Answers to the questions posed by professor Jairo Castañeda
during session 2, on Saturday, april 5th.
- In
thinking about yourself and your own teaching philosophy, which do you feel is
the most relevant? Why?
I consider that from the
whole compilation of synonyms and definitions given for the act of teaching,
the most relevant, in my perspective, is related with teaching as a vocation.
However, why teaching as a vocation is essential? Well, I would like to begin
by bringing up that in the Colombian context being a teacher is a demanding
task. In this country, most of the teachers do not work in proper working, most
of the schools lack resources and materials, and professional development is
not perceived as something important for educative institutions. In our
national context, teachers who want to continue growing professionally need to look
for alternatives such as having a second job, working extra hours and investing
more of their time in order to keep advancing in their careers. Unfortunately, it
seems to be that now public and private are not interested in investing in
teacher´s professional development, without taking into consideration that the
more prepared a teacher is, the more effective their pedagogical implementations
might be.
On the other hand, since
approximately year 2000, through “concurso nacional para nombramientos
docentes” in the public sector, many individuals who have not been prepared
themselves to be teachers, have had the opportunity to join the teaching
professional along the country. I see this as something positive, even though
it may also have negative connotations. Positive because of course these people
might get to be excellent teachers who transmit their content knowledge to
students, as these inviduals receive a certain kind of traning before
incorporating to “magisterio”. However, as most of these emerging teachers only
want to make money out of this opportunity, and do not perceive teaching as
something serious, they could fall into what Kumaravadivelu (2003) calls “teacher
as passive technicians” or in what Freure (1968) aligned with a critical
pedagogy perspective have termed as “banking education”. Banking education is
precisely that, teachers passing on knowledge to the students without having a
critical defined perspective towards it. Of course I am not saying that it is
something totally bad. But as teachers, I think, from a very personal
perspective, we should be engaged in a critical view of what reality is, as it
is the only way to teach also people to think critically.
- What
are the obstacles you may face in carrying out the responsibilities of a
reflective
teacher
and how might you overcome them?
Many could be the
difficulties faced by us if we take a more reflective position in terms of
education. Probably the first difficulty I would have to face as a critical/reflective
practitioner would be that of facing institutional interest. And I say this because,
although as teachers, not only EFL teachers, but teachers in general, we would
like to teach individuals to be more free through knowledge, the government
along with its bilingual policies appear only to wanting to adoctrinate society
as a way of domination, because a society with no education might be more manipulable.
A second difficulty that as
a reflective I would have to face would is the shock with reality. Because,
sadly, in the Colombian context education does not fulfill the role it was
originally intended to. Education in Colombia most of the times is seen by
Colombians as a way to waste time and for that same reason it does not have the
position it should in our society. Finally, I think that not only these two but
maybe many issues more would appear if we decide to follow the path of engaging
in pedagogical critical reflections. However, I think that it is a worth
following path.
In regard to the second
question posed as part of point 2, I think that there are many strategies that
one can implement in order to handle with issues raised by engaging in a
critical perspective of education. The first, and probably the most effective,
is sharing with the academic community what one has learned about in all this
process. By academic community I make reference to parents, students of the
institution, and even other teachers, because though sometimes as professors we
have this type of “egocentric perspective of professionalism” we are still lack
much to learn. Thus a dialogical activity of learning to know together is
necessary.
Other strategies that could
be used to overcome problematic situations in terms of critical reflection in
education is the desire to keep professionalizing through the enrollment in
master´s programs and Phds because only through undergoing this experience of
keep professionalizing ourselves we can be in contact with research, which is
precisely another tools that might help us to understand why social phenomena
occur in the way they happen. And this, of couse, would help us shed light on
what path to take.
- What does it mean to be a professional in ELT?
