Welcome to the MCAEL Program Administrator Toolkit - NEW data has been added!  

  • You are here

    Home»IMPROVING SKILLS»Chapter 21: Professional Development for Instructors

    Chapter 21: Professional Development for Instructors

      Improving Skills- Chapter 21

       

      Why professional development?

      ► Professional development can help to improve instruction, motivate your instructors to stay in the field as they learn new things, and develop team spirit among your instructors if done face-to-face.  

      Professional Development for Instructors

      For many instructors of adult ESOL classes the work is part-time, and perhaps in addition to a day job. Professional development is important to maintain the quality of instruction that will lead to learning gains. If an organization provides these opportunities for its  instructors, it may help with retaining them as well.

       

       

      ■ What topics do programs often cover?

      • Ways to effectively teach reading/writing/listening/speaking/vocabulary/grammar/pronunciation
      • Teaching multi-level classes
      • Using visuals in class
      • Student to student interaction/collaborative learning
      • Task-based instruction•Lesson planning
      • Summative/formative assessment
      • Using mobile phones in instruction
      • Principles of adult learning
       

       

      ■ What sorts of methods of  professional development can we offer?

      • Presentation or workshop (face-to-face)
      • Lecture followed by breakout sessions with different groups for application (for example, do a presentation on lesson planning, and then break instructors into groups who teach different language levels to collaboratively create one)
      • Webinar in real time with a facilitator (using  YouTube Live or Google Groups, for example)
      • Online course/workshop
      • Peer observations•Observations by administrators followed by feedback
      • Series of observations with follow up•Series of workshops on a particular topic
      • Self-directed learning modules (reading and  responding)
      • Reading circles—read something relevant and  talk with others either face to face or online
      • Research on a topic of interest
      • Case studies with discussion
      • Writing materials for other teachers to use: lesson  plans, curriculum, handouts, etc.
      • Any combination of these!
       

       

      ■ Where can I find professional  development activities for instructors?

      • Montgomery Coalition for Adult English Literacy (MCAEL): conferences/face-to-face workshops/reading
      • Literacy Information and Communication System (LINCS): online/reading
      • Washington DC TESOL (WATESOL): conferences/face-to-face workshops
      • Maryland TESOL (MDTESOL): conferences/face-to-face workshops
      • Maryland Association for Adult, Community and Continuing Education (MAACCE): conferences
      • Coalition on Adult Basic Education (COABE): confer-ences/online/reading
      • Institute for the Professional Development of Adult Educators (IPDAE): online/reading
       

       

      ■ My instructors are busy. How can  they be encouraged to participate?

      Survey the instructors: find out what they are interested in learning about, the preferred method of delivery and times they can participate. They are more likely to come if they are the ones who say they want it. Observe your teachers: what are areas of strength? What areas are overall weak points? Consider if you can provide professional development to focus on areas that are challenging for instructors. Engage your strong instructors by having them lead the session. Have guest experts conduct it. It may cost a bit of money, but they will come with unique perspectives and can draw teachers in just because of the novelty. Do joint professional development trainings with other organizations. These are cost effective, and the opportunity to network with others can encourage instructors to come. It is also an opportunity to hear what other programs are doing with shared challenges.

       

       

      ■ What can I do to make sure that the professional development does any good?

      Research is pretty clear that simply attending a professional development session on its own doesn’t do a lot to change what happens in the classroom. However, there are some things you can do to encourage it:

      1. Have part of the professional development be to reflect on how they will include what they learned in their instruction.
      2. After the workshop, have instructors write about how they will include or have included what they learned in their instruction.
      3. Have instructors show how it was included in a lesson plan.
      4. Have a follow-up workshop to talk about how instructors incorporated what they learned into classes. This might work best as they can hear what other instructors did as well as see what worked and address how to overcome challenges together.
       

       

      ■ What if instructors want to go further? Are there TESOL certificates they can get?

      Sure! There are a number in the DC area, designed to work for a variety of schedules. Search for these to get further details.

      • Montgomery College TESOL Training Institute
      • Georgetown University Teaching English as a Foreign Language Certificate
      • American University Graduate Certificate in TESOL
      • LADO International College TEFL Certificate Program
      • International Language Institute TESOL/TEFL Certification Program
      • Teaching House CELTA Certificate
      • Oxford Seminars
       

      Many local universities also offer master’s degree  programs in TESOL.

      Professional Development for Instructors

      ♦ PROVIDER TIP

      What advice do you  have on professional  development for  teachers?

      Stacey Fannon, ESOL Program Manager 

      Briggs Center for Faith and Action

      FIRST OFFERED ESOL INSTRUCTION: 1998

      The addition of a part-time program manager in 2016 has enabled the Briggs Center to focus on program improvement, including professional development for its all volunteer instructor team.

