Session 2: Teacher Training and Needs Analysis

British Council / Estado de Guanajuato 2014

Teacher Training and Needs Analysis

Learning outcomes

By the end of Session 1, Formadores will be better able to:• Understand and inform others about the knowledge, skills and other attributes of an effective teacher trainer• Understand the major roles and activities of a teacher trainer• Reflect on different models of teacher training• Understand the importance of knowing the needs of their learners.• Complete a needs analysis form and analyse the results.

What makes a good teacher trainer?Effective trainer Less effective trainer

Flexible, relies on trainees / sharingValues trainees backgroundPractical / ResourcefulAccessibleFosters independenceTime managementGood feedbackProvides challengeHelps create awarenessUses knowledge / experience together with participantsKeeps objectives in mindConstructive criticismGood manager (time, people etc)Creates a safe environmentHelp teachers reflectQTT (Quality Teacher Talk)

Lacks confidenceImposesRestricts interaction Control freakTrainees as empty vessels / Spoon-feedsPresents him/herself as expertAlways right / one waySuperiority complexMocks participantsCreates fearNot preparedDifficult to reachInsensitive to learner needsNot flexibleTTT

What makes a good teacher trainer?

Effective trainer Less effective trainer

Core tasks of a Teacher Trainer Facilitating study Helping teachers with lesson planning Observing teachers at work Giving feedback on observed lessons Supporting teachers while they process new knowledge and experience, map the new onto what they knew before and draw their own conclusions

Remember: Giving feedback on observed teaching is similar to giving a language student feedback on an oral presentation done in class. Using tact, providing support and giving data-based commentary can transfer from the language classroom to the teacher training classroom.

More core tasks of a teacher trainer

Other core tasks of teacher training are quite distinct from language teaching in some ways and so their content and process, their what and how, need to be learned and practised. Listen Observe Read Discuss Help Exchange Ask Reflect Use Networks

Models of Teacher Education

• The Craft Model• The Applied Science Model• The Reflective Model

(M Wallace 1991: Training Foreign Language Teachers: A reflective Approach)

Model Pros Cons

The Craft Model

Easy, quick and practical (for the trainer)

Observation

Mechanical

Not creative / imitation

Passive learner

One-way procedure / Top-down

No feedback

The Applied Science Model

Theoretical

Up-dating knowledge

Analysis

Experimentation

Theory dominated

Limitations

Too technical

Overly structured

The Reflective

Model

Self-reflection / questioning

Endless process

Trainer open to feedback

Explore the rules

Inductive

Too demanding / long

Never reach a final product

Risky

When you work with a class, you support 30 or 40 children…

When you work with teachers, you support generations of children!

You never know where your influence ends…

Needs Analysis

Consider these three questions:

• Why are they part of this training programme?

• What do you have to learn from this training programme? i.e. What is expected of you?/ what do you feel you need to know?

• What would you like to learn from this training programme?

Need Vs. Want

Question 2 asked you:

• What is expected of you?/ What do you feel you need to know?

Question 3 asked you:

• What would you like to learn?

What is the difference?

Creating a needs analysis

• Ask each group to think of 10 needs or wants. NO MORE THAN 10.

• Listen to all the groups and note the ideas, highlighting the ideas in common.

• Ask the whole group to think of 15 common ideas.

• Ask the whole group to copy the 15 ideas into the chart on the side and put their name in the first space on the top.

• Have each person mark out of 5 how much this idea is a need for them.

Analysing the chartStatement of needs Juan

Pablo Gutierrez

Maria FernandaGarcia

Rocio Campos

1) I need to be able to give clear instructions in English

5 4 5

2) I need to be able to correct student’s errors in English

4 5 5

3) I want to use English to travel

2 1 4

4) I need to have conversations in English

3 4 2

Averaging each statement shows how important it is for the group e.g. 1 is important for everyone (Av 4.6) but 3 is only important for one person (Av 2.3)