Page 298 - Beyond Methods

CHAPTER 13
Monitoring Teaching Acts
What is most seen does not define what is most lacking.
—MICHEL DE CERTEAU, 1997, p. 19
In the previous chapters, I presented a pedagogic framework con- sisting of ten macrostrategies or guiding principles that teachers can use to make informed decisions about classroom processes and practices. Recall one of the basic premises of this framework: L2 learning and teaching needs, wants, and situations are unpre- dictably numerous; therefore, it is a futile exercise to try to prepare teachers in advance to tackle so many unpredictable needs, wants, and situations. What teacher educators can and must do is to help prospective and practicing teachers develop a capacity to generate their own context-specific theories of practice based on their pro- fessional, personal, and experiential knowledge and skill.
One of the most important aspects of learning to theorize from practice is knowing how to monitor one’s own teaching acts. Mon- itoring, in this context, entails a close observation of classroom events and activities, a careful analysis of classroom input and interaction, and a critical evaluation of instructional objectives and outcomes. In this chapter, I shall highlight the importance of monitoring teach- ing acts and show how teachers can use the pedagogic framework presented in this book to self-observe, self-analyze, and self-evaluate their teaching acts.
Classroom Observation
In a formal educational context, the classroom is the crucible where the practice of everyday learning and teaching is concocted. It is there