Critical Friends Group Research Articles

Critical Friends Group for English Language Teachers’ Professional Development

Critical Friends Group for English Language Teachers’ Professional Development

Critical Friends Group for English Language Teachers’ Professional Development

This article entitled 'Critical Friends Group (CFG) for English Language Teachers’ Professional Development' aims to investigate teachers’ perceptions towards CFG for English language teachers’ professional development. This is a qualitative research method based on narrative inquiry. The data was collected from five English language teachers teaching in five different government schools by using semi-structured interview. The participants were selected by using judgmental non- random sampling procedures. The findings showed that teachers perceived CFG as one of the plausible means of their professional development. It helped them to foster collaborative and critical learning in them because they were involved in observation, reading and discussion of various burning issues of English language teaching and learning. It also indicated that teachers perceived CFG as the best platform for enhancing the personal, social and professional development. It has enhanced the professionalism on the part of teachers cultivating the sense of mutual trust and understanding between and among the colleagues.

Collaborative Inquiries into Teaching English Practical Skills via a Critical Friends Group

From a sociocultural perspective, professional learning sites for teachers need to go beyond the boundaries of one-off training course to the situation-specific learning activities and on-going dialogues or collaboration among teachers within their community. Critical friends groups are one of the collaborative learning forms, which involve a small group of teachers within a shared teaching context and friendship to interact and develop professionally. However, limited empirical evidence was found about the learning process of those who are in their first years of teaching, known as novice teachers. This case study was carried out to investigate how five EFL novice teachers at a university in Vietnam made professional inquiries collaboratively in a critical friends group (CFG) in order to learn to teach English language skills. It aims at exploring the five teachers’ attitudes towards and constraints of their CFG experience. The data were collected through non-participant observations of discussions on a Messenger chat room of the CFG for three months and semi-structured interviews with the five teachers. The results reveal that the five novice teachers highly valued their collaborative learning opportunities with their critical friends in their process of learning to teach English language skills at a tertiary level while a number of hindrances were noticed in their learning within the CFG. Based on the findings of the research, it is recommended that CFGs or other collaborative forms of professional learning need to be encouraged among teachers, particularly those starting their teaching career.

Creative Practice in Higher Education: Decentering Academic Experiences

This article reports on the preliminary results of a pedagogical experiment instituted by a community of practice (CoP) called the Creativity Collaborative, which is composed of scholars from varying disciplines, backgrounds, and scholarship interests: library and information science, technical education, academic librarianship, media literacy, and rhetoric and composition. In a desire to broaden approaches to teaching and research, the CoP came together around the shared interests of visual methodology and arts-based expression and embarked on a journey to infuse creativity in their professional practice. Through the methodology of self-study, including the CoP acting as a critical friends group, the Creativity Collaborative engaged in individual research activities and then brought data from those projects to the group for discussion and reflection. The results thus far indicate that providing students with opportunities for creativity and arts-based expression lead to a welcome and positive disruption of traditional teaching and learning, increased student engagement, meaning making and real-word connections, and collaborative risk taking that decenters traditional pedagogical systems. Together with students, the Creativity Collaborative discovered the freedom to depart from the normative traditions of higher education pedagogical practices.

The Whole is Greater than the Sum of the Parts: A Self-Study of Equity and Inclusion in Online Teacher Education

ABSTRACT This self-study examines the intersectionality of online teaching, inclusive teaching practices, and culturally responsive teaching in an online graduate teacher education program. Inspired by student perceptions of the promotion of equity and inclusion in the online program, our critical friends group engaged in ongoing reflection and discourse about our current practice as teacher educators and as a program. At the onset of the self-study, we believed that our practices were promoting inclusivity and equity for our students. We discovered, however, that despite our intentional efforts to model and promote these, we each had room to improve our practice. As a result, we engaged in professional development to better equip ourselves to model and promote equity and inclusion in our online teacher education program. We found that there is considerable overlap in research-based effective practices for online teaching, culturally responsive teaching, and inclusive teaching. We have provided recommendations for teacher educators to consider as they design for and model the intersectionality of equity and inclusion in their practice.

