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I can be trained; I can be educated but nobody can develop me: I develop!

Speaker: Adrian Underhill
Moderator: Jenny Johnson
Date: Wednesday 22 November 2000

Adrian Underhill works as a consultant to teachers and trainers in many countries on personal and professional development, humanistic education, management training, interpersonal skills and learning pronunciation. He is Training Consultant to ILC Teacher Training, Hastings UK, which offers a wide range of short specialist courses to EFL teachers throughout the world. He is author of Sound Foundations: Living Phonology and editor of the Heinemann Teacher Development Series. Adrian is currently President of the International Association for Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL) and was the founder of the IATEFL Teacher Development Group.

MODERATOR> Hello everyone. A big welcome to Adrian Underhill, who has rushed from Oxford to Hastings to logon with us tonight. How was Oxford, Adrian?

SPEAKER_Adrian Underhill> Fine but it took five hours to get there from Hastings and four to get back!

MODERATOR> We have a question from Margaret to start off with, Adrian.

Margaret Pate> I completed my DipTefla about 3 years ago. I feel that I've developed considerably as a teacher since then but mainly on my own. However, there seems to be only one possibility for the next step in my professional development (which could be recognised) and that is a Masters. I don't feel however, that it's particularly relevant to teachers who want to stay in the classroom (apart from the massive costs involved!!!). Any suggestions?

SPEAKER_Adrian Underhill> Why is that the only step? Do you mean the only 'recognised' step?

Margaret Pate> I think it's impossible to quantify personal professional development without some kind of exam, don't you?

SPEAKER_Adrian Underhill> Quantify for who? You? Or others? You've developed on your own, and a masters does not seem relevant. Doesn't that say something about what to do? OK so lets say you decide on a masters. How about a masters that does interest you... for example I decided not to do an ELT masters so I'm doing one in sustainable and ethical business. It interests me a lot, it broadens what I can do, which in fact an ELT masters would not. But at the same time it adds a lot to my ELT, and I think it would carry weight for a job.

MODERATOR> I think Margaret meant that to stay in teaching and go up the ladder employers would expect her to get a better qualification related to ELT.

SPEAKER_Adrian Underhill> Maybe there are masters that are within education, but more attractive to Margaret than the usual ELT ones. The OU for example have very interesting stuff. I think that Margaret may want a masters that is not 'more of the same'.

MODERATOR> Are there any masters that are more related to classroom practice, less theoretical?

SPEAKER_Adrian Underhill> Yes I think there are, though I can't name them now. But there is a good variety around, and things have come a long way since the 70's type masters

andres> Adrian, you talk about developing yourself . . . what do you mean?

SPEAKER_Adrian Underhill> I mean living in a state of learning ... living as a learner... turning potential into something... becoming... it doesn't mean getting better... it means connecting my inner life with my outer life and letting myself evolve... as well as getting older! This can include academic and formal learning.

andres> How do you do that? Before I get too much older!

SPEAKER_Adrian Underhill> For me, I can be doing formal learning without developing, i.e. it's a head activity which does not effect the quality of my living and I can be developing without doing formal learning. But in the professional context, formal learning that feels developmental may be the thing... action inquiry, of which there are many types, is becoming more and more popular and some of it, I think, gets this balance of personal and professional. How can we expect our students to learn unless we are learning ourselves? And learning not before or after the lesson but during. I am most familiar with something called developmental action inquiry. The aim is to develop ones awareness in order to be able to see oneself in action, to see one's behaviour, to catch oneself in the process of having a world view to widen one's perspective, to see the outcomes of one's actions in the bigger picture, to alter one's performance in the light of that, and to question the assumptions out of which the performance comes... I would say these are simple approaches to developing self knowledge through any ordinary actions of one's working or personal life but the important thing is to learn to look at oneself without negative judgement, with warmth, humour, compassion etc. Anyway that's the general idea, to develop one's professional practice through this kind of personal discipline . . . But it's not 'furrowed brow' stuff, it's engaging, liberating, light, fun, energising.

Heather W> Um, isn't that difficult when there's so little time and we're teaching so many hours?

SPEAKER_Adrian Underhill> Yes, at first it seems like that but the idea, the aim, is to learn to do this while doing other things, at least while doing one or two others things, whatever it is you choose to focus on.

SPEAKER_Adrian Underhill> So the thing is less about time, though you do need some, and more about what you do with your attention and awareness. The idea is to do DAI in the heat of the moment, online, in the midst of action...! What do you think?

Heather W> But if you're focusing on yourself, doesn't it seem obvious to others that you're not focusing on them? I mean, students.

SPEAKER_Adrian Underhill> Good question . . . and again, it is not a movement of attention from students to me, it is a widening of attention, at least here and there, to include both students and me. How can I really behave appropriately and responsively if I am not paying attention to both myself and to the others? Yet a lot of teaching ends up like that, with the result that the teacher goes on a sort of auto pilot and has to reflect later to find out what they did. What do you think?

Heather W> Yes, I guess that's what I do . . . . So if I can improve my attention then I'll improve my teaching?

SPEAKER_Adrian Underhill> Absolutely!

SPEAKER_Adrian Underhill> Then you have to think about extending or widening attention rather than improving. And there are many things you can practise to help clarify this. Do you want to take this further, Heather?

Heather W> Yeh, I'd like to know what kind of things you can suggest.

SPEAKER_Adrian Underhill> OK, let's take something simple: the idea is to widen attention to encompass both me and the students, yeah? So, pick an opportunity in which you can listen to someone, and pay good quality attention to what they are saying, notice what you do in yourself to pay that quality attention, but maintain that attention... i.e. keep paying attention to the person, but also widen your attention to see yourself paying attention... the words make it sound complicated, it isn't... and ask yourself what am I doing right now to pay that extra attention? What has moved inside? Then you are participating with quality for the other, yet you are noticing yourself. You are not on autopilot. Is that enough? Would you like to comment?

Heather W> Thank you Adrian Underhill - I'll think about that!

SPEAKER_Adrian Underhill> OK! Have fun with it. Don't think too much!

MODERATOR> A final question for you Adrian Underhill, one close to your heart maybe?

Lucia> What's the difference between teacher training and teacher development?

SPEAKER_Adrian Underhill> OK . . . There is no single right answer to this, and the meanings have changed even within the 15 odd years that I have been using the terms. But lets try this... TT has a primary interest in learning methods and techniques that are current and considered useful and enjoyable and effective and whatever else is important, and it requires knowledge of the topic, language in our case... TD acknowledges the importance of this and adds a slightly different, though not exclusive aim which is to develop the personal and interpersonal skills, personal presence, confidence, empathy etc of the person who is carrying out those techniques and using those methods and materials. TD is like personal development for teachers, becoming the best teacher that you personally can and wish to be. What do you think?

Lucia> So TD is a more personal thing than TT?

SPEAKER_Adrian Underhill> Yes, I think you could say that. It takes into account the 'person' of the teacher. It also stresses the need for the teacher to be in a process of continual learning, as we said earlier, if they want to inspire their students. If you want learning, then show learning. Something like that.

Lucia> Thank you. That's useful

SPEAKER_Adrian Underhill> ok great!

MODERATOR> Well, it's time to stop now. Thank you VERY much to everyone who sent in questions. And thank you Adrian Underhill for sharing all these interesting thoughts with us.

SPEAKER_Adrian Underhill> Thank you all. My pleasure.