Attending Workshops

Peer Observation

Student Feedback

Often run by organisations such as KOTESOL, it is an intensive, short-term learning activity that is designed to provide an opportunity to acquire specific knowledge and skills. Participants are expected to learn something that they can later apply in the classroom and to get hands on experience with the topic. You may ask your colleague to focus on a particular aspect of your teaching (for example, your patterns of interaction with students), or to comment on your teaching in general. Your colleague can take down notes or use a standard form (which myself or Nayeon can provide you). Immediately after the lesson, make notes about what you felt were your strengths and weaknesses, and then discuss the lesson with your colleague. The teacher collects information, via surveys (survey forms are available from myself or Nayeon) or interviews, which allow him to evaluate his performance over a period of time and analyses improvements that can be made in future classes and syllabuses. The teacher collects information from colleagues, via surveys or interviews, which allow him to evaluate his performance over a period of time and analyses improvements that can be made in future classes and syllabuses.

- Can provide input from experts - Offer practical classroom applications - Develops collegiality - Allows you to see how a different teacher teachers - Third party can provide an objective view of the lesson - Gives teachers a chance to share expertise - Helps the teacher to understand students feelings - Makes students feel like their opinions are important - Is easy to administer - A good opportunity to build on relationship with colleagues - An easy way to learn from other professionals - Is easy to administer - Is less obtrusive than having a peer observe a lesson. - You can review it over and over, each time concentrating on a different aspect.- Is not time consuming - Can be quick and easy to administer, meaning it can be repeated over time to help track development. - Is very personal, no one even needs to know you are doing it. - Can be useful if recycling lessons in the next academic year.

- Time Consuming - Hard to keep track of when and where they are organised - Often require professional memberships - Can make you feel nervous or stressed - Can be difficult to find another teacher with the time available - Teacher might teach differently to normal or students might behave differently - Students might not be mature enough to give constructive feedback - Teacher might take criticism personally

Co Teacher Feedback

- Can be difficult to find a co-teacher who has time available - If co-teacher writes negative comments it can put a strain on your relationship - You may only see what you want to see, therefore falsely confirming beliefs about your own teaching. - Students might become self-conscious and less willing to participate. - Teacher might make extra effort - Lack of collaboration with other teachers means the teacher may miss important aspects of the lesson. - The retrospective nature means the teacher might forget important aspects of the lesson.

Record a Lesson

Can be done using either video or audio, the teacher can watch or listen to the lesson to analyse aspects of the lesson such as talk time, how much time students get to talk, whether you give equal opportunities to all students etc. -

Lesson Reports

Teaching Journal/Blog

Records what happened during a lesson. It is normally completed shortly after a lesson has been taught and records as many important details as the teacher can remember, for example, what parts of the lesson were successful, difficulties learners experienced, language items students needed to complete activities, whether the lesson plan had to be deviated from at any point. A report is then written answering questions such as: - What aspects of the lesson worked well? - What aspects of the lesson did not work particularly well? Why? - What aspects of the lesson should be done differently next time? An ongoing written account of observations, reflections, and other thoughts about teaching, usually in the form of a notebook, or electronic mode (blog), which serves as a source of discussion, reflection or evaluation.

Watching Webinars

Online seminars that have been recorded and are available for play back online. They usually focus on a specific area of ELT or EFL.

- Although retrospectively personal, other teachers can comment providing another viewpoint. - Can write where ever and whenever you want - Can concentrate on the topics you feel are most important - Can be downloaded to mobile devices - Is very stress free - Can get teaching information from professional teacher educators.

- Can be extremely time consuming - Can take a long time to build up readers and to start getting comments - Having your practices under public scrutiny can be nerve wracking - You cant control the topics that will be covered. - They can often focus on very different teaching contexts to yours.