Browsing by Author "Yamin-Ali, Jennifer"
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Item The 21st Century School(Daily Express, 2007) Yamin-Ali, JenniferThis article examines the strategies that should be employed by the modern school in order to better manage the achievement of professional standards and to meet the increased expectations of stakeholdersItem "Context" - The Magic of Foreign Language Teaching(School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2010) Yamin-Ali, JenniferThis paper examines the issue of "context" in foreign language teaching. It focuses on nine teachers at the secondary school level in Trinidad and Tobago who were students in a one-year in-service professional development programme. The teachers are all graduates with a B.A. in either Spanish or French, or both, and have varied degrees of experience as teachers. Teachers entered the programme with limited understandings of context and its role in teaching, and with little or no experience of using it in their foreign language lessons. During their encounter with the context issue during the year-long professional development programme, they were able to make a link between the theories of effective teaching and learning and the use of context in lessons. They were also able to overcome the challenges of lack of creativity, finding suitable support material, and motivating their students. By the end of the programme, teachers were not yet using context spontaneously but found that planning lessons with appropriate contexts was time-consuming. The findings of this study are especially relevant for teacher educators who promote communicative language teachingItem Decoding Policy(Daily Express, 2006) Yamin-Ali, JenniferThis article advises that school administrators should ensure that teachers arrive at clear understandings of macro and micro policies, since it argues that in the school situation, policy needs definition, declaration, and demystificationItem Educational administration as a micropolitical exercise(School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2008) Yamin-Ali, JenniferThe administration of a school is usually perceived of as occurring within the confines of the school facility itself. This research seeks to highlight the reality of administrative procedure within the context of promotion to senior management positions in some denominational secondary schools in Trinidad. The data were gathered through interviews and questionnaires from practitioners in the field and from other key players in the promotion scenario. Key players in this research are teachers, aspiring school administrators, Church Board members, and members of the Teaching Service Commission. The qualitative analysis of the data brings to the fore pertinent voices that spell out for us those practices that manifest how micropolitics is manifested in the promotion process. The findings point to some consequences of micropolitical activity in the promotion process, and suggest a way forward for this selection processItem Educational administration as a micropolitical exercise(School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2009) Yamin-Ali, JenniferThe administration of a school is usually perceived of as occurring within the confines of the school facility itself. This research seeks to highlight the reality of administrative procedure within the context of promotion to senior management positions in some denominational secondary schools in Trinidad. The data were gathered through interviews with practitioners in the field and from other key players in the promotion scenario. Key players in this research are teachers, aspiring school administrators, past and present school administrators, Church Board members, and members of the Teaching Service Commission. The qualitative analysis of the data brings to the fore pertinent voices that spell out for us those practices which demonstrate how micropolitics is manifested in the promotion process. The findings point to some consequences of micropolitical activity in the promotion process, and suggest a way forward for this selection processItem Evaluating Educators(Daily Express, 2004) Yamin-Ali, JenniferThis article discusses some of the issues that need to be considered in implementing an appropriate and effective teacher evaluation system in Trinidad and TobagoItem Foreign Language Education for Living(Daily Express, 2004) Yamin-Ali, JenniferThis article examines the role of foreign language teachers in education for livingItem Get Set, Teachers(Daily Express, 2008) Yamin-Ali, JenniferThe second part of this article identifies some of the skills and strategies that teachers will need to deploy in order to fulfil their role in the development of the school systemItem Holistic Education(Daily Express, 2004) Yamin-Ali, JenniferThis article reflects on the theme of the biennial teachers' convention organized by the Presbyterian Secondary Schools' Board of Education in Trinidad and Tobago: Strengthening a Tradition of Holistic Education. The convention examined three main areas: the role of middle management, discipline, and values educationItem Honing a professional identity: The outcome of a teacher education programme(School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2012) Yamin-Ali, Jennifer; Pooma, DevThis study examined the outcome of an in-service postgraduate professional development programme for secondary school teachers in a developing country. It investigated the influence of the programme after completion, with a focus on the professional identity of three modern language teachers three years after they had completed the programme. This qualitative phenomenological case study used interviews, questionnaires, and document analysis to collect data from the participants. The data were analysed using codes, categories, and themes. The findings revealed that the three participants were influenced by the programme in a positive and enduring way, in that they all showed growth in terms of their professional identity. School context was found to have a determining role in the extent and longevity of the influence that the programme had on the participantsItem HR in the Classroom(Daily