Benefits of Attending Teacher Training in Canada
Teacherix has always been at the forefront of leveling up the capabilities of language educators. In the coming Teacher Training in Canada, teachers will receive a powerful training that will increase their proficiencies. This training is geared to arm teachers with the knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and skills necessary to execute their work in classrooms and society. The training is divided into two programs, but both are designed to be hands-on. Experts will walk teachers along practical application of these skills. Some of the aspects of this training include:
– Materials development
– Paying visits to educational and cultural sites
– Assessment
– Course planning
– Codes of language learning
– Social events
Who Can Attend this Training?
The goal of Teacherix is to ensure that as many teachers are sufficiently equipped to carry out their duties. Thus, they have made the training accessible to teachers in a wide range of backgrounds.
– Tesol and CLIL teachers
– K-12 teachers with experience
– Recent graduates
– Students at an advanced stage in their education studies
– People with an interesting in becoming English teachers
– Teachers with an interest in bringing their skills to Canada
– Heads of departments, curriculum developers, and teacher trainers
– English teachers with non-native students
The Appeal of Professional Development Courses
Most teachers are happy to sign up for professional development training because it increases their teaching proficiencies and gives them a tremendous networking opportunity. Professional development training adheres to a philosophy of being practical as opposed to presenting theories alone. The training is led by education experts who have no trouble imparting skills to the participants. There are various social engagements that run side by side with the training enabling participants to network with Canadian and international educators; a tremendous opportunity for career growth. The selection of Canada for this training is very much deliberate, considering that the country has a rich multicultural history, and that it promotes extensive research on multilingual education. With the training held in Ottawa, participants will enjoy a tranquil environment, as well as countless touristic sites that the city offers.
Why Is Professional Development Important for Teachers?
As the years pass, the roles of learning centers are changing, and so are the duties of teachers. Some of the trends coming up are making it obligatory for teachers to seek professional development. Some of these developments include:
– Teaching multicultural classrooms
– Integrating children with special needs
– Utilizing new communication tools for effective learning
– Mitigating the effects of technology among students
– Reversing parents disinterest in their kids’ education
The college training that teachers receive is essential to begin work, but it by no means prepares them to handle the broad challenges they will experience throughout their teaching career. Thus, education agencies create opportunities for professional development, which is what keeps teachers up to the task no matter the challenges. Professional development is not a one-time thing; it’s supposed to grow with the participant. Training is the principal thing, but there needs to be practice and review, and follow-up too. The best training programs put teachers in simulated learning environments so that their proficiency might become second nature.
Updating Teachers’ Knowledge: let’s say you got your Bachelor of Education in the 80s; between then and now, probably there have been numerous changes in the curriculum. Curriculum developers are always scanning courses to see where improvements must be made. And so, in order to keep up with these changes, it is necessary that a teacher seeks professional development. When a teacher cares enough to update their knowledge on the subjects that they teach it means they are passionate about their work, but more importantly, it enables them to impart accurate knowledge to their students. When the teacher’s knowledge is updated, they have the inspiration to bring out the relevance of their subjects.
Improving Teachers’ Attitudes: being a great teacher is not just about dispensing technical knowledge and asking your students to score straight A’s. There’s one intangible quality that determines whether students will warm up to your teaching style: your attitude. If you have a great attitude, students will subconsciously develop a great liking to you, and this will drive them into working hard so as not to disappoint you. But having a poor attitude might cause students to shut off, and those who are not self-driven will likely lose interest in the subject. A great attitude is in many ways tied to situational awareness and the capacity to take control. The fact is students in a classroom are drawn from many backgrounds. And whatever is going on in their private lives will influence how they act even in class. Thus, it is important that teachers have the capability to diagnose dysfunctional attributes in students and handle them in the best approach. It not only makes teachers respectable but it might actually invite change into the student’s life. Professional development training equips teachers with these essential skills.