Critical Friends Group protocols deepen conversations in collaborative action research projects

ABSTRACT This article reports on the professional benefits of using Critical Friends Group discussion protocols within a Collaborative Action Research project facilitated by two teacher-educators with four junior secondary school teachers in New Zealand. The teachers were encouraged to conduct Action Research projects on topics of their own choice. Critical Friends Group discussions were one of the several strategies implemented to provide for collaboration in the Action Research process. The findings highlight how Critical Friends Group protocols assisted collegial discussions by supporting the professional integrity of participants as they disclosed problems and gave peer feedback aimed at elevating the effectiveness of each other’s practice. The protocols set up a safe space for the teachers to challenge assumptions and make suggestions leading to deeper thinking, pedagogically rich conversations and reflective listening. The Critical Friends Group discussions were complemented by other Action Research activities. Reviewing literature increased the pedagogical content knowledge available to the group. In-class observations supported teachers to identify professional problems for critique and pushed teachers to action ideas from Critical Friends Group discussions. The article concludes by advocating for teachers, teacher-leaders, and teacher-educators to explore using Critical Friends Group protocols because of the capacity to promote deep, collegial examination of pedagogical practices.

Critical Friends Group (CFG): Inquiry-Based Professional Development Model for Turkish EFL Teachers

Bu calisma sorgulamaya dayali mesleki gelisim modeli olan “Kritik (Elestirel) Arkadas Grubu (Critical Friends Group-CFG)” uygulamasinin Turk Ingilizce ogretim gorevlilerinin mesleki gelisimi uzerindeki etkisini arastirmaktadir. Problem Durumu : Kisa donemli yapilan egitimlerin ogretmenlerin teorik bilgi ile sinif ici uygulamasi arasinda iliski kurmalarina yeterince olanak saglamadigi bilinmektedir. Evans (2019) yeni fikirlerin ya da dusunme sekillerinin insanlarin uygulamalarina yansimasinin yavas yavas oldugunu ve bu fikir ve bakis acilarinin uygulama sirasinda meydana gelen etkilesimlerle ve diger etkenlerle gelistigini soylemektedir. CFG modeli son zamanlarda sikca uygulanan mesleki ogrenme topluluklarindan birisidir ve bu calismada etkinligi arastirilmistir. Mesleki ogrenme toplulugunun en guncel tanimlarindan birini Harris (2014) soyle yapmistir: Veri ve kanitlari analiz ederek ortaya cikan ogrenici ihtiyaclarini dikkate alarak bir grup profesyonelin uyumlu bir sekilde calismasidir. Grup icinde bulunan ogreticiler arasinda ast-ust iliskisi yoktur, tum ogretmenler birbirlerine destek olur, mentorluk yapar. Dolayisiyla kisa sureli gerceklestirilen ve bir egitici tarafindan bilgilerin aktarildigi tek yonlu egitimler yerine ogretmenlerin isbirligi icinde calistiklari ve kendilerini rahat hissttikleri, birbirlerinden ogrendikleri mesleki gelisim modellerinin daha faydali oldugu savunulmaktadir. Bu calismada uygulanan CFG modelinin teorik temeli sosyo-kulturel theriye dayanmaktadir. Bu teoriyle uyumlu olarak CFG ogretmenlere devam eden, derinlemesine inceleme saglayan ve yansitici teknikler kullanabilmelerine olanak vermektedir ve sonuc olarak ogrenci basarisini arttirmayi hedeflemektedir. Arastirmanin Amaci: Arastirma CFG modelinin ogretmenlerin mesleki gelisimi uzerindeki etkisini olcmek amaciyla planlanmistir. Ogretmenlerin bir grup halinde, hiyerarsik bir yapi olmaksizin calismalarini, beraber ogrenmelerini ve gelismelerini amaclamaktadir. Sinifici zorluklari, kullanilan ogretme tekniklerin etkinligini, farkli yontem ve fikirlerin paylasimini saglayan CFG modelinin etkinligi bu calismayla arastirilmistir. Bu dogrultuda iki arastirma sorusu sorulmustur: 1. Kendi fikirleri dikkate alindiginda, Kritik Arkadas Grubu (CFG) modeli icerisinde yer almak ogretmenlerin mesleki geisimi icin guclu bir yontem midir? 