Teacher Education and Development

DIRECTIONS: Make an analysis of your autobiography by focusing on your inner teaching beliefs, values, conceptualizations, thoughts, and actions. To the effect, you may consider answering any of the following questions:

What personal or schooling experiences can be considered to be the main sources of your pedagogical knowledge?

I think the main sources of my pedagogical knowledge have been my learning during the ELT and Master Programs, my experience as a teacher, and my experience as a learner.

Do you think there is link between your previous experiences as a language learner and your understanding of teaching? How could you support your answer?

I think my practice as a teacher has been influenced or shaped by my language learning experience. This is evident, when I acknowledge that the different learning experiences and reflections have helped me to develop my identity as a teacher.

How would you define the knowledge-base you have developed throughout your language teacher education and development?

I would define my knowledge based as a center of resources from which I can put into practice my knowledge as a teacher. To exemplify, I have learnt and used pedagogy, psychology, linguistics, grammar, sociology, didactics, CALL, and many other fields of knowledge during my experience as a teacher.

How do you think your understanding of the nature of language and learning has changed over the years?

I think that in the very beginning, I perceived language in a more linguistic way, as most of my English courses at the ELT program were developed following that approach. However, this conception has changed because now I am aware that language is a complex paradigm that can be related to different fields such as sociology and psychology.

What sort of social, cultural, and political forces have shaped your changing conceptions?

I consider that what have really helped me to shape my understanding of language teaching and learning are the influences and insights I have gain during my formal education and my experience as a teacher.

Which of those beliefs, values and understandings do you think fundamentally guide your teaching practice?

I believe that everybody can learn to speak another language. If we did it once, why not twice? Although I know that learning English is difficult for some people, I try to be patient, respectful and encouraging. My experience and understandings as a learner of English provide me with the some of the most personal insights I have regarding the learning of other languages.

Could you identify any mismatch between the way you think and the way you act in your teaching?

Of course, sometimes I plan and dream to do some things, but in reality you sometimes have to deal with unexpected issues and you have to improvise.

Do you have any special plans for your future professional growth?

I feel that it is just the starting point of my career as a language teacher, as most of the time I have studied English but not teach it. Therefore, I hope that the upcoming years of experience as a language teacher bring me more insights about language teaching and learning and help me to shape my identity as a teacher. I guess I would continue doing research, and updating in the coming trends in ELT, and if I am passionate about it I think I would like to do a doctoral degree.

DIRECTIONS: Once you have analyzed your autobiography, visit five of your colleagues´ blogs, make an interpretation of their autobiographies, and answer the following questions:

What commonalities and differences did you find in the participants´ knowledge-base, beliefs and experiences?

I think that most of us were taught English in a linguistic way. For that reason, I guess we used to tend to teach following that approach. However, during our development as teachers, we have found that there are several new possibilities which shape our teaching knowledge based. In regards to our beliefs, I consider that all of them are shaped by our own experiences in different contexts.

How could you explain the occurrence of those commonalities and differences?

I would say that the occurences of these commonalities and differences are directly related to our experiences in the same and different contexts.

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I would like to start this reflection with a reflective question: How do I become a teacher? And I express “become” because “teaching is an act that once started is never over” (Danielewicz 2001, 16). This complex question make me think about all the experiences I have had related with teaching and learning. In this sense, I consider the notion of identity development addressed by Danielewicz in her book Teaching Selves. As she mentions being a teacher is a question of identity as a “teacher” and identity could be considered as how I perceive myself and others and how others perceive themselves and me. Consequently, as perceptions can change identity can also do it, and this is what is called in Danielewicz terms “identity development”. In this way, she considers that becoming a teacher is a question of identity development as a teacher. It is more than a simple role, it is to be identified as teacher by myself and others.

According to this, I could answer my question of how I become a teacher from a perspective of identity development. First of all, it is important to highlight that I never perceived myself as a teacher, even as a musician but not as a teacher. When I finished high school I did not know even what I was going to study - and even now I am constantly questioning about what am I going to be in life – I choose Electronic Engineering because it was similar to System Engineering and it was one of the programs that required more Saber scores in order to enter to it. However, I was not prepared in maths terms for an engineering program and the only subject that I was really good was at English. So, I decided to apply for the ELT Program to try. Although I was afraid of English (as once I won a spelling contest at school and then I was invited to the Spelling Bee La Fragua, and I listen to people talking in English and I did not understand almost anything) I could deal satisfactorily with my classes and finish the ELT program.