New Teaching Techniques: in a great many ways, teaching is an art. And just like any other art form, there’s always room for becoming better. The basic training that a teacher undergoes in college lays the foundation, but as the years pass, new teaching techniques come up, and it’s great that a teacher should tap into them. The following are some of the emergent techniques:
1. Integrated learning
It’s simply merging education with technology. For the longest time, it used to be textbooks alone, but now students can use textbooks along with audio-visual content that will stimulate their minds like never before. Integrated learning is especially appealing to students who may not have a strong semantic memory but have a strong photographic memory.
2. Personalized learning
This technique is aimed at treating students based on their strengths and weaknesses as opposed to using a standard approach. For instance, dyslexic students may be allowed to use audiobooks considering that reading from a book poses a significant challenge.
3. Bite-sized learning
Teachers have always considered this to be a huge problem: having students who are easily distracted. And now more than ever, kids are surrounded by distractions, which makes the situation even worse. Bite-sized learning encourages teachers to utilize small interactive sessions for maximum knowledge retention.
Nurturing Talents: every teacher understands one thing: their students are going to take different paths after school; they won’t all become surgeons. And that’s okay. Success in life has much more to do with exploiting one’s capabilities. Thus, it is incredibly necessary that the teacher has the mind to spot a good journalist, a good writer, a doctor, a musician, a filmmaker, but more importantly, make it known to their student what they think of them and give them an opportunity to grow their talent. For instance, if a teacher notices a student with well-developed leadership skills, it’s nice to offer them opportunities to mobilize other students and lead teams. When a teacher undertakes professional development training, they are better placed to analyze a student and connect the dots in regards to their talents.
Networking Purposes: professional development courses bring together likeminded people. This is a perfect opportunity for teachers to not only share vital information but also network. The bigger your network, the more access you have to lucrative opportunities, which should boost your career growth. At the coming up Teacherix Teacher Training in Canada, there are several social events tied to the training, which is a deliberate effort to get teachers to interact and build networks.
Helping Weaker Teachers Become Excellent: unfortunately, not every teacher performs their work flawlessly. And that’s fine because no one is ever perfect. But what makes the difference is their willingness to transform themselves. One of the ways that a teacher might move from being mediocre into a great instructor is by attending professional development training. The training opens them up to different strategies on how to become better, but more importantly, they receive hands-on experience, which makes the transformation much easier.
Setting Professional Development Goals: sometimes being a teacher you might have to care so much about others that you end up neglecting your professional goals. But teaching is your profession, and it’s only fair that you set goals for yourself, so that you may create a lasting legacy. As a teacher, there are many opportunities to rise through the ranks and extend your influence from students to society and possibly even the country. But then you need to set goals for yourself and have a clear sense of direction. The experts that lead professional development courses will help you understand how to set goals.
Handling Students: if you are not good at handling students, it might make you distressed, and possibly make you hate your job. As long as you are dealing with students there will always be cases of indiscipline. You might want to handle such cases extremely well so that you cement your authority. Kids love pushing buttons to see the reaction. The bottom line is that indiscipline should be met with punishment. It seems obvious, but there are many teachers who become overwhelmed when dealing with “difficult” kids. Professional development courses help teachers understand how to react to indiscipline and the appropriate punishment.
Legal Aspects of the Job: every job has a legal side to it. And without a doubt, there are numerous issues that teachers must be sensitized on as far as the legal side. This helps teachers to exercise care as they go on about their work. For instance, it is necessary to know your rights when engaging with employers. Some of the important legal aspects to keep in mind are:
– Upholding students’ rights
– Safety measures
– Intellectual property rights
Relationship-building Skills: teachers have a great opportunity to mold young impressionable minds. But then teachers would have to build relationships with their students for this to happen. It comes down to communication skills and empathy. In a classroom, teachers ought to show leadership, inspire their students, so that they become trusting of their teacher. This sets a great foundation for mutual respect. It creates a medium for the flow of information and thus teachers are able to gain deeper insight as to what is going on with their students.
