TDSIG - in-person PCE: Looking back, looking forward - celebrating 40 years of teacher development

Join TDSIG on our anniversary as we look back on where we have come from, and where we are going. A lot can happen in forty years, and in this celebration of our history, we have invited key figures from our past and our present to come and consider how teacher development has changed in four decades, and where we see it going in the future. It promises to be a day of insight and reflection.

The day will be organised around four keynote speakers, two of whom have played a pivotal role in TDSIG’s history as former coordinators, and two of our current members. They will be sharing their take on how teacher development has changed since 1985, and where they see it going in the future. It will also include our signature ‘Open Sessions’, an essential part of every TDSIG PCE, where participants will be able to exchange ideas and opinions with each other and our speakers.

The PCE will be of interest to any ELT professional looking to add a historical perspective to their knowledge, as well as gaining insights about how teacher development will change in the years to come.
 

Talk 1

Sp     Speaker: Adrian Underhill

Title: Forty years of TDSIG - from then to now

Abstract: In this interactive session I’ll talk briefly about the formation of the TD SIG 40 years ago, the context at that time, and the idea of “becoming the best teacher I can be”.

We’ll look at highlights from some of TDSIG’s many initiatives through its events, newsletters, podcasts, TDAJ, Voices, Blogs, Online Community and so on, and at the balance between developing skills and qualities within our teaching culture, and drawing in qualities from other professional cultures.

We’ll touch on TD from the perspectives of personal development; variety of experience; learning of new skills; developing confidence and agency; managing obstacles to development; wellbeing…. And refer to wider perspectives such as aligning students’ experience of learning with their sense of meaning and purpose; the importance of their feelings of joy and success; and the notion of teaching by learning alongside the student.

Bio: Adrian is a teacher trainer, consultant, writer and speaker. He’s a past President of IATEFL, ex trustee of International House London, and current series editor of Macmillan Books for Teachers. Current projects include challenging the assumptions of today’s received teaching wisdom, the future of teacher training, styles of group facilitation, storytelling, and allowing playfulness and improvisation back into (classroom) learning. His overall aim is to enable learners to develop a voice in the world. He has a small jazz band that performs in bars and restaurants.
 

Talk 2

Sp     Speaker: Tyson Seburn

Title: Who is "The English Language Teacher"? Time will tell.

Abstract: I’m Tyson and I’m an English language teacher. Well, maybe that’s a bit reductive. I try to explain what I do to family but it often boils down to these four words and then even still it’s misunderstood. I agonise over the right words to explain who I am in bios, but I wonder if I come across to you how I intend. We attend CPD events like this because we value the expertise from someone else who is also “an English language teacher”. Understanding our role and the forces that shape it is where good teacher development starts because it shows us where to build from. Yet this starting point is so culturally complex that it often creates ineffective CPD because it’s so difficult to define. In reality, we’re moulded by landscapes and cultural capital that shift via economic, social, and political changes over the course of our teaching careers. In this session, we will examine these shifts to better understand what teacher development makes the most sense for where we were, where we are, and perhaps where we are going professionally. Ultimately, will this lead to a prescriptive version or a more emancipated construction of who “The English Language Teacher” is? Time will tell.

Bio: Tyson Seburn (MA EdTech & TESOL, University of Manchester) is a lecturer in and assistant director of an EAP foundation year at the University of Toronto and tutor on Oxford TEFL Barcelona’s Trinity DipTESOL course. He has volunteered on local and international teacher association committees, most recently as IATEFL TDSIG Coordinator. His personal and professional experiences inspired his interest in Queer and racialised ELT experiences, and thus ways to better practices and materials. He discusses critical and inclusive pedagogies via his online spaces (fourc.ca and @seburnt). He is author of Academic Reading Circles (2015) and How to Write Inclusive Materials (2021).

Talk 3:

Sp     Speaker: Aleksandra Popovski

Title: Redefining TPD

Abstract: Teacher Professional Development (TPD) has come a long way over the last 50 years, but its importance has increased tenfold with the new technological advances and the opportunities they provide. In this talk, we will explore why TPD is more important than ever and how technology, especially artificial intelligence (AI), is revolutionising the way ELT professionals grow and learn. We will also examine how Al and innovative digital tools are reshaping traditional approaches to professional development, making it more personalised, accessible, and efficient, while considering both the opportunities and challenges they present.

Bio: Aleksandra Popovski is a teacher and teacher trainer with a strong passion for language education. She holds an MA in Professional Development for Language Education from the University of Chichester, where she deepened her knowledge and skills in the field. Her interests include multimodality, incorporating visual arts into language teaching, and exploring effective reading comprehension strategies. She is particularly interested in reading as a tool for exploring and discussing issues such as social (in)justice, diversity and inclusion with learners of English. Aleksandra is also passionate about 'no single stories', i.e. writing and exploiting stories about countries, cultures, and communities that are usually excluded from published ELT materials.

Talk 4:

Speaker: Jo Szoke

Title: Language Teacher Identity in the AI era: fears, doubts, misconceptions

Abstract: After finally finding our footing with various online educational tools, we now face another disruption, AI, which is challenging our established beliefs once again. Many teachers feel that they won’t be needed any longer since it seems that AI can do anything and everything instead of them. In this interactive session, we’re going to address and dissect all the misconceptions and fears surrounding AI's role in education, and explore what makes human teachers indispensable and how teacher professional development should emphasize these key skills.

Bio: Jo’s a freelance teacher trainer, AI in Education specialist, and EFL teacher. She trains pre-service and in-service teachers and university staff at a Hungarian university and on Erasmus training programmes, and has been working closely with Cambridge University Press & Assessment for years. At the moment, she’s working on a book on AI literacy development, to be published by DELTA Publishing in 2025.

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