In my previous career (which rapidly seems like another life...), the importance of continuous professional development (CPD), ongoing training and development, setting personal and professional objectives etc was drilled into me and became part of normal working life. OK, I was lucky enough to work for some great companies (and some truly inspirational managers/leaders) who recognised the importance of this activity, but surely ongoing learning and improvement just makes sense doesn't it? It doesn't have to be about climbing the greasy pole and constantly searching for promotions, more money, increased perks etc. Not everybody is ambitious in terms of these material goals but might instead be ambitious for a better quality of life, more time to travel, do the gardening etc. It really doesn't matter and, after all, not everybody can progress to the top - there simply isn't room!
But what surely does matter is that we are happy and interested in our job. This is better for our own health and sanity, it's better for our co-workers who, by and large, like working with happy people and the benefits for our bosses in terms of the quality of the job we do and the energy levels we have are obvious. I could rant on but what is meant by professional development in the TEFL world? It's easy to read or follow a lot of blogs, attend every conference going but it's important to think about why you are doing it and what you are expecting to get out of it. In other words how does the development activity link to your professional development goals (more of which in a future blog).
Below are some areas that have helped my professional development as a teacher.
In Academy Training
Most schools and academies seem to have regular "team meetings" which are often billed as development sessions but seem to vary in quality (my own experience and that of people I know in other language schools). Often of course they are exactly what they are supposed to be and I have come away with a page of activities ready to use or some further thoughts and ideas about language systems or second language acquisition. As with most things in life I find the more you put in, the more you get out of these sessions.
Reading
Learning from other teachers is always a great way to develop and this can be helped through the wonderful activities and absorbing debates that take are posted on the huge variety of blogs that exist. But which ones should I follow, contribute to etc?. Personally whilst I read the books that I needed to (or the parts of books I needed to...) for my CELTA, I really should make time to revisit them in the context of actually being a teacher. But maybe that's just me. And what about all those other books I keep hearing about that I should buy or borrowed (or encourage my school to invest in)? It's easy not to find the time but the benefits (assuming you have the right book!) are huge.
Conferences
I've attended the TESOL conference in Spain for the past two years (and will be there again in a couple of months). I get so much out of it, it's amazing. I come back so enthused, ready to use some activities that have been shared and prepared to try new ways of doing things. The challenge is finding the time to remember all the talks I went to and how I promised myself it would change my lessons.
Qualifications
Teaching jobs seem to be increasingly asking for evidence of professional development and to get a ADoS or DoS job from outside a school often requires having a PGCE or a DELTA. I've never been into collecting qualifications for qualifications sake but for me, three and a bit years into teaching, now is time to take the next step. DELTA (or at least module 1) here we come!
But what surely does matter is that we are happy and interested in our job. This is better for our own health and sanity, it's better for our co-workers who, by and large, like working with happy people and the benefits for our bosses in terms of the quality of the job we do and the energy levels we have are obvious. I could rant on but what is meant by professional development in the TEFL world? It's easy to read or follow a lot of blogs, attend every conference going but it's important to think about why you are doing it and what you are expecting to get out of it. In other words how does the development activity link to your professional development goals (more of which in a future blog).
Below are some areas that have helped my professional development as a teacher.
In Academy Training
Most schools and academies seem to have regular "team meetings" which are often billed as development sessions but seem to vary in quality (my own experience and that of people I know in other language schools). Often of course they are exactly what they are supposed to be and I have come away with a page of activities ready to use or some further thoughts and ideas about language systems or second language acquisition. As with most things in life I find the more you put in, the more you get out of these sessions.
Reading
Learning from other teachers is always a great way to develop and this can be helped through the wonderful activities and absorbing debates that take are posted on the huge variety of blogs that exist. But which ones should I follow, contribute to etc?. Personally whilst I read the books that I needed to (or the parts of books I needed to...) for my CELTA, I really should make time to revisit them in the context of actually being a teacher. But maybe that's just me. And what about all those other books I keep hearing about that I should buy or borrowed (or encourage my school to invest in)? It's easy not to find the time but the benefits (assuming you have the right book!) are huge.
Conferences
I've attended the TESOL conference in Spain for the past two years (and will be there again in a couple of months). I get so much out of it, it's amazing. I come back so enthused, ready to use some activities that have been shared and prepared to try new ways of doing things. The challenge is finding the time to remember all the talks I went to and how I promised myself it would change my lessons.
Qualifications
Teaching jobs seem to be increasingly asking for evidence of professional development and to get a ADoS or DoS job from outside a school often requires having a PGCE or a DELTA. I've never been into collecting qualifications for qualifications sake but for me, three and a bit years into teaching, now is time to take the next step. DELTA (or at least module 1) here we come!