Reflection+on+the+IATEFL+2012+GLASGOW+(Tuğçe+Nur+Bozkurt)

**“Facilitating Change in ELT” by Dr. Susan Barduhn& Beth Neder ** I chose this presentation to write my reflection because its topic seemed to be similar to the topic of the conference “Differentiation” which was held in Yuce College. But, I realized when I read the slides that they are quite different from each other in term of their topics. This presentation begins with a quotation from a teacher and it is an interesting sentence which emphasizes the importance of the professional development. I think it is a good idea to begin with this sentence because it is directly related to the topic of the presentation and can attract the attention of the audience to the presentation. After that part we see their outline which is written clearly and briefly. In the part which they mention about the beliefs that underline their session they talk about why they chose this topic clearly. According to them everyone has experience of PD and it is a topic which should be handled in detail. After mentioning about their reasons they want each person to introduce his/herself with the person next to them and talk about their roles and provisions of PD. I think that is a good idea in terms of creating a warm environment among the audience at the same time linking the topic of their conversations to the topic of the presentation. In the slide after that part it is written “example” and there is nothing else although I didn’t understand their aim I guessed that they would give an example or they would want an example from the audience. They start to get deep into the term “professional development” by mentioning about what it is and what is important about this term. Then, they mention about “change” by dividing the subject into three parts namely, what change is, first order change and second order change. After that part they talk about the constituents of change; new state, new way of being, thinking and doing. Then, they mention about the factors which contribute to successful educational change. According to them these factors are; vision, meaning and beliefs, relationship and trust, link to student learning and outcomes, time, effort and support, dialog, reflection, collegiality and enquiry. In the next part they want the audience to discuss in pairs. They give them 3 guiding questions to be used in their discussions. I think it is also good that they want audience to brainstorm about the questions they give before getting deep into the subject. I think this kind of discussion breaks are really efficient in terms of linking the theoretical part that they are investigating to a real life context. After this discussion part, they move to the topic of key considerations in the change process. They state that there are 5 key considerations and these are; culture, change initiator, change agent/ PD provider, teacher and English language learners. Then, they mention about how people can use their own understanding of change to enhance PD that they deliver and propose some key points for them. They finish their presentation again with a quotation which is by Peter Senge this time. I liked their topic and the brief and clear way they prepared their presentation. However, I couldn’t understand the topic completely because I couldn’t have the video clip of their presentation. I could only have some idea about the term PD but, I think it would be really efficient if I had a chance to observe their presentations. Although I couldn’t observe the presentation alive, I can say as far as what I see form the slides that it was an interactive presentation. They wanted the audience both to discuss among themselves and also they wanted examples from the audience. I guess that people who attended this session had a chance to get information about the terms PD and change at the same time learning about the ways they can use while enhancing their own PDs. You can reach the session by this link; [] Tuğçe Nur Bozkurt 1667526  FLE324/2 //** COMMENTS: **//
 * REFLECTION ON THE IATEFL 2012 GLAWSGOW **