Not long to go now! In just under a week we’ll be in Brighton three quarters of the way through the IATEFL conference and well underway with our TDSIG Showcase Day – we’ve selected a range of talks, workshops and forums on Thursday 12 April all relating to teacher development! This is the last of our three preview posts – we look forward to seeing you on the south coast!

Teacher development over time – Tessa Woodward, Donald Freeman and Kathleen Graves

Time: 14:20 Room: Cambridge

Kicking off the post-lunch section of our Showcase, we have a workshop lead by Tessa Woodward, Donald Freeman and Kathleen Graves (themselves three former IATEFL plenary speakers at the 2010, 2015 and 2014 conferences respectively). Teacher developmental appetite whetted? Here’s the abstract to get you salivating:

This workshop starts with a brief introduction to research into teachers’ professional lives. You are then invited to try out teacher development activities related to your past: “Where have I come from as a teacher?” Your present: “Where am I now?” And your future: “Where am I headed?” The activities are drawn from a new book, Teacher Development Over Time.

Learner-centred Observations of Teachers – Christian Tiplady

Time: 15:20 Room: Cambridge

Our next session sees us shift focus slightly from teacher to learner in a talk lead by TDSIG’s very own Christian Tiplady. Host of the TDSIG Developod podcast, Christian asks a question in his talk: why do observations focus so much on teacher behaviour. Interested? Here’s the abstract:

We speak about learner-centred teaching but observations of experienced teachers invariably still concentrate on the teacher’s behaviour and are disconnected from learner outcomes. How can teacher observations instead focus on the effects on the learner? This talk will share how we have structured lesson observations and used alternative criteria to shift the focus towards the end user, namely the learner.

Coffee break

 

TDSIG Open Forum

Time: 16:20 Room: Cambridge

Come and join us for the Open Forum – our opportunity to share ideas about the TDSIG initiatives and highlight key teacher development issues to address together over the coming year.

Who we are – Teacher Identity and the Ideal Self – Colin Mackenzie

Time: 17:05 Room: Cambridge

Our Showcase Day comes to an end with a workshop lead by former TDSIG committee member Colin Mackenzie and focuses on a difficult question – just who are we? If you fancy delving into a discussion on our teacher selves, then come along! Abstract below:

Teaching is very revealing of who we are. How we approach it depends on our identity and our vision of the teacher. Together we will explore how both who we are and how we see “the teacher” influence our teaching and look how to be ourselves in the classroom while still moving towards our vision of the ideal teacher.

Coming to Brighton? Tell us what you’re looking forward to at IATEFL!