Task 3
1. Non-judgmental approach: this is where I went wrong, particularly with my own transcripts. Being trained in the CELTA tradition and having completed the Postgraduate Diploma in Language Teaching, I’ve grown accustomed to scrutinizing my practice and somehow this always ends with a quest for mistakes and mental self-flagellation. I have transcribed bits of my lessons in the past, but, mostly subconsciously, it was always to identify my mistakes and set goals for improvement. There were moments when I found it draining and dispiriting. But from now on, I will stop asking myself: am I a good teacher? I will try to adopt a non-judgmental approach and describe what actually happened, trying through the transcripts to be a (more or less) impartial observer in my own classroom.
2. I found the re-classification approach very refreshing. It shows that some things we do in the classroom, e.g. calling on a particular student by name, are not inherently encouraging or discouraging. This example demonstrates, yet again, the value of experimentation in the classroom.
1. Non-judgmental approach: this is where I went wrong, particularly with my own transcripts. Being trained in the CELTA tradition and having completed the Postgraduate Diploma in Language Teaching, I’ve grown accustomed to scrutinizing my practice and somehow this always ends with a quest for mistakes and mental self-flagellation. I have transcribed bits of my lessons in the past, but, mostly subconsciously, it was always to identify my mistakes and set goals for improvement. There were moments when I found it draining and dispiriting. But from now on, I will stop asking myself: am I a good teacher? I will try to adopt a non-judgmental approach and describe what actually happened, trying through the transcripts to be a (more or less) impartial observer in my own classroom.
2. I found the re-classification approach very refreshing. It shows that some things we do in the classroom, e.g. calling on a particular student by name, are not inherently encouraging or discouraging. This example demonstrates, yet again, the value of experimentation in the classroom.
No need to think you went wrong. CELTA and most of teacher preparation are just what most think is right. We can just say that there are alternative approaches and use the one that benefits us and our students the most. Of course my answer is description and analysis and experimentation rather than judgment. But my answer is not necessarily the right answer, just another answer.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy, enjoy.
I also consider that most of the time we need to experiment first , but also listen to students´ voices of how they think they are learning , what strategies have they developed to learn better .
ReplyDelete