200th post – A decade comparative narrative
I’ve also been sitting on what my 200th post would be about for many months and which would be meaningful in some sense.
reflection
These posts largely involve my own reflective teaching in some way, shape or form.
Somewhere in the middle [cross-post]
Hi. Over the last few years, a certain change has been occurring in my belief system, not so much a complete overhaul, but more of an awakening of my ownership of attitudes and actions regarding social issues, and resulting urge to further explore how they impact my pedagogical choices.
As an ELTer, I’ve never subscribed to the idea that the ELT classroom should be devoid of engagement in social issues nor that we as teachers are meant to act solely as language-checking gurus following a sanitised beige syllabus.Read More »Somewhere in the middle [cross-post]
Who do you think you are?
Looking into teacher identity
Who are you? Tyson Seburn. Scorpio? Tiger? Philosophy major? I used to think so. TESL Toronto President? Conference organiser? Writer? Grad student? I was once. Canadian? Author? EAP instructor? TDSIG peep? Yes, this guy exists.
What is your teaching philosophy? Ugggh. That one’s the worst.
I’ve questioned my identity a lot, but here let’s focus on career. We all probably do when push comes to shove. I often garble out something about EAP and guided discovery and teacher development, but do I make sense? I often stare at the wording of my bio when submitting one for a conference proposal. What do I focus on? What description most accurately portrays how I see myself? How do I want others to see me? In 50 words or less. See my LinkedIn profile for one version; my about me page here for another; even the little bits of my email signature. I’m never fully satisfied with them, however.
Teacher identity is an ever-present interest insofar as it’s difficult to concretise and continues to shift. Once you feel you’ve figured it out, it gets called into question again. In a way, I like that.Read More »Who do you think you are?
Year-end teacher development & feedback activities
For many of us, the academic year has come or is coming to a close and with that the busyness of wrapping up meetings, grading, and making difficult decisions. Yet amidst this organised chaos, uniting a course’s team of teachers for professional development and curriculum debrief best happens here while the year is fresh in our minds. This, however, can be challenging at this draining time of year. So how does a team leader create space for agency in these two areas without crossing into chore-like territory?Read More »Year-end teacher development & feedback activities
my (little) reflective journey today
For me, the end of a calendar year and the beginning of the next comes a distant second to the beginning and ends of academic years in opportunity for reflection and goal-setting. I may be in the minority that way, but a different type of reflection organically comes then: one of classroom-based pedagogy. Having said this, with some lovely time off from work, I intend to do some broader humanistic reflection and goal-setting also, the first foray of which has transformed into a little experiment I’m going to do as I write.Read More »my (little) reflective journey today
The evolution of ARC
A lot has changed since the last time I wrote about Academic Reading Circles here…
A bibliography of 13 posts that got me this year
At the end of the year, I like to look back on a year’s worth of blog posts, both my own and those that caught… Read More »A bibliography of 13 posts that got me this year
In the shoes of a newcomer with no language
In the previous post, Z is the first letter of their alphabet, three English-speaking children talked about their experiences of being students for 4 years… Read More »In the shoes of a newcomer with no language