Isaac Stough

Dr. Pierson
TESOL Practicum
11 May 2016
Developing in the Four Dimensions
Over the course of this class, I have been convinced of two things. First, explicit
language instruction by a trained teaching professional does not guarantee that language learning
occurs. Truly, people have been learning language by other means (e.g. prolonged exposure, trial
and error) for as long as language has been around and I am sure that they will continue to do so.
Second, I have been convinced that language teachers can play a pivotal role in language
development. That is to say, the quality of teaching can deeply affect the quantity of language
learning. The tension between the non-necessity of a language teacher and, yet, the profound role
that a language teacher can have has taught me my place.
As a language teacher, I believe that I should be committed to a quality of teaching that
gives learners the best chance of learning language. The practicum class was designed to
promote this quality of teaching. As a class, we committed to helping one another learn by
observing different language learning contexts, discovering better teaching techniques, giving
honest feedback to one another and practicing what we learned in our practicum assignments. In
these ways, we grew in the four dimensions of teaching: Planning, Interaction, Management and
Classroom Climate.
In this paper, I will discuss how I personally grew in the four dimensions of teaching. I
will consider what I know, what I do (both positive and negative) and what I need to do in each
dimension.

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The Planning Dimension:

What I know:
The Planning Dimension starts the teaching process. The most important part of this
dimension is developing objectives. Formed from the overall goals of the language program,
objectives should influence everything that goes on in a classroom. Each stage of a lesson plan
(Presenting, Practicing, Producing) must be linked to the lessons objectives. They should be
concise and measurable, or else they become very difficult to achieve or essentially useless.
Some example objectives for a lesson on the Superlative are below:
By the end of this lesson
-SWBAT know the difference between a comparative and a superlative
-SWBAT know when to use a superlative
-SWBAT transform adjectives into the -est form
-SWBAT know when to use most or add -est
-SWBAT use the superlative in a sentence as they compare 3 or more things
Notice that the objectives are concise in wording and measurable by assessment. By the end of
this lesson, one will know whether it was successful by assessing if the students can accomplish
these objectives.
Another important part of the Planning Dimension is making sure to be balanced. There
should be a balance between how much the language instructor is up front talking and how much
time students get to practice. This has to be specifically planned, or else a teachers natural
inclination will be to talk too much or too little. The Planning Dimension covers lesson balance.
A third very important part of this dimension is making sure to be cohesive. Cohesiveness
should characterize every aspect of language instruction. Instruction should flow naturally into

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activities. Activities should naturally flow into debriefing and then into other activities. There
should be a smoothness about a lesson that is planned in this dimension.
What I do:
During this course, through the microteachings and my practicum placement, I learned
that I can develop good objectives. This is reflected in the other teaching dimensions as well.
Somehow I naturally have a vision for good objectives and how to accomplish them. I think this
stems from being someone who likes to see how things fit together. Either way, this is a strength
of my teaching.
It was also revealed that I struggle with classroom balance. I learned from my practicum
placement that I like the Presentation stage of a lesson plan more than the others. This is
probably because the other stages require me to let go of control. Because I struggle with
balance, I can tend to talk too much when the students could be practicing instead.
I also tend to struggle with a kind of choppiness when I teach. My transitions between
different parts of a lesson can be forced and unnatural. Generally, students are forgiving of this
mistake, but it is not a good quality of teaching and I want to keep it to a minimum.
What I need to do:
In summary, these positive and negative teaching aspects surface in different dimensions,
but lay under the surface in the others. As for my strength in developing objectives, it surfaces in
this dimension. I tend to plan good objectives from the very beginning. As for my weaknesses,
they surface in another dimension which will be discussed at a later point. However, there are
two things that can be done in the Planning Dimension to minimize my weaknesses.

