as it taps into the fact that kids use tech as part of their daily lives - I would, however, qualify this by saying technology can be <i>a </i>solution if it is used in an engaging way. The same can be also said for activities without tech - the activity needs to be relevant, personalised and appealing to interests to encourage YLs to tackle it.</li>
<li>Games - this is definitely an area of interest for me as the teacher behind <a href="http://eltsandbox.weebly.com/">ELT Sandbox</a>. The games shown here, however, were classic 'interactive' learning games. These make the language work aspect of being in the classroom more fun, but for me, they offer little more than a worksheet or activity book page in terms of learning.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.zimmertwins.com/">Zimmertwins</a> - as a tool for creating animated videos, I see a lot more practical use in this as it gets the students involved in being productive and creative. A lot of the technology they engage with on a daily basis is receptive - they watch, listen, and click to follow a pre-determined path. This tool gives them more possibilities to be active rather than passive users of tech and learners of language.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.storyboardthat.com/">Storyboard That</a> also works in a similar way, getting students to create comic strips with their own dialogues written through text. It also offers similar advantages in terms of allowing for creative use of language.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.dvolver.com/moviemaker/">Dvolver</a> was featured as an easy-to-use tool that allows creation of animation together with captioned text for dialogue. Maria made the good point that the ease of use means more time can be spent focusing on language rather than getting to grips with the tool.</li>
<li><a href="https://storybird.com/">Storybird</a> also allows for easy use with a large selection of pictures and works well for getting students to engage with writing.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.voki.com/">Voki </a>was then shown as a speaking tools. By speaking through an avatar, shy students can feel more relaxed as they speak from 'behind' the character. I did, however, disagree with using this as an alternative to drawing a monster. In my experience, YLs always love the chance to draw and describe their creations. It's all about giving them personal ownership of the task and in this case, I feel that a picture created by the student achieves that more than an online image with limited editing options.</li>
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Overall, a useful selection of tools though the focus was more on what the technology can do and how it can be used - not so much on why it should be used in preference to other classroom tasks.<br />
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<b>Amanda Boldarine - Young Learners and Technology: ways to intergate culture and parents </b><br />
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This talk focused on meaningful use of technology to meet learner needs and engage parents in their learning.<br />
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<li>Interesting start with data from research with Amanda's own students about their technology use outside the classroom - we often assume that kids are regular, confident users of all devices and software applications but it is a good idea to confirm this before making decisions on in-class use.</li>
<li>Encouraging that the initial question ("How can I maximise my students' language learning experience?") does not explicitly focus on technology. It is the learning experience that is important, not the tech tools.</li>
<li>Having said that, <a href="http://vocaroo.com/">Vocaroo</a> and <a href="https://padlet.com/">Padlet</a> are then featured as the tech tools of choice - this is qualified, however, as appropriate to the limitations of tech provision in the school context with only a computer lab available.</li>
<li>Amanda used Vocaroo to get students to listen to their own voices in English and reflect on how they speak, useful in making the tech use about more than simply using tech.</li>
<li>An real audience was also provided as the recordings were sent to their parents. This is important in giving the activity a more authentic feel.</li>
<li>Padlet was used to post rules about road safety as a follow-up to learning about them. The affordances offered over simply using paper was again the parent link.</li>
<li>This was also followed up by asking parents for feedback - this again makes it more than just another activity.</li>
<li>The final point was to emphasise that technology is not just about making learning modern or fun. It needs to be integrated into the learning process and evaluated in terms of what benefits it will have for your learners.</li>
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I liked the fact that this talk showed that a simple approach often works best. No need for a plethora of flashy tools. Simple apps can be used to help the students produce language and provide them with an audience by sharing the results with their parents.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Addicted or enraptured? Image via pixabay.com</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<b>Nicky Francis - Being Creative with Technology in a Young Learner Classroom</b><br />
The final speaker in the forum proposed a focus on encouraging creativity with technology. I liked that the abstract also mentioned plasticine and yoghurt pots!<br />
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<li>Nicky began by discussing the seemingly fixated and motionless appearance kids often have when they are viewing the screen, whether it be a TV, PC monitor, or mobile device and how these extended passive moments of silence can be disturbing. While I agree that a lot of technology engagement can be passive, it's also worth remembering that long before the age of digital technology, there was often criticism of people who spent ages with their noses buried in things called 'books'.</li>
