Presenters

Action Research and Professional Growth

In this presentation, I will examine action research as a professional development tool. The presentation will address the following questions:
• What is action research?
• What effect can AR have on teachers' practices?
• What are the steps in doing AR?
• What are some of the problems and solutions in doing AR?

David Nunan is Chair Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of Hong Kong and President of Anaheim University. He has been an action researcher for over 30 years.

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Assessing an extensive reading program

This presentation describes a system for assessing an extensive reading program using a simple cloze test combined with easily applied yet sophisticated statistical analysis. The instrument revealed dramatic improvement in student ability, results which were confirmed on two other measures associated with reading proficiency.

Stan Pederson has an extensive list of published materials for K6. He instructs courses for teachers of young learners at Teachers College, Columbia University and Kanda University of International Studies.

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Bringing Down the Wall: The IMCD experience

This presentation will outline current procedures utilized by teachers to work on their professional development. It will also describe a teacher development program in which isolated teachers use Instant Messenger Cooperative Development (IMCD) (Boon, 2005), to facilitate and support reflections and investigations of teaching.

Andy Boon is Program Chair for West Tokyo JALT and teaches at Toyo Gakuen University, Chiba. His research interests focus on teacher development and action research in the classroom.

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Changing Behavior: Communication Strategies Training Research

This presentation will describe the evolution of a specific communication strategies training model, including its origin, classroom introduction, and testing approaches. Discussion will center on research carried out with Japanese university students in the UK, as well as data based on the training of business professionals in Japan.

Don Maybin is a professor at Shonan Institute of Technology. His areas of concentration are communication strategies and learner independence. He is co-author of The Active Learner.

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Unconventional Ways to Research Your Teaching

Let us consider three new methodologies for doing research in our work: 1) Action research, "the process of identifying a puzzle in the classroom, collecting data, and interpreting that data" (Finch, eslteachersboard.com), 2) Development research for making something new, and 3) Evaluation research for checking products or programs.

Curtis Kelly, a professor of English at Osaka Gakuin University, has a doctorate in adult education. He co-authored Significant Scribbles and Writing from Within.

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