M c G r a t h ,1 .

,F e e d i n g ,L e a d i n g ,S h o w i n g ,T h r o w i n g :P r o c e s s
choices in Teacher Training and TrainerTraining lpp162-172)
In 'ELTRS: Learning to Train (Perspectiveson the
D e v e l o p m e n ot f L a n g u a g eT e a c h e rT r a i n e r s )( E d . I M c G r a t h ) ,
P r e n t i c eH a l l ( 1 9 9 7 ) I, S B N :0 1 3 6 2 6 4 2 5 5

Feeding,Leading,Shorn.ing,
Thro\lring:
ProcessChoicesin Teac]-rer
Training and
Trainer Training
Ian lt{c:Gratir
i.rtn, Lht.'i.ua's'i.l
Sch.rtc,lof'E d'u.c:a,t.
i,nltt
E c7/N otl.i.n,gl

trntroduction
I recentJl'received a postcard from a Genlar teacher fiailer. His onJl'
conunent ou the c:ot[se he haclfol]orn'eclv'as the follou'ing:
Personall\',I profited more from the u'af iri n'hich you str-uctuledrroru
'input'tha:rflom the content.itself. SLr4rrise
d?
That reminded me of something said to me at the end of another course
for teachers.As part of a plenarl' eva-luationactirritl', each person l-radbeen
asked to say v'hat the5rfelt tJreyhad gained fiom the course. I\{ost people
refened to tlie content of one or more speciflc sessions, but one parlicipant said:
ft u'asn'tso muchwhat;'611saidor dicl it rras 1-te14r
Jrouarererrith the class.
Nov' if rn'eput these tvvo couunents together - ald I alr sure that over the
Irearsllarly eqrerienced trainers irarreheard similal conunents - theS'lsll
us something important not only are teachers and b:ainels concerrred
about izo'rotheS'are taugirt, and the relationship betrn'eentutors and participants, this ma5'have a more profould effect on them (or on some of them
at a ceriailr point in their careers)'thut trlmt the5's1'gtaught.
Git'en this little prealnble, it u.ill com'e as no surprise drat rnJrpaper
'ntodes' of teachingdeals vgith r,r'hat Vlallace (1991: 29) refers to as
learningand vvhat\{Ioodvrard(i988,1991)has tenued 'process options', in
otlrer vvorcis the 'nv.eallsbJt v'hich trainers'or trailer hainers seek to
achievetheir objectives.
i\{ore speciflcally, the paper is concerned rn'ith the relationship befi\'een
ends and nlears. Solne courses for teachers/trainers are desigr-redfollorn'ing the sequencein Fig. 1, u'here olrjectirresdelennile coru'secontent and
processesa:'e selected to carq' this content. Sl].at I sl'rall be proposing is.
the approach illustlated in Fig. ?.
$lhat the second ciiagra:nis meant to illustrate is that alr'areness-raising
in lelation to plocess (and the relationship bet\4'een objectives ancl
process)might properl5rbe seen as a courseobjective in itself. The clouble-

.F'crtl i t t.rt.L,'ru.l.i'tt.rt,.9lu n r' i rt.r

t. Tl t. t'inr"i1ttt

I l.;)

(:UI]LCIIl
(r,.'I cCl.lveS l. : ..--r.i.,...

(.:C)lll,el'll
- llroC es-ses

.-lJ,)ilicl,l\ies

lLr,cless
Iigure I

Figu:-e ?

aJro\{rbenn'r:encorli,erltanclprocess ildical,es that content ll1aJrbe

heerdecl
\;ehicle for czrrnrurgprocessa^nci
not simselecteclbecauseit is a suiiai-.rle
]-rly rlgg-1zsl'5s.

Oven'iew
The paper proper )regi:rsvith al at[er-nprr,crbuild a ]ittle logical eclif.ce
rryirichrepresenrsa rationale for my o\4/n\riev=of process. In tire nexi ard
cenh-alseciion I propose a method of categorisilg processesihat factLltates a.nal-r'ticalexamilation of -uirerelarionship behveen process and
course objecti'"esin teacirer education. TTrepaper ends n::.flra brief consideraiion of tire lmporiance of reflectior-Land som $'a5zsof stimulalilg tits.

