Transcript Professionalizing Your English Language Teaching

Professionalizing Your English
Language Teaching
DR CHRISTINE COOMBE
DUBAI MEN’S COLLEGE
TESOL PRESIDENT (2010-2013)
Agenda
 What is a profession?
 What does it mean to be a professional?
 Contributing elements to teacher professionalism
 Myths associated with professionalism
 Characteristics of professionalism
 General strategies for improving your
professionalism
 Field-specific strategies for improving your
professionalism
 Challenges to becoming a professional
Definitions of terms
 Profession:
 a distinct category of occupational work
 Professionalization:
 a process in which a professional group pursues, develops,
acquires and maintains more characteristics of a profession
 Professionalism:
 the conduct, demeanor and standards which guide the work of
professionals
What is a profession?
 The Oxford English Dictionary defines a profession
as “a paid occupation, especially one that involves
prolonged training and a formal qualification” and
in its definition of a professional, the dictionary
uses the words “competent, skillful, or assured”.
What defines a true teaching professional?
 Puts customer or student satisfaction first
 Has expert and specialized knowledge in teaching
 Exhibits excellent practical/communication skills
 Does high quality work, even more than is expected
 Demonstrates high standards of professional ethics
(behavior & activities)
 Shares knowledge and expertise
 Praises peers not themselves
 Has a positive attitude even during tough times
What it means to be professional?
 Being professional means being an expert.
 Professionals have a commitment that is deeply
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personal.
In daily practice, professionals are results centered,
internally directed, other focused and externally open.
(Bowman, 2012)
Dedicated to professional development both for
themselves and for those people who are affected by
their work.
Associated adjectives: trustworthy, reliable, dedicated
and committed
Are reflective.
Research on professionalism
 Teaching experience is not related to professionalism
 Amount of PD attended was found to be an
important variable
 Academic qualifications were not related to
professionalism
 Those with higher professional qualifications were
found to possess a (perceived) higher degree of
professionalism
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Keng, Hoong & Aun, (2008)
Contributing elements to professionalism
 Knowledge (Snoek, 2009)
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Thorough knowledge of the subject
Thorough knowledge of the teaching & learning process
Thorough knowledge of society
Knowledge of policy and organization in education
 Skills
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Able to communicate and discuss educational issues
Able to account the quality of work to the outside world
Able to conduct research within schools
Able to contribute to collaborative learning of professional
communities
Able to translate outcomes of educational research to innovations in
the classroom/school
Contributing elements of professionalism
 Attitudes:
 Dedication to student learning
 Committed to the profession and the collective group of
professionals
 Willing to contribute to the collective knowledge of the
profession
 Committed to the ethical code of the profession and the
integrity of his/her work
 Willing to account the quality of work to the outside world
 Focused on continuous professional development
 Focus on improvement and innovation of teaching
Myths associated with professionalism
 Professionals work for big
companies/organizations/institutions.
 Professionals have senior titles.
 Professionals know everything.
 Professionals lack manners.
Behaviors of professionals
 Professionals solve more problems than they create.
 Conveying hardship on others doesn’t convey
importance; it
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wastes times;
creates inefficiency;
diminishes overall importance.
 A true professional works to bring up the level of
those around him, not diminish colleagues in order
to feel better by comparison.
General characteristics of professionalism
(Joseph, 2012)
 Appearance
 A professional is neat in appearance and should meet or even
exceed the requirements of your organization’s dress code.
 Demeanor
 should exude confidence but not cockiness; be polite and wellspoken when dealing with others; keep calm, even under tense
situations.
 Reliability
 Respond to others promptly; follow through on promises in a
timely manner
General characteristics of professionalism 2
 Competence
 strive to become an expert in their field; continue their
education; attend seminars; attain any related professional
designations.
 Ethics
 Teachers/teacher trainers should display ethical behavior at all
times
 Poise
 maintain their poise even when facing a difficult situation;
never resort to the same type of behavior.
General characteristics of professionalism 3
 Phone/written correspondence/social media
etiquette
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What are your views on self-disclosure?
 Organizational skills
 Professionals can quickly and easily find what is needed.
 Their work area should be neat and organized, and their
briefcase should contain only what is needed for the job at
hand.
General characteristics of professionalism 4
 Accountability
 Be accountable for their actions at all times. If they make a
mistake, they own up to it and try to fix it if possible. Don’t try
to place the blame on others.
 Vocabulary
 It isn’t the use of big words, it’s the use of the right words
 Professionals can convey their intended message in a way
others understand.
General characteristics of professionalism 5
 Attitude
 A positive attitude greatly increases the chances of success
 Mind set
 Need to be able to focus on the task at hand, to see the whole
picture as well as the bit parts
 Obstacles
 Most people think the biggest obstacles for being a
professional are money and education. In reality, the biggest
obstacles are learning to see ourselves as professionals
Behaviors of effective teachers and teacher
trainers
 Are lifelong learners
 Further their education
 Seek out/take advantage of PD opportunities
 Are reflective
 Keep up-to-date in the profession
 Read professional journals
 Are professional citizens
 Belong to professional associations
TESOL International or IATEFL; TESOL Arabia & TELLSI
 Within their area of specialization (ILTA)
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Behaviors of effective teachers and teacher
trainers
 Engage in professional activities
 Present at conferences
 Do research
 Take on volunteer & paid leadership positions
 Organize PD events
 Publish their work
 Mentor other professionals
 Plan their life and careers strategically
Recommendations for improving your
professionalism 1
 Start with yourself
 Self-knowledge is the beginning of self improvement (Spanish
proverb)
 Know Thyself. (Temple at Delphi)
 Conduct a critical self-evaluation or SWOT analysis
 Look for tools to help you be more efficient
 Seek out individuals who can help you achieve your
goals (i.e, your personal ‘Board of Directors’ or an
‘accountability buddy’)
Recommendations for improving your
professionalism 2
 Take advantage of every opportunity.
 Opportunity doesn’t knock just once, it knocks all the time.
Most of us, however, do not recognize the sound.
 Ask questions.
 Talk to successful people to find out their secret to success.
 The quality of the info you receive will depend on the quality of
the questions you ask.
 A conversation can lead to a relationship (mentor-mentee) and
this relationship can produce amazing results
Recommendations for improving your
professionalism 3
 Invest in yourself.
 Two-way street; know where to spend your $$ and when to
pass on financial opportunities
 Take advantage of PD opportunities.
 Be selective
 Find strategies to improve your time management.
 Work towards being a mentor.
 Start with a two-directional peer mentoring experience
Recommendations for improving your
professionalism 4
 Share your knowledge and skills.
 He who wants to be a leader. Let him be a bridge. (Arabic
saying)
 Take on leadership positions.
 Teaching is a flat profession.
 Sometimes unpaid leadership positions are the best PD
opportunities.
 Know when to be out in front and when to lead from
behind.
 Put customer satisfaction first.
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Cornerstone of successful business practice.
Challenges of being a professional
 Work/life balance
 Lack of resources (i.e, equipment, books, $$$,
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internet access etc)
Time management
Lack of information
Bad attitude
Workload (often unpaid)
The way forward…….
 Are there other strategies that you can recommend?
 What can we do to overcome the challenges?
 What is your action plan towards improving your
professionalism?
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Next month
A year
2 to 3 years
Closing thoughts….
 A professional teaching qualification does not make
you a professional.
 Success in anything doesn’t happen without a
strategic plan in place.
 Successful teacher trainers need to first be highlyeffective teachers.
 Only then can they be the role models/mentors they
need to be.
Presenter contact
 Dr Christine Coombe
 [email protected]
 [email protected]
 +97150-6194796
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