From Trainee to Teacher - Reflective Practice for Novice Teachers - Thomas S.C. Farrell
'The First Week is Like you are in a Swamp': Developing Awareness
From Trainee to Teacher - Reflective Practice for Novice Teachers - Thomas S.C. Farrell
Thomas S.C. Farrell [+]
Brock University
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Thomas S.C. Farrell is Professor of Applied Linguistics at Brock University, Canada. His professional interests include Reflective Practice, and Language Teacher Education & Development. He has published widely and has presented at major conferences worldwide on these topics. His webpage is: www.reflectiveinquiry.ca
Description
Chapter 4 outlines and discusses the initial transition shocks all three novice ESL teachers reported that they experienced from their very first day on the job and especially that they experienced no orientation or induction when they arrived. In addition the chapter reports that the novice teachers did not have any mentor appointed to them and they did not know who to go to for information or feedback in those first few weeks. The chapter then reports that because they realized they were on their own they began to become more aware of what they had to do in order to survive in their classroom and with their colleagues.