Private Policy | Teacher Andrea

CPD courses

Appeals Procedure for students enrolled on CPD courses

We at the My English Teacher Andrea Verona provide a formal route for our learners wishing to appeal against an assessment decision. All learners are assessed against the relevant learning outcomes for the course and regulating organisation criteria, where applicable. Assessment decisions are made by internal Assessors.

Areas for Appeal

Our Appeals Policy enables learners in certain situations to make a formal appeal against a recommendation or assessment decision relating to:

• the Assessor’s decision on any element of assessment that differs to that of our Internal Quality Assurer’s decision (for example, if an internal assessment has been marked by the Assessor as achieved but the Internal Quality Assurer disagrees with this decision).

• an application for a reasonable adjustment or special consideration
submitted to the regulating organisation for approval.
• our final, overall assessment decision for a CPD Course.

Grounds for Appeal

The following is a list of examples and is not exhaustive:

• A reasonable adjustment was refused without reason, or a decision to limit a requested for a reasonable adjustment proved to be inappropriate or insufficient.
• The learner requested special consideration, but this does not seem to have been applied.
• There was inappropriate or irregular conduct on the part of the Assessor.

Appeals Process

Stage 1

The learner should discuss on the day they receive the assessment decision their intention to appeal that decision directly with the Assessor responsible for informing the learner of that decision. If the learner is dissatisfied with the outcome of this discussion, the learner should request a ‘Learners Appeals Application’ form which can be posted or email to you. The learner must submit this form within five days of the date of the assessment and include with it any supporting evidence (see additional notes below). Appeals received after this time will not be heard.

Stage 2

Once received by us, our designated Internal Quality Assurer (“IQA”) will investigate the appeal and respond in writing to the learner with a decision within 20 working days of receipt of the form. If the learner is dissatisfied with the IQA’s decision, the learner should make a complaint directly to the Owner of the company.

Additional Notes

• It is extremely difficult to investigate appeals without impartial evidence. Therefore, appeals against referrals in practical teaching based solely on the learner’s disagreement with the Assessor’s decision will only be considered when accompanied by a video recording of the learner’s practical assessment.

• The learner has the right to video any aspect of their practical assessment using their own video recording equipment provided it does not interfere with the assessment process, other learners, or the Assessor’s ability to carry out their role(s).

• It is the responsibility of the learner to arrange a video operator.

• Prior to the assessment date and so that a decision can be made for deferral, it is the responsibility of the learner to notify us of any medical problem which may affect the learner’s performance adversely in the assessment process.

This policy has been approved & authorised by:
Name: Andrea Y Verona
Position: Owner
Date: 01/05/2024
Signature:

Review date of Policy:01/05/2025

Course Content Review Policy

My English Teacher Andrea Verona takes the standard of its courses very seriously. For this reason, the below policy sets out how we ensure the standards of our service is maintained.

Course reviews are an integral part of My English Teacher Andrea Verona’s quality assurance process.

The focus of course reviews is on:

• The appropriateness of the content and assessment method in order to achieve the learning outcomes,
• The course content being up to date and accurate.

Responsibility

Responsibility for course review and recommendations being addressed rests with the Training & Development Manager. The responsibility for the Review process lies with the company Directors.

Frequency

Each course is reviewed on an annual basis. The courses are reviewed by a Subject Matter Specialist to ensure their accuracy.

All legal elements of the learning materials will be reviewed by the companies Legal Representatives to ensure the most up to date version of any legal references are used and are correct as of the time of the review.

Timing

At the review date, each subject area specialist will have a 30-day period to complete the review of the given subject and all findings reported back to the Training & Development Manager.

The Training & Development Manager will then action any appropriate changes to course materials with an additional 30-day period.

Any legal advice/review related to legal references within the learning materials will be form part of the 30-day review period by the Subject Matter Specialist.

Reporting

Following learning materials & legal review, a detailed report will be provided to the Training & Development Manager, outlining all elements that require addressing and updating.

Name: Andrea Y Verona
Position: Owner
Date: 01/05/2024
Signature:

Equal Opportunities Learner’s Charter

“Everyone has a part to play in ensuring we achieve equality of opportunity. We believe

that a positive attitude towards equality and diversity is right for our people, our clients and our business suppliers. This means that we must encourage all our people to welcome diversity and respect each person’s individuality”.