<li>Speaking of which, the next stage of the talk presented a book - "It's a Book" (that is the actual name by the way, not an attempt at emphasis from me!). The concept of having an intensive course for primary including several hours of art was an interesting one.</li>
<li>The tech came in through a movie project but not with an online animation maker. Instead, it was a movie to be made with real world props (that's the plasticine and yoghurt post then!) and the students' own voices - a nice example of integrating tech but not in a way that allows the tech tool to dominate.</li>
<li>The learners then went through a process similar to that which Jamie Keddie talked about at last year's conference of choosing characters and a setting, writing a script, and incorporating chunks of language from the story - good examples of language at work while making a movie with the actual filming part being the end product.</li>
<li>One positive effect of technology is the way it can level the playing field between teachers and students. This was evidenced here by Nicky highlighting how she learned to use Movie Maker together with her students.</li>
<li>"Rough but real" - we can certainly hear the students' voices during the sample video in more ways than one!</li>
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This talk was a good reminder that technology in the classroom does not have to form an entire lesson. It can simply form a small part of a project. It also does not have to be something pre-produced and edited by the students. It can in fact be something entirely original. Finally, it does not have to be about the latest and greatest flashy tools. Digital video cameras and programmes like Movie Maker have been around for a quite a while now but they can be just as effective as more recent innovations as long as space is given to the learner's voice.<br />
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One little aside to finish on - each of the presenters apologised in advance for their learners' mistakes and less than perfect English. Why? I see and hear this a lot during presentations. It is not about the end product. It's about the process of learning. The mistakes in the sample projects make the whole production more real and more personal and that's nothing to apologise for. :)<br />
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DaveDodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16896292275243412346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338834914703775055.post-67475029765683785042016-04-15T23:51:00.000+03:002016-04-15T23:54:16.715+03:00#IATEFL 2016 - Self-motivated Professional DevelopmentTime to move onto <a href="http://www.davedodgson.com/2016/04/10x3-and-other-numerics.html" target="_blank">this month's second cycle of ten</a> then...<br />
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You may have heard that there is a gathering of language teachers taking place in Birmingham in the UK at the moment called the IATEFL Conference. I had the pleasure of attending last year's event in Manchester but this year, I find myself unable to be there in person, instead experiencing it all vicariously through Facebook updates, Twitter feeds, and the online coverage.<br />
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I must say the online coverage is superb. Although it is logistically impossible to cover every session, the fact that non-attendees get to watch a few sessions at a time and place of their choosing (and for free) is great. Finding myself too busy to watch any full sessions over the last couple of days, I have listened to a few interviews safe in the knowledge that I can catch the presentations of interest next week, the week after or even later.<br />
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<i>Image via <a href="http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2016">iatefl.britishcouncil.org</a></i></div>
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As a registered blogger, I will be reporting on sessions about technology in and out of the classroom (fitting in as it does with my ICT Coordinator position), academic management (ditto), reflective practice (as a personal area of interest) and any hot topics that come up (like the native/non-native debates that seems to be trending online).<br />
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I start with some of the interviews, particularly those featuring my fellow Teaching English Associates Kieran Donaghy, Lizzie Pinnard, Sandy Millin, Chia Suan Chong, and Vicky Saumell (<a href="http://www.davedodgson.com/2015/04/iatefl-day-1teaching-english-associates.html" target="_blank">whom I was interviewed with last year!</a>) Ably hosted by Paul Braddock (back in the Paddock ;) ), they each responded to the following question:<br />
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<i><br />"Some teachers have quite a negative view of CPD, especially as there seems to be little financial incentive for it. What would you say some of the more intrinsic motivational factors are that people could take into account when they think about their own professional development?"</i></blockquote>
That's a tough one! How can we get teachers interested and invested in CPD for its own sake? Luckily, I was not in the hot seat this time and instead got to hear everyone else's responses first before adding my own below.<br />
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Both Lizzie and Kieran mentioned how taking the lead in your own PD helps keep you out of a rut. Engaging with different ideas helps keep things interesting and there is always something to learn, with Kieran making the key point that you can then pass these things on to your students and colleagues, who will then in turn benefit.<br />
