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• 21 trainees
• 2 courses
• 4 trainers
• 193 lessons
Trainee 1A
The aims were in two broad areas:
• planning activities
• teacher language
This trainee’s best four grades averaged 4.5, with the higher grades generally coming towards the end, as should be expected when a trainee improves during the course.
Trainee 1C
The aims were generally different each time, and it could tentatively be hypothesized that a correlation might emerge between this and the trainee’s relatively high average grade of 5.
Trainee 1E
1E provided an early indication that there might perhaps be a correlation between aims relating to the trainee’s own language awareness and poor overall performance.
Categories of Aims
Interaction Interpersonal Personal Planning Student Language Teacher Language Teaching Skills
Interaction
Increase interaction between students
More pair work Encourage group work More student-centred
activity
Interpersonal
Build rapport Make students feel
comfortable Get students involved &
having fun Be aware of students'
difficulties
Personal
Be more animated / enthusiastic
Be more relaxed Stay calm & focused
Planning
Prepare more material Anticipate difficulties Cater for various learning
styles Create interesting activities More challenging activities
Student Language
Increase STT Focus more on
pronunciation
Teacher Language
Grade language Speak slowly & clearly
Teaching Skills (1)
Clear instructions & explanations
Check comprehension Clear correction feedback Pace & time management Context setting Modelling & examples
Teaching Skills (2)
Pay attention to all students
Elicit response from quieter students
Enhance confidence of less able students
Encourage a range of student output
Most common aims
Increase STT 25 Speak slowly & clearly 21 Clear instructions 13 Grade language 9
out of 193 lessons
Data ordered to show the individual lessons with the
lowest grades…
Each trainee’s first two lessons are ungraded.
Of the 7 lessons that received a grade of 3:
• Each was a different trainee
• Four were on the third lesson, one on the sixth and two on the ninth.
Aims following these lessons were:
• Prepare more material (twice)
• Clear, concise instructions
• Plan instructions
• Use language students can understand
• Develop less formal teaching style
• Increase STT
17 lessons received a grade of 5:
• One trainee scored this grade six times
• Three trainees scored this grade twice
• Five trainees scored this grade once
Aims following these lessons were:More detailed lesson planStay calm & focusedClear, concise instructionsGrade languageFocus more on pronunciationCheck spellingIncrease STTBuild rapportGet students involved & having fun
Enhance confidence of less able students
Aims following poor lessons: Aims following good lessons:
Prepare more material (twice) More detailed lesson plan Clear, concise instructions Clear, concise instructions Plan instructions Use language students can understand Grade language Develop less formal teaching style Build rapport Increase STT Increase STT
Focus more on pronunciationCheck spelling
Stay calm & focused
Get students involved & having funEnhance confidence of less able
students
Data ordered to show the trainees with the highest
overall grades…
For the trainee with the highest overall grades, aims concerned interpersonal skills or student language:
• Be aware of students' difficulties
• Build rapport
• Get students involved & having fun
• Create interesting activities
• Focus more on pronunciation
• Increase STT
Data ordered to show each observer…
Number of instances of each type of aim
Observer
D K P
Interaction 7 5 0
Interpersonal 4 3 5
Personal 4 4 4
Planning 12 7 2
Student Language 7 16 3
Teacher Language 20 16 2
Teaching Skills 26 18 7
Total 80 69 23
Number of instances of each grade
Trainer
D K P M
3 1 5 1 0
3.5 7 2 1 1
4 44 42 18 1
4.5 4 2 5 0
5 4 5 3 5
Average
grade 4.09 4.00 4.14 4.64
High degree of standardization in the average grades awarded by the first three trainers
Grades given by M were significantly higher because:
• All the lessons she graded were at the end of the course, where trainees generally perform better
and / or
• She hadn’t been trained sufficiently to standardize grading
Little discrimination
Grades given by the three main trainers:
• Made no use of the very highest and lowest available grades (2 and 6) or half grades (2.5 or 5.5)
• 72% of all grades were 4
Progression of Grades
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
1 6 11 16 21 26 31 36 41 46 51 56 61 66 71 76 81 86 91 96 101 106 111 116 121 126 131 136 141 146 151
Lesson Number
Gra
de
Repetition of the same aims
It’s generally true that trainees who are making progress
won’t state the same aim repeatedly. But…
1B 4 4-Inter Clear, concise instructions1B 5 4-Inter Clear, concise instructions1B 6 4-Inter Clear, concise instructions1B 7 4-Inter Clear, concise instructions
Progression through the course
Following lesson 1, most aims concern Teacher Language.
From lesson 2, Teaching Skills become more significant.
After Lessons 3 and 4, along with Teaching Skills, the focus shifts to Student Language.
After lesson 5, there’s more emphasis on Interaction.
Correlation between aims and level of students
Teaching practice for these courses was with three groups of students:
• Starter (1)• Elementary (2)• Intermediate (4)
Number of instances of each type of aim
TP Class
1 2 4
Interaction 4 4 4
Interpersonal 3 7 2
Personal 3 5 4
Planning 7 8 7
Student Language 15 4 8
Teacher Language 11 20 11
Teaching Skills 18 16 18
Observe existing practice
Action Research Cycle
Select area to focus on
Implement change
On-Going Teacher Development
Examine your own teaching
Tools of Observation
Video or audio recordings of lessons
Observation guidelinesChecklists
Guidelines for Reflection What went well, and why? What went less well, and why? What were your aims? Did you achieve them? How do you know? What would you do differently next time? What is your personal aim for the next lesson?
Some areas to focus on
Were your instructions clear? Did the students understand your explanations? How do you know? Was your timing accurate? What was the balance of TTT/STT?
Action Research for Trainers
Perspectives on our own development
What we focus on
What we choose to comment on