In an overall sense, being a professional in ELT for
most of the people is related to the excellent level of proficiency that an EFL
teacher may have of the language. However, from a more critical perspective,
being a professional in ELT implies many factors. The first of them, in my
opinion, is to be aware of the context in which we are. In Colombia the most
important, I think, is not to teach student for acquiring a high level of
English but it should be what the student can do with the language. If she or
he can change her/his life for the good through English, and also to make them understand
that although English has spread throughout the globe thanks to globalization
and technology emergence, we still have to be careful, as it is a language of liberation,
but also of subjugation as some authors who come from peripheral countries such
as Kumaravadivelu with his “colonization of the mind” and Canagarajah with his
“linguistic imperialism” have argued. Thus, to synthesize the idea just
presented above, in my words, the EFL teacher must be context-sensitive,
reflective and needs to also have a clearly defined position in front of the
ELT field.
In addition to what I just mentioned, I also believe
that being a professional in ELT requires much from teachers in terms of cultural
and social dimensions. Different bilingual policies have been established in
order to decrete what EFL educators should and must need to learn. However, in
the context of this country, the EFL teaching community has rarely had
participation in the creation of bilingual policies, because, as I have been
discussing through this task, the government does not care about the real needs
of population in general in terms of English language teaching/learning. Hence the
only possible exit to this perennial process is to start to face national
policies from local practices, as our role has been so constrained that it is
the space we have for now to do changes.
- What is implied in independent professionalism?
In independent professionalism many elements are
implied. The first as stated by Leung (2009) is the engagement in a constant
reflection process. Only by reflecting upon one´s pedagogical practices, it is
possible to overcome those failing procedures/strategies which have not
resulted effective for the immediate teaching environment. Similarly, the
constant engagement might lead us to renew our practices collectively, as self-reflection
of various educational actors as teachers might contribute to understanding
what has not been working properly for the context.
- Can you see the two current issues described by Leung reflected in our context?
Explain.
Yes and no. I assert yes because the English language
teaching in Colombia seems to be separated into two different panoramas. The first
one is connected to EFL teachers who pursued their bachelor degree and decided
to take the role of “teachers as passive technicians”. There are many of them
in public education. This is not something negative, nor positive. It is simply
the way it is. And the second one is related to those types of teachers, who after
having finished their bachelor degree, have the desire to continue professionalizing
themselves by pursuing a master´s program in English language teaching and
subsequently a Phd. This second type of teachers, have, to some extent, reached
a higher level of reflection (Kumaravadivelu, 2009), as they have understood
that only by engaging in constant processes of educational formation they can
acquire new theories in regards to the field, they can improve their teaching
practices, and more importantly of all, they can be in contact with research.
Thus they become somehow knowledge producers.
The second type of teachers, otherwise, appear to be
now more abundant in last years as EFL teachers have become aware of the fact
that continuing education might be
beneficial not only for academic but also for professional purposes, as by the obtaining
of a higher educative recognition, many door might open in the national and
international arena.
- In your perspective, what can we do to promote a change in how language
teaching is seeing in our context?
We could implement many strategies. First the creation
of communities of practices I think might result beneficial for the integration
of English language teachers from all over the region as we rarely have the
opportunity to meet and talk together about the kind of implementations that
have been or not effective in our language classes. Thus for that reason I
think that the creation of a community of practice in the context of not only
Colombia, but also in the region of Huila would be something positive. In
addition to this, this could be used as a space for using the language, as most
of the times, in public and private settings, English language teachers do not
have the chance to practice their L2 with someone else.
In addition to this, the implementation of more
research could be beneficial in terms of changing many elements of our context.
Research is something which has not been totally explored in the context of
Colombia, and to a lesser extent in public primary and secondary education.
Hence, by the implementation of exploratory research, for example, we could
have the opportunity to make an approximation to socio-cultural reality of
students having as a result a wider understanding on why they behave the way
they do it, and how we could implement strategies more effective for teaching
them.
These are in my perspective some of the strategies
that could be used in order to start to change little by little our context in
terms of English language teaching. Of course although we as EFL teachers have
the willingness to improve always our practices, and make the classes the most
effective as possible, it is also responsibility of the government to invest in
the professional development of English language educators as it could result beneficial
for all the county in general.