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First, to minimize the amount of time I talk, I should plan or think more thoroughly
through my instructions. I should ask myself, How can I model an activity in such a way that
comes across understandably to students? This will diminish the amount of time I ramble
through activity instructions. Second, to minimize choppiness, I should intentionally reflect on
how to transition from one dimension to another. Maybe I should even write in my lesson plan
my transition. This can help get rid of the choppiness and minimize my weaknesses.
The Interactive Dimension:
What I know:
The Interactive Dimension focuses on exposing language learners to as much practice as
classroom time allows. This takes intentionality on the behalf of the teacher. It must be planned
into the lesson and thought through how to move students from knowing to doing. One of
the main ways that teachers do this is by asking a range of questions (display questions to
referential questions). These questions range from lower level thinking (yes or no questions)
to higher level thinking (why?) and push students to the edges of their proficiency. These
questions are either answered by students individually or in a grouping of some kind or they
appear in the form of an activity (guided and/or free). This leads me to the second way teachers
expose language learners to as much practice as possible.
How students are grouped is essential to how they will practice. There are various kinds
of groupings: class, group, partner and individual. There are also various kinds of formations of
groups (e.g. one centered, goal oriented, dyads). Both grouping and formation must be
considered when thinking through an activity as a teacher. A good teacher understands that there
is more to choosing an activity than determining if their students will think it is fun. A good

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teacher takes into account how an activity will expose their students to the target language and
push the boundaries of their proficiencies (i +1). A major part of understanding the effectiveness
of an activity is to think through how students will be grouped and what formation the group will
take.
What I do:
During this course, through the microteachings and my practicum placement, I learned
that I have a good vision for the kinds of activities, groupings and formations that push the
proficiencies of my students appropriately. This is in part because I am a strong planner and can
see the natural progression of a lesson plan.
However, there are some aspects of the Interactive Dimension that I struggle with.
Because I tend to talk too much, this problem surfaces in this dimension. I can take too much
time bringing students to the point of an activity. This takes up time that they could be practicing,
interacting with one another. Then, I become aware that I am talking too much and rush
modeling the next activity. This causes the choppiness that I have mentioned. Because I rush, I
might forget to mention how much time an activity will last or move quickly through debriefing
or ask complex followup questions. These are some things that I struggle with in this teaching
dimension.
What I need to do:
I have been told that, with time, I will grow in the Interactive Dimension. That is, if I am
intentional about working through the things I struggle with. With practice, I hope to develop an
awareness of how much I am talking and if I am asking appropriate questions. I also hope to
learn to slow down when I feel rushed and give good instructions and model well.

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The Management Dimension:

What I know:
The Management Dimension covers how the teacher handles anticipated or unanticipated
situations in the classroom. If something is not working in class, how does the teacher react? If
there is a great disparity in student proficiency, how does the teacher scaffold activities? How
does a teacher establish good rapport with students? These kinds of questions are addressed in
the Management Dimension.
I see the Management Dimension as having two parts: Proactive management and
Reactive management. Proactive management is anticipating the aspects that might influence a
lesson so that the teacher can respond or adapt. Typically, this kind of management is thought
through before the lesson or before an activity. Reactive management is spontaneous and
happens during the class or during an activity. Both are responsible ways to manage a classroom
as long as a teacher is not polarized to using only one.
Another important part of the Management Dimension is how a teacher proactively
and reactively addresses good things and bad things that happen during a class. Something
good that might happen while teaching is that students understand the lesson. A teacher has to
think through how to appropriately and genuinely praise them. Something bad that might happen
is if students do not understand the lesson or if there is unwanted talking. A teacher has to think
through different ways of responding to these issues.
What I do:
There are aspects of the Management Dimension that I do well and other aspects that I
can improve. I have been told that because I have good charisma and enthusiasm when I teach, I

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have good rapport with students. This makes managing a classroom much easier. Students
respect and listen to a teacher that cares about them and is enthusiastic about helping them learn.
I have noticed that I can gage when students are listening and learning and when they are
not. I can think of a few times when I have noticed that they have not been listening and
learning. When this happens, I like to look at students individually and give individual attention
during activities to more accurately gage if I have noticed correctly. This way students stay
interactive throughout the entire time that I am teaching.
Something that I can improve in this dimension is pacing. Because I tend to be wordy, an
issue arises in this dimension as to pace of the lesson. I can lean towards moving too slowly.
Another issue that I can have is relying too much on my lesson plan. Although this might
improve my proactive management, I can get stuck or locked into legalistically following it. This
decreases my spontaneity and reactive management.
What I need to do:
There are two ways that I think I can improve in my pacing and reactive management.
First, by gaining experience. Veteran teachers tend to have a sense for pacing and reactive
management. They can gage when a class needs more instruction or more time practicing.
Second, is by staying aware of what is coming next in the lesson. Staying aware, keeping my
head and maybe memorize the flow of my lesson can greatly improve the issues I have in the
Management Dimension.
The Classroom Climate Dimension:
What I know:

