I have to admit that I’ve never heard of them (not necessarily a bad thing), so I can’t really comment. But perhaps one of our readers can…

In any case the two make up a contract in which tasks and obligations are made explicit. In this way impulsive behaviour can be avoided and the aim of the relationship will stay clear. Reflection, or better still the stimulation of self-reflection by the questioner, is part of the core behaviour of a critical friend.

When I was writing my dissertation, my father constantly advised me on linguistic matters like spelling and sentence structure. I am very grateful for that. Can he be considered a critical friend?

You should be grateful to your father wanting to do this for you. It might even be that your relationship has been enriched by it. Possibly, he advised you to apply for a language course so that he can be even more proud of you than he already was. But this form of helpfulness, which fortunately we come across very frequently, does not belong to the core concept of ‘critical friend’. We are critical of any definition which is too pragmatic because it is dangerous to give too much weight to spur-of-the-moment behaviours without focussing on essentials. Nor do we consider asking critical questions or stimulating feedback in a student group consistent with our view. No matter how motivating they are. A critical friend commits himself to an ‘outspoken’ relationship of which mutual trust is the basis. Often the relationship itself is the object of reflection and evaluation. In this responsible role the critical friend is detached and does his utmost to reach the goals formulated by the questioner. He, however, does not have the final obligation to succeed in solving the problem.

How would you answer the following question?

When I send my written work to my tutor it takes a while before I get my feedback. I do not like that and it makes me uncomfortable. Do you think my tutor is aware of this?

Critical friendship is complex. In one of his essays (chapter I-28) the French philosopher Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) describes friendship as ‘the domain of like-minded desires’. In his view, the main duties of a friend are to warn us and reprimand if necessary. This, then, is what I expect from my readers and I would really appreciate your comments.

Can anyone be a critical friend?

1. TDSIG.org – Obviously, the first thing to do is sign up for this website. Our objective is to provide the best in teacher development news and views from around the world. So if there’s just one thing you do, sign up for our Email Updates. We also have RSS feeds, Facebook and Twitter.
2. Other SIG websites – As far as I can gather, all the IATEFL Special Interest Groups have their own website. Some are more active than others. One of my favourites is the BESIG site, but there are many others to take a look at.
3. Twitter – It’s the latest thing in teacher development. Many TEFL teachers centre their PLE (Personal Learning Environment) around Twitter. If you don’t know anything about Twitter and you want to find out more, read the post I wrote about Twitter on my personal blog.
4. TeachEnglish – While the forums on the British Council site aren’t the easiest to use (where oh where are the RSS feeds?), there’s some great teacher development stuff here and well worth making the effort to set up an account and get involved in the debate.
5. TEFL blogs – There are some great TEFL-related blogs out there. They tend to fall into two main categories – those that present lesson plans and classroom handouts, and those that present more general reflections on the world of TEFL. Many TEFL blogs combine both approaches. Often critcal and always interesting, the blogosphere has a wide range of bloggers to choose from. At the moment, some of my “must-reads” in Google Reader are Alex Case’s TEFLtastic, Lindsay Clandfield’s  Six Things, and Jamie Keddie’s TEFLclips.

So as you can see, there’s plenty going on out there in cyberspace. What are you waiting for?

To this end, I’ve introduced a few changes to the site. Nothing too dramatic, but hopefully improvements.

The site is now more colourful, and therefore hopefully easier to read and navigate. I’ve included a clear link to the Discussion List , which has been mysteriously absent until now (thanks to Josh for the heads up).

I’ve also put in a link to TDSIG.org’s new Facebook Page. Facebook has over 400 million active users, so I’m sure a great number of you will appreciate getting your TDSIG.org updates via this channel. And becoming a fan of the page will help to promote TDSIG.org to the greater Facebook community, too.

Of course, don’t forget, we also have email updates, RSS feeds and a Twitter account, so there’s really no reason for anyone to actually visit the site. Which makes the design improvements somewhat redundant, now that I come to think of it…

Harrogate, 7 April 2010

TDSIG PCE Harrogate 2010 [63.65 KB - downloads: 61]

This is a Pre-Conference Event with a difference: in the world where change is the only constant, we are going to challenge the need to stick to things as they are and venture into the universe of the unplanned, where anything can happen.

The structure of Open Space Technology (OST), a leading edge conference methodology, enables people to work together on what is important to them, which is why it doesn’t have a preset programme.

After an introductory session dedicated to getting to know and developing a trusting working relationship with other members of the group, participants are going to suggest the content of the event by the real issues they would like to see addressed that day. You will come in and out of small groups talking about what interests you and working towards solutions through the strength of group intelligence.