A rationale and rationaJes

It has been suggesiedthat every language teacirel opelates srith a tJreorl.'
198ii) - theoof languagea.nda theory of leaming P"icharcls and Rr-rdge::s
't'normaliy
ries v.itlh a small
fassur-nptions.L'reiiefs).It shou]d therefore folloiv tirat er;er] teacher tainer also operates with iireories, alrlong tirem a
theorr: of lealnils. One difference betrveen teacire::sand teacirel uainers is
that,flre latter are nonnall5;elifrectecito be capable r-rfbeing e4plicit about
tirei-rtheories.
Those im'olved in the ciesignof rrainel trailfurg cources ought, 'uiren,to
be ecluall-rrcapable r-rfbeilg exp)icit about the rationaLe ru'rderl5ringtheir
approacir. The littie tas]<that follovrs therefore has fir'o pur?oses: it is a:r
ilrritation to tlie ilclivich-ra-l
hailer on a hailel trairrilg course (-ol in tiris
casethe leader) to assessv'heLeire or she stancls;it a"lsoprorridesa prilcipleclbasisfor tire proposal made il su)rsequentsections.In eacir case)a
stat,ementis compierecli-n a nunber eif c-lifferentu,'alis;the tasic ::equir-es
blainstomril-{ on otirel possi)-rlecomevaiuation of these ancl enc:or-uages
plelions. ('-Alalt,ernatirrer-a]; c.rfhancllil-gtlrr: ftrsii rr'ctulclbe 1.o]rresentjust
(e.S.usurga:r OI{P) anclasitirzrticil:ants to i:raur.stoilnposrhe sl.rLi.ernent
gii'lrg those olfereclhr:re. Ft.rrciiscussionof pcrssi)rle
sible solutionsl-refr-rre
clisach-emtages
of dus procec[ue, see the section-s on Lea'd'ittg ancl
,Slt,ctt.t
ittg. )

Lt a nrurr?o.s/i I Each of the frillr-ruu.gstatementsha-s]leen r-'orlurlet.eci

u'oulcl
br:r'Of u'aJrs.\\rhicli conpletiolS cio 5'6v1i
??.01,
a.qt:eer.rdth':'Hou'
1t91
compietetire sl.atenrent'l

I64

l\'IcCitrr.I.lt

tc+achts lJiev \\rerc'1;trugh1.z'rrrd1r'zrinersl;r'airr irs fl16v 14'1'1'6'

1. 1'c:a.clrc.rs
tt'aiuec]l)('cituse, .
.
r
r
.

thzrl.is ]iou' i,Iie.vlezuled lsuc'r:crssliill\,1

tho)7leel c'omlbr1.ablel,eaching il lJris u'11'
llrort o1'ucroilrer liossil)ilities
l|'16-5:
thel) are eq)ecl,ecll.o teacli iu this t'av

tl'airrecl,titen . . .
2. But il trainers continuc'to trilin as rlre1'\471,r'e
. star-rclards
ale at best naintainecl anclat q'orst fall
o as fal: as teaching-learnilgprocessesare concerned,the profession
stanclsstill
3. As far as training pr"ocessesare concemed, the profession stands still
uir-lessharlers...
. a.remade ar^'areof other optiot'rs
. are preparedto tn7tirese
4. Trainers are more iikelrr to tqz out unfanriliar process optiot-tsin their
ovm f,rairring conterts if . . .
. theJ/erlrerience them and
o this e>qrerienceis positirre
. they have al opportunit5'to try using them in a sheltered enrdrorunent
and
. this e>,perience is also positive

5. Hov'eraer,the effect of such eqrerimentation naJ' be hnited to an ildiscriminate increase in variet\zrn'ithinsessionsunless trainers . . .
. at:e a$/are of the ke5r principle that cleten-ninesthe seiection of
process:fltnessfor purpose
. selectprocessesin a principled u'ay
It u,il be clear from ily o\ al conDletions that I see the foliorving as ke5z
objectirresof a coulse for trainers;
. participa"nts'q'ill become aware, tluough experiential nreans,of a ::auge
of process options anclof the pruposesthat might be senredb5't1-tut",to
this enci, in clesigninga course, httors migl-rt staft from a syllabr-rsof
processoptions as rvell as a syllabusof content areas);
c participants s'ill harre opportunities to practise choosing and using
options'*'ith q'hicli they are less familiar.