My English Teacher Andrea Verona is committed to ensuring that the admissions process will be open and transparent, and that no individual or group receives less favourable treatment by virtue of age, disability, economic status, faith, gender, marital status, sexuality, race, colour, and nationality, ethnic or national origin.

The following Learner Charter has been drawn up stating the standards of service you can expect to receive as a learner of [COMPANY NAME]

Using the My EnglishTeacher Andrea Verona you can expect…

• to receive a highly quality learning experience
• to be given equal opportunities and treated fairly
• to be treated with courtesy
• to have access to advice, guidance and support to ensure your choices are informed ones and that your learning needs are met
• to learn in a healthy and safe environment
• to be provided with timely and appropriate information on your progress
• to have staff listen to any issues, suggestions or concerns you may have, and to respond in a relevant manner

In turn as a customer of My English Teacher Andrea Verona we would like you to:

• be fully committed to your course
• treat our staff with courtesy
• provide us with appropriate information to help us meet your learning and assessment needs
• ensure that your behaviour contributes to a healthy and safe environment
• abide by any rules specifically relating to online assessment
• communicate issues, suggestions or concerns using the procedures outlined in your Student Handbook.

If for any reason you wish to make a formal complaint, then please access our formal complaints procedure on the website or email infoteacherandrea@mail.com.This policy has been approved & authorised by:

Name: Andrea Y Verona
Position: Owner
Date: 01/05/2024

Signature:

Review of Policy: 01/05/2024

My English Teacher Andrea Verona treats all cases of suspected malpractice* very seriously and will investigate all suspected and reported incidents of possible malpractice.
The purpose of this Policy and Procedure is to set out how allegations of malpractice in relation to all My English Teacher Andrea Verona’s training assessments and training events are dealt with.
The scope of the policy is to provide:

• a definition of malpractice
• examples of learner and centre malpractice and maladministration;
• possible sanctions that may be imposed in cases of malpractice.

*The term ‘malpractice’ in this policy is used for both malpractice and maladministration.

Introduction

For the purpose of this document ‘malpractice’ is defined as:

Any act, or failure to act, that threatens or compromises the integrity of the assessment processor and the validity of My english Teacher Andrea Verona's training events and their certification.

This includes:
• maladministration and the failure to maintain appropriate records or systems;
• the deliberate falsification of records or documents for any reason connected to the award of training events certification;
• acts of plagiarism or other academic misconduct;
• and/or actions that compromise the reputation or authority of its employees or associates. My English Teacher Andrea Verona's will report all relevant cases of suspected malpractice to the relevant authority, accepting that in certain circumstances they may take action of its own, including imposing sanctions.

Malpractice by learners

Some examples of learner malpractice are described below. These examples are not exhaustive and all incidents of suspected malpractice, whether or not described below, will be fully investigated, where there are sufficient grounds to do so.

• Obtaining examination or assessment material without authorisation.
• Arranging for an individual other than the learner to sit an assessment or to submit an assignment not undertaken by the learner.
• Impersonating another learner to sit an assessment or to submit an assignment on their behalf.
• Collaborating with another learner or individual, by any means, to complete a coursework assignment or assessment, unless it has been clearly stated that such collaboration is permitted.
• Damaging another learner’s work.
• Inclusion of inappropriate or offensive material in coursework assignments or assessment scripts.
• Failure to comply with published examination regulations.
• Disruptive behaviour or unacceptable conduct, including the use of offensive language, at training centre or assessment venue (including aggressive or offensive language or behaviour).
• Producing, using or allowing the use of forged or falsified documentation, including but not limited to:
• personal identification;
• supporting evidence provided for reasonable adjustment or special consideration applications; and
• competency documents
• results documentation, including certificates.
• Misrepresentation or plagiarism of a My English Teacher Andrea Verona's certificate.
• Fraudulent claims for special consideration while studying.
• Falsely obtaining by any means a certificate

Malpractice by My English Teacher Andrea Verona' and associates

Examples of malpractice by, tutors and assessors are listed below. These examples are not exhaustive and all incidents of suspected malpractice, whether or not described below, will be fully investigated, where there are sufficient grounds to do so.

