Page 190 - Innovative Professional Development Methods and Strategies for STEM Education

Identifying the Target Needs of Non-Native Subject Teachers

Subject Teachers: Teachers who have teaching qualification in the specialist subject such as phys-
ics, chemistry, mathematics etc. They are usually graduates of different first degree titles available in
universities around the world that require qualifications for entry.
Target Needs: Hutchinson and Waters (1987) group needs into two categories as target needs and
learning needs. The former refers to the expected abilities; tasks and activities learners will carry out in
the target situation while the latter deals with the efforts necessary to learn them. They further divide
target needs into three sub categories: necessities, lacks, and wants. By necessities they mean what learn-
ers should know to meet the target situation requirements. Lacks is the gap between the present state
of the learners and what they need to know, do in the target situation while wants represent learners’
individual desires, expectations from the language learning process.
Teacher Training: It is a process of professional preparation of teachers, usually through course in-
struction and practice of teaching. This term involves teacher education programs in tertiary educational
intuitions, graduate programs, and special courses (certificate programs etc.).

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