Challenge Curriculum Developers: are you a sharp and analytical thinker who scrutinizes the curriculum and come with questions. The perfect time to raise these questions is during professional development courses. When you come across a curriculum expert you should take the opportunity to ask away your concerns. Most people hold back from challenging other people they consider their superiors because of embarrassment. But it should not be like that. If you have a unique way of thinking, it’s only fair that you shine light upon perceived errors, and make way for improvements. However, you must not attend professional development courses with your sole intent being to challenge curriculum developers as though you want to prove a point.
Understanding student psychology: it’s important that a teacher understands their students’ psychology, for it enables them to handle students appropriately. Professional development courses are led by education experts, commonly people who have “seen it all”. Drawing from their extensive experience they must have a keen insight upon student psychology. It’s always necessary to decode the verbal and non-verbal actions of your students. They allow you to be one step ahead of them and to always stay in control. Understanding student psychology also helps you get answers to their behaviors.
Developing self-confidence: not every teacher walks into a classroom and feels comfortable. And in such scenarios, students can sense it, and they are quick to take away the teacher’s power. It is absolutely necessary that a teacher is confident at all times. Whether it be adjusting to new environments, or communicating exactly what’s in their mind, teachers must learn to be confident at all times. Any teacher who doesn’t feel comfortable standing before a classroom would do well to undertake a professional development course. They will gain hands-on training on how to command respect.
Engaging Parents: parents play an important role in how their children perform at school. Irresponsible parents will more than likely have their kids fail. Involved parents will have their kids want to succeed. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. But teachers need to engage parents for the benefit of the student. When a teacher plays their role, and the parent plays their role too, there’s no guarantee that the child will excel, but at least increases the odds of the child becoming successful, not only academically but in a holistic sense. It is incredibly important that teachers have a good relationship with the parents of their students.
Fundamentals of Effective Professional Development
Emphasis on Content: successful professional development courses have to be centered on strong themes content-wise. It ensures that the training is thorough. Instead of touching upon many different things, it is far more beneficial to focus on just one thing per course.
Practical learning: professional development courses must create room for participation, allowing teachers to direct themselves, solve problems, and develop mastery. A hands-on approach is far better than having an expert stand before teachers, just theorizing. For instance, if a course is aimed at helping teachers develop super confidence, it is not enough to tell them “maintain eye contact,” “stand erect,” etc. However, they should be put in a simulated class and try to awaken their confidence. Practical learning is what helps a person retain their skills and become the best version of themselves.
Coach and support: successful professional development courses encourage the involvement of coaching and support. The idea is to have a supervisor follow the participant and help them tie up the loose ends. This approach ensures that the participant gets everything right. It helps them become more in sync with what they must do. The coaching aspect is the most important because it helps the teacher to use that feedback to achieve perfection. If they have a problem, they only have to reach out to their coach, who will provide an answer.
Follow-up: think of it like learning to play a piano under a teacher. Sometimes, you make great progress, and then somewhere down the road, you experience difficulties. In order that a skill is retained, it must be used many times over, and so, it is not enough that a teacher learns of a skill and puts it into use just one time. The coach must follow up to see that indeed the skill has become ingrained. Going back to the confidence practice; the teacher’s progress must be tracked, in order to ensure that they are 100% confident in class.
Technology: we are lucky to live an era of technological advancement. In a great many ways, technology has changed our world for the better, not made it worse. Professional Development courses ought to take advantage of the technological tools available to improve the efficiency of the training.
Teachers should feel obligated to seek professional development training. It ensures that the workforce maintains high-standards. But more importantly, it tremendously improves the quality of education that students receive.
If you’re looking to join this excellent opportunity in March or July session, you can apply here. Seats are limited!
Posted on | 3/03/2020 | Shan S.Haider