25 abr 2019

by | in Teacher Development

Are Good Teachers Born or Made? (https://www.richmondshare.com.br/are-good-teachers-born-or-made/) is probably one of my favourite articles by Marcela Cintra here on the RichmondShare Blog. I sometimes revisit it when looking for some inspiration. When the going gets tough, teachers turn to other teachers for support. In this enlightening article she argues, among other things, that teaching is not for anyone who is simply passionate about the language or enjoys being in the classroom. It is for those willing to go the extra mile and work hard to sharpen their skills. I...

24 abr 2019

by | in Teacher Development

We all know too well, at least we should, that teaching does not come easy. However, people, other than teachers, tend to consider what we do as something ‘doable’. In other words, they think it is just a job in which you get into a class and start doing the talk. Little do they know that such days are gone. I come from a language-centre background teaching environment. As a ‘new-to-the-system’ state school teacher, I have encountered several situations that required a lot more than teaching skills. Scary to...

06 abr 2019

by | in Career, Reflections about Education, Teacher Development

Have you ever heard of a continuous improvement cycle called the PDCA cycle? I am sure most of you who have already studied a little bit of business management have certainly come across this acronym before. But for those of you who haven’t studied any business theories, PDCA is an acronym that stands for Plan-Do-Check-Act. These are the four stages of this continuous improvement cycle that can be applied in business and in our personal lives as well. But what does this cycle have to do with teaching? Well,...

31 mar 2019

by | in Career, Teacher Development

Apart from my social and family life, which I totally cherish, I’ve dedicated the last thirty years of my life to professional and intellectual development. I have the highest degree that one can formally obtain – a doctorate degree. I have published blog posts, book chapters and articles. I have written two books - maybe not as many as I would have liked to but enough to make me proud, due to my busy professional life. I have presented in countless professional events, volunteered in teaching associations, etc.,...

28 mar 2019

by | in Career, Teacher Development

Dear educator, You may think that your institution owe you something, like offering you proper professional development opportunities, but this is rarely the case. In fact, educational institutions have so much in their plates that they can barely scratch the surface of designing consistent, powerful PD development programs for their Academic and Admin staff. Considering this scenario and the fact that you are in charge of your own learning, don't outsource PD to anybody. Take hold of it, grab it, really, and invest your time, money and energy to get...

02 mar 2019

by | in Career, Reflections about Education, Teacher Development

We hear about CPD, the acronym for Continuous Professional Development, all the time. Although CPD is not only about taking courses, they are certainly a prototypical concept and the number of courses aimed at teachers has been increasing steadily, or at least this is the impression I have. When it comes to courses, one of the most common questions we hear is “Is this or that course worth it?” or “Should I do this course or not?” The answers, however, are definitely not as simple as the questions....

10 fev 2019

by | in Teacher Development

For the past few months, I have been proudly sharing a bit of my reflections as a teacher, and this has been bringing me great joy. I never thought I would be able to write long texts, since my younger self has met a number of cruel teachers who consistently said I lacked creativity, and my writing was mediocre. Well, here I am. Today, however, I bring a slightly different topic, just because I have met a number of brilliant teachers since last July, when I had the opportunity...

30 jan 2019

by | in Teacher Development

Many of us made great friends in the staff room, bonding with peers on a regular basis, sharing a variety of moments when we spend most of the day in the school. The environment is usually where teachers keep their materials, books and where many of us have our snacks and coffee. An informal professional room where teachers are free to choose what to focus on and talk about. In this post I propose we discuss ideas of how the time in the staff room can be used...

24 jan 2019

by | in Career, Classroom Experiences, Classroom Management, Reflections about Education, Teacher Development

The academic year is just around the corner and every now and then we tend to start the New Year facing some challenges and the kind. Being an educator is not an easy task, dealing with stressful situations such as routine, and, to add insult to injury, many of us will have to perform a juggling act, e.g. work in different schools, in order to make ends meet. Looking for perfection should be the main aim, right? It is important, however, to bear in mind that there is no...

19 jan 2019

by | in Career, Teacher Development

I have been dealing with so many projects that I haven’t written in ages, and exactly because I got involved with those projects, more and more were requested from me, including having to talk and write about me to people in other projects and countries. I got really stuck and that made me think why, after all, we are the ones who really know ourselves better, why that’s so difficult. I started to think about it and some issues came to me. It is obvious that as professionals we need...