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Developing with colleagues

Sunday 14 June 2009

We looked at activities from circle one and circle two in the first two weeks. Developining alone and developing with your students. Circle three is for development activities you can do with your colleagues. Here are some developmental activities that teachers can share. What are your experiences with these? How useful have they been for you and what challenges do they present? Have you got any tips?

Discussed TEFL theory/literature with a colleague
Observed a colleague
Been observed by a colleague
Swapped materials
Shared the teaching of a lesson with a colleague
Planned a lesson or series of lessons with a colleague
Spent time socially with colleagues
Taken part in team building activities with colleagues
Mentored or been mentored by a colleague
Set up a blog, wiki or web project with colleagues

One area I have been interested in this year is mentoring. At the school I work in we set up a small mentoring project which paired up experienced teachers with newly qualified and newly arrived teachers. The principal aim was to help them integrate quickly and provide support. Mixed results. Mentees were generally happier than mentors with outcomes. One question that emerged was to what extent the mentors should be setting goals or simply be there to support the mentees. I would be interested to hear any views or experiences on mentoring from you.

4 responses to Developing with colleagues

Anthony says:

June 17, 2009 at 9:01 pm

It’s funny that in the last week or so I have done eight of the 10 ideas you list. In the process of simplifying our initial teacher training course, I have not only tossed ideas relating to your book (amongst others) about, we have also planned sessions, participated in sessions, in doing so watched each other work and watched each other at work, swapped ideas and materials, thought ahead towards other sessions, in doing so mentored each other, and finally set up a blog to help us document this process. What we haven’t done is “team building” (if the above doesn’t count!) or going out socially! Guess we have to get our priorities right!

Reply
- Duncan Foord says:
  
  June 24, 2009 at 7:34 am
  
  thanks Anthony. the businessballs website has some good quick team building exercises which are a fun way to start a meeting. Or you could just pop out for a cup of tea together
  
  Reply
Kingdom Lee says:

December 16, 2009 at 10:23 am

Hi, Duncan. I happened to search your Blog on Delta today. I’m one of teachers you trained this July in Shenzhen, China. I sent you my best wishes for the coming Christmas and New Year. I’m in a jungle of developing myself in ELT at the very moment. Sometimes, I have no idea whether I should develop the learners speaking or written English first as they are the starters in junior school. Some of them are well-developed in their English, others are poor. I’m glad I’m here to read some of your blogs and can keep in touch with you.

Reply
Chris Racliffe says:

August 2, 2010 at 8:48 pm

Hi Duncan, as a natural mentor, it strikes me that the job at hand is to accept the situation willingly and allow the mentee to step over you and move well beyond your expectations, fully equipped and well prepared for war, thus succeeding in developing a positive result. The hardest part is for the mentor to let go of the old ego and allow the next generation to move forward with the ball.

Anyway, still kicking the old footy around or have the black sheep disbanded?

P.S. How are Karl ‘the german dood’ and Mike ‘the American from Seattle’? Oh and not to forget Nick ‘the welsh west ham fan’?

Chat soon and lots of love and friendly hugs,

Chris Radcliffe (3 goals against Dynamo Smirnoff)

Reply

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