Feed'ing, Lea.din,g,,Slt.cttu'i.ttg,
T'lo-rorlit1.g I 65

The options
So what are dreseprocessoptions?Before we go into any detail, it uraybe
Ire1pfLrlto ciistmguishbetween what I shall call process ca.tegoties(the
processo'trtt'Lotzs
(the nricro level).
nacro level) eurcl
I thidi most training processes can be assigneclto one of four nacro
categories.(The allocation of a specific process to a specific category
might, however, be determined by the way in which tl-reprocess is used ot"t
a particular occasion.)The four categoriesare: Feeding,Leadilg, Showing
and Throwing (seeFig. 3). Examples (that is, process options) are given of
each.
Kttotoirtg

LEADING
Socratic questioning
awareness-raising tasks
Learner
Centred

Teaclter
Centred

SHOWING
demonshation

TIIROWING
teachjrg practice
worksi'rop

'nrinnrino'

Doittg

Figure 3

Processcategodesandprocessoptions

I shall briefly clefurethe four categories and then coille back to discuss
with reference to possible options. By'feedeach in tLrrn,illustrating tJ-rese
ing' I mean tire tralsmission of infonnation or opinion about the language,
teaching or a relevant theoretical discipline. This may be through the
spoken word (for example, in the foim of a iectuue) or writ[en text (a
'Leading'
r'efers to the process by wirich course
irandout or set reading).
participants are guided towards knowleclge or alvareness or towards a
'lctow'.
conscious or analy'ticalrurclerstanclingof what they alreacly
'Showing'involvesthe provision of rnoclelsor exampiesof language,for
'showilg' r,rre say or are understood
instance,or teaciringtecluriques.In
'Throwing' or'throwto be saying-'This is irow it's cloneor car be done'.
ing in' is a matter of erposing participants to the realities of everyclayiife,
in real or simulateclsitr-rations,gir,ing thein an opportunity to perform one
or other of the roles associatedwith teaclilrg or training.
'lcrowThe categoriesare divicleclby a:res.The verticai axis is labellecl
ing'/'cloing' to clraw attention to the fact that the categories in the upper
and what particip:tnts
half of tire cliagramare bersicallykno'tttledge-otiet't,tecJ
lorowleclge
about
ianguage,
say, or teaching
are fecl or lecl towalcls is
methocls.By contra-st,the categoriesin the lower half of the diagram are
et,cl:i,ort-ot-i,en,!.ecl:
by clint of sl'rowing participants how to clo thtrgs we
'throwing' being the
assllme we are lai,'rngerbasis for skill-c.levelopment.
cataly'ticor catharticexperiencewhich enablesthe participant to put it all