• Failure to adhere to the relevant regulations and procedures, including those relating to My English Teacher Andrea Verona's approval, security undertaking and monitoring requirements as set out by these regulations.
• Knowingly allowing an individual to impersonate a learner.
• Allowing a learner to copy another learner’s assignment work or allowing a learner to let their own work be copied.
• Allowing learners to work collaboratively during an assignment assessment, unless specified in the assignment brief.
• Completing an assessed assignment for a learner or providing them with assistance beyond that ‘normally’ expected.
• Damaging a learner’s work.
• Disruptive behaviour or unacceptable conduct, including the use of offensive language (including aggressive or offensive language or behaviour).
• Allowing disruptive behaviour or unacceptable conduct at My English Teacher Andrea Verona to go unchallenged, for example, aggressive or offensive language or behaviour.
• Divulging any information relating to learner performance and / or results to anyone other than the learner.
• Producing, using or allowing the use of forged or falsified documentation, including but not limited to:
• personal identification;
• supporting evidence provided for reasonable adjustment or special consideration applications; and
• competency documents
• results documentation, including certificates
• Falsely obtaining by any means a certificate.
• Failing to report a suspected case of learner malpractice, including plagiarism, to your Line Manager.

Procedure
Reporting a suspected case of malpractice

This process applies to tutors, learners and other associates to My English Teacher Andrea Verona and to any reporting of malpractice by a third party or individual who wishes to remain anonymous.

Any case of suspected malpractice must be reported as soon as possible and at the latest within two working days from its discovery to the Training & Development Manager (Quality Nominee).

A written report should then be sent to the Training & Development Manager, clearly identifying the factual information, including statements from other individuals involved and / or affected, any evidence obtained, and the actions that have been taken in relation to the incident.

Wherever possible, and provided other learners are not disrupted by doing so, a learner suspected of malpractice should be warned immediately that their actions may
constitute malpractice, and that a report will be made to the Training & Development Manager.
In cases of suspected malpractice by My English Teacher Andrea Verona, tutors and other associates, and any reporting of malpractice by a third party or individual who wishes to remain anonymous, the report made to the Training & Development Manager should include as much information as possible, including the following:
• the date time and place the alleged malpractice took place, if known.
• the name of the employee, tutor or other third party involved
• a description of the suspected malpractice; and
• any available supporting evidence.

In cases of suspected malpractice reported by a third party, or an individual who wishes to remain anonymous, My English Teacher Andrea Verona's will take all reasonable steps to authenticate the
reported information and to investigate the alleged malpractice.

Administering suspected cases of malpractice
My English Teacher Andrea Verona will investigate each case of suspected or reported malpractice, to ascertain whether malpractice has occurred. The investigation will aim to establish the full facts and circumstances. My English Teacher Andrea Verona will promptly take all reasonable steps to prevent any adverse effect that may arise as a result of the malpractice, or to mitigate any adverse effect, as far as possible, and to correct it to make sure that any action necessary to maintain the integrity of our training and reputation is taken. My English Teacher Andrea Verona will acknowledge all reports of suspected malpractice within five working days. All of the parties involved in the case will then be contacted within 10 working days of receipt of the report detailing the suspected malpractice. We may also contact other individuals who may be able to provide evidence relevant to the case.

The individual(s) concerned will be informed of the following:
• that an investigation is going to take place, and the grounds for that investigation;
• details of all the relevant timescales, and dates, where known;
• that they have a right to respond by providing a personal written response relating to the suspected malpractice (within 15 working days of the date of that letter);
• that, if malpractice is considered proven, sanctions may be imposed by reflecting the seriousness of the case;
• that, if they are found guilty, they have the right to appeal.
• that My English Teacher Andrea Verona has a duty to inform the relevant authorities / regulators, but only after time for the appeal has passed or the appeal process has been completed. This may also include informing the police if the law has been broken and to comply with any other appropriate legislation.

Where more than one individual is contacted regarding a case of suspected malpractice, for example in a case involving suspected collusion, we will contact each individual separately, and will not reveal personal data to any third party unless necessary for the purpose of the investigation.

The individual has a right to appeal against a malpractice outcome if they believe that the policy or procedure has not been followed properly or has been implemented to their detriment.

Records of all malpractice cases and their outcomes are maintained by My English Teacher Andrea Verona for a period of at least five years and are subject to regular monitoring and review.