Mind map - fragment 3.2 of the reading - Second language teacher education: Review of recent research on practice - Wright (2010).
Questions to reflect
current issues in ELT (Johnson & Golombek, 2018)
1. How did you position yourself during:
a. B.A?
b. Teaching practicum?
c. The beginning of your teaching career?
d. The master´s program
A. I consider that I was a really immature person in terms of a professional perspective during the B.A in English when I was a student. Honestly, now that I think about it, I feel I did not have a clear horizon by that time. I was studying English because I wanted to travel to many places, but, little by little I began to notice that the scope of the B.A was to become an EFL teacher. That made me feel disappointed, to the point that I almost dropped the university in fourth semester. However I continued and I "discover" my teaching identity when I was close to end the undergrad program. Thanks to a professor who I really admire I could notice that EFL teachers can continue their process of professionalization nationally and internationally in order to become better prepared teachers. I have reflected upon my experience sometimes and I have got to the conclusion that maybe one of the major difficulties with Universidad Surcolombiana is that it does not foster a perspective towards future in students. Individuals are simply (or at least it was like this in the time in which I was a student) told that they are going to become English teachers but their is no a real purpose behind this. Individuals are not told that they can begin an academic career as researchers or university teachers, because, honestly, one is alone in that sense.
B. I think that by the time in which I began the teaching practium I had already overcome the initial difficulties with the B.A. Thanks to the experience with the teacher I just mentioned above, I reflected on what I was doing and I became more "serious" let´s say with the teaching profession. I began to see teaching as a path to follow as teachers have a big responsibility in front of society. That time was really amazing. Unfortunately, I could also see the other face of the coin. I felt really (and to some extent I continue to feel) disappointed about the status of the teaching profession because in Colombia teachers are not respected, especially in primary and secondary schools context. That is one of the reasons why I enrolled in the master´s program in ELT.
A. I consider that I was a really immature person in terms of a professional perspective during the B.A in English when I was a student. Honestly, now that I think about it, I feel I did not have a clear horizon by that time. I was studying English because I wanted to travel to many places, but, little by little I began to notice that the scope of the B.A was to become an EFL teacher. That made me feel disappointed, to the point that I almost dropped the university in fourth semester. However I continued and I "discover" my teaching identity when I was close to end the undergrad program. Thanks to a professor who I really admire I could notice that EFL teachers can continue their process of professionalization nationally and internationally in order to become better prepared teachers. I have reflected upon my experience sometimes and I have got to the conclusion that maybe one of the major difficulties with Universidad Surcolombiana is that it does not foster a perspective towards future in students. Individuals are simply (or at least it was like this in the time in which I was a student) told that they are going to become English teachers but their is no a real purpose behind this. Individuals are not told that they can begin an academic career as researchers or university teachers, because, honestly, one is alone in that sense.
B. I think that by the time in which I began the teaching practium I had already overcome the initial difficulties with the B.A. Thanks to the experience with the teacher I just mentioned above, I reflected on what I was doing and I became more "serious" let´s say with the teaching profession. I began to see teaching as a path to follow as teachers have a big responsibility in front of society. That time was really amazing. Unfortunately, I could also see the other face of the coin. I felt really (and to some extent I continue to feel) disappointed about the status of the teaching profession because in Colombia teachers are not respected, especially in primary and secondary schools context. That is one of the reasons why I enrolled in the master´s program in ELT.
2. Who were you? Who are you? Who will be you?
I was a young individual who did not have a clear defined future and did not know what I want when I was younger. I was not aware about educational reality in the country. Experiences, made me change.
Who am I? In this moment I am an EFL with already more than 5 years of experience teaching in different schools of the department of Huila. I am also a second semester master student who is trying to do the best in order to keep my professionalization process and additionally I am a teacher/researcher as one of the requisites to obtain the master´s degree in ELT is connected to doing research. Although it is mandatory in the program, it is an activity I really like.