Express, 2007) Yamin-Ali, JenniferThis article examines ways in which the human resources available in the classroom--the teacher and the students--can be maximized, even without the use of technology and other costly apparatusItem Is anybody listening? Stakeholders' perspectives on the in-service Diploma in Education Programme at the School of Education, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus(School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2012) Ali, Shahiba; Augustin, Désirée S.; Herbert, Susan; James, Freddy; Phillip, Sharon; Rampersad, Joycelyn; Yamin-Ali, JenniferThe Diploma in Education (Dip.Ed.) programme at the School of Education of The University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine, provides initial training for teachers employed in the secondary school system in Trinidad and Tobago. In keeping with the tenets and stages of fourth generation evaluation research, stakeholders' perspectives were integral to the process of evaluating the Dip.Ed. programme, which was delivered during the period 2004-2009. Through purposive and stratified random sampling, focus group and individual interviews were conducted with three separate groups of stakeholders: principals, heads of departments, and deans from a sample of schools; and Central Administration officers of the Ministry of Education. Teachers who had graduated from the programme during the period were asked to complete a questionnaire. Data were analysed, using the NVIVO qualitative data analysis software, to determine stakeholders' issues, claims, and concerns. This article reports on these selected stakeholders' perspectives on the programme. Preliminary findings reveal the extent to which the current in-service Dip.Ed. programme meets stakeholders' expectations, and the benefits and limitations of the programme. The implications of the findings for teacher education and reform are discussedItem Is anybody listening? Teachers' views of their in-service teacher professional development programme(School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2013) James, Freddy; Phillip, Sharon; Herbert, Susan; Augustin, Désirée S.; Yamin-Ali, Jennifer; Ali, Shahiba; Rampersad, JoycelynThis paper reports on a segment of a research project that conducted an overall evaluation of the Diploma in Education (Dip.Ed.) programme provided by the School of Education of The University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine for the period 2004-2009. The Dip.Ed. programme provides initial training for teachers employed in the secondary school system in Trinidad and Tobago. The overall study utilized the following models as theoretical and conceptual lenses: Guskey's (2002a) model of evaluating the impact of continuing professional development (CPD) on teachers' practice; and Guba and Lincoln's (1989) fourth generation evaluation model. This paper, which reports on the teachers' perspectives, presents findings on the extent to which the Dip.Ed. programme met their expectations, the benefits and limitations of the programme, and the impact of the programme on their practice. Data from teachers were gathered using an open-ended questionnaire, and were analysed with the NVIVO qualitative data analysis software. The paper considers the implications of these findings for the overall improvement of the Dip.Ed. programme and teacher professional developmentItem The Learning Teacher(Daily Express, 2005) Yamin-Ali, JenniferThis article examines the role of the teacher as learner, as teachers assess problems they or their students encounter in the teaching/learning process, and try to overcome them. It notes the obstacles encountered by the teacher as learner, and identifies the role of mentoring in schools as being crucial to supporting the teacherItem Lessons from “Martha”(Daily Express, 2008) Yamin-Ali, JenniferOn the occasion of the death of a treasured teacher at a secondary school in Trinidad, this article reflects on the contribution made by the teacher, who was perceived as hard-working, dedicated, and caring towards all members of the school communityItem Maximising the Tertiary Level Experience(Daily Express, 2007) Yamin-Ali, JenniferThis article suggests that by wisely using the experiences to which they are exposed at tertiary level institutions, students can develop the kinds of skills and attitudes expected in the modern work environmentItem Meeting professional language standards in the FL classroom in Trinidad and Tobago(School of Education, UWI, St. Augustine, 2006) Yamin-Ali, JenniferThis paper examines the notion of linguistic competence within the context of developing professional standards for foreign language teachers. It focuses on specific language deficiencies recorded during observation of Spanish teachers in the classroom, and provides an initial indication of the need to provide some degree of structured support for competence enhancement in the foreign language. The observation is made that whereas FL teachers may have "latent" knowledge of some fundamental lexical and semantic areas of the language, this knowledge does not always translate into appropriate application. Essentially, the role of the FL teacher as model, resource, and inspirer is diminished when the language used in the classroom shows hesitation, insecurity, inaccuracy, and lack of practice. Finally, some suggestions are made about how teachers can access opportunities for improving their proficiency in the foreign language, at both the personal and the policy levelItem Nagging — The Uncelebrated Teaching Skill(Daily Express, 2008) Yamin-Ali, JenniferThis article examines "nagging," with its connotation of "insisting," "repeating," "reminding," and "harping on," as an important tool in a teacher's repertoire of necessary skillsItem Observing Teachers(Daily Express, 2007) Yamin-Ali, JenniferThis article reflects on the experience of observing student teachers on teaching practice as part of the clinical supervision of these teachersItem “Old Girls” Demystified(Daily Express, 2007) Yamin-Ali, JenniferOn the occasion of the funeral of a classmate, this article reflects on the ties that bind the alumni of a girls' secondary school in Trinidad