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Chia emphasised how easy it can be to download an article or bookmark a blog post and then read it one-handed (all demonstrated with the realia of a bouncing baby on her lap!) when you have a few free minutes. Sandy added that finding a main source of PD input such as the articles and blogs shared through the Teaching English Facebook page or a calendar of upcoming webinars can help you take a little and often approach - no need to read, watch, and join in on everything, however.</div>
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They also talked about the importance of going beyond your immediate area of interest, something that definitely chimed with me as I have learnt a lot over the years from teachers in EAP contexts, Business English teachers, and others who work in environments very different from my own. Good ideas are always good ideas and they can be adapted, experimented with and put to use in a variety of contexts.<br />
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Vicky added that curiosity helps. If you are interested in learning more about teaching and language learning, CPD is a natural progression. It is also important for senior members of a teaching team to lead by example and show other teachers what they can learn and how it will benefit them, something I intend to do in my new role.<br />
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Ease of access, learning new things and the benefits for your own teaching are all key points in promoting the idea of self-directed CPD. I would also add the ideas of reflecting, contributing and sharing. Don't just stop at reading an article or attending a webinar. Actively think about it and how it is applicable (or not) to your context. Try it out in class and then reflect on how it went and how it could be improved next time.<br />
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Share with your colleagues and also with the same online communities you visit. Comment on blog posts that resonate with you and reply to Facebook/Twitter updates that caught your interest. Relate your own experiences.<br />
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And slowly build up to contributing. Write your own blog posts (either on your own blog or as a guest poster on a blog you read regularly). Offer to host a webinar. Write an article for a SIG newsletter or an ELT magazine. Submit that proposal you've been thinking about to IATEFL for the 2017 conference or to a local event.<br />
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It's the same advice I give my students about working on their language outside class. Don't just read or listen. Engage with the information in front of you. Be pro-active and open-minded and you'll find CPD very rewarding indeed.<br />
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<br />DaveDodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16896292275243412346noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338834914703775055.post-78939280142172408002016-04-14T22:10:00.000+03:002016-12-26T20:26:57.629+03:00DIPloMASo, there we have it. I now have a third line to add to the 'Professional Qualifications' section of my CV - along with the distant memory of the Trinity Cert TESOL and the distance learning of the MA in EdTech and TESOL, I can now type in 'Trinity Diploma in TESOL' (I can also apparently officially include the letters "<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">LTCL DipTESOL" after my name but that might be difficult to fit on my business card!)</span><br />
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<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">All that means in ELT terms, I have the 'double whammy' of higher level qualifications - an MA and a Diploma. In my new job, I find myself being asked this question: "which have you found more useful?" (often with "the Diploma, right?" tagged on to the end). Personally, I find such either/or distinctions unhelpful. However, having completed both programmes (with the slightly unusual order of doing the MA first, <a href="http://www.davedodgson.com/2015/05/a-dip-in-my-teaching-and-learning.html" target="_blank">the reasons for which I have been through previously</a>), a little comparison of the benefits they have brought me wouldn't hurt.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image via pixabay.com<br />
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<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><b>Teacher Development</b></span></div>
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<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">Let's start here with the main reason (or what should be the main reason) for any teacher taking a course. I often cite my MA as the moment teaching stopped being a job and started being a career. It really pushed me along in terms of considering and defining my beliefs as a language teacher and encouraged me to analyse what I did in terms of how it benefited my students. I experimented, I adjusted, I developed.</span></div>
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However, I was not assessed directly in the classroom. I was assessed only through the lens of my assignments. I could perhaps afford the odd false start or wrong turn in class as long as the long-term research goal was in mind. On the Dip, there was no place to hide. I needed to take all my knowledge and experience and use it to showcase an effective learning experience within defined assessment criteria.<br />
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Of course, on both the MA and the Dip, perfection was not expected and there was plenty of scope (and indeed credit) given for identifying what didn't work so well and what could be done differently - a key part of any teacher's development<br />