lllr'(itrrt.lt

r-r1
1lrelr-lir-ring
1oge,1lier,
l.lrc,Jiual:urclurosl rrzrljcl
l,esl- \\{1,ltinlJtr.r'trtrfities
(:al]
r,rl'r,,i'l'r:r1.
tr
o.qr";rllrl'l('
d0.
llr 'J'he
1tzrrl.ici1.[utl
iia.l1'lor"c,
lrcrlizoLrl.irl
zlxisirrtiic:al.es
nrir)'rtlsc.,
1.halc:zrl.egories
or lcrss
-]ri.uidc:al.egorjris,'1'c'r.cling';,urcl
l.craclrer'(()I1.Lll,or-)
centrecl.hi ilrc. lei'1
'slir-)\4riilg',
is tire trai:rel.
the soulc'c-r-rfhrorrlc'c)geancll.helrroviclel'cr1clal.zr
'lc-rildlvg
nra\r
1'slxl.i1z1rlY
hi
1Ie
crr-r
thcr'igh1;.
Parl.ici1tanl.s
cal.egories
f-iirssive.
'tlrrou'ing',
iug: zrncl
ale mnch nrore actjve. Thc' cla.ter
cin rniricli
lrzrrticil-rzur1"s
rn'orlimal, L,(,tlieir ovlr exPedc,uce,anclthr.I'u'ili l-reca;-id;leir-rmal\r
1,lrr,\r
tht oul.coutc,.
o1'shal-riug
c;ase,s
I3otli axes are itrrl:)c)ltarltbecausc,thev clncollrageus t,o thinli zrbr-rut
the
relevanceof oru training llrocessestc)conrse objectives,albeit itom differ.
Talie the rreftical axis. If course ol-rjectivesare preclornient persyrectirres.
nanthr }oiou'ledge-orien1.ecl,it q'ill tre qriit,e appropriate for training
actirritiesto be mainll' located in the upper ]raif of the diagram;if, irolever,
the objecti\resare action-oriented,this shoulcll-releflecteclin the distribution of actiriities ovel the u'hole diagrani (if lxactice is to Lre conscious,
'cloing'needsto go together sntl'r 'lororn.ing').
The ]rc,rizontalaxis is important becauseit raises the issue - important in anrzform of teacltlg - of tl-re
relationship betrn'eenlearner acLivitv and learner cl'roice. It rn'ou-lclbe
sha:rge,but by no means u:tlotou.n, if a ilainer \ zei:eto put fonn'ard the
16
case for self-directed learning, SAJ',rvithout offering tirat opportur-Lrt5r
coruseparticipants.(Tlie issue is actually a broadel one, of cour:se,of congruencebetu'eenu'hat is saicland done on coruses.)
Let me nou' deal ra'itir each of tire categories il a little more detail. l\412
lrrinrary concem irere is not so much to entunerate tire ltros and cotzs of
but to emphasisethe need for a selection u'hich
the djfferent categor"ies
takes objectives(intendedleaning outcomes)into account.
Feedi,tt,g
\4rhatI have been callhrg 'feeding' is otheru'ise lorovar as the jug and mug
mociel'or, less emotivel5',flie transmissionmoclel.At best, it is a rneansby
which a sl<illed and lorov'leclgeablelecf,uler can ecollomicall5r a:rcl effecf,irrel]'offer an auc[encean introduction to or oven'ieu' of sottle aspect of
the field, or synthesisereaclingsv'hich are not easi-ivavaiiable;sucir a lecclarifir u'hat is unclear, create interest and stimulate reflection. A
turer car-L
fomal lecture may also be a thoroughiv tedious expelience for all concerned,either becausethe lecturer lacks the necessalTpresentation slcills
simply as a transn-iisor becausebotir lecturer anclaudiencetreat the e\zent,
sion exercise.To a lessere),:tent,the sa-merna5rbs tme of reading if partici
pants perceirzev'hat thelz are given to read as clefuritirze,
sontetltilg to be
'l earttt' aucl then subseqlteutl5rrs ouro't2t g61.
The clisadvantageof rn'hatI am rather obrrior-rslycaricatuling as a folm of
sltoonfeedilg is that if participauts are r-rotengageduritlt course content, it
may not be integrateclinto their existing lorou'ledgeframev'orks; it malr
simpllz pass r-ight tl-rrough. Ard if tirerr imaoine that the5r 21'g simplv
e>,pectedto absorb and accept cor-rtentunthinkingi5r,this rna\/ encolll'ade

Tlt:r'o'tLri.tt,gI 6 7
Feed i.ng, Lea.cll'ttg, Sl t ot.u'i'tt.cy,

as well as intellectual laziness.It also closes clown options:

clepenclence,
pafticiparts might well irave something reievant to contribute.
In a broaclersense,moreover, feeding is strictly lirnited in its potential
programme.It
contribution to the objectivesof a gpical teacher eclr-rcation
sirould certainly be used because, intelligently e4ploitecl, it can ftil-fiI the
sorts of objective referred to above (and on trainer training prograrnmes
can exemplify good practice - the brealdng up of a monologue by means
of rnteractive activities or the use of signpostirlg ald visual aids);
overusecl,it may perpetuate the notion that tiris is wirat teacher education
prograrunes ollght to be iike and that this is the best or oniy way to conduct such courses.

