Key factors relevant to In—service teacher training

汪暉

【Abstract】Successful continuing professional development （CPD） is beneficial not only to teachers professional growth， but also to the development of their school and children. This essay will explain some key factors， regarding needs analysis， approach， goals and objectives， training methodology， assessment， in my essay.

【Key words】in-service teacher training； analysis； approach； goals and objectives； training methodology； assessment

I. Introduction

“The importance of continuing professional development （CPD） is increasingly recognized as an important contributor to school improvement”. （Saunder，N，2005，41） Successful CPD is beneficial not only to teachers professional growth， but also to the development of their school and the children. As Richards and Rodgers （1986） state， the proliferation of approaches and methods is a prominent characteristic of contemporary second and foreign language teaching. Teachers can choose different methods and approaches in the classroom according to different types of materials， the needs of learners and the preference of teachers. I will explain some key factors， regarding needs analysis， approach， goals and objectives， training methodology， assessment， in my essay.

II. Needs analysis

It is a good self development opportunity for teachers to take part in the methods and approaches learning course. Ryall A and Goddard，G（2003） also believe “there exists a fundamental right for individuals to be given the opportunity for self development”. Teachers are already proficient in some teaching methods， such as Grammar-translation Method which is already used by most of Chinese teachers for decades， but they have little idea of some other teaching methods and approaches， such as Suggestopedia Method and the Natural Approach. They are often bewildered by the lack of any comprehensive theory of what an approach and method are.

It is a big issue for teachers to intrigue students interests， to increase their motivation， and to involve them in the class more actively and efficiently. So， teachers wish to and also have the responsibility to do self improvement of absorbing more teaching methods and to apply them in teaching practice. It is also demanded by parents.

It is also a good approach for school principles to value teachers as individuals and to invest in teachers training which can further enhance their contribution to the school. Because Edwards and Knight （1994 in Ryall A and Goddard，G，2003） argue that “Effectiveness is related to the way people feel， to what they value and how they relate to each other as humans and to how they learn at work”.

III. Approach

Compared to the ‘a(chǎn)pplied science model which “regards primary agent of professional knowledge as academic researcher or ‘expert other than trainees” （Wallace，1991）， the ‘reflective model emphasizes the fact that people seldom enter into professional training situations with “blank minds” and/or “neutral attitudes” （Wallace，1991）.

During the professional education， trainees are given lecture to gain some theory of methods and approaches， which can be identified as ‘received knowledge. （Wallace，1991） After that， on the basis of having some practical experience already， trainees can also apply these methods and approached into practice in terms of microteaching is the action to gain more ‘experiential knowledge. （Wallace，1991） These two elements have a “close and reciprocal relationship according to Wallace.”（1991） When trainees listen to lecture， their previous experiences are helpful for them to understand theory of different methods or approaches. And microteaching and observed teaching practice are ways of providing shared experience which can then be used as data for reflective dialogue. So “the trainee can reflect on the ‘received knowledge in the light of classroom experience， and so that classroom experience can feed back into the ‘received knowledge sessions” （Wallace，1991） which is in accordance with ‘reflective cycle of the ‘reflective model between practice and reflection. The ‘a(chǎn)pplied science also expect trainees to apply the findings of the knowledge to their teaching situation， but only take the form of ‘one-way instead of ‘reflective cycle.

IV. Training methodology

Lecture is administrative and is relatively simple to arrange， but is lack of feedback according to Wallace （1991）， so the trainer can arranges group discussion in the following step. Trainees are asked to observe the video or the demonstration given by experienced teacher. After that， they can do group discussion to relate the new knowledge to their previous knowledge and experience. The trainer can also take part in the interactive activities to get some feedback effectively. After that， trainees will apply new knowledge into practice by means of microteaching. At last， the activities of peer-evaluation and trainer evaluation are processed to assess the successfulness of teaching different methods and approaches in microteaching. Besides， the usefulness of methods and approaches themselves is also evaluated.

V. Assessment

“Assessment is obviously an important part of any course since it in fact determines what the students must do in order to gain the qualifications.” （Wallace，1991，126） Teachers can use two kinds of assessment which are essay and professional action. Trainees can be asked to write an essay to evaluate the microteaching which integrates many kinds of teaching methods and approaches at the end of the course. Besides， at the end of each session， trainees are also encouraged to apply theyve learned methods and approaches into teaching practice by means of microteaching which is ‘formative test （Richards， Platt and Platt，1992）. Then， self-evaluation and peer-evaluation， which， in my opinion， is “formative evaluation”， （Wallace，1991） are put forward after observation. So trainees can make improvement after being given suggestions.

References：

[1]Richards，J.C，Platt，J and Platt，H.Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Appelied Linguistics.Longman Group UK Limited.1992.

[2]Ryall，Anita and Goddard，Gillian.Support Staff In Primary Schools：Reflections Upon The Benefits Of Training And Implications For Schools.In Education.3-13 Volume 31 Number 1 March 2003.

[3]Saunders，Neil.Learning Through Teaching—One Schools Approach To School Improvement Through Continuing Professional Development.In Education.3-13 Volume 33 Number 2 June 2005.

[4]Wallace，M，J.Training Foreign Language Teachers.CUP，1991.