Teacher Development SIG Photo Competition 2020

The Teacher Development SIG is pleased to announce its very first photo competition!

Two winning photographs will be used in the first journal issue of 2021 and in the January 2021 newsletter.

All interested JALT members are invited to submit an original photograph related to (life in) Japan. Only members of the Japan Association for Language Teaching may submit a photograph, and entrants should remain a member up to the time the photo is used.

The photo must:
• be an original photograph taken by the person submitting it
• be in colour
• not have any licensing restrictions that prevents JALT from using it online and in print
• be high definition (minimum 1920×1080 pixels)
• be related to (life in) Japan
• not have any faces visible
• be accessible online and be shared with the TD SIG using an unrestricted link

Each photographer is allowed to submit up to 2 photographs.

Submissions are being accepted from August to September, but early submissions are welcome. The two winning photographs will be announced by December. 

Click here for the photo submission form.

Disclaimer
• It is ultimately at the discretion of the JALT Teacher Development SIG to decide how submissions will be shared between the SIG’s journal and newsletter.
• Submissions that do not win may be divided amongst other editions of the journal and newsletter.
• All submissions are subject to use by the Japan Association for Language Teaching, e.g. to share information about the competition throughout the organisation.
• Photographs will not be used outside of official JALT purposes.

JALT TD SIG Forum: Teacher Emotions in the Japanese Context

Unfortunately, our ‘Teacher Emotions in the Japanese Context’ forum scheduled for March 19 has had to be cancelled. We’re very sorry about this. We hope to arrange a similar event soon. Thank you for your understanding.

March 19, 2020: Teacher Emotions in the Japanese Context @ Toyo University (Hakusan campus) Tokyo. 14:00-16:30. Click here to register.

CUE & TD SIG Forum Call for Proposals

TD-CUE Joint Forum at JALT2020 in Tsukuba: Forms and Functions of Community in Education
The JALT CUE SIG & Teacher Development SIG Joint Forum at JALT2020 in Tsukuba will be on ‘Forms and Functions of Community in Education’.
The application deadline is Monday, March 2, 2020
Click here for abstract and submission information.

Report of ‘Using Video in Language Teacher Education’ Forum

On Tuesday, December 3, the TD SIG hosted a forum titled – Using Video in Language Teacher Education. The forum took place at Toyo University in Tokyo and was attended by approximately 15 people from a variety of different teaching contexts. The forum featured three speakers, Dr. Steve Mann from the University of Warwick, Robin Skipsey from the British Council, and Davey Young from Rikkyo University.

Dr. Mann opened the forum with a presentation that provided an overview of video uses for teacher development, and he gave some examples of different tools that could be used for implementing video projects. Following this, Robin Skipsey introduced the audience to a British Council project in which video was part of a cascade teacher training model. Robin talked about how trainee teachers used video to reflect on their own teaching practices, try new activities in their classrooms, and pass on useful approaches to others.

The final presentation saw Davey Young talk about how lesson observation videos are used to maintain quality assurance in a unified course at Rikkyo University. Through making recordings of lessons, both teachers and program managers were able to collaboratively assess how objectives were being met, for example.

As well as presentations, the forum also featured interviews. The TD SIG’s coordinator Matthew Turner asked questions to Robin about the content of his presentation, with Steve asking questions to Davey about his talk. Through the interviews, both the audience members and participants were able to interactively explore themes in more detail. The forum culminated in a discussion between the panel, led by questions from the audience.

Using Video in Language Teacher Education: A JALT Teacher Development SIG Forum

The JALT Teacher Development SIG will be hosting a forum on ‘Using Video in Language Teacher Education’

Date: Tuesday, December 3 2019
Time: 18:00 – 20:00
Location: Toyo University, Hakusan Campus, Building 10, Room A101

To register for the forum, use the QR code or click here to complete the form.

Overview: During the last few decades, there has been an increase in both the use of digital video and understanding of the role it can play in teacher education (Baecher et al., 2018). It has been claimed that this can have a positive impact on trainee and in-service teachers’ engagement, motivation and autonomy. This event considers Major and Watson’s view that beliefs and practices are changing fast and the emergence of recent video-capable technologies is something of a ‘tipping point’ (2018: 50).

This interactive forum will feature both presentation and interview sessions. The three invited speakers will each present about using video for language teacher education purposes with regard to their individual institutional perspectives. In response to these presentations, the invited speakers will then engage with each other in interview sessions. It is hoped that this dialogic element to the forum will help both the speakers and attendees to gain a richer and more collaborative understanding of this forum’s central theme and each other’s work.

 

CUE and TD SIG Joint PechaKucha Forum (November 3)

The College and University Educators (CUE) and Teacher Development (TD) SIGs are hosting our ninth joint forum to promote the sharing of professional stories at JALT 2019.

Theme: Teacher Efficacy and Learner Agency
Date: Sunday, November 3, 2019
Time: 11:45 – 13:15 (45 minutes)
Room: 901

The forum will be in true PechaKucha format and after the presentations, audience members are invited to join breakout groups discuss the topics more in depth. We hope you’ll join us!

Invitation to our annual AGM at JALT2019

The JALT Teacher Development (TD) SIG AGM is scheduled at JALT 2019 for:
  • Day: Sunday, November 3rd
  • Time: 9:15 AM – 10:00 AM (45 minutes)
  • Room: 905
In this annual general meeting (AGM), the Teacher Development (TD) SIG officers will report on the recent activities of the group. Officers will share information and news about the SIG’s events, membership, publications, and other related matters. As well as discussing previous work, ideas about the SIG’s future will be shared, and the results of this year’s officer elections will be announced. Current and potential SIG members are encouraged to come along to this session.

Join us at JALT 2019! (Nov 1 – 4)

Teacher Development (TD) SIG and The College and University Educators (CUE) SIG are joining together for our ninth joint forum designed to promote the sharing of professional stories at the 2019 International JALT Conference in Nagoya (Nov 1 – 4). This year’s theme is “Teacher Efficacy and Learner Agency”.

This year the forum will be in true PechaKucha format. Each presentation will be 20 slides set to show for 20 seconds and change by automatic timer. Each presenter will have one chance to present. Audience members and presenters will gather in groups following the presentations to discuss and reflect on the presentations’ contents in the context of this year’s theme. We hope to see you there!