      2017–18 DATA

      CLASS SITES: 2 LEVELS: 6 TOTAL ENROLLMENT: 239 unique/476 duplicated

      “The program manager should continuously look for professional development opportunities for the instructors. The most useful opportunities are inexpensive (or free), close by, interactive, and taught by experienced instructors. The number of our instructors that participated in MCAEL’s free trainings increased from the previous year, because I asked all instructors to subscribe to the MCAEL listserv, which is how MCAEL announces its trainings. MCAEL sends out an announcement on the day registration opens for workshops.  I also immediately forward the email to all my instructors urging them to register. Also, more instructors (especially our new instructors seeking additional teacher training) now use free online training such as YouTube videos and Coursera courses. I ask all instructors to share resources with me so that I can recommend them to the other instructors. This sharing of resources improves communication, builds community, and increases morale and learner gains.”

      "Sharing of resources improves communication, builds  community, and increases  morale and learner gains"

      With our ESOL specialist’s support, teachers have been able to integrate best practices and respond to student evaluations/requests. The teachers have sought more practical and relevant material for their students via internet resources, including the Ventures website, and then share with one another. The teachers very much like and benefit from the ESOL specialist teacher meetings where they can share accomplishments, discuss issues, and ask questions of colleagues or the ESOL Specialist. These meetings are often where new programmatic ideas are born.”

       

       

      ♦ PRACTICE EXAMPLE

      Marta Brito Perez, presidentAna. A. Brito Foundation
      Marta Brito Perez, former President 

      English Literacy Program

      ESOL INSTRUCTION BEGAN: 1985

      The Ana A Brito Foundation was founded in 2014 to support the growth of existing English and computer classes at Epworth United Methodist Church in Gaithersburg.

      2017–18 DATA
      CLASS SITES: 1 CLASS LEVELS: 5 TOTAL ENROLLMENT: 159 unique/260 duplicated 

      “It is sometimes a challenge for our volunteer teachers to attend professional development training offered by MCAEL or other sources because of their many obligations, but the pro-gram found a solution in hiring an ESOL consultant who is serving as a teaching advisor and professional development facilitator. To improve on the methodology, she encourages teacher participation in professional development (MCAEL-sponsored training, self-training)  and peer-teaching after receiving the training.

      "Teacher meetings are often where new programmatic ideas are born."

      With our ESOL specialist’s support, teachers have been able to integrate best practices and respond to student evaluations/requests. The teachers have sought more practical and relevant material for their students via internet resources, including the Ventures website, and then share with one another. The teachers very much like and benefit from the ESOL specialist teacher meetings where they can share accomplishments, discuss issues, and ask questions of colleagues or the ESOL Specialist. These meetings are often where new programmatic ideas are born.”

       
       

      ♦ NOTES FROM THE FIELD

      Covenant Life Church ESOL Program StatisticsRosa Goyes at the Covenant Life Church ESOL Program talks to us about benefits of professional development offered by MCAEL.

       
      Your instructors have participated in professional development offered by MCAEL. These trainings are at their main site and are open to providers throughout Montgomery County. What benefits have you seen from attendance in these workshops? 

      “Many CLC ESOL volunteers embraced training opportunities that MCAEL has provided with enthusiasm. As a result, they gained significant confidence and improved greatly in their teaching abilities, and it has contributed substantially to the program’s success.

      "CLC volunteers…gained significant confidence and improved greatly in their teaching abilities.."

      For example, classroom teachers have expressed enthusiasm for the Color Vowel and Pronunciation trainings that were offered by MCAEL. These were new concepts for our teachers, and some teachers made great changes to their classroom teaching methods in response to these seminars. This has benefited the students and made English concepts more accessible to them. We have also seen increased confidence and commitment from our volunteer instructors because of access to training and their association with the MCAEL community of ESOL providers. Several teachers have expressed an interest in pursuing advanced training in the topics offered by MCAEL. They also appreciated the opportunity to meet like-minded volunteers and educators from other ESOL programs and have gained an appreciation for being part of a larger English literacy community.”

      "Better trained teachers improve the quality of the classes and yields higher retention in volunteers and students."

       
      MCAEL also arranged for trainers to come out to your location to conduct the two-day training called “More Learning, Less Teaching,” designed to help ESOL instructors gain practical skills needed to work effectively with adult learners. Why did you choose to do this?

      “I had taken the More Learning, Less Teaching training years prior and benefited from the hands-on, practical and comprehensive training.” 

       
      What was the impact of the training on your program?

      “Our volunteers told us how much they felt they had learned and the ideas/tools the training gave them to use in their classes. We saw how they implemented some of the activities in their classrooms. This also helped our volunteers get to know MCAEL, and more of our volunteers have participated in the different workshops offered since then. Like we have expressed in the past—better trained teachers feel more confident in their classrooms which improves the quality of the classes and also yields higher retention in volunteers and students. We would love to be the hosts of another training!”