It’s getting closer – the IATEFL Annual Conference takes place next month with Pre Conference Events on Monday 3 April and the conference proper running from Tuesday 4 April to Friday 7 April. With hundreds of talks, workshops and other sessions to see, it can be tough to choose what to see for your professional development in Glasgow. Luckily, if development is your thing, then TDSIG has the programme for you – we’ve put together a day full of sessions focusing on teacher development, all the same SECC room.

TDSIG’s day is Wednesday 5 April and here is what we have lined up for you

 

Session 2.1
1020–1050
We are what we read: how reading shapes teachers
Jane Spiro (Oxford Brookes University, United Kingdom)

This talk shares the testimonies of 50 teachers explaining the ways in which reading from childhood into adulthood, both within and outside professional contexts, helped to fuel their passion for teaching and shape their values as teachers. The session ends with a rationale for including personal reading histories as part of a teacher’s reflective development.
Talk
Session 2.1
1055–1125
IATEFL Teacher Development Special Interest Group Open Forum
TDSIG Committee

The TDSIG Open Forum provides an opportunity for members and prospective members to meet the TDSIG committee and to get a full account of the SIG’s activities, events and future plans. The open forum is also a chance to meet other TD professionals and to take part in shaping the future of the SIG.
Forum
Session 2.3
1225-1255
I don’t want to be a manager – now what?
Lizzie Pinard (University of Sheffield) CANCELLED

This talk looks at a range of ideas for professional development, for teachers who don’t want to be managers but do want to keep their career moving forwards. It links these ideas to the British Council’s Framework for Continuing Professional Development, showing how this can be a useful CPD tool. This talk is suitable for teachers and managers alike!
Talk
Session 2.4
1415-1500
Be overt not covert!
David Byrne (EC London) & Mark Heffernan (Queen Mary University of London)

This session tackles the question of whether or not we need to be more overt in our teaching methods. We will be presenting our reasons why this should be so and you will be looking at simple techniques you can employ to make your teaching more overt so your students are aware of exactly what they are doing and why.
WS
Session 2.5
1515–1545
De-idealising the heteronormative self in the ELT classroom
Angelos Bollas (CELT Athens)

This talk brings together motivation, queer studies and materials development theories in order to highlight the absence of references to LGBTQ sexual orientations and the possible implications this may have on learners’ motivation. By the end of the talk, participants will have been presented with tasks they can use in order to address the issue and provide lessons for all.
Talk
Session 2.6
1620–1705
“Am I good enough?” and other elephants in our classrooms
Nick Bell (Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Waedenswil, Switzerland)

The aim of this workshop is to encourage participants to discover a sense of their own inalienable worthiness, while finding the courage to be vulnerable in their teaching. For this purpose, they will reflect on ways to let go of expectations that may have been holding them back and diminishing their effectiveness as teachers.
WS
Session 2.7
1720–1735
Forum on Reflection
Strategies to promote the enhancement of trainee teachers’ reflective practice
Diana Pena Munoz (The Anglo Mexican Foundation)

A common practice in teacher education programmes is to engage teachers in reflection so that they become more effective educators. However, more often than not, little guidance is offered as to how to become more critically reflective. The aim of this presentation is to suggest some strategies to explicitly train teachers on systematic and critical reflection.
Three key features which make student teachers’ written reflections reflective
Munirah Hanafi (Canterbury Christ Church University, UK)

This talk is about how pre-service student teachers’ written reflections demonstrate characteristics of reflective writing, based on three key features: evaluating teaching, solving problems and reasoning. I will explain how these features are developed and how they are considered as evidence of reflective practice in a pre-service teacher education programme in Malaysia.
The role of reflective practice in teacher development in Palestine
Shireen Irziqat (United Nations Relief and Works Agency)

Drawing on my experiences of delivering the British Council’s Certificate in Secondary English Language Teaching (CiSELT) to Palestinian teachers, I’ll discuss how particular training strategies can lead to improved classroom practice for teachers. Using real examples from my training context, I’ll demonstrate how reflective practice can encourage newly-acquired teaching techniques and approaches to be more easily implemented into the classroom.
Forum

Remember, all the sessions take place in the same room – Carron 1 on the 1st Floor of the SEC.

sec floorpan

How to find Carron 1

Coming up

We’ll be sharing posts from each of our SIG Day speakers in the run up to Glasgow 2017 – keep an eye on the blog!