Exploring Teachers’ Belief

Beliefs about learning

Teachers’ beliefs about the learning may be based on their training, their teaching experience or their own experience as a learner.

The source of teacher’ belief
1. Their own experience as a learner. 2. Experience of what works best. 3. Established practice. 4. Personality factors. 5. Educationally based or researchbased principles. 6. Principles derived from an approach or method.
Exploring Teachers’ Belief
Group Discussion

Teaching can be described in terms of actions and behaviors which teachers carry out in the classroom and the effects of these on teachers. Discuss the following questions in groups:
Discuss the following questions
1) 2)
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How do you see a teacher’s role in the classroom? What teaching methods do you try to implement in your classroom? What teaching resources do you make use of? How would you define effective teaching? What is your approach to classroom management? What are the qualities of a good teacher?

How to develop professionally then?
Reference

Richards, J. C. and Lockhart, C. (2000) Reflective Teaching in Second Language Classrooms.
Presentation Tasks
Beliefs about a profession

Teaching is a profession and teachers engaged in teaching are professionals.

Having unique characteristics Requiring specialized skills and training Being a lifelong and valued career choice. Offering a high level of job satisfaction.
Example
Beliefs about EFL. Language can be thought of as a set of grammatical structures. Language is a kind of literature. Language is a means of doing business or making money. Language is a communicative tool.

Beliefs about the subject


Your understanding of the subject. What is a language/mathematics? In the case of English, peoples’ views vary significantly from one individual to another. The attitudes towards teaching it may vary as well. The beliefs can be clarified by considering the following questions:
Group 1. Questionnaire, Observation Group 2: Interview, Journal Group 3: Case study, Narrative inquiry Group 4. Experimental study, Video recordings What? ---definition How?--- how to conduct? Difficulties? Advantages and disadvantages
Beliefs about learning

“When learners and teachers meet for the first time, they may bring with them different expectations concerning not only the learning process in general, but also concerning what will be learned in a particular course and how it will be learned” (Brindley 1984:95).
What are the tasks a teacher is usually confronted?

Confronted Tasks

Selecting learning activities Preparing students for new learning Presenting learning activities Asking questions Checking students’ understanding Providing opportunities for practice of new knowledge Monitoring students’ learning Giving feedback on student learning Reviewing and reteaching when necessary




Teachers’ views on program structure and management such as lesson planning, the use of objectives, and assessment. Five objectives in National Curriculum Standard (2001) A. Knowledge B. Language ability C. Strategies D. Affection E. Cross-culture

What underlies Ts’ classroom actions?

Teachers’ beliefs or teacher thinking.
What teachers do is a reflection of what they know and believe, and that teacher knowledge and teacher thinking provide the underlying framework or schema which guides the teacher’s classroom actions.
Beliefs about teaching
Beliefs about teaching methodology Beliefs about teachers’ roles Beliefs about teaching resources

Beliefs about the program and the curriculum

Questions related to Beliefs about English



1) Why do you think English is an important language? 2) Do you think English is more difficult to learn than other languages? 3) What do you think the most difficult aspects of learning English are (e.g. grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation)? 4) Which dialect of English do you think should be taught (e.g. British, American, other)? 5) Do you think it is important to speak English with native-like pronunciation?
Question: How do you understand “learner-centered” view of learning?

Beliefs about teaching

Individual teachers bring to teaching very different beliefs and assumptions about what constitutes effective teaching.

Teachers’ belief system
Teacher’s belief systems are founded on the goals, value. They are related to the content and process of teaching and their understanding of the systems in which they work and their roles within it. They affect teacher’s decision making and action. They are built up gradually over time and consist of both subjective and objective dimensions. They are derived from a number of different sources (Kindsvatter, Willen and Ishler, 1988).