Nayibe Rosado “English and Teacher Education: Continuing Professional Development”, Colombia

Diálogos sobre Política Educativa INGLÉS PARA EL FUTURO Cartagena de Indias 1-3 Oct ,2012

English and Teacher Education: Continuing Professional Development�

• Continuing Professional Development: the Colombian fractal

Students’ learning/ teachers’ learning Studies of students’ learning have been conducted as a totally different research

field disconnected from teachers’ learning .

(Cadavid, Díaz, & Quinchía, 2009; Cadavid, McNulty, & Quinchía, 2004; Clavijo, 2000; Cárdenas & Chaves, 2010; González, Montoya, & Sierra, 2001, González, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008; Gonzalez & Sierra, 2005; Quintero, 2007; Usma, 2007;

Usma & Frodden, 2003)

Students’ learning Teachers’ Learning

Teachers’ learning Incipient studies of teachers’ learning focused on

initial training.

(Cadavid, Díaz, & Quinchía, 2011; Fandiño, 2008; Gonzalez, 2006; Gonzalez, 2008; Insuasty & Zambrano, 2010; Mendieta, 2011; Prada & Zuleta, 2006; Rojas, 2008; Viáfara, 2006, 2011)

In 2009 - MEN & ASOCOPI Report Initial teacher education

Teachers’ Learning

Most in-service offer is …

• Teacher training = short term / related to teachers’ immediate needs.

• Teachers as instructors, users of methodologies and strategies.

• Neglected from their initial education programs (DiazMaggioli, 2003).

• Externally defined /learning needs? One-fit-all tendency • Top-down approach.

The Framework

Most in-service offer is …

• Greater emphasis towards an instrumental view of EFL teachers’ learning and professional development.

• A growing perception of teacher learning and professional development as the source and result of teacher-and-classroomgenerated research.

• A tendency to comply with the National Bilingual Program.

• Insufficient human resources to implement professional development programs with the quality and in the times required to comply with teachers needs and with the National Bilingual Program goals.

Teachers’ learning & students’ learning: complex systems

(Davis & Sumara,2012)

Complex systems

Two individual learning systems dialogically and recursively connected within a grander system, the socio-cultural context where they both learn.

Dynamic, open, emergent, and non-linear ‌ Governed by some principles

Dialogical ,recursive, self-eco-organizing and emergent

Dialogical Mode. Yoshikawa (1987, p.321)

(Morin, 1994)

Self-eco-organization and Emergence. Duffy (2011, February 4)

Holographic Principles. Davis. J. E. (Sunday, June 12, 2011).

(Morin, 1994)

Behavioural Fuzziness. (17 October 2004)

A COMPLEXITY INFORMED STUDY

General objective

To interpret the learning processes emerging from the evolving interactions between students and their teachers in the context of Colombian EFL classrooms.

Research design

13

Data from

Lea

g n i rn

SOME FINDINGS

Students’ learning is a complex system S Strategies

is associated with

T Strategies

satisfaction with teacher's strategies is a

is associated with

is part of

Error- Error correction

is part of is part of is part of Learning activitites in class

is part of

is part of S LEARNING~ is part of Learning activities outside class

Some components of the system: a subsystem Classroom management

is part of

S classroom management

is part of

is a

S strategies

is part of is part of

is part of s nominating teacher to get her attentionis part of is part of

is part of

is part of is part of

s responding to t greeting

s volunteering

s helping in classroom management

s showing evidence of class preparation-study skills

s using L1 to confirm instructions

s using L1 to explain instructions s using L1 to confirm procedure s getting back on task

Teachers’ learning is a complex system LEARNING

TEACHING

is associated with is associated with

is associated with INTERACTION

Classroom management

is part of t classroom management

is part of S classroom management

Some components of the system: a subsystem

Classroom management t strategies

is part of opening , transition

t setting a task -giving instructions

is part of

t classroom management

is part of is part of is part of

t assigning pairs~ t setting a task: checking for understanding of instructions

is a

is part of

is part of

t closing class: leave-taking

is part of

t monitoring checking completion of task-activity

is part of is part of is part of is part of

t clarifying procedure

is part of is part of is part of is part of

is part of

t eliciting participation, engagement t accepting student participation t congratulating students on their class preparation

work environment seating arrangement

t managing the class- discipline

t rejecting student participation classroom management time-completion imperative t thanking sts for participation

•Students’ learning systems self-eco organize around the learning-generating opportunities that are made available by the teacher in class, but also by the grander context and surprisingly by themselves as learners.

•Students’ learning systems are made up of different components that are inextricably and asymmetrically connected: their agency, their awareness and their motivation.

• In terms of interaction, opportunities for meaningful and contingent interaction are low.

Teachers tend to follow an IRF pattern and the Feedback move is failing in promoting contingency.