Leadi,ng
On the learner-centred sicle of the model - and still concernecl with the
development of ]clowledge or ru'rderstancling- is 'leactilg'. As a means of
facilitating tire acqrdsitionof lcrowiedge, tlds approach has been criticisecl
as unecorlonrical. It takes too long. It may also require a higirer tntorparticipant ratio than'feeding' since products have to be elicited and discussed. Its proponeuts argue that ttLis apparent lack of econorny is
inelevant. What is inporkurt is tirat it is effective: participants arrive at
their own unclerstancling,and because they have clone the prelirninary
thinking themselves and formulated their understanding in their owrr
words the outcome is more meaningftrl, literally, and rnay be retainecl better (Stevick 1976)..Thisis an in'rporbantconsideration since one of tire
problems with torowleclge,as we all l<now to ow cost, is that it is only too
easily forgotben. Equally significant, however, in relation to the theme of
this paper, is the fact that awareness-raisingactivities of the sort enisaged
unclertlris head cal allow participants to erpetietzce the value and frustrations of workir-rgrn'ithothers.
'leacling' r,r'hich is
not nonnally mentioned A potential problem rn'ith
and tiris may manifest itself as rnore of a problem the more removed one is
frorr the language classroom - is that participants who are led torn'arcls
what appearto be precletennineclanswersmay resent being askeclto reacl
tlre ttrtor's mind, to fincl th,eworcl ot tlte solntion becausethey feel they are
being manipr-rlatecl,or lecl by tlw rt,ose.The tntor who, when participeurts
'No'n'
says,
have ftrisheci a ftsk ancitheir solutions have been cliscussecl,
irere'srry answer' may not only put up the backs'of pafticipants ltut also
'leacling'as a training process.If there is zurobvious answer
clo clamageto
to a question 1:erirapsit is a vrrasteof time to get participants to look for it
zurclthen give it to them. fi4ry not sinrply give it to them ('feeciing') or give
it to Lhembut aslt whether tirey agreethat it is the right (or ouly) answer.
Sirnilarly, if the intenclecloutcorne is a'rlist of some lcincl,why not provide a
partial list, with the obvious points wrif,ten in; this saves time ancl woulcl
ensrue that everyboclyurclerstanclswhat is reqr-rirecl.Let us ilrove or1rlow
'cloilrg'cells.
lo the

I (;6 Illr'(irrtlt

,9lunuin.Q
\\'ere
As :rriother'l,eachel\{rrol;c.al'l,era c'c}Lu's(,
during rn4ricl'r;.r:u-tici1-rzrnts
rrretlrocls:'lt's one
taughl at their ou'ti l:iugrtagelevel b\' ac',,'t'tt-,-,.ttri<:ati\/e
thirlg to lcro'r4',llrl clr-ril,c.
a:rothcr-thing t,o experietrccr."Sl-rou'iug'is
clesignecll.crploviclc.c:ol1cl'el.e
exliedences,1.cibring things 1,Olile. For rne,
il.'s the ec1:itarlenlo1'tl-rc'1-iicir-rre
in tlie cc)olier"\r
booli, 'u4ricitlrc.i1-rs
rne to
lcrou,u'ha1I'm ainringlbr.
'Ifelre are
\\rliat is 'siroun' can l:c, a nroclel- 1'orir-rstzu'rc,
sollle useflrl
'Bzrclrcliaining
u'orlis
lilie this . . .'.
clas.sloournlzrnageurenl.
lllrlases' c-rr
M4ienu'e suppiv models \4ic,expecttliem l.o tre lbllou'ed, but u'e neeclto be
a\lrare that, if unfamiliar",they mav not trecome pafl; of a participanl,'s
repefl,oireLullessu'e also provicleopprortunitiesfor sheltered practice (ancl
feeclbaclr_;.
We also need to be explicit u,hen u'hal.$'e are off'edng is not intendecl to
be a model, bnt arr example or sample,something u'hiclt coulcl be said or
I/e should
clone in 3.n5r61-taof a number of wavs. Hele too, l-rorve\,'er",
participar-rts
rn.ish
ilrat
if
to
follou'
up
the
idea,
the5'
might
value
lemember
practice.
all oppoftuni6' 1o.
The difference betq'een models and exanples/sampies is particulari5r
'demonstration
ilrportant rvhen it comes to rryhat harre been called
lessotts',bJttt'hicl-tI tneau a lessonor part-lessollgi\renbJ' a coruse tutor to
participants (or a groqr of learners)for the 1lurfioseof demonstratingcertain tecluriques.
As an exchange betrn'een\\/ajru1'b (1990) and Boljtho nt Tlue Tea,cltet'
Tt"ainet'illustrates, the use of demonstration lessons a:-rdil particular the
v'aJrin u'l-Licl-ithev are received is an issue that merits careful consideration b5' a trainer. One of the questions \{re shor-rldbe asliilg oruselves as
trairers is rryhetirertlie gap beh{'een ourselves and tirose \4/eare trairring
(in terms of skills and au'areness)is so great that such lessons a::eunhelp'showing' come
fu-I.Are they, in fact, a form of ego-tripping?Does
close to
'shou'ing off? Mv olvn fee[ng is that the usefu]less of a demonstration lesson lies less in the element of tutor perfonna:rce ar.rclmor:e in its potential
as an illustration of the thinking that goesinto lesson pla-rutng - the stages
inrroh'ed, the options u'itirin each stage ancl flre reasons for the decisions
tal<en.Post-lessonalal5r5isof the kind that I irarrein mincl, rn'ltetethe tutor
is a:-iilrformant on his or her oun thought processes, can be ir-rterestingfor
participants ald of rralueto both parlicipants and tutor.
'Shou'ing' can of course be l-randledln al equalljr deliberate but rnore
subtle ilrarxler. S4ra1.may be particularly appropriate at the levei of
h"ai,net"
haining is u'hat has in relation to teacher training has been called
'mirroring' (l\4ugglestone1979), 'learning through experience' (l\4cGrath
'loop input'
1986) and a more sophisticatecl version of these ideas,
(\Voodu'ard 1988,1991').The underl5'ingassumption of these approacires
to shou'ing is tirat, as \\Ioodrn'ardputs it, 'learnilg about teaching c:anhaplren v'hile )loll'l'ebeilg taugltt' (1988:72).
Ii4irroring itu'olves e>,fiosru'et.o a process eurda\{/areness-r'aisingin rela=
tion to the relevant features of thal,process.I4ugglestoneoffers the exam-

