Becoming a Reflective English Teacher

The world of training to teach is changing, with moves to make teaching an M level profession. This change places new academic and critical demands on those undertaking PGCE courses, as well as the practical demands of working in the classroom. The Standards for training to teach have changed to encompass a model and a level of reflective practice that is new, and students on teacher training programmes are now required to demonstrate engagement with their subject and its pedagogy in a sustained and critical way at Masters level.

Taking on a set of major issues surrounding the role of teacher of English, this book enables the reader to approach not only the practice of English, but also introduces them in a structured and practical way to the paradigmatic issues underpinning English as taught across the full Secondary age range and engages them with a range of policy and theoretical perspectives that will enable them truly and deeply to reflect on their processes as teachers and the impact of their teaching. It builds firm bridges between theory and practice through exploring evidence-based practice and pursues what this means for new English teachers. This book marks a step change in the literature available to support the professional development of student English teachers, as teaching is rapidly becoming a more research- and evidence-based profession. The materials in this book are innovative in supporting the development of the knowledge base in teaching at M level.

Contributors: Angella Cooze, Robert Fisher, Jenny Grahame, Bethan Marshall, Jo McIntyre, Debra Myhill, Vicky Obied, Maggie Pitfield, Richard Quarshie, Gary Snapper, Linda Varley, Annabel Watson, Paula Zwozdiak-Myers