2. Ogretmenler bu model icinde yer aldiktan sonra hangi acilardan gelistiklerini dusunmektedirler? Arastirma Yontemi : Arastirma bir Turk devlet universitesinde uygulanmis nitel vaka calismasidir. Brown Universitesi Annenberg Enstitusu tarafindan Okul Reformu kapsaminda kurulmus NSRF (National School Reform Faculty) tarafindan gelistirilen CFG modeli uygulanmistir. Grup aralarinda ast-ust iliskisi olmayan 6 ogretmenden olusmustur. Gruba bir ogretmen kocluk yapmistir (bu calismada arastirmaci bu gorevi ustlenmistir). Belli konularda hazirlanmis protokoller toplantilarda kullanilmistir. Bu protokoller sadece kilavuz gorevi gormektedir, toplantilarin planli bir sekilde gecmesini saglamaktadir. Grup modeli bir egitim ogretim donemi boyunca uygulanmistir. Verilerin analizinde tumevarim analiz teknigi uygulanmistir. Nitel arastirma deseni olarak gomulu teori, arastirma ve veri analiz yontemi seklinde kullanilmistir. Verilerin kaynagi ogretmenlerin tutuklari gunlukler, yuz yuze gorusmeler, toplanti kayitlari ve arastirmacinin notlaridir. Ogretmenlerden olur formu alinmistir. Isimler gizli tutulmustur. Toplanti kayitlari ve yuz yuze gorusmeler yaziya dokulmustur; tum verilerle beraber kodlama yontemi ile incelenmistir. Iki arastirmaci tarafindan kodlar belirlendikten sonra kategoriler olusturulmus ve bu kategoriler karsilastirlmistir. Ilgili temalara ve alt-temalara karar verilmistir. Son olarak degerbicicilerarasi guvenirlik hesaplanmistir; bu sonuc .83 olarak bulunmustur. Arastirma Bulgulari: Calismanin sonucu bu grupta calisan ogretmenlerin mesleklerine devam ederken daha iyi hissettiklerini ve islerine daha cok baglandiklarini gostermistir. Grup calismasi ogretmenlere isbirlikci bir ortamda calisma sansi sunmus, sinif icinde yasanan cikmazlarin ustesinden gelme ve belirli akademik iceriklerin ogrenilmesi ve ogretilmesi uzerinde yogunlasmayi saglamistir. Ogretmenler arasinda guclu bir mesleki bag kurulmasina yardimci olmustur. CFG guvenli ve rahat hissedilen bir ortam yaratmistir. Bu acidan sonuclar diger calismalarla benzerlik gostermektedir ((Dunne & Honts, 1998; Nave, 1998, 2000; Nefstead, 2009; Vo & Nguyen, 2010; Constantino, 2010; Moore & Carter-Higgs, 2014; Gunbay & Mede, 2017). Yapici, etkili, yansimaci, demokratik, rahat terimleri sik sik kullanilmistir. CFG toplantilari ve tutulan gunluklerden gelen verilere gore katilimcilar 4 temada fikirlerini dile getirmislerdir. Bunlar motivasyon, kurumsal kisitlar, butunlesik beceri ogretimi ve sinifici atmosfer, ve ogrencilerin gelisiminin takip edilmesidir. Hem ogrenci hem de ogretmenlerin motivasyonlarinin arttirilmasina yonelik ortak dusunce uzerinde durulmus ve paylasilan fikirler grupta tartisilmistir. Ogretmenlerin fikir alisverisi sonucunda ortaya cikan uygulamaya yonelik yaklasaimlarin olmasi katilimcilarin ozguvenleri arttirmistir. Bu uygulamalarin yonetimle paylasilmasi ve tum okula yayilmasi dusuncesi benimsenmistir. Arastirma Sonuclari ve Onerileri : CFG modeli ogretmenlerin ogretim yontemlerinde karsilastiklari sorunlarin uzerine gitme ve iyilestirme acisindan faydali bir uygulama olmustur. Calismanin gerceklestirildigi kurumda suregelen mesleki gelisimin onemi farkedilmis, bu ve benzer uygulamalarin daha genis capta devam etmesinin onemi yonetimle paylasilmistir. Bu gibi gelisim modellerinin uygulanabilmesi icin okul yonetimlerinin destegi ve isbirligi onemlidir ve gerceklestirilmelidir. Bu grup calismasinin ogrenci ogrenimine etkisi ilerleyen calismalarda arastirilmalidir