Secondly, it is important to highlight that identity construction is linked with the discourse and context in which the individual is involved. In this regard, I consider that my identity as a teacher has been shaped by the different experiences I have had along my life. As a student, I have learnt what kind of teacher I would like to have in my classes, and as a teacher I have learnt how I would like my students to be. Consequently, I consider both sides as I have been in the two sides. This is really relevant because I consider that in class there is a need for a essential connection between the teacher and the students and these kind of experiences have made me gain insights in that kind of relationship. As Danielewicz (2001) have mentioned “Some teachers impress us deeply” (p.1) As a result, I reflect on what is essential for teaching and what is not and make my own judgment and take what is relevant for me to apply it.

Now I would like to reflect upon this question: Who am I as a teacher? I could approach this question from two perspectives: The identity or perceptions others have about me as teacher and my own identity (how I perceive myself as a teacher). In this order, when I usually start a course I like the idea (as Danielewicz does) of knowing my students lacks, wants and expectations for the course. I personally consider that teaching needs to be contextualized in order to be more meaningful for the students. In this way, I usually try to adapt the most the course to the students’ personalities and interests. In this same sense, at the end of the course I usually ask them to write in a piece of paper what their feelings are and their reactions for the class. This is, what they like and dislike of the class and the teacher and why. In this path, I collect all these kind of farewell letters and read it alone. I do not force them to write their names. I just ask them to be polite and sincere. As a result of this, I usually find in their notes that they like the class. Some of them highlight my energy as a teacher as I try to be charismatic and enthusiastic with the class, and we usually make jokes and have a lot of fun in class while learning. Therefore, a principal description they make of me is that I am a funny teacher, that I am different as other teachers are “embittered”. Yesterday, I received a message of a student from another town that I gave classes to her last year. I was really impressed when I read that I had inspired her to be better, that even I always taught them values. She said that I was a different teacher in the sense that I went beyond the classroom and helped them to understand life. I say I was impressed because I never devoted a whole class to promote values or reflection about life. However, I realized that she said that because when they made mistakes I encouraged them to fix them and I told them that they could do it and they finally did it. Thus, I realized that sometimes you do not know how many people you are inspiring until they tell you or someone else. That was the case of a friend of mine who has departed. Only when he died, his brother told me that “He wanted to be like me” (in musical terms) and I was surprised as I never expect I was inspiring him. As a result of this, I decided to create and event at school called “Newman Fest” and we have celebrated it twice in different towns.

Therefore, I would like to express that I was not aware of some of the perceptions the students have on me. As for example, the kind of things you teach unconsciously because of your own beliefs and personality. I think I know myself as a person and as a teacher, and I say I think because everything is in constantly change as identity. Thus, I could be once again surprised when someone else make me noticed something I am, but I was not aware of it. However, to finish I perceive myself as the teacher I would like to have, and maybe this is the reason why most of the students like my classes. I always say “it’s better to learn in a funny way”. After, teaching I discovered I like it. Now, I am in the Master in ELT and I let the destiny to impress me. J

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Professor Insuasty posted the following in his blog:

DIRECTIONS: In your personal blog, give an account of some experiences of "sponsored" and "independent" professional development you have had as an English teacher. Read what other colleagues posted in response to this task, and make a brief reflection on how different or similiar those professional development experiences have been.

Posted by Edgar Insuasty at 4:52 AM

My reflection upon this issue is as follows:

I think that my professional development has been sponsored only by my parents; for that reason, I consider that all my development as a teacher has been independent. However, I need to acknowledge that although nobody else has sponsored my development as a teacher, the opportunity to be in a licenciatura program, where I received my initial teacher education, has provided me with the most basic theoretical and practical foundations. During my stance at university, I took several courses that provided me with the knowledge about teaching that I needed. Furthermore, the practicum during two semesters allowed me to teach in real contexts that helped me to shape my identity as a teacher.

In addition, I feel that my experience in the field of language teaching has also been influenced by my jobs as a teacher. After my undergraduate program, I worked as a teacher in a private institution and then in two public schools. Therefore, the necessity to face different context of teaching has also helped me to understand that teaching is not an isolated or limited practice, but rather, that it is a continuum-development profession.

In relation to my partners, we share this master program as part of our development, and I supposed that everybody has an undergraduate program. Although, everybody has had different jobs and learning experiences, I consider that the discussions with professors and colleagues during the master have provoked us to be critical and reflective thinkers. As a result, our teaching will definitely not be the same, but rather, it will take advantage of all the learning experiences that have influenced us in our teaching.