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So, which one served me better? The low pressure action research rooted in my own context that the MA provided? Or the pressure-cooker live assessed observation of the Dip? Difficult to say really but one thing sticks with me - I finished my MA with the strong feeling that I was developing as a teacher. I knew I still had areas to work on but that was fine because I was equipped with the reflective tools to improve further. I finished the Dip initially feeling like I wasn't actually that good at my job. I had struggled to produce sixty-minute lessons that ticked all the boxes in the assessment criteria and it was a knock to my confidence. Several months on, I am able to view it more as the challenging and productive learning experience it was but at the time, I felt like I was back on my Cert...<br />
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There was much more to the Dip than the TP, of course, but <a href="http://www.davedodgson.com/2016/04/in-hot-sauce-facing-up-to-dip.html" target="_blank">as I explained in my earlier posts</a>, the free hand offered by the research projects, exam essays and phonology interview didn't quite match what was required in the observed lessons. To put it another way, I felt my MA helped me move towards becoming the teacher I wanted to be but the Dip left me struggling to be the teacher defined by externally-imposed criteria.<br />
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<b>Career Advancement</b></div>
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Another big reason for taking such courses - to get better jobs at better schools. So, which qualification has helped me more here? Well, it depends. Back when I started my MA, part of the reason was that my employers at the time in Turkey didn't seem to know what a Dip/DELTA was and how it was different from a Cert/CELTA. An MA on the other hand was something they did understand and my successful completion of it came with more responsibility at work and a pay rise.<br />
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The MA was also a key factor in me moving on to Gabon. It helped my application stand out and gave me a platform to discuss my research into teacher development and online learning during the interview. I started doing the Dip while I was there but again, my employers didn't seem to know exactly what it was.<br />
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However, the Dip has also helped me move my career forward. I would not be at the British Council now without it. For my new employers, the MA is an added bonus but the Dip is what counts. Other schools I applied to at the start of this year were the same.<br />
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So it depends on your context. International schools and some university positions may value an MA more. Language schools and large organisations like the British Council or International House will most likely prefer a Dip/DELTA.<br />
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Even when you have both, it's not always enough. I was ruled out for several international school jobs because of my lack of PGCE or UK qualified teacher status. Now I am in a coordinator position at the British Council, my studies are not over as I have been enrolled in an Academic Management course to help me with that aspect of my job. I also have to take the CELT YL extension in the summer - a teaching centre requirement due to the large volume of young learners we have here.<br />
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The courses keep on coming and the learning never stops!<br />
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<b>Specialisation</b></div>
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On the face of it, the MA would seem to be the more likely candidate for offering specialisation. Mine focused on Educational Technology as well as TESOL and there were opportunities to do research and learn about blended learning programmes, online and multimedia course design, and teacher training.<br />
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It has to be said thought that the Dip also offers the chance to specialise, particularly through the <a href="http://www.davedodgson.com/2016/04/out-of-dip-part-4-unit-2-research.html" target="_blank">Unit 2 projects</a>. By conducting those action research cycles, I am now keen to learn more about classroom interaction patterns and learner autonomy. I also had the chance to continue the work on online teacher development that I started during my MA.<br />
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So both options have opportunities for you to specialise - you just have to take them!<br />
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<b>Time & Cost</b></div>
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I often hear that the Dip is a quicker option than the MA and it is also more cost effective. However, I would say that those claims are not exactly true. For starters, the Dip can take as little as three months (if you find a face-to-face intensive programme) or as long as a few years if you leave the research projects on the backburner for too long. An MA can take a few years if done by distance and/or part-time. It can also be done in a year if you go for a full-time onsite programme. Of course, the face-to-face option requires taking leave or potentially quitting your job but the same can be said for the Dip.<br />
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As for cost, in my case, they were about the same. As a direct comparison, the tuition fees for the Dip were considerably less than for the MA. However, once you add in the moderation fees and the flights, accommodation and other expenses for a month in Prague (affordable a place as it is), the total spent came to about the same. As my MA was online, the only other expense apart from the fees was the postage when I sent a hard copy of my dissertation in.<br />
