#CELTAchat Monday 3 September 2018 Coaching from the sidelines

CELTA Chat 3^rdSeptember 2018: Coaching from the Sidelines: Tutor intervention in Teaching Practice (TP)

Participants: Cathy Bowden @Cathyofnusle, @ellenservinis, Fiona Price @fionaljp, Katy M @kokahoke, Amy Blanchard @admiralwamy, Jenni Fogg @jennifoggteach, Adi Rajan @adi_rajan
Summary written by Amy Blanchard.

Summary:

Do you intervene?

The first question posed to the chatters was a simple one about their own experience when observing trainees in TP: Do they intervene? Fiona gave the example of alerting trainees to spelling mistakes on the board, which others said they had also done. Many trainers also frequently used a signal/gesture for pairwork. Cathy recommended agreeing these signals with trainees first, which is a good idea to avoid confusion! She also mentioned that if she can see a problem coming up, she would call the trainee over to tell them while the students were working. Adi said he uses signals a lot for trainees with abysmal time management, but he hadn’t considered that as ‘coaching from the sidelines’ before. I gave examples of some of the issues I had (successfully) addressed on the spot: getting trainees to rephrase instructions; stopping them handing materials out before they've given instructions; asking them to stand where everyone can see them; encouraging them to speed up/slow down/repeat an audio track/move on to the next activity etc.

Cathy asks her trainees if they would prefer her to intervene or not and reported that most said not. Katy, a newer trainer, said she hadn’t had the chance to yet but that she had observed other trainers doing it, but who had told her not to! There seemed to be a sense from some people that trainers shouldn’t intervene, but there’s nothing in the handbook about this.  

Benefits of intervention?

This brought me to my next question, and the reason I chose the topic: Could intervention be beneficial for trainees? Can parallels be drawn to the way we view (emergent) language input; giving them information at the point of need? As trainers we need to strike a balance between training and testing, and I believe that certainly at the start of the course they need more support and training. Perhaps this coaching within TP could provide that. Ellen agreed that if someone is struggling, it’s not helpful to just watch them flounder. 

Fiona raised the point that it’s important to let trainees make mistakes; letting the trainees ‘find their way through the experience and find out why’. I tried to equate it with the idea of on the spot vs delayed correction, and argued that they will definitely make (and see!) lots of ‘mistakes’ on the course, and lots of good examples too.  

Matthew believes that conditions (v. high cognitive & affective filters, etc of TP andFB in group) are such that delayed-only FB on TP can often be ineffective. Salience goes WAY down vs. situated, immediate, at the point of need prompt with clear repair opportunity. He then suggested that there’s a good case to be made to try this first in a micro-teaching context (for time’s sake, CPs could practice a particular stage in micro-teaching, with sideline coaching - which here can include prompts to/thoughts from coursemates as well). Sadly there’s not much time on a 4 week course! 

Experience

Although I had had experience of trainees thanking me for intervening, Cathy said some of them had commented to her “I wish you hadn’t!” Comments from previous trainees have showed that they felt more supported; that they’re not alone up there and can look for the trainer in the room as support, not just a judge. I recounted a specific example from a recent TP:

Did that go well? #CELTAchat

— Cathy Bowden (@Cathyofnusle) September 3, 2018

Yes, she stopped, gave clear inx, ss knew what to do and got on with task, lesson ran smoothly. Still, in the fb I wrote, I put it as an action point, not a plus point

— Amy B (@admiralwamy) September 3, 2018

I equate it to scaffolding... I think if they are prepared for it, it can really help. My 'support' tales off... I only really do it in the first few TPs and maybe the 1st one after change. #CELTAchat

— Amy B (@admiralwamy) September 3, 2018

part of me just thinks: why let them do something we are going to criticise them for later, that we know will make the rest of the lesson harder (e.g bad set up of activity) But maybe I'm alone in thinking like this! I'm not sure it's best practice. #CELTAchat

— Amy B (@admiralwamy) September 3, 2018

Interesting. I'm trying to put myself in my 22 year old shoes. I'd probably have DIED of embarrassment but someone saying 'No, have another go at those instructions' wld have been useful. No exp at all in a classroom so being given the time to practise a skill.. not just tested!

— Jenni Fogg (@jennifoggteach) September 3, 2018

Thinking of my 22 y.o self - I definitely felt out of my depth and that people were just watching me mess up when I needed more HELP #CELTAchat

— Amy B (@admiralwamy) September 3, 2018

Concerns
·      Cathy said she thought it was hard for trainees to take anything in on the spot, and she was also worried that it could take away the students’ faith in the trainee. However, Fiona and I countered that the students do know that the teachers are only training, and often look thankful for the intervention! ·      Fiona worried that anything complex could add more stress to an already stressful situation.·      As Jenni pointed out above, some trainees may feel embarrassed at being corrected in front of their students and peers. However, she also said that if she knew in advance that it was a possibility, this wouldn’t be so bad. ·      Adi pointed out that in some contexts, trainees are career teachers and wouldn’t want to suffer a loss of face/credibility if they are corrected in front of their students. ·      I worry that interventions could be a little too prescriptive: trainers shouldn’t force their way of doing things on the trainees. 

Correcting language

Cathy asked what trainers do if trainees give students incorrect information about language. I stated that it’s important to correct as it could have a negative impact on the other trainees’ lessons. We then discussed the best way of doing it. I have previously made eye contact and shaken my head (hoping trainees would correct themselves). Cathy said she had done the same but with mixed results! Fiona pointed out that this only works if trainees have the knowledge to fix it on the spot. If they don’t, I just tell them – often it’s small and incidental language. Anything major to the lesson/target language will usually have been checked before as on the majority of courses I’ve worked on, the trainees hand in their plans and language analyses before the lesson. Adi said that he has sometimes waited until the end of TP and done a mini lesson to the students to address the problems – this can benefit the trainees as well. 

Things to consider before intervening in TP:

·      Expectations: of the trainees (do they know you might intervene? Are they happy for that to happen? Will suit some personality types more than others. Also consider the expectations of the students. ·      Agree signals for boardwork, pairwork, position etc. to avoid confusion.·      Discuss the interventions in oral feedback: make sure they know why you intervened, the effect on the learners/lesson etc.·      If instructions were good only after an intervention, they should go as an action point in the written feedback.