Observing a Colleague

On February 9 I observed a colleague who teaches in the same program (TESL) as I do. Our students have a mixture of educational backgrounds and range from one veteran (over 65) to several millennials (born after 1981). She observed me a month later, on March 2nd, and today we discussed our observations over lunch (paid for by ILLT). We were joined by the third TESL instructor who has also visited two of my classes.

My colleague is much younger than I am and I appreciate that fact that she is more current in terms of content and technology.

Here is what impressed me about her:

1. She knows more than I do about social media such as wikis, vokis (avatars), Second Life etc.
2. She loves to insert cartoons to liven up her PPT slides and knows some great websites such as www.makesbeliefscomix.com - all about how to create your own cartoons.
3. She used a handy computer timer to count down timed activities.
4. When debriefing a homework reading, students were asked in pairs to write down 2 points and 2 questions in pairs and not to talk until the timer went off. A novel way of checking homework!
5. Her rapport with the students was excellent, she used humour and her passion for teaching was obvious.
6. Both my colleagues jumped in (made extra copies, faciliated groups) without being asked!

I was fortunate to see my other colleague in action too when I asked her to be one of the cultural speakers last Saturday. She is knowledgable, dynamic, energetic and passionate. How lucky we are to have such an incredible team of instructors!

I look forward to my colleagues' blogs!

More follow-up

As a follow-up of our lunch discussion, the instructor I observed dropped off a Pocket Guide. This is ideal for longer programs with several courses. It acts as a memory jogger for all the key concepts covered in the program. Wonderful idea which I would like to use for my TESL program as well! With 120 hours and 6 courses, such a booklet would be valuable to my graduates.

Another recommendation is for the instructor to sign the Okanagan College certificates. Althought onerous at times the students respond well to such a personal gesture.

First Lunch Meeting

What an opportunity to get to know one of my Continuing Studie(CS) colleagues more closely! After all, we usually pass like ships in the night and know very little about each other!

When we discussed the observation, I asked my colleague how he felt about being observed; what his preconceived ideas were; if he planned to participate in the blogging; and if he had any recommendations.

Feelings: being a seasoned instructor he felt quite comfortable about having a visitor and treated me like one of his students. He had a little difficulty explaining why I was there (which made me realise the importance of preparing a little cheat sheet; or he could have asked me to introduce myself!) And he appreciated my input in the class (although I tried to be as unobtrusive as possible). For example, I was able to tell his students that one's personality traits change with age and one becomes assertive!

Preconceived ideas: that I would experience his class and we would dicuss any major differences and worthwhile tips (and this we did).

Blogging: he asked me to make this first entry but he plans to participate in the future - especially when he has observed my class.

Recommendations:

1) he agrees that the continuing studies instructors would benefit from taking an instructional skills course or series of workshops. According to him there are 3 categories of CS instructors: new, inexperienced instructors with little or no teacher training but experts in their content areas; those with years of experience but no formal training; and those who have high levels of education and years of experience but are in need of professional development to stay in tune with the latest developments in their content area and technology. He felt that ILLT should be providing some training for each level.

2) He feels that CS instructors should make a greater effort to attend such activities as the instructor retreat in Vernon, the networking/appreciation evenings and Next Step presented by Jim Hamilton.

3) He recommends that the promotional efforts of CS be less conventional and be more community or business based.

My own thoughts on point #1 - when I was teaching for BCIT (project management course) it was mandatory to take a weekend instructional skills workshop. I have to admit that I questioned the need, especially with a Masters in Education. However, I learned so much that weekend! We were each videotaped and we critiqued ourselves and our peers. This is where I learned the importance or writing clear learning outcomes and I have never forgotten that.

First Classroom Visit

On Tuesday (November 10) I did some peer observation/appreciation. After all, it has to be tested to see how it works! The colleague I observed knew his subject extremely well and some of the techniques that impressed me were use of personal stories to liven up the theory, case studies, group work, self-tests and discussions. His handouts were well prepared and numbered for easy reference. He gave clear instructions and debriefed the activities well and he used the knowledge of the students in the class.

What I learned from him and plan to adopt as well is that he sometimes asked the students to read the instructions for him. A different voice can help with the focus and reduce teacher talk!

He plans to observe my class as well and we are going to discuss, over lunch, how this peer observation has enriched us as instructors.

Continuing Studies - ILLT

Greetings Colleagues!

My name is Dini Steyn and I teach the TESL Certificate program (Teaching English as a Second Language) to enthusiastic Canadians eager to teach English overseas or locally.

I am honoured to be your Fellow, representing Continuing Studies - a daunting task with over 200 instructors spread over several campuses in the Okanagan!

At the instructor retreat your priorities were peer observation, a course in instructional techniques for new instructors, mini workshops, and mentorship. Do you agree? Let me know what YOU think!