TEACHER DEVELOPMENT
Frommetomy profession
Duncan Foords concentric circles define our development as English teaching professionals.
W
e go to workshops, learn from
each other, train, read, study,
reflect, experiment, and so on
and so on, but what really makes us
change as teachers? How can we make
sense of the diverse events, actions and
circumstances that contribute to what is
usually referred to under the umbrella
term teacher development?
To answer the first question, I did
some research to find out what teachers
themselves thought had contributed
most to their development. To answer
the second, I propose a model which
aims to apply an organising principle to
the diversity and range of development
possibilities open to teachers.
The research
I sent an email to all the teachers I know,
asking them what they thought were the
three most important factors, events,
activities or moments in their development
as teachers. On page 50 you can read some
edited highlights from their responses.
Before reading them, you might
! want to think about what your
answers would be to this question.
The results
The question was phrased to elicit events
or activities which teachers felt had the
most impact on them. I naively imagined
that I might get a result from this along
the lines of a top three most-mentioned
activities. Nothing of the kind. Responses
were very diverse and there was definitely
no clear winner. I have given each quote
a heading, but they are not in order of
frequency. Nor was there any category
which was mentioned significantly more
times than any other.
The five circles model
In order to understand and talk about
teacher development more easily, I
propose a five circles model which
organises developmental activity into
five categories. These can be represented
in five concentric circles.
The first circle, the inner circle,
contains activities involving the teacher
working alone. We can call this circle me.
Reading this article or reflecting on a
class we have taught my profes
a nd
Me
would be examples. a nd my scho
e o
M l
my coll
The second is me an
d e
y
d m st
ag ents
and my students.
Me
ue
M e an
ud
s
Development in this Me
circle would include
getting feedback
from students about
our teaching or trying
out new material with Five circles for teacher
them. development
The third circle is me and my
colleagues. Activities in this circle might
include peer observation, team teaching
and staffroom support.
The fourth is me and my school. This
includes activities such as teachers
meetings, carrying out projects and
interaction with management and other
members of staff.
The fifth circle is me and my profession.
Examples of activities in this circle
include attending and presenting at
conferences, membership of professional
communities and writing for publication.
! Here is another task to help you get
a feel for the model. Look again at
the list of teacher development activities
and influences referred to by the teachers
quoted on page 50. Which of the five
circles does each belong to? You may
find that some fit more than one circle.
Five reasons for five circles
They cater for the diversity of teacher
learning styles and teacher contexts in
ELT by emphasising the fact that
development can be individual as well as
collaborative. This is important as many
teachers work in isolation from other
teachers or in schools where there is a
limited culture of collaboration. A lot
of important development can be done
on your own and, in fact, this is
probably the best place to start.
They reflect increasing levels of
challenge. As the community you work
with broadens, the more you require
interpersonal, leadership and time
management skills to carry forward
activities. Working with others,
especially at institutional level, offers
www.etprofessional.com ENGLISH TEACHING professional Issue 60 January 2009
greater challenges (and often a
sio
n
correspondingly greater sense of
achievement).
They provide memorable
categories for teachers to refer to
when discussing their
development. As you can see from
the teacher responses in my research,
there is a substantial diversity in the
way teachers develop. It is useful to
be able to map this diversity.
They offer a potential pathway for
teacher development. Obviously our
development as teachers doesnt move
strictly chronologically through the circles,
but the more experience we have, the more
likely we are to work more in the outer
circles. The model helps us to see the range
of possible scenarios for development,
understand how they might differ, and
identify possible strengths and weaknesses.
They create a ripple effect. A seemingly
small event or action at the centre of the
circles can have repercussions all the
way to the edge. A reflection on our
teaching (circle one) can end up as a
published article (circle five), as is the
case with this contribution to ETp!
###
Given that we cant be sure exactly how
much, or in what way, developmental
activities will make us change, I propose
we adopt an approach of organised
intuition. The important thing is to
take action, but thinking about how it
all fits together might help us to direct
and understand our efforts better.
And talking of doing things, there is a
circle one activity on page 51 called Do
