中学英语教师专业发展英文.doc

Middle School English Teachers Professional Development1 IntroductionThe professional development of teachers is studied and presented in the relevant literature in many different ways. But the core is the understanding that professional development is about teachers learning, learning how to learn, and transforming their knowledge into practice for the benefit of their students growth. ThispaperaimsatexplainingwhatprofessionaldevelopmentmeansinELTteachersperspectivesandwhichprofessionaldevelopmentstrategiestheypreferusingintheirteachingcareer. suchaspeer-coaching,studygroups,andteamteachingThefindingsshowedthatthemajorityofELTteachersareawareofthenecessityofthetermprofessionaldevelopment;however,only%30less of themtheparticipantsgiveimportancetotheiron-goingprofessionaldevelopmentbyusingmainlysuchstrategiesasparticipatorypractitionerresearch,studygroups,andsoon.IntroductionProfessionaldevelopmenthasbeendefinedinvariouswayssuchas:xItisaninclusionofin-servicetrainingandworkshops.xItisaprocessinwhichteachersworkundersupervisiontogainexperiences.xItisanongoinglearningprocessinwhichteachersprimarilyaimathowtoteachinaccordancewiththeexpectationsandneedsofthestudents.Itseemsvividlythatthistermdoesnotrefertoonlyoneconcept,yetitincludesmanydifferentprinciples,whichispossibletobelistedasfollowsxInvolvegroupsofteachersratherthanindividualsfromanumberofschools, xRecogniseandaddressthemanyimpedimentstoteachersgrowthattheindividual,schoolanddistrictlevel.xUsingteachersasparticipantsinclassroomactivitiesorstudentsinrealsituations,toprojectaclearervisionoftheproposedchanges.xAllowtimeandopportunitiesforplanning,reflection,andfeedbackinordertoreportsuccessesandfailurestothegroup,toshare“thewisdomofpractice,”andtodiscussproblemsandsolutionsregardingindividualstudentsandnewteachingapproaches.x Recognizethatchangeisagradual,difficultandoftenpainfulprocess, Encourageteacherstosetfurthergoalsfortheirprofessionalgrowth.2.EffectiveProfessionalDevelopmentThecomponentsofeffectiveprofessionaldevelopmenthavebeenapproachedfromdifferentperspectives.Adey(2004,p.194)proposed4factorsnecessaryforeffectiveprofessionaldevelopmentasseeninthefollowing:1.TheIroducesmethodsforwhichthereisevidenceofeffectiveness1c.issupportedwithappropriatehighqualitymaterials2.ThePDprogram2a.isofsufficientlengthandintensity2b.usesmethodswhichreflecttheteachingmethodsbeingintroduced2c.includesprovisionforin-schoolcoaching3.Seniormanagementintheschool(s)3a.arecommittedtotheinnovation3b.sharetheirvisionwiththeimplementingdepartmentleaders3c.institutenecessarystructuralchangetoensuremaintenance4.Tmunicateeffectivelyamongstthemselvesabouttheinnovation4c.aregivenanopportunitytodevelopasenseofownershipoftheinnovation4d.aresupportedinquestioningtheirbeliefsaboutteachingandlearning4e.haveplentyofopportunityforpracticeandreflectionAlthoughthefactorsarevarying,whatiscertainisthatEnglishlanguageteachersareinneedofeffectiveprofessionaldevelopmenttokeeppacewiththerapidlychanginganddevelopingeducationalsetting.Peer-CoachingPeercoachingisbasedonreciprocalvisitsoftwoteacherswherebytheyprovideeachotherwithfeedbackandadviceabouttheirteaching.Inpeercoaching,eachteacheractsasboththecoachandthecoachee,Thornetal.(2007)proposesmanybenefitsofpeercoachingasfollows:xReduceisolationamongleadersxEstablishcollaborativenormsxBuildasharedknowledgebasexSharesuccessfulpracticesxEncouragereflectivepracticexMorecohesiveorganizationalcultureDuetobeingaprofessionaldialogue,itsuppliessupportiveanddevelopmentalcontextfortheteachers,whichisbeneficialforespeciallylanguageteacherswhoneedtolearnandusenewlanguageitemsandculturalpractices.3.2.StudyGroupsStudygroupsconsistofanumberofteachersandadministratorstendingtoexchangeideas,planlessons,analyzestudentsworksandevendiscussschoolpolicy(Murphy,1992), Thediscussionscanbeofgreatimportanceintermsofleaningaboutotherteachersteachingmethodsandstrategiesandreflectingtheeffectiveonestotheirownclassrooms.However, bepaidsomeattentionasthesizeofthegroups(ideallysixpeopleforeachgroup),thefrequencyandregularityofthemeetings,thenecessityofgroupleadersandrepresentativesharmonious (Joyce&Showers,1995);otherwise,itcanturnintoamessratherthanacollaborativeandcoherenteducationalsetting.3.7.TeamTeachingTeamteachingincludesagroupofteachersworkingtogetherinapurposeful,regularandcooperativefashiontoteachagroupofstudents.Teacherstogethersetgoalsforacourse,designasyllabus,prepareindividuallessonplans,teachstudentsandevaluatetheresults,whichleadstomoreinteractionbetweentheteachers(Buckley,1998).Iftheimplementationofteamteachingfollowscertainstepslikeplanning,conductingandevaluating,theefficacycanbeincreasedtoagreatextent.3 ConcludingInthisstudy,Englishlanguageteachersperceptionsaboutwhatprofessionaldevelopmentstrategiestheypreferusingwereinvestigated.Itwasfoundoutthatcollaborativeactivitiesaregenerallyneglectedbylanguageteacherswiththeexceptionofmentoring.Inbrief,lackofcommunication,interactionandcollaborationinfluencethepreferencesofEnglishlanguageteachersprofessionaldevelopmentstrategies,somoreattentionandimportanceshouldbeallocatedformoreeffectiveprofessionaldevelopmenReferencesAdey,P.(2004).Theprofessionaldevelopmentofteachers:practiceandtheory.KluwerAcademicPublishers,Boston,MA.Birchak,B.,Connor,C.,Crawford,K.,Kahn,L.,Kayer,S.,Turner,S.,&Short,K.(1998).Teacherstudygroups:Buildingcommunitythroughdialogandreflection.Urbana,IL:NationalCouncilofTeachersofEnglish.Buckley,F.J.(1998).TeamTeaching:What,Why,andHow?ThousandOaks,CA:Sage.Butcher,J.(2002).Acaseformentorchallenge?Theproblemoflearningtoteachpost.MentoringandTutoring.10(3),p.197-220.Clarke,D.M.(1994).Tenkeyprinciplesfromresearchfortheprofessionaldevelopmentofmathematicsteachers.InD.B.Aichele&A.F.Croxford(Eds.).Professionaldevelopmentforteachersofmathematics(pp.37-48).Reston,VA:NCTM.英文专著： Ellis, R. 2003. Task-based Language Learning and Teaching M. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (姓在前，名在后，并用逗号隔开；M表示文献类型为专著；Oxford表示出版地。)英文期刊： Nunan, D.1987. Communicative language teaching: Making it work J. ELT Journal, 4: 126-131. (姓