The analysis of critical incidents seems to be an essential step in teaching development. Unfortunately, it is not common that student-teachers are faced with case studies while they are studying at the Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) college, which undermines the idea that teachers should learn how to cope with unexpected situations only through practice and experience. More often than not, teachers graduate from TEFL College without having received the necessary training to solve common classroom problematical situations.
Critical incidents are described as a pre-service and in-service teacher education strategy. The idea is to integrate theory and practice. The diversity of teachers and the possibility for the reflexive analysis of classroom events, often solved in a spontaneous way, are the basis of this powerful strategy. (Fernández González, Elórtegui Escartín.& Medina Pérez, 2003)
According to Rahilly and Saroyan (1997), the Critical Incident Technique (CIT) “allows to collect qualitative and quantitative data about classroom teaching and teaching thinking” (as cited in Pintos & Crimi, 2010, p.9). Therefore, the importance of dealing with critical incidents in a TEFL class lies on the benefit that student-teachers and graduate teachers can draw from sharing experiences, exchanging solutions to problems and analyzing possible courses of action. By doing so, teachers are able to acquire more problem-solving strategies and gain valuable insight into classroom management techniques.
Having considered the benefits of reading and analyzing critical incidents, I wonder why is it that this practice is not common in all TEFL and other educational institutions in general? It seems that if student-teachers were asked to analyse case studies while they are still studying, they would be better prepared for dealing with unexpected classroom situations once they graduate.
References
Fernandez, Gonzalez, J., Elortegui Escartin, N., & Medina Perez, M. (2003). Los incidentes críticos en la formación y perfeccionamiento del profesorado de secundaria de ciencias de la naturaleza. Revista Universitaria de Formación de Profesorado, 17-001. Zaragoza. España: Universidad de Zaragoza. Retrieved September 2010, from
Pintos, V., & Crimi, Y (2010) Unit 2: Personal Narratives in Teaching. Buenos Aires. Universidad Caece. Retrieved September 2010, from
A demotivated student
Context:
The incident takes place in a bilingual school during a Literature class with a pre- IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) level. The class is composed of 14 boys and girls, whose ages range between 14-15. Students start reading Lord of the Flies by William Golding in April. Their teacher is experienced in preparing students for the IGCSE exam. This is her 5th year teaching this class and her 3rd year working in this school. But this is the first time she teaches this group of students so she does not know them very well.
Problem Description:
One student, who used to contribute very interesting ideas in previous classes, when dealing with poetry, starts to show signs of de-motivation by not taking his book to the class and by remaining silent. Sometimes, he starts reading another book in class. When confronted by his teacher, he says he has already read Lord of the Flies but he is not able to answer questions on the book. He does not submit any essay and therefore, he does not pass the first term.
Possible Causes:
Ø He cannot afford to buy the book
Ø He has already read the book and does not want to read it again
Ø He has already read the book and did not like it
Ø He is a rebel and does not take his books to any class in general
Ø He is not interested in sitting the IGCSE exam
Ø He is lazy and does not want to write
Ø He feels he is not good neither at speaking nor at writing and does not want to give it a try/ does not want to be ridiculed by his classmates
Possible Solutions:
Ø Give him a list of possible books for him to select which one he would like to read
Ø Tell him he could borrow the book from the school library
Ø Talk to him about the importance of learning strategies dealt with in class such us: taking notes, underlining, highlighting and finding quotations to justify for opinions.
Ø Talk to him about his interests and find out if he would like to sit for the exam
Ø Ask him why he thinks he is not doing well in Literature
Ø Talk to him and ask him why he did not write any essay.
Ø Talk to other teachers to find out information about this student.
Strategies
After talking to other colleagues of the same course, the teacher finds out that this student does not take his books to any other class and seems to be demotivated in all the classes he is taking. Even though he has an excellent level of English and his use of language and pronunciation are among the best in his class, he does not participate much and does not seem to show interest.
The teacher decides to talk to her coordinator about him. The information she receives is that that is her student’s first year in the school and apparently, he does not have a very good relationship with his classmates. He passed his entrance test with a very high mark and it is a pity he is not doing well.
One day the teacher has the opportunity to talk to him face to face and in a relaxed atmosphere. All his classmates have left on a trip and he is the only one who has decided not to go. Therefore, she has to teach a class only for him. This moment is memorable because she can really listen to him with all the time in the world and understand what is happening to him and why he feels so demotivated. The main reason why he feels this way is that he resents the fact that his parents decided to send him to a different school. He used to feel really comfortable in the previous one, and he had close friends there. The teacher asks him why his parents had taken that decision and his answer was certainly not anything that she had expected. His younger brother had passed away and that very same year the authorities of his school decided to expel his elder brother for misbehaviour, disregarding the fact that this was intrinsically connected with the fact that he found it very hard to cope with his little brother’s death. Of course, his parents thought the authorities’ decision was too hard and therefore, they enrolled both children in a new school. When he finally realized that his parents were not going to accept to enroll him again in his old school, it was too late, he had already failed many subjects.
The teacher also asks him about Literature in particular because he seemed to be an avid reader of other authors and he tells her that in his previous school he used to read much more and he felt in this school they were taking too long to read a novel. She asks if he would like her to offer him a list of other books for him to do extra reading and exercises and compensate for the low mark in the first term and he accepts the challenge.
Having a personal interview with her student was essential in order to improve the teacher-student relationship and improve student’s motivation. We may learn a lot from this incident. Sometimes teachers may feel attacked by our students’ comments or attitudes because they do not really listen to them. Learners may have very interesting things to teach us. It seems to be important that we keep and open mind while being empathetic and supportive. In this way, we could build a much healthier relationship with our students.
As a conclusion, writing a critical incident report based on your teaching experience may become a very fruitful exercise since it involves reflection. According to Kain (2010), “The critical incident technique provides a systematic means
for gathering the significances others attach to events, analyzing the emerging
patterns, and laying out tentative conclusions for the reader’s consideration.” (p. 85). By writing and analysing real teaching situations, teachers may learn how to deal with different unexpected situations and reflect on their own teaching practices.
Reference
Kain, D.(2004) Owning Significance: The Critical Incident Technique in Research. Foundations for Research Methods of Inquiry in Education and the Social Sciences. New Jersey. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers. Retrieved September 2010, from
http://www.contaduria.uady.mx/seccip/articulos/libros_online/educacion/LawrenceErlbaum2004FoundationsforResearchMethodsofInquiryinEducationandth.pdf#page=86
