From Physics to Language, from Teacher to Teacher Trainer: A Narrative Study

Date

2019-04-10

Author

Gümüşok, Fatma
Seferoğlu, Gölge

Metadata

Show full item record

Item Usage Stats

217
views

0
downloads

There is an established relationship between student learning and the quality of teachers, which renders researchers to explore who teachers are as a professional group and what practices they perform. However, such a link is absent in educating/training teachers. In the Turkish context, where frequent changes occur in the educational structure, especially in language teaching, minimal attention is paid to teacher trainers who primarily guide teachers through these latest updates. Therefore, this study investigates a personal history of a successful language teacher trainer within the framework of professional identity. This research draws on Davey’s (2013) theoretical lens for professional identity of teacher educators. In doing so, narrative inquiry was chosen as the methodological approach; a series of three consecutive interviews, four hours and 40 minutes in total, was conducted with a language teacher trainer with a background in physics teaching. The interviews navigated the trainer’s motivation and aspiration, job description, knowledge and expertise, personal approaches, and understanding of group membership. The qualitative analysis revealed that pursuing an academic degree and the desire to excel in the teaching job induced the participant to train teachers. Regarding her unconventional expertise-physics teaching- as a resource, the trainer achieved to be a source of inspiration through reflective practices in adult education. Being a member of a successful group of practitioners, and adopting pastoral and nurturing roles further established her identity as a teacher trainer. The study concluded that not only academic and professional qualities but also affective characteristics enhanced teacher trainers’ success.

Subject Keywords

Professional identity, Narrative, Teacher trainer

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/76008
https://www.iltergconference.org/copy-of-abstract-submission-1

Conference Name

ILTERG Conference, (8 - 10 April 2019)

Collections

Department of Foreign Language Education, Conference / Seminar

Suggestions

OpenMETU
Core

Challenges, professional development, and professional identity: A case study on novice language teachers Karataş, Pınar; Karaman, Cendel; Department of English Language Teaching (2015-6) The initial years of teaching are challenging for novice teachers. This period is critical for them as they either succeed in managing workflows, continue professional development and construct a healthy identity or drop out of the profession. This qualitative case study was carried out to explore the challenges, perceptions regarding professional development and professional identity of novice language teachers in Izmir, a big city in western Turkey. Interviews and observations with the novices were the pr...
An investigation of how language teachers develop their online teacher identity Kaçakoğlu, Cansu; Çakır, Nur; Department of Curriculum and Instruction (2022-1-07) This qualitative case study aimed to investigate how English language teachers develop their online teacher identities during the emergency remote teaching utilizing Yazan’s (2018) theoretical framework as a lens. The primary source of data was collected through two different semi-structured interviews of 10 English language teachers who were working at a private secondary school. Data were triangulated through semi-structured interviews of internal observers and document analysis. All data were audio-recor...
DEVELOPING A PARTICIPATORY MODEL FOR TEACHER EVALUATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: A CASE STUDY Güneş savul, Emel; Çapa Aydın, Yeşim; Department of Curriculum and Instruction (2022-10) This case study aimed to develop a participatory teacher evaluation model to promote teachers’ professional development. A private primary school was determined as the case, and the study was conducted in the academic year of 2018-2020. Classroom teachers, principals, and experts working in this school constituted the participants. The first part of the research aimed to provide an in-depth analysis of perceptions of participants on current teacher evaluation and professional development practices. In the ...
Professional development of teachers in PISA achiever countries: Finland, Estonia, Japan, Singapore and China Tonga, Funda Eda; Eryiğit, Sümeyra; Yalçın, Fatma; Erden, Feyza Tantekin (2019-11-11) The role of teachers in education is widely acknowledged in educational studies that routinely find that quality of teaching is fundamental to student success. Accordingly, this study set out to examine and describe the professional development of teachers in countries where students perform better in the PISA assessment, namely, Finland, Estonia, Japan, Singapore, and China. Data were obtained from primary sources and compared using Bereday's method. The general structure and systems used for professional ...
Teachers' Beliefs on Professional Learning Saydam, Deniz (2019-10-01) There has recently been an increasing interest in teacher learning, opportunities available for professional development of teachers, and teachers' beliefs regarding professional learning. This study aims to review the literature on what and how language teachers learn through professional learning experiences, what beliefs they hold about the learning experiences they are involved in, and the contribution of professional learning experiences to classroom practice. Following the thematic review of studies o...

Citation Formats

F. Gümüşok and G. Seferoğlu, “From Physics to Language, from Teacher to Teacher Trainer: A Narrative Study,” presented at the ILTERG Conference, (8 - 10 April 2019), Antalya, Türkiye, 2019, Accessed: 00, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://hdl.handle.net/11511/76008.