This policy has been approved & authorised by:
Name: Andrea Y Verona
Position:Owner
Date: 01/05/2024
Signature:

Review of Policy: 01/05/2024

Reasonable Adjustments Policy

Aims and Objectives of the Policy

My English Teacher Andrea Verona has a duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make any reasonable adjustments that can be made for our learners to ensure they are not discriminated against.

We aim to facilitate open and fair access to our training for learners who are eligible for reasonable adjustments and / or special considerations without compromising the assessment of skills, knowledge, understanding or competence being measured , My English Teacher Andrea Verona achieve this through;
;

Reasonable Adjustments
My English Teacher Andrea Verona will consider requests for Reasonable Adjustments and Special Considerations.

This is agreed at point of booking/registration. The learner must request within a reasonable timeframe any adjustments that may be needed to reduce the effect of a disability or difficulty, which places the learner at a substantial disadvantage. Any requests for reasonable adjustments must not affect the quality and reliability of the learning outcomes nor must they give the learner an advantage over other learners undertaking the same or similar training.
Reasonable Adjustments may not be applied to training that will provide a “licence to practice” or where the learner needs to demonstrate a practical competence.

Special Considerations
A special consideration request can be made during or after a training event to reflect temporary illness, injury or indisposition that occurred at the time of the event. Any special considerations granted cannot remove the difficulty the learner faced at the time of the event and can only be a relatively small adjustment to ensure that the integrity of the training is not compromised. Special consideration may not be applied to training that will provide a “licence to practice” or where the learner needs to demonstrate a practical competence.

My English Teacher Andrea Verona will only consider requests for Reasonable Adjustments and Special
Considerations submitted within a timely manner and have completed the appropriate paperwork for these requests.

Reasonable Adjustments
A reasonable adjustment helps to reduce the effect of a disability or a difficulty that places the learner at a substantial disadvantage.

Reasonable adjustments must not affect the quality and reliability of the learning outcomes, but may include;

• Ensuring any online learning is more accessible (such as ability to adjust display settings and providing advice/guidance on speech technology)
• Providing assistance during an assessment of learning
• Adapting materials or providing it on coloured paper
• Re-organising the physical assessment/learning environment
• Use of mechanical and electronic aids
• Use of assistive software
• Use of low vision aids
• British Sign Language

Reasonable adjustments must be approved and set in place prior to any assessment or learning is carried out.

Any assessment of work following a reasonable adjustment has been made must be carried out in the same way of work from other learners.

Reasonable adjustments must never give a learner and advantage to other learners and must never affect the quality or reliability of the learning.

It is important to note that not all requests for reasonable adjustments may be granted if they are not deemed reasonable, permissible or practical in certain situations. The learner may not need, nor be allowed, the same adjustments for all learning.

Requests for reasonable adjustments are approved by My English Teacher Andrea Verona prior to any
bookings/registrations are taken. They are intended to allow access to training / assessment but can only be approved if the adjustment does not;

• Affect the quality and reliability of the learning
• Provide an unfair advantage to other learners
• Influence or compromise the final outcome of the assessment of learning

Any requests for reasonable adjustments must be made to My English Teacher Andrea Verona within 7 days of registration / booking or at least 28 working days before an assessment / classroom event using the appropriate paperwork. If you are unsure if a learner requires a reasonable adjustment, please speak with My English Teacher Andrea Verona who will provide the relevant guidance.

Special Considerations
A special consideration is consideration given to a learner who was prepared and present at an assessment but may have been disadvantaged by temporary illness, injury or adverse circumstances outside of their control.

It is important to note that special consideration may not be possible where assessment requires the demonstration of practical competence, or the training provides a “licence to practice”.

Where an assessment of learning is carried out and marked by a computer, the learner will have the ability to take it at a later date however this must be completed prior to any practical assessments or other learning is carried out.

A special consideration cannot give a learner an unfair advantage to other learners and must not mislead the learners’ achievement. The learner’s results must reflect their true achievement and not potential ability. My English Teacher Andrea Verona’s decision on requests for special considerations will vary from learner to learner and one subject to another. The factors may include the severity of the consideration, date of assessment and the nature of the assessment such as practical or oral presentation.