Lea.clillg, Sl tot.triltg, T'ltt'ott'ittlt

I 69

ple of a group of trainees who are sensitiseclto theoretical alci practical

irrr.rer concemeclin'ith groupwork through groupworl<tasks (expenence)
a1d cliscussiol cluring their training sessionszurcltiren apply tl're resuiting
insights in their own teachingpractice. in ioop input, on the other hand'
conlent ancl process ale m perfect congrlrence. Wooclwarcl (1991)
trainees leam about jigsaw
describes a jigsaw listening activity i-n
"r'hich
a.re given while actually
tirey
ter-ts
iistening throirgh the content of the
jigsaw
activity.
involveclin a
of
At this point it rnay be appropriate to make brief mention of tire value
'antithe
(1988:
has
callecl
16)
negative Lxperiences, what Wooclwarcl
t','tJdul'.By putting on a show of ineptitucle - or proviciilg blatantly bacl
exanples oi whaLeveris rurclerdiscussion - the trainer provokes cliscus'bacl' anclwhat the characteristics of a 'goocl'
sion dn why tl-reexarnplewas
the idea can be
example oi the gen-rewould be. (For trainer trailers,'good'
exarnple can
extencleclto otirei cells of the moclel.) Alternativeiy, a
the trainer
if
tirat
Notice
isolated.
key
ciraracteristics
its
ancl
be urpickecl
'showing'; if it were a tasl<for
be
would
this
analysis
tire
is canyhrg out
participants,it wouJdbe'leading'.

nu"outilxg
'duowing'. In a positive sense, 'throrving' is a matter of giving parFinaJIy,
ticipants tire oppbrtunity to clo.Learning of various kinds can take place as
but sItiLLcant'oniy be
a result of the processeswe have cliscrisseclthus far,
'tluowilg',
then, is on
cievelopeclthrough practice. The empl'rasis in
relLearsq,L,i earning/getbing b etter by doing'
One of the inost obvior,rsskills neeclectby a trainer is that of conducting
a trailing session. If we assume that training is in some ways clifferent
irom language teachilg, then it requires preparation, practice and feeclback. This kincl of experience can be provicled in the training classroom
tluough peer-teachingtastis (Iviccrath, Nuttali ancl Trappes-Loma-x1989)
novice trainers in
but if ar-iangenents Canbe macle for tutors to obser-v-e
being atlached
value
now
(hence
the
ttre flelcl ilriJcal be even more nseful
for exarnple
see,
to in-house apprenticeship ancl ilentoring scireines
IVlai'siralland Eclwardsin this voiurne).
Trainers (anclteacirers)neeclother professioualskilIs - for example,the
problems and problem stuclents.Someof these
ability t6 clealwith stLrclent
simulatior-r
through
f1\fcGrath a.nclAltay i990); others
.rl b" taci<Iecl
(.e.S.c9.TSedesign.t
or
tl'rroughrvorksiropactir,ities i:ractica] zrssiguments
At
one
encl of the spectmm,
arctil'ities.
of
Tirrbwilg, then, ct)rzersa rallge
the participant to
gtticlecl
enabling
tasks
::urci
these nay be carefully -qlaciecl
hervewha[ is
we
tr.Lay
the
other,
cleveiopcompetenceluith cotrficlelce;at
is a situar'vltere
encl
tire
cleep
tanfarnonnt to tlu'owing i.rzct,tttrc rlee:pelt.d,
lllay
which
resourqes
one's
tiou fOr wirich Oue is ttnpreparecl,and for
prove tureclualJuclgementis cle:rrly neeclecl;rs to the st.ateof reaclinessof
lire-potential for lean'ri-ngon tl're one hancl zurclclamzrge('to
inclivicluals-rurcl
for [lstance) ott lhe otirer.
conficlence,