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Books don't count as there were compulsory reads for both courses and (thankfully) free access granted to a number of online journals.<br />
<br />
<b>Learning something new</b><br />
Another way to look at it is which course taught me something new? The MA seems the obvious answer again as the focus on online learning and applying technology in class introduced me to a lot of new ideas. However, the Dip also kicked <a href="http://www.davedodgson.com/2016/04/out-of-dip-part-2-unit-3-phonology.html" target="_blank">my awareness of phonology</a> into gear. There is always something new to learn!<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>The Best Qualification?</b><br />
So at the end of all that, I will of course take the easy route and say they both have value to me in different ways. The MA enabled me to take huge strides forward in terms of my knowledge of teaching and my awareness of learning. I was introduced to the idea of reflective practice and never looked back and it opened doors for me as far away as equatorial Africa. The Dip allowed me to be where I am now and also forced me to take a long hard look in the reflective mirror (the results of which have been the last ten days on this blog!)<br />
<br />
But I always say the best qualifications I have are not the ones on paper but the ones in my classroom - every student and every teacher I have had the pleasure to work with. And I am looking forward to expanding my range of qualifications when I get back into class tomorrow. :)</div>
DaveDodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16896292275243412346noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338834914703775055.post-11925876876960704222016-04-13T12:18:00.000+03:002016-04-13T12:18:04.788+03:00Out of the Dip, Part 4: Unit 2 Research ProjectsAnd so finally, we come to the last part of the course I completed. Possibly the most time consuming and arduous but also ultimately, one of the most rewarding and possibly the part that reflected my day-to-day teaching context most closely.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Action! Research!<br />Image from pixabay.com<br /><span style="background-color: #f7f8fa; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 24px; text-align: start;">CC0 Public Domain</span></td></tr>
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<br />
<b>What it entails</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Three projects</b> based on your own research each written up as a <b>3,000 word assignment</b>.</li>
<li><b>Part 1 - Observation Instrument (OI)</b>. The teacher designs, implements and refines a pro-forma for observing a particular aspect of other teachers' lessons. After observing ten hours of classes making at least two sets of revisions to your OI as you go, you write up a report of your findings including an evaluation of the pro-forma itself.</li>
<li><b>Part 2 - Developmental Research Project (DRP).</b> The teacher selects an aspect of their own classroom practice to focus on and engages in a cycle of action research over a period of fifteen classroom hours. The report summarises and reflects on what you did and what you and your learners got out of it.</li>
<li><b>Part 3 - Independent Research Project (IRP). </b>As the name suggests, there is more scope for pursuing your own interest in this one. You may again focus on an aspect of your teaching or you may explore teacher training, reflective practice, course design, in-house training programmmes... It's up to you. It's also up to you how you do your research - literature review, survey, observations, interviews, feedback collection - as long as it matches your research aims!</li>
</ul>
<div>
<b>Strengths</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>The projects really allow the teacher to <b>explore their own context</b> and what is directly relevant to them, their learners, and their school. For the OI, I had a general impression that teachers were not really exploiting the space in the classroom effectively so I investigated and drew conclusions for future in-house PD. For the DRP, I investigated using vocab notebooks to promote learner autonomy and engagement with language outside the classroom (something I could not incorporate into the assessed teaching practice). For the IRP, I further investigated the extent to which teachers use online networks for PD and how this information could be of use to the language teaching staff in Gabon, where offline PD possibilities are limited. The research was interesting and fruitful (a shame I didn't stick around to follow-up on it!)</li>
<li>It's <b>useful for those who wish to move into more senior positions</b>. For the DRP, I had to design a series of lessons for a specific group of learners, which of course will be of use in the future as I design courses in different contexts. It also made me more aware of my own development when experimenting and trying out new things. I was told the OI was a bit of waste of time as it wasn't directly relatable to everyday language school work but I have not found that to be the case. In my new role at the British Council, I wanted to get a picture of how everyone currently uses technology in class so I designed and revised a pro-forma for observations to collect data. This would have been a tougher task had I not done this project!</li>
<li>It allows you to <b>develop areas of interest</b>. I already had a long-standing interest in online professional development but I am now keen to examine classroom interaction patterns, learner autonomy, learner training, and lexis more.</li>