The learner may be eligible for special considerations if;

• The performance in an assessment is affected by circumstances out of their control, such as recent personal illness, accident or bereavement
• Alternative arrangements which were agreed in advance proved to be inappropriate or inadequate
• Part of an assessment / event was missed due to circumstances beyond the control of the learner

The learner will not be eligible for special consideration if;

• The leaner has not been affected at the time of an assessment by a particular condition
• Part of an assessment / event is missed due to personal arrangements including holidays or unauthorised absence
• The event / assessment is affected by difficulties such as disturbances through building work, lack of proper facilities, changes in or shortages of staff or industrial disputes

Examples of circumstances where special consideration may be given are;

• Terminal illness of the learner
• Recent bereavement of a member of the immediate family
• Serious of disruptive domestic crises leading to acute anxiety about the family
• Incapacitating illness or injury of the learner
• Severe car accident
• Outbreak of infection where learners are in isolation
• Lost or damaged work beyond the control of the learner

Special consideration will not be granted for minor illness or a minor disturbance.

Requests for special considerations are approved by My English Teacher Andrea Verona Applications for special considerations must be made on case-by-case basis and thus separate applications must be made for each learner. Any requests for special considerations will only be approved if they do not;
• Affect the quality and reliability of the learning
• Provide an unfair advantage to other learners
• Influence or compromise the final outcome of the assessment of learning

Any requests for special considerations must be made to My English Teacher Andrea Verona within 7 days of the event or assessment using the appropriate paperwork. If you are unsure if a learner requires a special consideration please speak with My English Teacher Andrea Verona who will provide the relevant guidance.

It is important to note that special consideration will not be granted if / where learner achievement has been acknowledged and certified.

This policy has been approved & authorised by:
Name: Andrea Y Verona
Position: Owner
Date: 01/05/2024
Signature:

Review of Policy: 01/05/2024

Safeguarding Learner Policy

Introduction

All staff working with children and vulnerable adults have a legal duty to work together to protect them from harm or abuse. My English Teacher Andrea Verona Safeguarding lead has overall responsibility for the safeguarding of learners, and is responsible for ensuring the effectiveness of all work done to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people on programme. My English Teacher Andrea Verona Policy covers:
• The recruitment and employment of staff working with vulnerable adults and the provision of a safe learning environment under the requirements of this act
• Training & Development Manager & HR department are responsible for ensuring that My English Teacher Andrea Verona follows safer recruitment procedures. This includes carrying out Disclosure and Baring checks on all staff working with vulnerable learners every three years. This also applies where staffs have already been checked by a previous employer.

Statement of Intent:

My English Teacher Andrea Verona ’s first priority is to ensure the safety and protection of all learners taking part in learning. In order to protect young people and vulnerable adults from harm we
will act in accordance with the following legislation and guidance: ‘No Secrets’ DH 2000

Scope
This policy statement applies to all learning provided by My English Teacher Andrea Verona , and includes:
• All learning provision for adults delivered directly by employed staff
• All learning provision for adults commissioned through partnership arrangements

Definitions

Safeguarding The term “safeguarding” describes the broader preventative and precautionary approach to planning and procedures that are necessary to protect children, young people and vulnerable adults from any potential harm or damage.
Safeguarding means:
• Protection from abuse and neglect
• Promotion of health and development
• Ensuring safety and care relating to the environment and activity
• Ensuring optimum life chances
‘Child’ or ‘Young Adult’ An individual is considered to be a child or young person up to their 18th birthday

‘Vulnerable Adult’ A Vulnerable adult is any person aged 18 or over ‘who is, or may be in need of, community care services by reason of mental or other disability, age or illness and who is, or may be, unable to take care of him or herself or protect him or herself against significant harm or exploitation’ (‘No Secrets’ DH 2000).

The list below is not exhaustive but a vulnerable adult may be someone
• who: is elderly and frail
• has a mental disorder
• has a physical or sensory disability has a severe physical illness
• is a substance misuser is homeless
• has a learning disability

‘Abuse’ is
“a violation of an individual’s human and civil rights by any other person or persons” (‘No Secrets’ DH 2000). Abuse may consist of a single act or repeated acts, abuse may happen intentionally or unintentionally and can take place in any relationship or setting. Examples of abuse that could occur in a learning environment include:
Physical abuse – shoving, hitting, slapping
Sexual abuse - involvement in any direct or indirect (e.g. innuendo, pornography) activity against the learner’s will or knowledge
Emotional/psychological abuse e.g. intimidation, bullying or humiliation Discriminatory abuse e.g. racial, sexual or religious harassment Financial or material exploitation e.g. coercing money or goods
Institutional abuse e.g. failure to ensure privacy, dignity or uphold individual human and civil rights.
Neglect or acts of omission e.g. ignoring physical or medical needs, failure to access appropriate health, social care or educational services, withholding medication.