Who will I be?
I hope I will be a teacher/researcher and academic for the rest of my life. I would also like to be a college teacher because I have noticed that working conditions are better than those of secondary school teachers. The status college educators have is apparently better as well, and if those teachers "produce" academically, universities support their process of continuos professional development, which is something I like.
I was a young individual who did not have a clear defined future and did not know what I want when I was younger. I was not aware about educational reality in the country. Experiences, made me change.
Who am I? In this moment I am an EFL with already more than 5 years of experience teaching in different schools of the department of Huila. I am also a second semester master student who is trying to do the best in order to keep my professionalization process and additionally I am a teacher/researcher as one of the requisites to obtain the master´s degree in ELT is connected to doing research. Although it is mandatory in the program, it is an activity I really like.
Who will I be?
I hope I will be a teacher/researcher and academic for the rest of my life. I would also like to be a college teacher because I have noticed that working conditions are better than those of secondary school teachers. The status college educators have is apparently better as well, and if those teachers "produce" academically, universities support their process of continuos professional development, which is something I like.
3. How much did you know about your teachers/professor during your B.A? How much do you know about the teachers/professors of this master´s program?
I did not know much about the professor during the B.A. When I was an undergraduate student they merely focused on teaching us about the functional aspects of the language, but, I did not know much about their lives, their academic trajectory and the likes.
About the professors of the master´s program, I think that they are more opened to be in contact with students. They talk about their academic trajectory and try to foster in their master students love for research and academia in general. I have liked that aspect.
4. What opportunities have you had to externalize everyday concepts and internalize academic concepts? How has this process been?
5. What mediational spaces did you have during the B.A. and the master´s? Describe them
6. How important is responsive mediation for you? Can you recall any experience about it?
7. Have you noticed if teacher educators really understand who you really are as a teacher? How do you feel about it?
The answer is 50 - 50. Teacher educators get to know you as a person and professional but only to a very limited extent. I think that teacher eductors do the best they can to involve students in academic processes. However, there are many other professional aspects that they do not know from students as time is probably one of the most difficult situations to overcome.
Apart from what I just said, I am pretty sure teacher educators do not completely understand who we are as educators as all of us have different teaching dimensions which sometimes deploy when necessary or simply remain hidden when these are not needed.
The answer is 50 - 50. Teacher educators get to know you as a person and professional but only to a very limited extent. I think that teacher eductors do the best they can to involve students in academic processes. However, there are many other professional aspects that they do not know from students as time is probably one of the most difficult situations to overcome.
Apart from what I just said, I am pretty sure teacher educators do not completely understand who we are as educators as all of us have different teaching dimensions which sometimes deploy when necessary or simply remain hidden when these are not needed.
8. To what extent do you perceive teacher educators as self-inquirers?
Indeed teacher educators must be self-inquirers. They have to be constantly reflecting upon their teaching practices, research projects, and academic career in general in order to maximize teaching processes in benefit of their students. I think that most of teacher educators have these characteristics.
Reflections of the classes.
Session 1,2,3, 4. From Friday3rd to Sunday 5th.
First of all, I would like to say that this weekend´s session was fruitful because my partners and I were discussing about the issues and trends in regard to English language education and development. From the three first moments of the session, I want to highlight the article by Kumaravadivelu in which he debates about the three types of teachers, which are "passive technicians, reflective practitioners and transformative intellectuals" as it is exactly what happens in our context with education. In all the educational settings in the country there are teachers who do not continue preparing themselves academically and they simply want to make money out of the profession (something which I do not perceive as bad) but they do not continue learning about their areas of knowledge as unfortunately these have preconceptions towards it. By preconceptions what I mean is that they think that they have learned all about their area of expersite, and that is not true. In order to become a really good professor (or professional in general) it is important to continue with our professional development.
