A continual process of growth
Is competence – understood as abstract knowledge – the only requirement for teaching? Are teachers just informers? Do teachers-to-be become instructors the moment they get their degree? Does learning stop at this point? Or does graduation mark the starting point for “professional learning”?
Teaching certainly demands much more than mere repetition of abstract concepts. It involves a continual process of growth, signaled by constant reflection and research. Tejada (2000) notes the importance of shaping professionals capable of observing classroom situations, reflecting upon them and applying intelligent and spontaneous decisions to the solution of conflicts (cited in Fernandez Gonzalez, Elórtegui Escartín, & Medina Pérez, 2003). In this sense, any unpleasant situation within the classroom environment can trigger off and serve as basis for analysis and learning.
Fernández and Fernández (1994) define the Critical Incident Technique as:
Una estrategia estructurada y en la cual se presenta a los profesores situaciones escritas de la enseñanza (…) y se les pide que tomen una decisión en función de la información que se les proporciona. Permite llevar a cabo análisis en situaciones específicas de seguridad y control. Son situaciones de laboratorio, sin riesgos y con posibilidad de repetir los análisis, lo que permite a los profesores acercarse a la realidad.
(as cited in Fernández González, Elórtegui Escartín, & Medina Pérez, 2003, p.104).
Far from getting deep insight, this invaluable method of reflection and analysis is altogether absent from Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) College syllabi. Turning to personal experience, I can state that a clear insight into this technique at an early stage in my career would have resulted in much more efficient action-taking strategies at the time of solving problems in the classroom.
I can recall a vast number of incidents which could have found immediate solution if I had been especially trained to face unexpected situations. Disruptive behavior is one of the issues I have always found most difficult to deal with. I remember that four or five years ago, a student stood up and left the classroom because I was constantly telling him off and, as he said, he could stand it no longer. Experience and teacher-teacher sharing can definitely aid decision-taking. However, a deep and systematic analysis of causes and possible solutions will undoubtedly allow the teacher to make use of professional resources, thus undermining irrational reactions.
Grounded in the analysis of concrete classroom conflict, the Critical Incident Technique emerges as a method of utmost importance for the continual growth and professional development of teachers. Only by “position[ing] teachers as insider researchers of their own practice” (Angelides, 2006; as cited in Pintos & Crimi, 2010, p.8) will mere instruction give way to holistic teaching.
References
Angelides, P. (2006). Supporting the continued professional development of teachers through the use of vignettes. Teacher Education Quarterly. Fall, 2006. Retrieved September 2010, from
Fernández González, J., Elórtegui Escartín, N., & Medina Pérez, M. (2003). Los incidentes críticos en la formación y perfeccionamiento del profesorado de secundaria de ciencias de la naturaleza. Revista Interuniversitaria de Formación de Profesorado, 17(1), 101-112. Zaragoza, España: Universidad de Zaragoza. Retrieved September 2010, from
Pintos, V., & Crimi, Y. (2010). Unit 2. Personal narratives in teaching. Universidad CAECE. Retrieved October 2010, from
Tejada, J. (2000). Profesionalidad docente. En: S. De La Torre y O. Barrios. (Coords.), Estrategias didácticas innovadoras (pp. 72-76.). Barcelona: Octaedro.
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