Using critical incidents for professional development with Iranian novice English teachers

Abstract

This study explored the effects of teachers’ individual reflection (IR) and group reflection (GR) on critical incidents (CIs). A group of preservice teachers (N = 7) were presented with real instances of CIs to consider during 12 teacher training sessions. In each session, the trainees read the first part of a CI, describing what happened, when it happened, and who was involved in the incident. Then they described how they would respond to a similar CI in their future classes. Next, they read and discussed the second part of the CI, which contained the reaction of the original teacher to that CI. After that, the trainees shared and discussed their own and the original teacher’s response to the CI through GR. Finally, they were asked to write a second response to the original CI. The trainees’ IR and GR were tabulated and compared to see how GR impacted their reactions. After completing the program, they were asked to write reflection journals describing their evaluation of the activities they had taken part in. Thematic analysis of reflection journals led to the emergence of themes revealing teachers’ positive evaluation of the reflection on CIs.

Contributions of a Professional Development Course to Language Teacher Identity Development: Critical Incidents in Focus

“…Although the notion of communities of practice (CoP; Lave & Wenger, 1991) has not directly informed the design of CI-oriented studies, language-oriented educational research has examined the CIs encountered by both pre-service (e.g., Bruster & Peterson, 2013; Farrell, 2008; Griffin, 2003; Hall & Townsend, 2017) and in-service (e.g., Babaii et al, 2021; Nejadghanbar, 2021; Pourhassan & Nazari, 2021; Shapira-LishChinsky, 2011) teachers during their teacher education programs. For example, Nejadghanbar (2021) examined the impacts of individual and group reflection over pre-selected CIs on seven Iranian novice language teachers. Data were collected from written collections of CIs, semi-structured interviews, and post-course reflective journals.…”

Exploring Innovative Teaching Strategies of the Singapore English Language Curriculum: A Learning Experience of Lesson Study

“…This contextually responsive approach garnered pronounced efficacy within these project schools, thereby attesting to the pragmatic pertinence of leveraging lesson study as a transformative medium for curriculum innovation. In essence, the entwined narrative of lesson study and curriculum innovation underscored the profound efficacy of experiential enactment in seamlessly bridging the theoretical-practical chasm (Mambu, 2022;Nejadghanbar, 2021). The orchestrated infusion of pedagogical tools and procedural frameworks converged harmoniously, fostering an enriched pedagogical ethos marked by the iterative cadence of lesson study.…”

Reflecting on Reflections Concerning Critical Incidents in Developing Pre-Service Teachers’ Professional Identity: Evidence from a TESOL Education Project

“…• Presentation and explanation of critical incidents based on Tripp ( 1993 ), Farrell ( 2008 ), and Nejadghanbar ( 2021 )…”

“…For example, in a language classroom, PSTs of TESOL education may face diverse critical incidents (Atai & Nejadghanbar, 2016 ). The behaviors of the students and teachers, language proficiency, clashes, individual differences, class participation, and teachers’ unpreparedness are identified as the potential source of critical incidents in the classroom (see Nejadghanbar, 2021 for details). These allow the identification of what Wethington, Clausen, and Cappeliez call, “Changes in individual perception about self-identity, life significance and self-concept” (as cited in O’Shea, 2014 , p.5).…”