Additionally, I also consider that the other topics that were studied in class, such as the shift in second/foreign language teachers paradigm was interesting, because one can notice how the professional development of English educators has been changing and receiving influences from the last pedagogical trends, and how it, at the same time, redefines itself in order to be more useful to the preparation of language educators.
First of all, I would like to say that this weekend´s session was fruitful because my partners and I were discussing about the issues and trends in regard to English language education and development. From the three first moments of the session, I want to highlight the article by Kumaravadivelu in which he debates about the three types of teachers, which are "passive technicians, reflective practitioners and transformative intellectuals" as it is exactly what happens in our context with education. In all the educational settings in the country there are teachers who do not continue preparing themselves academically and they simply want to make money out of the profession (something which I do not perceive as bad) but they do not continue learning about their areas of knowledge as unfortunately these have preconceptions towards it. By preconceptions what I mean is that they think that they have learned all about their area of expersite, and that is not true. In order to become a really good professor (or professional in general) it is important to continue with our professional development.
Additionally, I also consider that the other topics that were studied in class, such as the shift in second/foreign language teachers paradigm was interesting, because one can notice how the professional development of English educators has been changing and receiving influences from the last pedagogical trends, and how it, at the same time, redefines itself in order to be more useful to the preparation of language educators.
Task: Autobiograhy. Session 1.
1. Experiences related to the beginning of the LTE program.
- My name is Jhon Eduardo Mosquera Pérez. I am a 27 EFL teacher. Currently, I am working in a public institution in Gigante, Huila. I do not have many stories related to experiences at the beginning of the LTE program. I consider a was a very normal student in the university who onle went to study and returned back home. I did not have any laboral experience related to teaching while studying in college, but I was an assistant in the bilingual library of the program. I worked within the university for one semester. It ocurred when I was in eighth semester and I did it because I had much free time and I wanted to get some money and working experience.
One of the most remarkable experiences of my time as university student in the LTE program was when I met a teacher who changed my perspective about the issue of being an EFL teacher. By that time this professor was teaching the course "English literature" and I was impressed by the knowledge he had about literature in general. Besides, his level of English was amazing. This professor showed me things I had not been able to see in other teaches before and he immediately became my role model.
2. Experiences about the last part of my LTE program and the beginning of my career as an EFL teacher.
The experiences I remember the most of the last part of my LTE program are related to the teaching practicum. My first teaching practicum was in secondary school. I did it at INEM "Julian Motta Salas". It is the school where I studied in secondary. The experience was rewarding. I felf proud of having returned as a pre-service teacher to the school where I had studied. There, I had the opportunity to share with the teachers who taught me in my time as a student and I began to become aware of what it means to be a teachers. Being a teacher implies to be well prepared in order to teach students properly not not only about the language but knowledge in general. Everyday, teachers have the opportunity of teaching students what it means to be a critical person, what this country needs and lacks. Unfortunately, in Colombia the teaching profession is not well paid, teachers are marginilized and professors most of the times do not enjoy doing their jobs because of the working conditions. That is one of the first impressions I had of being a teacher in this country and although the panorama has changed a little, I keep thinking that Colombia is not the best place to be a teacher.
On the other hand, another remarkable experience I had from the last semester of my university in the ELT program, was when I first faced a group of children during the time of the primary practicum. I did the second practicum at Claretiano school, with a group of 3rd and 4th graders, and, if I am to make a comparison between the two experiences, I liked much more having taught in primary level as the kids were all the time excited about having a young teacher with them, especially in the classes of English, which, from my perception,, they liked pretty much.
From the just mentioned experience I learned to be resourceful because children are active in the classroom, they are talkative, they enjoy to be walking around the classes and to be in contact with other children, thus as a teacher one has to take advantage of that. Also, when I was a primary teacher I noticed that these students were highly receptive. Flashcards, songs, images were constantly used in my classes. Videos were also engaging for them.
3. Experiences in the master´s program in ELT.
The experiences in the master´s program have been varied and fruitful. I considert that being exposed to a master level of education changes one´s mind in many different ways, and, at the same time, serves to show the multiple ways one can take as a teacher. You can for example do research, write academically, learn about more advances issues within the field of English language teaching, and more.