<li>It gives you <b>a foundation for further professional work. </b>There are blog posts, articles and conference talks to come out of the research I did.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<b>Advice</b></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><b>Engage with your tutors</b> about this early on. The sooner you start, the better. I don't just say that in terms of getting head start but the earlier you begin, the more time you have to make alterations or ditch an entire idea and move onto something else. I was lucky to have fantastic support and sage advice from Nicola for my research and it would have been more difficult had I not interacted with her as much as I did.</li>
<li>Try to <b>complete the research before you do the TP</b>. Through the data you gather and the findings you make, there will be useful ideas and things to be aware of that you can incorporate into your assessed lessons. </li>
<li>Also, <b>do not</b> try to <b>do part of the OI</b> or the other projects <b>while you are doing the TP</b>. Yes, you are allowed to do this (for four of then ten hours I believe) but you will have so much other work to do, I would advise against it. Just focus on one thing at a time.</li>
<li><b>Set deadlines and stick to them</b>. Applying for jobs provided the final impetus to get everything wrapped up so the qualification was confirmed rather than TBC. However, I did let things drift on a couple of occasions and I also heard stories of people who literally took years to getting round to doing the research. Best avoided.</li>
<li><b>Make notes as you read</b>. Nothing worse than remembering a relevant point from some article you read a while ago and then struggling to find it. A list of notes, quotes and page references will be much easier to look through, and it will help you for the Unit 1 exam as well.</li>
<li><b>Spread the writing out</b>. It is hard to write a 3,000 assignment, even harder when you try to do it in one weekend! Aim for writing 400-500 words a day and you'll be finished in a week.</li>
<li><b>Know the criteria!</b> Once again, you have to make sure your project write-up focuses on the areas that Trinity are looking for. It's all there in the syllabus, including the weighting for each area so write your paper accordingly!</li>
<li>When you are finished, <b>wait a few days before submitting</b> it. Forget about it. Return to normal life, then read through it again and see if it still makes sense.</li>
<li>Check out these blog posts and video guides from previous Trinity Dip graduates: <b><a href="http://passthediploma.edublogs.org/?s=observation&submit=Search" target="_blank">Observation Instrument</a> a</b>nd<b> <a href="http://passthediploma.edublogs.org/2013/01/03/independent-research-project-video-1/" target="_blank">Independent Research Project</a>.</b></li>
<li>Check out my old posts on <b><a href="http://www.davedodgson.com/2012/01/ma-reflections-preparing-for.html" target="_blank">preparing for</a> </b>and<b> <a href="http://www.davedodgson.com/2012/01/ma-reflections-writing-assignments.html" target="_blank">writing assignments</a></b> - they focus on my MA studies but a lot of the advice is relevant here too.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<b>Suggestions for Improvements</b></div>
</div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
As with <a href="http://www.davedodgson.com/2016/04/out-of-dip-part-2-unit-3-phonology.html" target="_blank">Unit 3 Phonology</a>, I got a lot out of this unit (including a distinction!) so I wouldn't change too much. It would be nice if the kind of teaching work we do for the DRP could also be applied to the TP more directly. <a href="http://www.davedodgson.com/2016/04/in-hot-sauce-facing-up-to-dip.html" target="_blank">As I have previously said</a>, I have focused on learner training with teens a lot in recent times and I was able to explore that in depth here. However, that had to all be put to one side for my observed lessons, and it's a shame the criteria don't cater for that.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I found my experience of having completed an MA, having written many assignments of similar lengths, and having engaged in large-scale research and data collection was invaluable here. I do wonder how I would have coped without that academic background. I think more needs to be done to ensure candidates are prepared for the rigours of research, data collection and processing, and academic writing, both within the Trinity syllabus and from the course providers side.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Once again, I will round off by asking you to share your experiences of Trinity Dip TESOL Unit 2 or any other similar research projects. One more post to go - Dip v. MA: which one proved to be better?</div>
DaveDodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16896292275243412346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338834914703775055.post-65625405372698845072016-04-12T23:53:00.000+03:002016-04-12T23:53:07.858+03:00Out of the Dip, Part 3: Unit 1 Written Exam"Of course, the big advantage of a course like this is the assessed teaching practice."<br />
<br />
Check - that's one of the main reasons for taking it.<br />
<br />
"You will also make a presentation and have a follow-up interview about phonology."<br />
<br />
Check - that sounds tough but I'm prepared to give it a go.<br />
<br />
"And there will be three research projects."<br />
<br />
Check - that will be just like being back on the MA course.<br />
<br />
"The final assessed component is a three-hour written exam."<br />
<br />
Wait! What?<br />
<br />
