Teaching for understanding approach in the english classes at próspero Pinzón and nuevo San Andrés de los Altos Schools in Bogotá

Abstract

El presente trabajo de investigación con la acción concertada del Inglés con el enriquecimiento de la práctica educativa de los maestros a través de un proceso de reflexión en dos escuelas públicas en la ciudad de Bogotá con el objetivo de poner en práctica un enfoque institucional que permite el desarrollo de procesos socio-emocionales y cognitivas en los estudiantes.

The purpose of this research is to enrich, whether it is possible, the English teaching processes implementing the principles of the Teaching for Understanding Approach at both schools. The TfU is a pedagogical approach that is characterized by the development of a class allowing the reflection, planning, design, presentation and evaluation of a topic to be carried out; based on the development of the understanding. The teachers from both schools took four workshops, which aimed to inform, reflect, enrich and transform their pedagogic practice through the application of the theoretical postulates of the TfU approach, to check some examples of didactic units explained by the researchers, and to design and present an individual microteaching sample based on the TfU principles. All these workshops were formulated with the intention of fostering the teachers’ performance in their personal growth and professional l achievement. The research has focused on the three tasks, which are the identification of the theoretical foundations of the Teaching for Understanding Approach, English Teaching, and Teachers´ Development, the analysis of the development of English classes on the light of the TfU principles and the definition, application and evaluation of four workshops in which teachers of both schools take part of activities about principles of the Teaching for Understanding Approach. The practical stage was divided in four workshops. These activities were carried out through the identification, the explanation, the teaching, analysis, and explanation of the seven principles of the TfU approach proposed by Tina Blythe. Also, several activities were developed with the teachers of both schools aiming to foster the critical thinking and the communicative skills of the students. The workshops were allocated in four stages. The first one was named sensitization and contextualization, the second stage was the identification and analysis of the 7 principles of the TfU, the third stage made reference to the design of a group lesson and finally the fourth stage was named as the design of a microteaching under the application of the seven principles of the TfU. The generated data have evidenced the importance of sharing knowledge among teachers in order to enrich the pedagogical practices to benefit the students´ learning processes. Also, it was concluded that principals and coordinators have to open more pedagogical spaces where teachers can develop useful activities. And finally it was evidenced that teachers can promote and encourage the creativeness, critical thinking, social relations and affective filter in their pupils, taking into consideration the students’ interests.