• Classroom management language (instructions, routines) proved the most authentic source of meaningful language in the classroom.

Some insights / implications • Students’ learning and teachers’ •

Improving teachers’ learning relates closely to learning systems unfold in a improving students’ learning . networked manner in and outside • Much of teachers’ learning happens in the classroom. interaction with students’ learning.

• Teachers are learners and should become • The way a teacher structures the experts in learning. learning experience recursively reflects teachers’ own learning • We should be concerned as policy makers and administrators with learning as dynamic, system. open, emergent phenomena.

• If we want to move education to a new place the first project, the principal project to undertake is teacher education (Davis & Sumara, 2012; Cohen & Hill, 2001; Darling-Hammond & McLaughlin, 1999; Sykes, 1996) • To do so we need to better understand teachers’ and students’ learning in their systemic nature so we could make “deliberate efforts to trigger them[their learning] into being, to support their development, and to sustain their existence ( Davis & Sumara, 2012, p,31).

Some selected references • • •

• • • •

Borg, S. (2006). Teacher Cognition and Language Education. Continuum.

Cresswell, J. ( 2007). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: choosing among Five Approaches. (2nd. Ed).California: Sage.

Larsen-Freeman, D, Cameron, L. (2008). Research Methodology on Language Development from a Complex Systems Perspective. Modern Language Journal, 92, 200-213.

Martínez, M. (1997b-2007). El paradigma emergente: hacia una nueva teoría de la racionalidad científica. 2da edic. México: Trillas.

Prigogine, I., & Stengers, I (1984). Order Out of Chaos: Man's New Dialogue with Nature. New York. Bantam Books.

Van Lier, L. (1996). Interaction in the language curriculum: awareness, autonomy, and authenticity. Londres-Nueva York: Longman.

Vygotsky, L. V. (1962). Thought and Language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press

THANK YOUยก Comments? Questions?

nrosado@uninorte.edu.co

The Framework

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The Framework : Language

26

The Framework : Learning

27

The Framework : Teacher learning

28

To interpret students’ and teachers’ learning as it emerges out of the interactions generated by their learning systems in and beyond the context of their EFL class in a state school in Barranquilla, Colombia.

Objectives

To

describe

generating

Participants

learning- Students opportunities school

Instruments/techniques

in

a Class observation.

EFL Interviews: semi-structured and

Focus/ purpose

Samples of: Students’ oral interaction.

instantiated by the learning context

video- generated.

Students’ written production.

systems of students in 6th and Researcher

Simplified journals.

Students’ entries in their

10th grade.

Documentary data (students’

journals.

notebooks, worksheets, quizzes).

To

describe

Class observation.

Teachers’ oral interactions in

Teachers’ learning journal.

class.

instantiated by the learning

Video-generated interviews

Teachers’ responses to

systems of the 6th and 10th

Documentary data (lesson plans,

students’ written production

grade teachers.

syllabi)

Teachers’ entries in their

generating

learning- EFL Teachers opportunities Researcher

journals.

Teachers’ video-generated responses.

A multi-case Study: the learners Cases

6th

8th

10th

CFR Level

<A1

A1

A2+‐B1.1

Number/ Age

35/10‐11

35/ 14‐16

29/15‐17

Attitude/ motivation

Highly motivated, Some motivation interested

Highly motivated, interested

A multi-case Study: the school Program

Respond to National policies Designed and followed by teachers

Schedule

3 hrs/ week 50‐ min lessons

Teachers

Qualified / specialists

Equipment/ resources

1 computer room, audio/ CD player Students buy books

Location, socioeconomic and sociocultural status

Low‐ medium

Status of English

Some support from principal, parents

A multi-case Study: the teachers Cases

6th

8th

10th

Qualifications

BA in languages Mentor course Technology course

BA in languages Language courses

BA in languages TEFL specialist Completing master program in TEFL

CFR Level

B2

B1

C1

Age

35

45

45

Attitude/ motivation

Highly motivated 3 years in the school

Some motivation Highly motivated, More than 15 years Highly skilled 10 years in school in school

A multi-case Study: the teachers Cases

6th

8th

10th

Use of L2 in class

80 %

40‐ 50%

80‐90 %

Methodology

Both pair work and teacher fronted classes Communicative approach

Teacher fronted classes Little pair or group activities Traditional approach

Both pair work and teacher fronted classes Traditional, Communicative approaches, moving to CLIL

Materials

Books, audio material, worksheets, games, TPR, posters, flashcards

Books, worksheets

Books, audio‐video, material, worksheets, games, songs, tasks

Evaluation/ Feedback

written test/Oral tasks Frequent correction in accuracy oriented tasks

Written tests Infrequent correction

written test/Oral tasks Frequent correction in accuracy oriented tasks