We at TDSIG are excited! As one of the events of the ELT year draws ever closer, we’d like to share the excitement of the IATEFL Annual Conference in Brighton and give you a sneak peek into what teacher development-related goodies are in store. This is the first in a three-part series looking at our TDSIG Showcase Day – on Thursday 12 April we have chosen a range of talks, forums and workshops that should get your developmental juices going. We hope you’ll join us on the day!
Inspired professional development – Silvana Richardson and Gabriel Diaz Maggioli
Time: 10:20 Room: Oxford
Our day kicks off with a talk from two former IATEFL plenary speakers, Silvana talking about non-native speaker teachers in 2016 and Gabriel on empowering teachers in 2017. Their showcase session is titled ‘Inspired professional development: The road ahead’. Here is the abstract:
How can busy professionals access time and cost-effective professional development opportunities? What is now known about the impact and the formats that professional development can take? In this presentation, we will share insights from recent reviews of studies into continuous professional development, ideas and opportunities for teachers to engage in ongoing professional development.
Action research – Jennifer Wallace
Time: 11:05 Room: Cambridge
The second session of the day sees us finding about things action research-related with Jennifer – a previous winner of the 2013 Cambridge ESOL IATEFL Scholarship from Sydney, Australia. Developing is the name of the game here, and we will learn about an action research program at her institution in the talk ‘Action research: a program for positive change’. Abstract details below:
The UTS Insearch Action Research Program is a grassroots, teacher-led professional development initiative which supports teachers to conduct small-scale, classroom-based research and engage with theory and scholarship. This talk will discuss the approach teachers could adopt when setting up a program in their own schools, and will also outline the potential benefits for the school community.
Are you going to be in Brighton? Tell us what you’re looking forward to at IATEFL!
Don’t forget to keep an eye on the TDSIG website where we’ll be sharing more details from our SIG Showcase line-up!