Invited Session - International Conference 2016
Developing Teachers for the Long Haul
Professional development is not easy to get right in a profession where teachers move on within a few months. This presentation will attempt to show how professional development from the beginning of the work experience of sessional English teachers will have a positive effect on the retention and professionalism of staff. It will describe the mentor system put into place by ACE in Siem Reap, Cambodia, for new teachers and the ongoing culture of observations created at the school. It will show how this has drastically influenced the length of time teachers remain at the school and how their level of expertise has grown.
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Biographical Sketches
Richard Waddell has spent most of his life teaching various subjects to diverse groups in South Africa, Mauritius, Bangladesh, and now Cambodia. He obtained a master’s degree in the UK in 2000, with a major component of the degree being about cross-cultural communication. In 2015, he completed the International Diploma in Language Teaching Management through the University of Queensland. He has been involved in ESL for the past five years and, during that time, has moved from being a teacher to managing the campus of ACE (Australian Centre for Education) Campus in Siem Reap. The school has doubled in size to over 2,200 students during his three years there, but more importantly has drastically improved the retention rate of teachers at the school.
William Coward is the lead teacher of the Siem Reap campus of ACE, where he has been working for three years. After completing a degree in international relations at the Australian National University, he relocated to London and in 2011 began his career in ESL teaching. Prior to his current position, he was the children and young learners’ program lead teacher. He has a passion for teaching young learners and IELTS, and in finding new ways to make difficult work more accessible and fun for students.
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See the full list of Major Speakers at the KOTESOL International Conference at https://koreatesol.org/ic2016/Major-Speakers