This will give you a real chance to work on issues that are important to you, to dictate the content of the session and then build on it. We feel that participants will come out of the day with a clear idea of where they want to go in their teaching having spent a stimulating day with like-minded colleagues

This event, which will be facilitated by Andreja Hazabent Habe and Colin Mackenzie, is ideal for people who want something new from a conference, and also for those who would like to check to what a degree they take the traditional way of conferencing for granted.

Pre-Conference Event Schedule

Some useful links – Read more about Open Space Technology (OST)

• Wikipedia – Open Space Technology (OST)
• The Business Improvement Network – Open Space Gatherings
• Open Space World – Harrison Owen’s website
• OpenSpaceWorld – A wiki for stories about Open Space Technology events

http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1013655

Our workshop was scheduled for the last morning of a busy and exhilarating conference. The session, which we called ‘Revitalising your Teaching’, attracted a good number of conference-weary IATEFLers, intrigued by the title and curious to know what recipes for teacher refreshment were on offer.

The activities we chose reflected our own beliefs about the nature of personal and professional learning. For example, we believe that:

• Personal awareness is the key to change and growth
• Revitalisation begins with recognising that some of our existing beliefs and behaviours may no longer be serving us well, and identifying areas of both in which change is possible
• Humanistic exercises help to develop personal awareness
• When using humanistic exercises with groups of students or teachers, it helps to have ground rules, so that people feel safe enough to talk freely
• It is sometimes easier to gain a fresh perspective and to talk more freely if you work in a pair with someone you don’t know
• People often discover new things about themselves when they talk to someone who is a good and attentive listener
• People think more creatively when they focus on positive things
• People learn better when they feel comfortable, so ft is good to pay attention to people’s physical and mental comfort throughout the session
• It is important to offer people a choice of ways to do a task
• Quiet times are needed during a session to allow for personal reflection
• Sharing ideas generates more ideas
• When a person’s behaviour matches their beliefs, they appear congruent. When there is a mismatch between beliefs and behaviour, the result is incongruence

We suggested some ground rules at the start of the workshop (e.g. confidentiality of any personal information shared in the session, the right to pass in any activity), and began the workshop with some ‘active listening’ exercises. Participants worked in pairs, with one listening attentively (i.e. not interrupting or asking questions) while the other talked. The topic was “what I like about my own teaching”. Afterward we discussed what makes listening easy or difficult, and the skills of ‘good’ listening (Carl Rogers defines them as genuineness, acceptance, and empathic understanding). When we listen well to our students, every interaction becomes an opportunity for us to learn more of the essence of person-centred teaching.

We asked participants to select an area of their own teaching that they would like to revitalise, and to tell a partner about it. Another person listening with full attention can often help the speaker to clarify and focus their thinking.

Next we introduced an activity called ‘the can of worms’, a metaphor borrowed from Chris Aldred. We asked participants to write down, on the left-hand side of a piece of paper, some of the beliefs they have about what ‘good’ teaching involves; and then, beside each belief, to list the ‘worms’ that emerge to obstruct them when they try to teach according to these beliefs. The worms might be their own negative inner messages or fears, or they might be connected to what students seem to expect or demand from the teacher. They are the psychological blocks that undermine self- confidence and weaken the resolve to trust your beliefs and apply them in your teaching.

For example:

Belief

I believe that we should negotiate the rules for the classroom

Worms

1. I’m the teacher. My BUT students expect me to set the rules.

2. I’m afraid they won’t do it well and then things will get out of control.

Participants were given some quiet time to .notice the gaps between what they believe about teaching and what they actually do in the classroom. These gaps can become focus areas for development. In becoming aware of them, a person has taken the first step towards considering alternative behaviours which might be more congruent with their beliefs. Diagrams of the stages and emotions of change can help us and our students to understand the roller-coaster effect of the change process. After looking at some of these diagrams, we finished the workshop with ,confessions’. In small groups, we suggested that people should own up to some of their most ridiculous classroom habits, and consider whether they still served any useful purpose or could be safely abandoned. Finally we invited everyone in a few quiet moments right at the end to focus on one idea or activity that they would like to take away from the session and try out, to revitalise their own teaching.

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These activities, and many more, can be found in Readings in Teacher Development by Katie Head and Pauline Taylor, published by Heinemann (1997) in the Teacher Development Series, edited by Adrian Underhill.