“How am I going to handle the situation?” The Role(s) of Reflective Practice and Critical Friend Groups in Secondary Teacher Education

This qualitative study was designed as a single-case study of a small, public, teacher education program in the Midwest. The author conducted a study on the perceived role of a “critical friends group” (CFG) in the development of beginning secondary teacher candidates’ understandings and practices of reflective practice. Three main types of data, including course assignments, participant interviews, and observations were collected and analyzed. Findings from three (3) focal participants reveal characteristics of reflective teaching from the reviewed literature observed within and across the cases examined here. The perceived importance of the CFG varied on a case-by-case basis, with some experiencing the CFG as friendly, but mostly uncritical, and others remaining indifferent to the arrangement. Additionally, the author elaborates on three broad lessons learned and reinforced through the investigation into the local, including: 1) Critical reflection can and does occur in beginning TCs’ practice, 2) CFGs led to informative learning, but not transformative learning, and 3) Designating a group “critical friends” is neither a guarantee of critical thinking or friendship.

Everyday environmental education: five practices of ecologically minded teachers

In this article, I report the findings from a qualitative study involving seven ecologically minded teachers who participated in a Critical Friends Group. Ecologically minded teachers are not necessarily trained or required to teach about environmental issues, yet they do so because of their values and beliefs. The participants shared the following five practices: exposing externalities, emphasizing active learning, providing multiple perspectives, asking critical questions, and collaborating with others. I describe these practices and make recommendations for future research.

Reconnect and Recharge: Plugging New Teachers into Support Outlets

ABSTRACTA critical issue in teacher education is the ongoing support and professional development of novice teachers. This study explores a professional development project, Reconnect and Recharge, for newly inducted teachers. Participants met three to four times during the school year from 2009 to 2013 to explore their teaching successes and challenges. Teachers shared their teaching challenges in daily practice defined as dilemmas and engaged in problem-solving discussions with fellow colleagues modeled after a Critical Friends Group format. Analysis of the data across the 4 years of the study revealed consistency in the challenges teachers shared such as issues regarding curriculum, students, collegial and parent-teacher collaborations, and internal conflicts. Reconnect and Recharge is described as a teacher support model and proposed as a means to inform teacher education curricula.

Implementing Authentic Materials through Critical Friends Group (CFG): A Case from Turkey

The purpose of this exploratory case study is to investigate the use of authentic materials through Critical Friends Groups (CFG) in a language preparatory program, at a private university in Turkey. Specifically, the study attempted to identify the perceptions and observed behaviours of native and non-native EFL instructors on the use of authentic materials, find out the potential reasons behind the implementation of authentic materials in their classroom practices and finally, examine the influence of incorporating authentic materials through CFG on classrooms practices as well as teachers’ professional development. The participants were eight EFL instructors offering English courses in the exiting preparatory program. Data were collected through interviews, lesson observations and reflective essays. The findings revealed that participating in CFG has transformational impact on instructors regarding their classroom practices as well as on their continuous professional development.

From partisanship to pluralism

Educators must prepare students to live with the perpetual discomfort of difference. That includes teaching them how to respectfully listen to others’ views, especially when those views are in opposition to their own. Borrowing from protocols used in a professional Critical Friends Group, a teacher at a private Quaker school designed a discussion protocol to guide such classroom discussions among teenagers.

