LEARNING AND TEACHING IN HIGHER EDUCATION: THEORY AND PRACTICE IN LANGUAGE TEACHING

Abstract

This paper is a qualitative exploratory classroom research study through which I have developed my understanding of professionalism and knowledge of theories about learning, change, reflection, the artificial dichotomy of theory and practice and academic culture and knowledge. After presenting a literature review of these concepts as a background of my actual teaching, I go on with my experience of teaching and supporting students’ learning by selecting and using appropriate methods and designing, planning, analysing and evaluating class sessions. In order to display how these were put into action, I have depicted a typical class and my teaching practices in a Turkish as a foreign language class as a guest lecturer owing to my participation in the “Learning and Teaching in Higher Education” (LTHE) Programme at an international UK university. To serve this aim, I have added two lesson plans that I designed (including the details about one of my lessons and examples from games, dialogues, role cards and culture parts), my teaching record log, the teaching observation record of my class by a teaching fellow and my observation record of the class teacher, alongside the feedbacks of mine and my colleagues on each, and the teacher evaluation form for the students. All in all, I have gone through a reciprocal process of change, by which I know myself and my boundaries while getting others to stretch theirs through this programme; therefore, it has been an intellectually challenging, energising and emancipating phenomenon both for my own self and for others around meGaining insights into learning, teaching, teacher training, theories on educational philosophies, methodologies and research design, I feel my sense of self that shifts like the buttons of an accordion according to my different roles has included that of a researcher-teacher, teacher educator and teacher of Turkish as a foreign language at university. Being a researcher is always there as a part of me. During my Ed.D (Doctorate of Education) studies in TESOL at the University of Exeter, I have continued to look for ways to hone my skills in my profession, and activated my knowledge of and experience in teaching for interactive learning, teaching methods, using technology, planning, assessment, marking, feedback and evaluation in higher education by completing the Stage 1 and the Stage 2 of the tripartite LTHE Programme. Completing the Stage 3 after submitting a report with a teaching portfolio and making an oral presentation followed by an interview with the programme director and staff, I have been awarded the status of Associate Fellow of the HEA (the Higher Education Academy) recognised in the UK and the British Commonwealth. As I aspire to keep on being active in my professional life while growing intellectually on one side through my Ed.D, I have also wanted to continue pursuing my interest in teaching Turkish to foreigners on the other through this programme, and that is how I collaborated with the Turkish language teacher in the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at Exeter and started teaching there as it has always been a calling for me. Subsequent to my short autobiographical account of my professional life, I will draw upon the literature on the nature of professionalism, which is promoted at the heart of the programme. While regarding teaching as a profession according to the normative definitions, I prefer to think of professionalism as a changing concept in response to the social transformations including both global and local influences (Breen, 2006). This results from the fact that the degree of the professional autonomy and control stated in definitions may be argued from the lenses of teaching practitioners who work with different challenges or opportunities to take initiatives in various educational contexts. Referring to being professional or professionalism, teachers generally talk about the quality of what they do and of the conduct, demeanour and standards which guide it (Helsby, 1995), while professionalization is attributed to improving teachers’ status and levels of professional reward through the eyes of other people. These two concepts are seen complementary to each other in that by improving standards, one will improve status. However, sometimes this may not be the case. For example, modernistic models of professionalization including training, accreditation and academic knowledge base may have helped improve the status of teachers in community and of teacher educators in the university (Labaree, 1992); however, such a ‘licensed autonomy’ did little to enhance the professionalism of teaching regarding the quality of the work (Labaree, ibid.); likewise, defining scientific and technical standards of knowledge in high-status may cause the equally important emotional dimensions of teachers’ work to be overlooked, which again displays that stronger professionalization does not always indicate greater professionalism (Hargreaves & Goodson, 1996 cited in Hargreaves, 2000). Having explored the main points of professionalism which is the essence of the programme I participated in, I turn to my professional journey in depth, starting with my understanding of theories about learning, change, reflection, theory and practice dichotomy and academic culture in my field and a comparison of my discipline with others. Then I go on with my experience of teaching and supporting students’ learning by selecting and using appropriate methods and designing, planning, analysing and evaluating class sessions. In order to display how these were put into action, I have depicted a typical class and my teaching practices in a Turkish as a foreign language class as a guest lecturer and lastly critically reflected on my professional practice and engaged with the ways of feedback from students, peers and senior colleagues, presenting my lesson plans that I designed (including the details about one of my lessons and examples from games