Education Conferences
They can get a little groundhog dayish ... same old, same old. We need to do things differently, I think. This professional development model is a bit broken.
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It is that time of year for those in education - conference time. Time where teachers think of acquiring some new tricks, entrepreneurs pry us with their newest special sauce and the English language teaching world tries in some way, shape or form - renew itself.
I’ve attended so many conferences and written a lot over the years about conferences. I do think they are good at injecting some spirit and energy into the teacher. Meeting other professionals doing the same thing, experiencing the same ups and downs is good for the teaching soul. However, there is a lot about conferences that must improve - in terms of the content and knowledge level and sharing. So, I thought I’d share some of my prior posts and criticisms of conferences - for your professional development reference. Also, some other posts by educators, I think really good, relevant.
Conference Colonialism - The helicoptered in western teacher guru effect. See Michael Griffith’s post about this, too.
Online Conference Colonialism. Much the same complaint but about webinars and online professional development offerings. Also, see Alastair Creelman’s, Rethinking Online Conferences.
What If? A new way of holding a teacher conference. Plus, thoughts on what it would actually be like. See the Modern English Teacher’s 10 conference challenges for teachers - a call to do somethings differently. We need a more “edcamp” approach to conferences. More discussion among attendees and less being “talking down to” as is often the case.
Conference Pet Peeves. Also, see my whole list of ELT Pet Peeves, related to English language teaching in general. Many professional development related.
Why no conferences in the teacher’s L1? Just a thought, For example, I don’t know why a conference in Brazil for Brazilian teachers is almost exclusively in English? I really don’t get it.
Critical Issues In ELT. I list many I think should be on our conference agenda’s. Also, see Geoff Jordan’s - The Elephant In The Room. He asks why nobody at conferences is talking about this critical issue.
Informal CPD. My call for more value and emphasis on this aspect of professional development.
Enjoy your conferencing. Keep in mind, we are all a little (but important) part of the change. One conference at a time.