Reframing Westernized culture: insights from a Critical Friends Group on EcoJustice education

In this article I report the findings of an intrinsic case study involving seven ecologically minded teachers who participated in a Critical Friends Group (CFG) for five months. The topic of our discussions was EcoJustice education, which involves analyzing and reframing Westernized culture. Findings are focused on how the participants grappled with what EcoJustice education means and their affective responses to both the content and the professional development experience. Analysis of the data revealed that reframing Westernized culture takes time, that it is not merely an intellectual exercise but also an emotional and psychological one, and that personal internalization comes before practical application. The participants also indicated that they valued being in a CFG where they could be honest and vulnerable as well as supported, connected, inspired, and challenged. I conclude by recommending CFGs as a model for transformative professional development in environmental education.

Teachers talking about teaching and school: collaboration and reflective practice via Critical Friends Groups

Reflective practice has potentially positive effects on an organization’s capacity to focus on student learning and teaching practices. In an effort to comply with policy and provide teachers with opportunities to reflect on their practice, districts, schools, and teachers have turned to various models that feature collaborative experiences. One such model is the Critical Friends Group (CFG), focusing on the improvement of practice and learning experiences for children, using protocol-driven structured conversations. This article examines the mechanisms that support and sustain reflective practice within a community of practice and utilizes Wenger’s three dimensions of practice – mutual engagement, joint enterprise, and shared repertoire. The study followed a CFG in an elementary school using ethnographic case study methods to conduct a close examination of CFG meetings, protocol use, and analysis of teacher interviews. The propensity to ‘look out’ at school-wide issues vs. looking in at classroom practices, perceptions about feedback on classroom practice, and using protocols to guide conversation emerged from the data as prominent mechanisms in communities of practice. CFG facilitators and coaches, as well as participants must be explicit about the purposes of their work and protocol use alone does not ensure a focus on student learning and teaching practices.

Let’s Talk! Facilitating a Faculty Learning Community Using a Critical Friends Group Approach

This article focuses on the complex process of facilitating a Critical Friends Group as a form of a professional learning community by teacher education faculty. During a three-year initiative, seven faculty members created a forum for collegial conversations regarding pedagogical dilemmas in efforts of improving teaching practice and student achievement. Critical Friends Groups use protocol guides to actively engage its members in learning, thinking, reading and discussing dilemmas from interdisciplinary perspectives. This article reviews the literature of Critical Friends Groups, the work of this particular Critical Friends Group and concludes by providing a rationale for sustainability of Critical Friends Groups in Institutions of Higher Education.

Still Learning about Leading: A Leadership Critical Friends Group

“Leadership programs can no longer just hand candidates a degree, a principal's license, wish them good luck, and expect them to be successful. We need to do something more.” - TILE Superintendent, 2004.

Critical Friends Group for EFL teacher professional development

For the best student outcomes, teachers need to engage in continuous professional development. As a result, models of teacher professional development have been developed, among which is the Critical Friends Group (CFG) technique. However, whether it works well with EFL teachers in an Asian context like Vietnam, where EFL teachers in particular do not seem to have the habit of working together, is as yet undiscovered. This study aimed to explore the experiences of a small group of Vietnamese EFL teachers during their participation in a CFG over one semester in a specific context in Vietnam. Through observations and interviews, this study offers insights into the participants’ experiences as well as the application of CFG as a model of EFL teacher professional development in Vietnam.

Faculty Collaboration to Improve Equity, Access, and Inclusion in Higher Education

This article documents the Critical Friends Group (CFG) process five university colleagues used to blend the theoretical frameworks of Universal Design for Learning (Rose & Meyer, 2002) and Interactive Phase Theory (McIntosh, 1990) as tools to increase equity and access in our classrooms. Using the CFG reflective approach, the faculty collaboratively reviewed their syllabi and implemented innovations in their classroom practice. This article presents a theory of action that emerged as well as nine tensions related to teaching and participation in a learning community. Implications for equity and access in higher education and future inquiry are presented.

Developing a Teacher Identity: The Impact of Critical Friends Practice on the Student Teacher

Describes how the Critical Friends Group (CFG) concept brings together teachers at all levels of experience to promote and support one another’s professional growth. Conducts a case study of a student teacher participating in a CFG. Suggests that formal collaborative practice can enhance the preservice teacher’s conception of the profession, as well as function as a psychological safety net.