Workshop facilitated by Rosie Tanner and Jenny de Sonneville

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jakerome/3065903183/sizes/l/

Before coming to the conference, I had decided to take part in the workshop of the Teacher Development SIG. I am so happy about it now! This day has given me much more than I had expected. Not being entirely sure about what was waiting for me on the first day, I had feared of having to sit at fancy talks and highly sophisticated discussions about the theories of teacher development, that have no connection with everyday life at all. Instead, I got so much energy and motivation! I discovered new things about myself and others (it seems my first stay in Britain is all about making new discoveries), got new ideas, learnt new theories and practices. But most of all, I got to know a bunch of nice people from all around the world (Britain, China, Iraq, Madagascar, Turkey, Sweden…) – an amazingly colourful mix of people and cultures!

When I arrived, the Sefton Room seemed to be full of people. About 30 or 40 teachers and trainers were introducing themselves for the others and I was intrigued by the different experiences these people had. Even though they came from very different background, they all were interested in the same thing – developing as a teacher and as a person.

The colourful day started with looking into ourselves and telling the others what we would be as teachers and persons: sea or mountain, spring or autumn, Jaguar or VW van. It was very interesting how people involved their senses when deciding which group to join. We discussed sounds, smells, feelings, movements and colours. As I was moving from one group to another, sometimes I found myself in trouble. Perhaps it is my own lack of self-knowledge, but it made me think really hard if I would be a luxury Jaguar or a handy VW van. Although, it first made me want to run up and down between the two groups, looking into myself deeper and talking about it with others helped me realise I am more like an overloaded, a bit worn out, but comfy and useful little van which is always at hand.

We moved on with drawing ourselves as trees in the context of our teaching profession. The result was a whole forest, with the most varied trees in it – tall pine trees, young apple trees with blossoms, large and massive walnut trees with birds nests, hollowed trees with squirrels, old fruit trees still bearing fruits… One thing was common, though – all the trees had fruits on them.

This activity led us to think about a situation where we were proud about doing or achieving something. We collected all the skills we needed to achieve that aim. I chose a very fresh experience – I had given a successful workshop at an ELT conference about a week before. I had never thought about why it was so good or what made it work, so it was amazing to collect all the skills it got involved: organisational skills, managing time, ICT skills, interpersonal skills, presentation skills, spontaneity, creativity, humour… Later on we exploited these thoughts and went on exploring our own skills and abilities.

Julian Edge says

“Cooperative development is a way of working together with one or more colleagues to develop as a person who teaches in your own terms.” (1992, 2002)

We discussed this definition word by word and discovered how effective cooperation can be in making the most of our potential and develop ourselves as teachers. We also discussed the meaning and the role of empathy, which is essential when cooperating with colleagues. Empathy needs such skills as attending and reflecting, so we practiced both skills by listening to each other and reflecting on our impressions. When attending, it is important to make the speaker feel well listened to. You have to make sure to let the speaker know that you are interested and – probably the most difficult thing – not to make positive or negative evaluations. This may best be done by using reflection as a tool: acting as a mirror, summarising, catching the speaker’s emotions. These tricks will not only help the speaker to see clearer what s/he is trying to say, but it also helps you to understand better.

As a final activity, we made a collage to reflect on ourselves when we feel the passion about our work. We were kept quite busy for about 20 minutes with cutting papers, gluing colourful feathers and stickers, finding pictures and incisive mottoes to express ourselves. The result was a wonderful exhibition of thoughts put together in collages. I found it really useful to reflect on my own working process and exploring myself as a teacher and teacher trainer, using my multiple intelligences.

A personal reflection on what I learnt about my skills when teaching or presenting: To put it in an astronomical context – I found that in the organised universe of teaching/training/presenting/etc. there is always a “black hole” which can suck in everything at an unexpected moment, it can make the whole organised and carefully planned process collapse and destroyed. BUT if you use spontaneity as a “rope”, it can pull you out of trouble…

In the booklet we got at the workshop there is a quote from St. Augustine which seems to reflect the basic thought of the day:

“People travel to wonder
at the height of mountains,
at the huge waves of the sea,
at the long courses of rivers,
at the vast compass of the ocean,
at the circular motion of the stars;
and they pass by themselves without wondering.”

I strongly believe this workshop reached its primary aim: we became much more aware of who we are as individuals, as teachers or trainers. We will not “pass by ourselves without wondering” anymore. Many thanks to Jenny and Rosie for this discovery!

And if you ask me now what colour I am… Well, I will say: I‘m a RAINBOW teacher!

by Erzsébet Csibi, Hungary