An abuser: may be anyone including relatives, friends, professional staff, other learners and service-users, neighbours, care workers, volunteers, and strangers.

Policy Statement
My English Teacher Andrea Verona is committed to promoting safeguarding through the provision of an inclusive, supportive and safe environment for its learners, staff and others closely associated with its work and affirms the rights of individuals to be treated fairly and with respect.

My English Teacher Andrea Verona intends to pursue this commitment by
• Promoting a culture of value and respect for all within a supportive and safe learning environment
• Ensure that all internal tutoring staff, and learning and personal support staff in contact with learners have a current Disclosure and Barring check for working with adults and/or children
• Provide accessible information for learners, tutoring staff and subcontracting providers on equality, diversity, bullying, harassment, dignity and respect in the learning environment
• We will provide opportunities for adults and young people to voice any concerns they may have regarding inappropriate behaviour, abuse, harassment or misconduct and providing strong sanctions to deter victimisation or cover up of malpractice

• Supply information to learners on My English Teacher Andrea Verona procedures for following up complaints relating to the conduct of tutoring staff and/or other learners
• Require all tutoring staff and others associated with the delivery of our provision to carry and produce appropriate identification on request
• Ensure that premises used to deliver learning activities are risk assessed by appropriately trained staff
• Ensure that learning activities are risk assessed by appropriately trained staff
• Ensure that care and safety issues and concerns are reported
• Providing Information, training and briefings on safeguarding vulnerable adults and children that includes:
• Include information on Safeguarding as part of learner induction
• Provide information to tutoring staff and learners about the standards we expect with regard to confidentiality and disclosure

• Provide appropriate training for tutoring staff on safeguarding, disclosure and diversity matters
• Distribute information to all internal on the signs of abuse and the action to take if/when abuse is reported.
• Provide accessible information for learners, and tutoring staff on the complaint’s procedure
• Provide headline information for learners on safeguarding, e-safety, bullying and harassment equality of opportunity and diversity.
• Provide learners with the name of the designated safeguarding contact and the procedure to be followed in the case of any alleged case of bullying or harassment

• Gathering and analysing information from learners on matters related to feeling safe in the learning environment
• Generate questions on the feedback form to elicit how safe learners feel in the learning environment
• Analyse the information obtained and acting on the results

Monitoring the effectiveness of this Safeguarding Policy and reviewing it annually
• Monitor the safeguarding practices within provision
• Identify and sharing good practice in safeguarding with subcontracted providers
• Review the My English Teacher Andrea Verona safeguarding policy on an annual basis
• Link with learning networks and the local authority safeguarding unit to ensure that information on safeguarding is current and up to date
All enquiries relating to safeguarding issues should be addressed in the first instance to owner of My English Teacher Andrea Verona.
E-mail address: infoteacherandrea@mail.com

Reporting an incident

After direct or indirect disclosure or signs of abuse are spotted, please inform, in the first instance the Training & Development Manager, with the following information:
• What your concerns are.
• Where, when, who from and how you got the concerns.
• What you have done.
• Whether the parents/carers and learner are aware of this referral?
• Any additional info about the learner. (Use the registration form) Contact information for anyone involved

Write a report within 48 hours. Include all details of the disclosure including who was present and the reasons for your decision to make a referral. Ensure this is stored in a secure file. If there is immediate danger call 999

This policy has been approved & authorised by:

Name: Andrea Y Verona
Position: Owner
Date: 01/05/2024
Signature:

Review of Policy: 01/05/2024

Reflective Practice Record

The use of reflective practice towards achieving effective English language learning.

Reflective teaching: Exploring our own virtual classroom practice.
Reflective teaching means looking at what you do in the virtual classroom, thinking about why you do it, and thinking about if it works - a process of self-observation and self-evaluation.

By collecting information about what goes on in our classroom, and by analysing and evaluating this information, we identify and explore our own practices and underlying beliefs. This may then lead to changes and improvements in our teaching.