Yes, an old school, pencil and paper, sit-down and try not to get beaten bu the clock exam and that's the focus on today's review post.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AVY2z1hX5fA/Vw1WNoW9O3I/AAAAAAAACCk/YiwHtgp7P5Ema2cnXsJrSEPqEL0Tf6fQQ/s1600/books-447466_640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AVY2z1hX5fA/Vw1WNoW9O3I/AAAAAAAACCk/YiwHtgp7P5Ema2cnXsJrSEPqEL0Tf6fQQ/s320/books-447466_640.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You'll need to commit all these to memory!<br />Image via pixabay.com<br /><span style="background-color: #f7f8fa; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 24px; text-align: start;">CC0 Public Domain</span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>What it entails</b></div>
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>A three-hour exam</b> divided into three parts.</li>
<li><b>Part 1 - Language Awareness</b> consisting of five questions on grammar and lexis from which you must respond to four.</li>
<li><b>Part 2</b> - choose one from a choice of three essay questions on <b>Teaching and Learning</b>.</li>
<li><b>Part 3</b> - choose one from a choice of three essay questions on <b>Professional Development/ Course Design</b>.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<b>Strengths</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>It really puts you through the wringer in terms of <b>what you know about teaching</b> and you have to be able to <b>draw on a range of experiences</b> in order to give strong answers.</li>
<li>It gives you a chance to <b>explain your ideas, beliefs, and best practices</b> as a teacher in a high level of detail.</li>
<li>It forces you to <b>read up on key areas</b> that will also benefit your teaching practice and research projects.</li>
<li>This is also the main part of the course that goes into <b>teacher training</b> and <b>academic management</b>, which is useful for anyone considering those career paths.</li>
<li>As well as academic reading, referencing <b>blogs, newsletter articles, conference talks</b> and <b>your own experience</b> is also encouraged.</li>
<li>It can help create a stronger <b>sense of empathy</b> with our own students!</li>
</ul>
<div>
<b>Advice</b></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><b>Preparation is key</b> - brush up on your grammar, read up on aspects of teaching, learning and professional development and start doing it well in advance.</li>
<li><b>Practice planning</b> and <b>time yourself</b> writing answers - a brief plan will be key if you are to write an effective 1,500 word essay in under an hour. </li>
<li>You will also need to get used to <b>writing at speed by hand</b>. Don't spend ages researching, planning and typing your weekly assignment answers in the online course. Limit yourself to an hour and try to write by hand (send a scan to the tutor) so you can get used to exam conditions as soon as possible.</li>
<li>Part 2 (teaching and learning) can be quite wide-ranging but <b>Part 3</b> usually boils down to: a) <b>design an in-house PD programme</b> or teacher development initiative; or b) present an outline and <b>rationale for a workshop</b>. Prepare for one or both of those and you'll be fine.</li>
<li><b>Follow the advice you give your own students</b> about preparing for an exam and writing essays - don't leave it to the last minute, plan your answers, leave time to check them again at the end, get a good night's sleep before the test!</li>
<li><b>Make a list of useful quotes</b> as you are reading. Categorise them by potential essay topics. Spend some time trying to memorise them so you can quote author and year accurately.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<b>Suggestions for improvement</b></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><b>Cater to different teaching contexts</b> - the grammar part would have been very tough had I never taught adults at B2+ level. There were questions about language points that I had never ever touched on it my extensive experience with young learners (cleft sentences or helping learners with signposting, coherence and cohesion in writing, for example). As these questions often demand specific reference to your own experience, it potentially leaves teachers of elementary young learners at a disadvantage. Also, in Part 2 of the exam I took, there was a quesiton about designing a course for students taking a specific exam. I have extensive experience of preparing students for Cambridge Starters, Movers, and Flyers but the options in the exam were IELTS, TOEFL, CAE and FCE. That meant I couldn't attempt the question having no recent experience of any of those.</li>
<li><b>A different approach to referencing</b> - to get high marks, you have to be able to cite book and article authors <i>from memory</i>. This really caused me a headache especially as quoting the likes of Harmer, Scrivener and Thornbury is seen as 'not enough'. I say either drop the expectation or allow candidates to reference a sheet of notes. This would still require skill to pre-select references that are likely to fit a range of topics, use your time effectively, and avoid trying to crowbar everything you jotted down into the answer paper.</li>
<li><b>A more balanced range of topics across the exam</b> - as mentioned above, Part 3 is quite predictable. However, Part 2 covers a wide range of topics. I spent a long time reading up on using authentic materials - video clips, news articles, digital games - only for a question to come up on using music. For me, that was too specific, especially considering the need to reference from memory. There were also other areas I read up on that didn't come up at all (learner training, use of technology, developing speaking skills) - all those memorised quotes for nothing! Part 2 needs a more focused range of topics with plenty of scope to adapt to different contexts and experiences.</li>
<li>Don't sit me in a small room with soft floorboards next to a guy who shakes his leg vigorously throughout the test - quite a specific situation I know but it was quite distracting!</li>
</ul>
<div>
Next post - research projects!</div>
</div>
DaveDodgsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16896292275243412346noreply@blogger.com5