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The Classroom Climate Dimension deals with the atmosphere of a class session. How
does the teacher create a low-threat, high-challenge setting? How does a teacher peak student
interest? How aware is the teacher of the different cultural backgrounds of their students? These
are aspects of the Classroom Climate Dimension.
There are a few ways that a teacher can create a low-threat, high-challenge environment.
First, they can make sure that their voice and language (verbal and non-verbal) are appropriate to
the level and age of their students. Teachers must have control of their main instrument: the
tongue. If they fail to control their tongue, classroom climate can become negative very quickly.
Another way that a positive classroom climate can be created is by peaking student
interest. This can be done in a multitude of ways. In general, a good place to start is by being
positive, energetic and tailoring lessons to student interests. It also helps to be humorous at times
and to not take oneself too seriously. Even if the teacher makes a mistake, this can be turned into
a good teaching moment or a joke to promote a positive classroom environment.
A third way that a teacher can create a positive environment is by being aware of cultural
factors in the classroom. Culture can greatly affect classroom climate. Many times it can explain
why certain students are the way they are in the classroom. Knowing this and planning
accordingly as a teacher can improve classroom climate.
What I do:
In class, I try to be energetic and interested in what is happening. I try to be serious when
I should be serious and humorous when it is appropriate to be humorous. I find that in every
lesson that I teach, there are moments to be serious, moments to be funny, moments to raise my

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voice, moments to lower my voice, moments to be confident and to question. I think by

addressing each moment as it is, draws students in and makes them interested to be in class.
Another thing that I do is use student names. If teachers do not learn student names, it
shows a lack of care. Using the names of students shows that the teacher has taken the time to
know and remember something about their students. This can really help promote a positive
classroom climate.
What I need to do:
Because managing classroom climate is one of my stronger teaching dimensions, I did
not experience many issues with it when I was teaching in my practicum placement. (This could
also have to do with inheriting a great class.) However, I have been told that teachers that have
energetic, charismatic personalities can begin to lean too heavily on them. Therefore, their lesson
content becomes thin and they can start to shoot from the hip in class. This is something that I
want to avoid. In a way, to begin to do this, is to fall victim to pride. To assume that I do not need
to prepare for a class, or learn from my mistakes, or commit to professional development is
saying that I do not have to work at it. Because I am an energetic teacher, students might forgive
the mistakes I make (i.e. talking too much, choppiness). But this should not be an excuse to stop
working on where I struggle. It definitely should not be an excuse to stop working on developing
positive classroom climate.
Conclusion:
As a language teacher, I believe that I should be committed to a quality of teaching that
gives learners the best chance of learning language. This means paying attention to the areas that
I naturally do well and the areas that need improvement. Focusing in on the four dimensions of

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teaching (Planning, Interactive, Management, Classroom Climate) is a good way to narrow in on

my strengths and weaknesses: what I do and what I need to do. The practicum class helped
expose these things in my teaching and I am very grateful for it.
Overall, I want to remain convinced by two foundational beliefs. First, explicit language
instruction by a trained teaching professional does not guarantee that language learning occurs.
Therefore, even though I might do everything theoretically right, there is still a chance that
students do not understand or learn. Learning is never so precise. It is a complicated process, and
as such, should be approached mindful of success and failure. Second, I am convinced that
language teachers can play a pivotal role in language development. That is to say, the quality of
teaching can deeply affect the quantity of language learning. The tension between the nonnecessity of a language teacher and, yet, the profound role that a language teacher can have has
taught me humility. Although language students do not necessarily need me, I believe I can help,
and I am committed to helping in the best way that I possibly can.