From the participation in the master´s program one of the experiences I remember the most is my participation as a speakers in three academic events in ELT, one in Bogotá, one in Sincelejo and one in Ibagué. I consider that these experiences were useful as they helped to me realize that there are teachers who are all the time working in research. Also, I think that the experience of sharing with teachers who have been professors for different university institutions
1. Experiences related to the beginning of the LTE program.
- My name is Jhon Eduardo Mosquera Pérez. I am a 27 EFL teacher. Currently, I am working in a public institution in Gigante, Huila. I do not have many stories related to experiences at the beginning of the LTE program. I consider a was a very normal student in the university who onle went to study and returned back home. I did not have any laboral experience related to teaching while studying in college, but I was an assistant in the bilingual library of the program. I worked within the university for one semester. It ocurred when I was in eighth semester and I did it because I had much free time and I wanted to get some money and working experience.
One of the most remarkable experiences of my time as university student in the LTE program was when I met a teacher who changed my perspective about the issue of being an EFL teacher. By that time this professor was teaching the course "English literature" and I was impressed by the knowledge he had about literature in general. Besides, his level of English was amazing. This professor showed me things I had not been able to see in other teaches before and he immediately became my role model.
2. Experiences about the last part of my LTE program and the beginning of my career as an EFL teacher.
The experiences I remember the most of the last part of my LTE program are related to the teaching practicum. My first teaching practicum was in secondary school. I did it at INEM "Julian Motta Salas". It is the school where I studied in secondary. The experience was rewarding. I felf proud of having returned as a pre-service teacher to the school where I had studied. There, I had the opportunity to share with the teachers who taught me in my time as a student and I began to become aware of what it means to be a teachers. Being a teacher implies to be well prepared in order to teach students properly not not only about the language but knowledge in general. Everyday, teachers have the opportunity of teaching students what it means to be a critical person, what this country needs and lacks. Unfortunately, in Colombia the teaching profession is not well paid, teachers are marginilized and professors most of the times do not enjoy doing their jobs because of the working conditions. That is one of the first impressions I had of being a teacher in this country and although the panorama has changed a little, I keep thinking that Colombia is not the best place to be a teacher.
On the other hand, another remarkable experience I had from the last semester of my university in the ELT program, was when I first faced a group of children during the time of the primary practicum. I did the second practicum at Claretiano school, with a group of 3rd and 4th graders, and, if I am to make a comparison between the two experiences, I liked much more having taught in primary level as the kids were all the time excited about having a young teacher with them, especially in the classes of English, which, from my perception,, they liked pretty much.
From the just mentioned experience I learned to be resourceful because children are active in the classroom, they are talkative, they enjoy to be walking around the classes and to be in contact with other children, thus as a teacher one has to take advantage of that. Also, when I was a primary teacher I noticed that these students were highly receptive. Flashcards, songs, images were constantly used in my classes. Videos were also engaging for them.
3. Experiences in the master´s program in ELT.
The experiences in the master´s program have been varied and fruitful. I considert that being exposed to a master level of education changes one´s mind in many different ways, and, at the same time, serves to show the multiple ways one can take as a teacher. You can for example do research, write academically, learn about more advances issues within the field of English language teaching, and more.
From the participation in the master´s program one of the experiences I remember the most is my participation as a speakers in three academic events in ELT, one in Bogotá, one in Sincelejo and one in Ibagué. I consider that these experiences were useful as they helped to me realize that there are teachers who are all the time working in research. Also, I think that the experience of sharing with teachers who have been professors for different university institutions
Reflections of the classes.
Session from Friday 17th to Sunday 19th.
