Training using Learn Try Apply

Comment

Comment by Cici Liu on January 31, 2013 at 2:46pm

I've attended the local teachers' training in Chongqing recently. The aim of that training session could have been 'To enrich trainees' understanding of LTAC and correspond classes and also to practice and ensure trainees master ESA teaching procedures.'

The theory of LTAC, the differences between various classes, learning methods (TBL and blended learning), ESA teaching procedures and so on should be learned beforehand. The ESA teaching skills and the skill about handing problem students could have been practiced which we DID practice during the session :)

Comment by Cici Liu on January 31, 2013 at 2:44pm

The theory of LTAC, the differences between various classes, learning methods (TBL and blended learning), ESA teaching procedures and so on should be learned beforehand. The ESA teaching skills and the skill about handing problem students could have been practiced which we DID practice during the session :)

Comment by Ed Sutton on January 18, 2013 at 4:47pm

Most recently I attended a training session dealing with Lifeclubs and how to deliver one effectively.

In the weeks leading up to the training there were a series of videos and exercises to watch and complete. The time frame gave us time to complete the tasks at our own pace, we were also given work partners, with whom we had to prepare a short Lifeclub to present to our peers during the training session.

On the day of the training we were all given a presentation to outline the main targets and aspects of Lifeclubs within the EF 'Learn, Try and Apply' method. The trainer then gave us an example of an effective Lifeclub, the classroom was set out to mimmick an art gallery and we were asked to look at the pictures. We were then placed into groups and given various tasks relating to all of the art we has just seen. These tasks came in the form of giving opinions, sharing ideas and negotiating. There is one thing to note here, that is, the teacher had a very minimal role during these tasks, we were allowed a lot of freedom with what we could talk about, if we went too far off topic then the teacher steered us back towards the lesson's objectives.

The last part of the training involved us presenting our own life club to real students of mixed levels. We were also observed by our peers and had some feed back from them afterwards. It's worth mentioning there was feedback during the other stages of the session to check our understanding and provide us with opportunities to ask questions.

 

Comment by Toby Heath on July 26, 2012 at 7:01pm

Hi Everyone! I recently attended a Salsa dancing class for beginners. It was dreadful because my friend and I had never Salsa danced before but the others clearly had! I sensed that they were a little irritated by our complete incompetence. I think the aim of the training should have been to develop absolute beginners like us into becoming competent enough to join the 'beginners' class. We could have learned the name of the basic steps beforehand and practiced with the help of a video. These steps could have then been tried face to face to save our blushes and the others' frustration!  

Comment by Shirley Yang on July 26, 2012 at 2:25pm

Comment by Shirley Yang on July 26, 2012 at 2:25pm

I remember that we had a training on feedback and error-correction in CPD. The aim of the training was to help teachers give more effective feedback and correction on students' errors in class. We discussed why we do error-correction, when we do it and how we do it, etc. I think most students make mistakes when speaking English in class, so it's essential for teachers to know how we should do error-correction properly. Students learn from the mistakes they made if we give clear feedback on their errors. During the training, we were asked to read some statements about error-correction and think about how much we agree with them, the psychology of feedback and when we give feedback and error-correction, etc. It was quite informative, but I think it will be better for us to think deep about them if we could read some of the materials beforehand. Also, it will save some time for practicing them in groups.

Comment by Wang Qiu Yi on July 26, 2012 at 1:29pm

A few weeks ago we had a training related to how to teach "beginner course" effectively. The aim of the training is to provide more guidance and instructions for students' future study, to anticipate all potential difficulties that beginner level students may encounter in their study phase. I think that if we had watched some examples/interviews of beginner level students' performances in classes (workshops, f2f and beginner foundation), we would have gained more apprehension about their situations and attitudes toward English study. The reasons why lower level students behave inferiorly in classes are generalized by teachers, which are not that convincible. It would have been better if the teachers could watch students confiding their real thoughts about English study. I think that the F2F skill could have happened is that every one on the scence should demonstrate how they teach beginner level students by using their own ways. E.g. visualized/kinesthetic/acoustic methods, etc. Toward the end of the training, performers can receive peer feedback and improve their skills by generalizing overall comments. Cheers

Comment by Ian Sato on July 25, 2012 at 3:27pm

A few weeks ago we had a CPD discussing ICQ's and how to effectively check information after giving instructions to students. The concept is simple enough, but given the subjective limitations of actually anticipating all potential difficulties that students could have, I think that if we had watched some examples of good and bad ICQ's prior to CPD, we would have been able to more efficiently budget our time to maximize the try and apply elements of the training. Given that we did not have any prior exposure, about half of the CPD was spent trying to think of difficulties students might have--not a fruitless endeavor, but one that could have certainly been cut in half without sacrificing the quality fo the training. I think that the F2F skill that could have been tried (and was) is the ability of each teacher to effectively ICQ's various instructions with little preparation--since the need for ICQ's often exceeds what we anticipate prior to class. For example, we could have been given a slip of paper with 2 or 3 instructions and 1 minute to prepare, then give the instructions to the class and ICQ them. Cheers

Comment by Lucia Tian on July 25, 2012 at 9:56am

Recently we practiced what to do in Student Contact hour, where a teacher gives a 10 minute class to a potential student. Actually, we finished this in two sessions: 

In the first session, we were given different topics, e.g. “sentence stress”, “verb-noun collocation” together with a specific stage. We brainstormed as many activities as possible for that stage and then were given a different stage and brainstormed again. We were given one week to comment on two other teachers’ teaching ideas. Then, in the second session, we worked in pairs and tried out some of our teaching ideas.

 

For "Learn" part, a video showing how teachers are supposed to do this could have been given before the first session, so that teachers would be better able to brainstorm good ideas. Teachers could also be asked to brainstorm and comment on ideas afterwards, so that we would not even have to split the training in two sessions. 

For “Try” part, in stead of working in pairs and commenting on each other, we could have done the role play in front of a group, so that more teachers would be able to give comments. Then we could have worked in pairs to plan and teach again. Thus we would be able to better understand the task and improve our teaching.

Comment by sherry xie on July 24, 2012 at 6:39pm

Try---trainees review, try and practice ‘what they’ve Learned’ on other trainees, after that, they get feedback from trainer/trainee /or themselves. Then they try using the same teaching skill again.

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