it yourself development for you to try.
Duncan Foord is Director
of Teacher Training at
OxfordTEFL. He is based
in Barcelona and is
author of The Developing
Teacher, soon to be
published by DELTA
Publishing, and co-author,
with Lindsay Clandfield,
of The Language
Teachers Survival
Handbook, published by
iTs Magazines.
Duncan@oxfordtefl.com !!!
49
 TEACHER DEVELOPMENT
!!!
From me to my profession: Teacher responses
What do you think were the most important factors, events, activities
or moments in your development as a teacher?
In-service training
In-service training workshops offered by the school
This was first in the role of attending the workshops and in
the latter years in the role of presenting the workshops.
This has been useful because I feel that when a group of
teachers gather together to discuss their own development
and ideas about teaching, the exchange of ideas and
sharing of knowledge empowers everyone concerned.
Formal training
Taking the Trinity Diploma in TESOL
I felt that I had reached a stage in my career where I
needed to have a greater understanding of the ideas and
theory behind EFL and a chance to put these ideas into
practice. The Diploma inspired me to continue developing
as a teacher and gave me many ideas for future career
directions.
Experience
Time in the classroom, ie time with the students I teach
Building rapport and understanding. Experience develops
you. What works and what doesnt and most importantly
what works with who. Know your audience! Its not rocket
science.
Role models
Bosses, ie people with more experience than me
Not necessarily bosses, but people you can look up to. I
guess that means experience again! Learn from your elders
and those wiser than you. I had no theoretical or practical
preparation, only the models of my favourite teachers.
Classroom experimentation
Thinking up new ideas for the classroom and trying out
ones that I read about
As a teacher, it is easy for me to get stuck in a rut doing
things exactly the same way as Ive always done them. In
general practice, I find out early on what works and then go
with the same formula again and again. This soon becomes
tedious for both teacher and students. Therefore,
experimenting keeps me moving forward personally and
professionally.
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Reading
Doing further reading related to teaching, TEFL and the
English language
I find that about half of all the reading I now do is based in
the above areas. I enjoy knowing more and more about the
world of TEFL and the English language and being able to
employ this knowledge in the classroom.
School support
The active support of the institution I work for
One school paid my full tuition to do the Diploma. Another
paid for teachers to go to TEFL conferences. Others
sponsored development workshops, etc.
New job/role
Mentoring
The key element in my development as a teacher was to
become a mentor for novice teachers at the school where I
was teaching in Dublin.
Young learners
Feeling lost
This year, for the first time in ages, Im out of my depth
again. A wonderful feeling to be learning afresh how to
teach. Teaching four year olds is a particular challenge, and
Im nowhere near mastery of it yet.
Staffroom support
Other teachers
First in Oxford, then in London. Staffroom support was
great there lots of ideas, lesson plans, etc came from my
colleagues.
Failure
Negative feedback
Initial work as a teacher trainer was a little disheartening and
certainly a bringing down to earth. Course feedback from
trainees along the lines of Johnnys [a colleague] feedback
was excellent, fantastic support and a wealth of ideas. When
I moved to Bobs group [me!], it wasnt so good, but it didnt
take long to improve the feedback. Remembering the mantra
You are perfectly capable of doing this. There is nothing to
stop you helped me through the feelings of inferiority.
TEACHER DEVELOPMENT

From me to my profession: Do it yourself development

Planning a start to your development

One way to start thinking about teacher development is to ask yourself what you dont like about your work and plan
some changes, some DIY development. As with decorating your apartment, you need to start somewhere.

Procedure
1 Look at the table below and make a list in the left-hand column of things you dislike about your job,
inside and outside the classroom. Here are some examples:
Spending so much time marking homework
My long journey to work
My salary
The coursebook I use with my upper-intermediate class

I dont like ... Can I change?

" ? X

2 Read through your list and, for each item, decide if you can change it and put a ", ? or X in the column beside it.
" = Definitely can change ? = Maybe can change X = Definitely cannot change

3 Now look at the X items and think about them again. Be more optimistic. Change at least one of them to a ?.

4 Choose one of the " or ? items and complete the table below.
Write the item and then write some notes on how you will make the change.

I dont like ...

How will I change this?

When?

How?

Who will be involved?

5 You have just created your own teacher development activity. Good luck with it.
When you have done it, create another one. Keep going!

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