Professional Development Unit

School of Foreign Languages

MISSION

The Professional Development Unit (PDU) at Atilim University School of Foreign Languages aims to support teachers in terms of  having a feeling of  life-long learning and development through following the latest trends in the field.  The Professional Development Unit (PDU) puts cooperation and collaboration at the forefront and aims to enhance in-class instructional quality, helps instructors to develop themselves in terms of professional knowledge and skills and cascade new knowledge in SFL by creating a learning and sharing atmosphere. 

ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT UNIT (PDU) 

There are 2 groups of activities carried out by PDU. These are pre-service orientation and Training Program and “In-Service Training Activities 

1. Pre-Service Orientation and Training Program 

Atılım University School of Foreign Languages provides a pre-service orientation and training program for its newly recruited instructors to introduce its in-house processes, share institutional expectations and increase their readiness level for the new duties. 

All (full and part-time) newly employed instructors are provided mentorship support during the first year, 

Within this framework, the orientation program for new instructors is as follows: 

  • Vision and Mission of Atılım University and School of Foreign Languages 
  • Administrative matters and procedures as explained in instructors’ and students’ booklets
  • Duties and functions of units of university 
  • Instructors’ responsibilities 
  • Lessons and their contents 
  • Technology and platforms used for teaching 

1.1. Mentorship Program 

Aims: 

Our mentorship program aims not only to help the new teachers in our institution adapt to the school climate and culture but also assist new teachers with curriculum, teaching strategies, and communication skills. 

Procedure:                                              

  • At the beginning of the new year, an orientation program is implemented to make new teachers familiar with the school. 
  • Mentorship Training Meeting is held for our mentors to inform them about what the needs of a mentor are and how their behavior towards their mentees should be. 
  • A Workshop for Mentees is implemented to help them become aware of the things they should do in their teaching journey at our school. 

Mentors and mentees come togeher on certain days, and they fulfill some tasks throughout the year. 

Tasks:

  • marking quizzes, midterms collaboratively 
  • planning lessons 
  • using technological tools in the classroom 
  • implementing production activities 
  • Video recorded observation 
  • Reporting back to the whole process 

2. In-Service Training Activities 

For the instructors who have already been working for Atılım University for a while, a number of in-house training activities are held in order to improve and refresh the existing knowledge and skills. Meanwhile information is given about the latest developments in the field to build a ‘common understanding’ in the institution. Some of these in-service training activities are as follows: 

  • Workshops and Presentations: Professional Development Unit holds workshops carried out by PDU members, volunteer SFL instructors and guest speakers who are experts in their fields. Professional training is offered in many different subjects for a year and lecturers attend training of their choice according to their needs. 
  • PDU also informs the instructors about the workshops and presentations held in other institutions and encourages the instructors to join them. 
  • In-Class Observations: PDU members plan and make class observations for all instructors working for SFL with developmental purposes. These class observations are pre-planned and carried out on a regular basis. Pre-meetings are held between PDU members and the instructors about the lesson to be observed/already observed. Also, they arrange post meetings, and they closely communicate with each other during the planning and evaluation process of the lesson. 
  • Peer Observations: Thanks to peer observations, instructors have the chance to think about their own teaching methods and approaches more systematically by observing each other's lessons and making use of different points of view. Peer observations in our institution are made in two ways: 

                        1) Peer observations to be guided by PDU members 

                        2) Free peer observations to be chosen by the instructors 

While making these peer observations, instructors choose some focus points and only fill in an observation form and use the form for reflection. 

  • Self-reflection via Video Recording: Instructors record one of their own lessons and reflect on themselves by watching it. Then they share their self-feedback with a PDU member. If required, PDU supports them about the evaluation of the lesson. 
  • Monthly Article Reading: Every month our unit shares an article, focusing on professional development or teaching methodologies. These resources aim to enrich our instructors' knowledge and stimulate discussions on best practices in language education. The procedure is as follows: Teachers receive the article through e-mail or Microsoft Teams, they answer 3 questions on Google Forms based on the article to reflect on and everyone can see reflected answers thanks to Google Forms.
  • Action Research: We also encourage our instructors to engage in action research as a tool of professional development. Action research is defined as “an activity where teachers conduct systematic inquiry into some aspect of their work in order to extend their professional understanding and to enhance student learning” (Dikilitaş, 2015, p.27). To this end, instructors who would like to engage in this PD activity follow the sequence below: 
    • Identifying some instructional puzzles to work on, 
    • Deciding on a particular issue with their assigned trainers, 
    • Monthly meetings about their progress, receiving feedback, and deciding on the next steps 
    • On a voluntary basis, sharing their research findings with other professionals in different settings