Dear All, You may think I've gone really quiet, but actually, I've been writing up a fairly long article on my experience as a teacher-research mentor (uploaded in the Files section). I included some

#week5

Good job, young lady, looks even doable :-) E

#week4

Dear All, I wrote this post on 20th January, but it got mislaid. Since the issue of motivation has surfaced again (How can I motivate my teachers throughout their projects?), I thought I would reinsta

#week1

Dear Manjusha, You are doing a great job and I really appreciate the way you look on your mentoring practice as a two-way affair (when you emphasise what you are learning from your mentees). I liked t

#week4

Hi, again, Ravi, I think that both of your research questions are very interesting as well as lead us in different directions. English as the medium of instruction is a huge issue and I remember encou

#week4

Eric, in most contexts, you cannot force underpaid and overworked teachers to take on something they do not feel strongly about. If 'research' sounds threatening, you are doing the right thing by aski

#week3

I think the beauty of the data gathering methods as explained in the EAR Handbook is that they do not imply too much of a burden on the teachers. Taking notes rather than writing a fully-fledged refle

#week3

Dear All, I have read Chapter 5 of the EAR Handbook again and also Unit 9 of the Mentoring manuscript. In my practice, I have always been obsessed with finding and formulating the right research quest

#week3

Hi, Mariana, I agree with you a hundred percent. I am so glad that Richard has highlighted this aspect in his manuscript. For mentors to carry out their own research makes sense in several ways: it is

#week3

Dear All, Below are the links to a series of books containing teacher research reports. All of them are excellent, and many of them are not just concise and methodical accounts, but also a joy and a s

#ResourcesTeacherResearchReports

Hi, Irene, it's good you are not rushing it but providing patient. consistent support. If there are no other teachers around that have already done classroom research (and could share their experience

#week3

Dear Nahla, Once again, it's nice to see how well you're managing your work with your mentees. I have always been fascinated by classrooms. When I was a volunteer in Ethiopia, I used every surface ima

#week3

Hi, Paola, The way you describe it shows that, justifiably, you are treading lightly. The challenge of students falling back on (over)familiar language is, well, familiar. Everything is 'interesting',

#week2

Well done, Paola, yours is the 200th post! :-) ... I'll read it properly later today, hugs, Elizabeth

#week2

Hi, Rossana, The topic is excellent for several reasons: the headteacher has a dual identity (manager and classroom teacher) and what he finds as a result of his exploration could affect both the way

#week2

Hi, Mariana, So here we go again, meeting in cyberspace... Yours is a simple and elegant solution, namely, involving someone in our twin course :-). And the topic is so interesting. GoogleTranslate is

#week2

In actual fact, Ravi, I find it almost entertaining how teachers can behave in a way that they would be most upset about in their own classrooms! I need to ask them to put away their mobiles and gentl

#week2

Richard has posed an important question and, in her message, Rossana gives good examples of when a more directive approach might be good. I wholly identify with the deadlines aspect. Last week, we had

#week2

Dear Rossana, Yours is an excellent paper, I love the values underpinning it as well as the clarity and brevity. Of course, what I call the 'Alchemist effect' --"When you want something, all the unive

#week2

Hi, Mariana, You sound like a very experienced mentor, and I am aware of all the wonderful work that the British Council and the excellent people in your country are doing. I am so envious of all that

#week1