Classes from this weekend were also interesting and fruitful. Topics of the classes were related to positioning theory, teachers´ knowledge base, teacher´s identity and autoethnography. I learned that positioning is both, an interesting but also a complex issue to understand. In an overall sense, positioning theory implies analyzing and understanding individuals´ affiliation, discourses and perspectives in front of life experiences. Though positioning is quite related to agency, there are some elements which serve to distinguish them. According to what I could learn, agency is more related to those actions taken by people in order to achieve an objective, while positioning is connected to discourse and perceptions.
On the other hand, I also liked the other topics treated in the class as through studying them it is possible to notice that there are many elements which can be explored and understood within the field of English language teaching.
Classes from this weekend were also interesting and fruitful. Topics of the classes were related to positioning theory, teachers´ knowledge base, teacher´s identity and autoethnography. I learned that positioning is both, an interesting but also a complex issue to understand. In an overall sense, positioning theory implies analyzing and understanding individuals´ affiliation, discourses and perspectives in front of life experiences. Though positioning is quite related to agency, there are some elements which serve to distinguish them. According to what I could learn, agency is more related to those actions taken by people in order to achieve an objective, while positioning is connected to discourse and perceptions.
On the other hand, I also liked the other topics treated in the class as through studying them it is possible to notice that there are many elements which can be explored and understood within the field of English language teaching.
Reflections of the classes.
Session from Friday 24th to Sunday 27th.
This week's session was meaningful in many aspects. Teacher's professional development, Identity construction and autoethnography were some of the issues that were treated in class. In regard to professional development I learned that it is a very interesting topic to research on. The article published by Macías and Buendía (2019) offered some interesting scopes such as teacher's reflection, where, according to these authors, there are no sufficient spaces to reflect. By spaces I mean situations, contexts to exercise reflection. However, despite this inconvenience, I think that teachers (including me) are becoming little by little conscious about the inportance of this issue for the inprovement of our teaching practices. It is here where master programs gain relevance, as these provide educators with the proper conditions to reflect.
In connection with Identity construction, I feel necessary to say that I find this issue quite interesting. I like to think about teachers (and human beings in general) as multidimensional beings who deploy or hide their identities (following the ideology of a poststructural stance) depending on the place and individuals with whom they share. Also, I believe that more research needs to be conducted in this aspect as 21st century educators have the valuable opportunity of experiencing the most updated trends in terms of education as the insertion of technology in everyday life has reconfigured the manners in which individuals experience life
Finally, autoethnography is other of the issues I have learned about this week and, personally, I see it as an interesting approach to inquiry. In this moment I al writing an autoethnography about my trip in becoming an English language teacher, and when you take the chance to reflect about yourself, you might get to interesting conclusions about the experiences lived by you. I think in the future I will continue exploring the elements autoethnography has to offer.
This week's session was meaningful in many aspects. Teacher's professional development, Identity construction and autoethnography were some of the issues that were treated in class. In regard to professional development I learned that it is a very interesting topic to research on. The article published by Macías and Buendía (2019) offered some interesting scopes such as teacher's reflection, where, according to these authors, there are no sufficient spaces to reflect. By spaces I mean situations, contexts to exercise reflection. However, despite this inconvenience, I think that teachers (including me) are becoming little by little conscious about the inportance of this issue for the inprovement of our teaching practices. It is here where master programs gain relevance, as these provide educators with the proper conditions to reflect.
In connection with Identity construction, I feel necessary to say that I find this issue quite interesting. I like to think about teachers (and human beings in general) as multidimensional beings who deploy or hide their identities (following the ideology of a poststructural stance) depending on the place and individuals with whom they share. Also, I believe that more research needs to be conducted in this aspect as 21st century educators have the valuable opportunity of experiencing the most updated trends in terms of education as the insertion of technology in everyday life has reconfigured the manners in which individuals experience life
Finally, autoethnography is other of the issues I have learned about this week and, personally, I see it as an interesting approach to inquiry. In this moment I al writing an autoethnography about my trip in becoming an English language teacher, and when you take the chance to reflect about yourself, you might get to interesting conclusions about the experiences lived by you. I think in the future I will continue exploring the elements autoethnography has to offer.
