Making learner-centred training for teachers, teacher-centred.
In the field of CALL, increasing attention is being paid to teacher acceptance of technology and its uptake in teaching.
Studies show that teachers regularly point to lack of training as a reason for not being able to use ICT comfortably in their courses.
My own work suggests that another key to their uptake of CALL is the personal ownership and flexibility the right technology can offer practitioners. Therefore, in training teachers across several countries for the expansion of our blended learning curriculum, we at EF Education First’s international EFL schools decided to demonstrate how teachers can be ‘in control’ through the design of the training just as much as in the design of software and content itself.
At the EUROCALL SIG workshop, I will present and discuss the bottom up training approach we used in training our teachers across 43 language schools in the use of an iPad based teaching tool. From the angle of their contribution to the curriculum, I will also reflect on how teachers called for both autonomy and support in crafting their own lessons within our blended syllabus.
This teacher training programme shifted the ownership into the schools’ local community of practice. Instead of sending in external teacher trainers to run ‘one size fits all’ professional development workshops, we recognised regional and local ‘Change champions’ already within our schools, equipping them with training resources they could use to support their colleagues plus pieces their peers could use autonomously.
As a key component in the training we devised a ‘Self-assessment checklist’ to give teachers ownership of their development agenda.
This presentation will touch on a larger study into teacher acceptance of technology that builds on work from the University of North Texas. Tools for exploring teachers’ readiness to adopt CALL in their classrooms will be shared with other participants wishing to monitor their own training programmes.
In the field of CALL, increasing attention is being paid to teacher acceptance of technology and its uptake in teaching.
Studies show that teachers regularly point to lack of training as a reason for not being able to use ICT comfortably in their courses.
My own work suggests that another key to their uptake of CALL is the personal ownership and flexibility the right technology can offer practitioners. Therefore, in training teachers across several countries for the expansion of our blended learning curriculum, we at EF Education First’s international EFL schools decided to demonstrate how teachers can be ‘in control’ through the design of the training just as much as in the design of software and content itself.
At the EUROCALL SIG workshop, I will present and discuss the bottom up training approach we used in training our teachers across 43 language schools in the use of an iPad based teaching tool. From the angle of their contribution to the curriculum, I will also reflect on how teachers called for both autonomy and support in crafting their own lessons within our blended syllabus.
This teacher training programme shifted the ownership into the schools’ local community of practice. Instead of sending in external teacher trainers to run ‘one size fits all’ professional development workshops, we recognised regional and local ‘Change champions’ already within our schools, equipping them with training resources they could use to support their colleagues plus pieces their peers could use autonomously.
As a key component in the training we devised a ‘Self-assessment checklist’ to give teachers ownership of their development agenda.
This presentation will touch on a larger study into teacher acceptance of technology that builds on work from the University of North Texas. Tools for exploring teachers’ readiness to adopt CALL in their classrooms will be shared with other participants wishing to monitor their own training programmes.