Demonstrated ability to participate in the professional TESOL community, including the ability to give and receive collegial feedback, participate in professional conferences, and to apply insights gained to future or current teaching contexts.
Description
The peer feedback artifacts provided are 1) Peer Feedback for a classmate’s Production Test during TESL 570: Second Language Assessment, taken in the Fall 2018 term with Dr. Merari Weber, and 2) Revisions based on feedback from a classmate for TESL 580: TESOL Portfolio, taken in the Spring 2019 term with Dr. Tasha Bleistein. The conference artifacts include my 1) Proposal, Outline, and Handouts, and 2) a slide Presentation for the workshop I presented at the MIDTESOL Conference in October of 2019.
Reflection
I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have broadened my understanding of TESOL theory and pedagogy through my time in the APU TESOL program. I have benefited from expert instruction from each one of my professors and have enjoyed interacting with like-minded peers who have enhanced my understanding by sharing their insights in discussions and contributing their feedback to my work. I have been challenged to consider the ways my faith can actively influence my approach rather than teaching from a spiritually neutral position. I joined the TESOL International Association and attended the TESOL 2018 conference in Chicago where two personal highlights were hearing a keynote address by one of my favorite scholars, Zoltán Dörnyei, and connecting with the founder of an online English program who has become my mentor as I consider a similar career path. I challenged myself professionally by presenting a workshop at a regional ESL conference in November of 2018, and in the process, I experienced the unexpected joy and fulfillment of serving my colleagues in the field by contributing to their professional development.
Application
As I continue in my teaching career, I will prioritize my professional development by maintaining my membership in the TESOL International Association and its regional affiliate MIDTESOL, and by regularly attending regional TESOL conferences (and international conferences as I am able). I also plan to join the Christian English Language Educators Association (CELEA) and attend Christians in ELT (CELT) conferences whenever possible. I will stay informed of current research and trends in the field by subscribing to a peer reviewed journal (e.g. TESOL Quarterly). I will seek to increase my knowledge on topics that relate to my teaching context by reading books by experts in the field (e.g. Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers series). I will seek opportunities to learn from experienced teachers by observing classes, attending workshops, and/or forming peer collaboration groups, and will continue to regularly submit proposals to present at regional and/or international TESOL conferences.