Reflective teaching is therefore a means of professional development which begins in our virtual classroom.

Why it is important
Beginning the process of reflection
Teacher diary
Peer observation
Recording lessons
Student feedback
What to do next
Think
Talk
Read

Ask
Conclusion

Why it is important
Many teachers already think about their teaching and talk to colleagues about it too. You might think or tell someone that "My lesson went well" or "My students didn't seem to understand" or "My students were so badly behaved today."

However, without more time spent focussing on or discussing what has happened, we may tend to jump to conclusions about why things are happening. We may only notice reactions of the louder students. Reflective teaching therefore implies a more systematic process of collecting, recording and analysing our thoughts and observations, as well as those of our students, and then going on to making changes.

If a lesson went well we can describe it and think about why it was successful.
If the students didn't understand a language point we introduced we need to think about what we did and why it may have been unclear.
If students are misbehaving - what were they doing, when and why?

Beginning the process of reflection
You may begin a process of reflection in response to a particular problem that has arisen with one or your classes, or simply as a way of finding out more about your teaching. You may decide to focus on a particular class of students, or to look at a feature of your teaching - for example how you deal with incidents of misbehaviour or how you can encourage your students to speak more English in class.

The first step is to gather information about what happens in the class. Here are some different ways of doing this.

Teacher diary
This is the easiest way to begin a process of reflection since it is purely personal. After each lesson you write in a notebook about what happened. You may also describe your own reactions and feelings and those you observed on the part of the students. You are likely to begin to pose questions about what you have observed. Diary writing does require a certain discipline in taking the time to do it on a regular basis.

Peer observation
Invite a colleague to come into your class to collect information about your lesson. This may be with a simple observation task or through note taking. This will relate back to the area you have identified to reflect upon. For example, you might ask your colleague to focus on which students contribute most in the lesson, what different patterns of interaction occur or how you deal with errors.

Recording lessons
Video or audio recordings of lessons can provide very useful information for reflection. You may do things online in class you are not aware of or there may be things happening in the class that as the teacher you do not normally see.

Audio recordings can be useful for considering aspects of teacher talk.
How much do you talk?
What about?
Are instructions and explanations clear?
How much time do you allocate to student talk?
How do you respond to student talk?
Video recordings can be useful in showing you aspects of your own behaviour.
Where do you stand?
Who do you speak to?
How do you come across to the students?
Student feedback

You can also ask your students what they think about what goes on in the virtual classroom. Their opinions and perceptions can add a different and valuable perspective. This can be done with simple questionnaires or learning diaries for example.

What to do next
Once you have some information recorded about what goes on in your virtual classroom, what do you do?

Think
You may have noticed patterns occurring in your teaching through your observation. You may also have noticed things that you were previously unaware of. You may have been surprised by some of your students' feedback. You may already have ideas for changes to implement.
Talk
Just by talking about what you have discovered - to a supportive colleague or even a friend - you may be able to come up with some ideas for how to do things differently.
If you have colleagues who also wish to develop their teaching using reflection as a tool, you can meet to discuss issues. Discussion can be based around scenarios from your own online classes.
Using a list of statements about teaching beliefs (for example, pair work is a valuable activity in the language class or lexis is more important than grammar) you can discuss which ones you agree or disagree with, and which ones are reflected in your own teaching giving evidence from your self-observation.
Read
You may decide that you need to find out more about a certain area. There are plenty of websites for teachers of English now where you can find useful teaching ideas, or more academic articles. There are also magazines for teachers where you can find articles on a wide range of topics. Or if you have access to a library or bookshop, there are plenty of books for English language teachers.
Ask
Pose questions to websites or magazines to get ideas from other teachers. Or if you have a local teachers' association or other opportunities for in-service training, ask for a session on an area that interests you.

Conclusion
Reflective teaching is a cyclical process, because once you start to implement changes, then the reflective and evaluative cycle begins again.

What are you doing?
Why are you doing it?
How effective is it?
How are the students responding?
How can you do it better?

As a result of your reflection you may decide to do something in a different way, or you may just decide that what you are doing is the best way. And that is what professional development is all about.

Andrea Verona Ownerr and Founder of My English Teacher Andrea Verona, Teacher and Trainer.

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