Journal of NELTA, Vol. 16 No. 1-2, December 2011
7
service training in small interest groups should
be conducted so as to ‘retrain’ veteran teachers
and absorb new faculty. In our setting, we have
moved slowly. Every course is being researched
so as to provide an understanding of both the
pre-service students’ learning, the development
of the academic course, as well as the effect of
such action research on the lecturer developing
the courses. In many cases, they have had to
reassess their courses and to update themselves in
their field. New faculty members with expertise
and doctoral study in one of the program fields–
linguistics, special education, foreign language
instruction, and literacy—have been recruited.
Teaching loads have been adjusted to acknowledge
the greater connections expected between theory
and practice within the college classroom.
Impact of the changes
In a questionnaire asking the lecturers to reflect
over the changes that have taken place over the last
five years, (appendix 1) the following comments
illustrate these changes and professional
development.
Proficiency courses
‘I have witnessed the immense improvement
in student writing throughout the years. Very
weak students who were unable to write a single
sentence have become proficient essay writers.
The writing and grammar courses in the last few
years have produced excellent results.’
Literature and cinema
‘The students love these courses and have become
acquainted with a variety of new texts and teaching
strategies that can be used in the classroom.
Following our departmental discussions these
courses have undergone quite a change. The
literature and cinema courses no longer have
a purely academic character – we now put more
emphasis on grammar and writing as well as on
the relevance of these academic studies to the
practical work in the field.’
In a question: “I would like to know the impact of
changes in the department on the faculty staff. Are
you teaching differently? Please explain and give
examples,” these are a couple of comments:
‘During the past five years my teaching
strategies have changed significantly. Thanks
to Carol’s insistence on excellence and on up-
to-date research, I have made an extra effort
to become acquainted with the latest research
in my discipline. I have also understood the
importance of an interdisciplinary approach to
teacher education, and I integrate knowledge and
strategies from different fields during my lessons
(psychology, education, literature, philosopy and
media studies).’
Other members of staff commented on the course
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