l7()

lllr'(jtrtllr

Crossing boundaries
l'.hns Ial I rnav ]rave given ti-reiurltlession tl-ral I l'ravc,a conceplion o1'
lJrat tlie cliviclirtglir-resin Flg. 3
1hal,are somehou' u'a1,ertigh1..
l)r-c)c'esses
aborre'arc,li:ircl. On the ('or-rtran',i1 sc.cnrs1.onre troilt ;rossitrleancl clesiral,rlelhal u'ithiu a (trainer")training sessiorrthere shouiclLrea nrorrenrenl.
proc:ess1,oanothel zurdtir;rl tliis ntorremetilslrouldtrol aiu'at'sbe
liom or-rc,
preclictableirr il.s clirection,Thus, or-rc,liossiblc,
cl-raitrnrighl.be:
-+ 1'tlIlO\\rlNG
FElltlING (frtl LD.,rJrIl.tr,;
) --; S]-]C)U'INCi

zurclotirersu'ould iuclucle:
sltc)\4tNc-+ FEEDING-+'luRt)\\rlNc;
-+ SHC}\,\IING
TI.IRC)\\TINC;

Decisionsregarding the orcleringof processesq'oulcl be iMueuced bv thg

perceirrecllleecls or \'\rantsof participants or the topic being clealt rryith.
\\liat is impofiant if sltill derrelopmentis inrroh'edis that the transfer from
'lcrov.ing'to 'cloing'is not talien for grantecl.SIe rnight therefole do u'ell to
remembertl-readage:
hear ald I forget.
see alcl I uldersta.nd.
do a-tidI relnember.

Shifting roles

'cloilg' can actualhzi111r6i1rg

participalts in takilg
On courses for trainers,
'feeding'can be done b5'a participant,
tutor.
the
role
of
course
Thus
on tiie
primed to a greater or lesser er,tent bJ' the tutor (1{roodrn'ald1988credits
'Leading','shou'ing' and 'tluou'iug' can also
Jolur }{orgal u'itl-rthis idea).
be devisecl and fronted b5zparticipants. ln such a case, participants ale
'tluorx'Lrg' and
the positirze and negati\/e aspects of this os
erpeliencing
parti,ci,ltcr,ttfs,v'hile llaving to thilk about feeding, etc. in their assumed
role a,s trainzet"tt'a,i,net's.Tiris is rn4ratWooclvi'ard(1991: 5) describes as
n,ordng betu'een lerrels of 'the stack' (u'here pupil, teacher, trai:rel ancl
trainer trainer"a.reon different ]erzeis).For tiris approach to vt'ork u'ell, it is
obviouslv essentia"lthat tutors rvork closeh' v.ith particilrants (in a rela'clinical supen'ision').
tionsirili akin to that of

The importance of reflection

I have alread5'hinted at the importance of a reflective element iu training,
be it teacher training or trainer training (see for exanple the references to
'Shou'ing' and the a\ rareness-raisingelement
anal5'ticaldiscussion under
in mirloring and loop input). In fact, nl1i 14**' is that to be fttlly effectirue
each of ll-recategories of process I have discussedmust be follou'ecl bJi
(alci itossibl)talso prececledb5')reflectiot-i.\Ve might tirerefore v'ish to put
a little reflectiveheaclinto the cenhe of tl-rediagran:

Feedi.ng, Lead'in.g, Sl totui ng, Tl t:rot.oittg

I 7I

Knowing

FEEDING

LEADING

ooy'
Tencher
Centred

Learner
Centred

,/
SHOWTNG

TIIROWING
Doing

Figule 4

it may be helpful to give a few rnore exarnples of ways in which a reflective element can be incorporateclinto the use of these four categoriesof
process. These a.reset out below in the form of another task. In a trainer
training session,participants would be asked to extend tlts List.A hidcien
objective here might be a firrther check as to w-hetirerthe concepts had
been grasped and could be distinguisl-red.The reader may aiso wish to do
the task (the earlier part of the paper contains an example of 'leading',
incidentally).
Task 2 Here ale a nu:nber of exarnplesof reflective tasks linked to each
of the four categories.T\y to add at least one more task option in each
category.
Feeding
. ilteractive phasesduring lectures @ttzzgroups, etc.)
. task sheetsfor reading

Leadi.ng
a

Slrcwing
. recorclkeepingch,uingsessions
. observationtasks (for clifferentbipes of task, see e.g.Wajnryb 1992)
Throwittg
. teaching practice logs (tutors' vritten responses can shor,vthat they
too zu'ereflecting)
' delayeclfeeciback

trrl.lr
,41r'(..i

( 1!)91.1!l!)21,
Pailtn.l ( 1[)tlijl irtrcltlre lrooiis l.rr'1;11,t,*
Elhs ( 1!)St;), \4/oocha'arcl
(tllSS; ale' l'r-ir'1lter
iurr.ll"ssocitrl,es,e.g. Gilrlis, l-lzr).resluutiuicl l-l:rl,rcslriru'
riclt sonlc'(rsr-i1icleas.
rl,icrt'rs,
it'tzt\:nl'rlit-'Li'r''
lr.{lec'licrt'r
At tire nfcrt) lc'r'el o1'slrrrL'ifc'lrr(x'(.sst.r1
(,r il(lrtlltiltgii'il 1lrc'l11irct1J
lc'r't:lo1
zrclol'rl,itig
cliflirrtlc:c'i.rc,tu'ectt
l)i;Lll,ic'il)znil.s
clroic:es bel'ureeri lir'oc'ess c:a.l.r.gories,i1 t'rti.rYu't,ll t-tillic' t;i-reclill'cr-c'rrcc,
be1.v'eenlr]'(|(:ess-sr'lec'tiotras a nr:-rllel o1'r0ul;ittr',r-rr a,clt'ttitristliLtjvecourrerrienc(,(\\riLllacel9!)l ) and udral I havc. sugE{ested:iiiglil Lre 1-rrirrcilr}ecl
on.
l)Ioc:e.ss-selecti

Conclusions
goes\{'illlout sal,{rlgthat vzrrietJr
in clzrssrooltl
It 1-rerhaps
lrrocesses- ir-r
trainer training as \ rell as in teacher trailLinganclteaching - is a goocl
pzu'ticularpurtiiurg. TlLisprapermaliesa ciifi'elentpoint: that to acl'Lierre
ljose,sc:ertainmealls rrill be mole stdtable than otirers. This ma5'seL'il an
equallt' olrrriorn point, but tliere is scant eviclerrce(esprecialh;in tertiarTr
level institr-rtious)to suggesttirat tiris av'arerlessis tr zurslateclinto przr.ctice.
The vierryserlrresseclin this papel can therefore l-resumt'neuiseda-sfolloq's:
1. If in training (trainers_)\{re use onlv those categories of plocess or
ilrocess options vrith u'lich participants are alrea.clt'familiar, u'e catttot
e>qrecttheni to use other processes in their ov'n teaching. \4le llla]/ e\/en
dr-rlltlieir iuterest in their ov'n leanrilg.
2 Tf irr selectils Drocessesrve clo not asli oursehres v'hetirer tiiese
processes ale apliropriate rrrealls of achierir-Lgour ol'rjectives (i.e. the
fai-lto achievet}rese olrjectives.
intendecl}earnir-rgoutcomes), \{re111a\r
3. If u'e do
. usea larrgeofprocesses
' selectthesein a demonstrabh'principlecltllaluter
and participants f'eel that the resu-Iting course is both interesiing and
effective, there is e\rerTrcltance that ther: u'ilI adopt the same app::oach
u'hen planning their ourr courses - ancl er:lend the range of process
ontionsstill ftuther.