Exploratory task 1.5

Specify a problem in teaching and design an “organizational” framework of the project, i.e. clear up what problem in teaching makes the project necessary, what materials you are going to produce etc.

Needs analysis	Materials production	Piloting materials	Reflection on results	Evaluation of results

Reflective aspect is different from the organizational matters. It describes why and how the teacher undergoes the process of professional change “from inside”. This is a very sensitive issue because there are reasons why a teacher can refuse to change, even though there is a need for innovations. Some teachers do not want to be self-critical and reject any judgments about their work, because it incurs a sense of guilt for doing something “wrong” in the classroom. Others can be afraid of loosing the haven of security i.e. traditional and safe ways of teaching and dealing with problems. Still others can find the innovations too scientific and abstract (Argyris, Ch. 1992. On Organizational Learning. Blackwell). The prospect for change can also be understood differently. One of the models for change suggested by Lewin is unfreeze (creating the motivation to change) – change (developing new practices based on new expertise)– refreeze (stabilize and integrate the change into personality) (cited in Bennis, W. et al. 1973. Eds. “Interpersonal Dynamics”. Dorsey Press. Illinois. P.242). This model can be referred to as “pessimistic model” of change, because it recognizes the stage, at which the teacher development will “fossilize” again after having integrated an innovative element. An alternative to the “pessimistic model” is the “optimistic model”. It can be described metaphorically in the following stages “Letting the Gin out of the bottle”, “Fulfilling the four wishes” and “Obtaining a magic wand”. “Letting the Gin out of the bottle” stands for developing critical thinking in teachers, which is a tendency of mind to put to deliberate doubt the reality of the teaching environment including the course-books and the teaching materials, teacher and learner performance, teaching approaches and techniques, validity of assessment etc. “Fulfilling the four wishes” is a necessary component of the “optimistic model” because every teacher wants to be “successful” in resolving professional problems, “achieving” by getting a reward for the hard job, “great” i.e. recognized by the learners and “effective” in obtaining professional goals. These four wishes make up an acronym “SAGE”. Putting it in a non-metaphorical language it is necessary to develop in teachers “innovative expertise”. “Obtaining a magic wand” stands for handing over a useful tool of professional development, that can be always used when a problem occurs. This useful tool is “research methodology”. The reflective aspect of exploratory teaching consisting of the three components is shown graphically as a loop cycle. It is the critical thinking phase that gives this model “permanence of change”.

Critical thinking

Innovative expertise

Research methodology

The cycle shows that actually there is no end to exploratory teaching and the results once obtained can offer a solution to the previous problem and at the same time pose new problems instead. Permanent search is the guarantee for continuous teacher development. “Critical thinking” starts with growing problem awareness.

One of the “awareness-raising” technique is the Repgrid (“repertory grid”) developed by Kelly and used in teacher-development projects (Belleli, L. 1993. How we teach and why: the implementation of an action research model for in-service training. Teachers Develop Teachers Research. Edge, J. and K. Richards. Eds. Heinemann. P.66). The purpose of the technique is to bring to the conscious level one’s “mental model of teaching”. The “repertory grid” consists of the “elements of teaching” i.e. the components of one’s professional work that come to the teacher’s mind in order to describe one’s way of acting. E.g. in thinking about “lesson planning” a teacher can mention the “elements” such as “materials”, “exercises”, “lesson beginning”, “time constraints”, “lesson ending”, “giving marks” etc. A “repertory grid” also has the “meanings” of what the “elements” actually mean to the teacher. For the teachers the “elements” of teaching can be for them “difficult”, or “easy”, “pleasant” or “unpleasant”, “time-consuming” or “time-saving”, “effective” or “ineffective”, “motivating” or “de-motivating” etc. Every teacher can apply different meanings to the elements of one’s teaching. The procedure starts with the teachers completing the “elements” of their teaching (e.g. What are the elements of your planning a lesson?). In order to elicit the “meaning” of the elements the teachers are asked to assess any two “elements” and to say what “meaning” these elements have in common (e.g. the two elements can have the meaning of “dull”). The opposite of “dull” is “entertaining”. On top of the grid all the “positive meanings” are entered. At the bottom of the grid the “negative” antonyms are written. Usually there are some 5-7 “elements” and about the same number of “meanings”. Every element is then marked with + or – to indicate their meaning for the teacher. An examples of a completed Repgrid “Planning a lesson” is given below

Comments The teacher does not have problems with the learners or materials but for the time-constraints and challenging tasks. Giving marks is a problem for him/her. Meanings + Elements	Easy	Interesting	Time-saving
Material	+	+	-
Exercises	-	+	-
Diversity	+	+	-
Marks	-	-	+
Learners	+	+	-
Meanings -	Difficult	Dull	Time-consuming

Exploratory task 1.6

Choose an area of teaching and complete a Repgrid. Compare your Repgrid with those of your peers.

Meanings + Elements
Meanings -

Another “awareness raising” technique is “Ping-Pong” game. The two participants exchange the knowledge of how to teach a particular area (e.g. “vocabulary”) naming the effective techniques that are known to them as if “serving a ball” in a Ping-Pong game.