Summary

In this assignment you will be researching and writing about a particular lesson type, teaching procedure or
technique which is new to you, and one that you are interested in. You should relate it to an area of
language or skill of relevance to your learners. The assignment is 2,000 2,500 words in length and consists
of :
a) A background essay (approx.. 750 1,000 words)
b) A lesson plan directly related to the experimental approach/ procedure/ technique you discussed in
your essay (no word limit). For this you do NOT need to write a commentary but all other aspects of
the plan are the same.
c) Setting objectives and selection of methods, procedures and/or documents to evaluate the
effectiveness of the experiment (750 1,000 words)
d) A lesson, which is not formally assessed by your tutor (although its a good idea to ask a colleague to
observe you)
e) A post-lesson evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the experiment as revealed by methods,
procedures and/or documents selected to evaluate it, and an action plan for future professional
development. (400 500 words)

Here are some suggestions:
Task-based learning/ teaching
The Lexical Approach
TPR (Total Physical Response)
Desuggestopaedia
The Silent Way
NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming)
Dogme
Dictogloss

Choose something that will aid your professional development, based on Stage 2 of the Reflection and
Action, perhaps or feedback from one of your LSAs. For example, if you see yourself as, or you have been
told that you are, too teacher-fronted, you could investigate those aspects of the Silent Way where Gattegno
talks about the subordination of teaching to learning, and design a genuinely learner-centred lesson. If you
feel your grammar lessons lack variety, you could try Dictogloss to extend your repertoire.





Professional Development Assignment
Part B Experimental Practice
Experimental Practice Assignment Breakdown
Cover page (for all parts of the assignment)

Title
List of contents
Headings with page numbers and any appendices of materials

N.B. This is not included in the word count

BACKGROUND ESSAY (total 750 100 words)
Introduction

State your interest in the topic you have chosen. You can refer to classroom experience, your learners,
feedback from your diagnostic lesson in the RA Stage 1, general professional development, as well as your
background reading. (2a, 2b, 2c)

(about 300 words)

Main body of essay

Describe the procedure/ technique/ approach you have chosen, explaining what it is and the theory behind
it, as well as how it is put into practice. To do this you will need to research several relevant reference books
and/ or articles, and refer to sources in the text. (2b, 2e)

(about 700 words)


OBJECTIVES/ EVALUATION/ COMMENTARY (total 750 1000 words)
Objectives

Identify objectives for the experiment from the learners and teachers point of view, e.g. What are the
learners reactions to the TPR? Does it aid their memory of the target language? Make sure your objectives
are specific and measurable. (2c)

(about 100 words)


Evaluation

Describe how you plan to evaluate the experimental approach/ procedure/ technique and its effectiveness.
You need to refer here directly to your objectives, showing how you will evaluate them. Look back to the
PDA assignment input for some ideas and the principles of classroom-based research. If a colleague is
observing you, you could give them specific observation points relating to the experiment. You could also get
feedback from the students, either at the end of the lesson or afterwards from interviews or a a
questionnaire (samples of these plus observation points should be added as appendices). (2c, 2e)

(about 500 words)


Commentary

Why have you selected this approach/ method/ technique as the basis for your experiment? Explain its
relevance to particular contexts and groups of learners, including those in your current class. (2a, 2b, 2e)

(about 400 words)


LESSON PLAN
Lesson plan

A full lesson plan (but NO commentary).

(no word count)


POST-LESSON EVALUATION (400 500 words)
Post-lesson evaluation

Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the experiment in relation to the objectives you set and drawing
on information from data collected. Remember to attach any observation sheets or learner questionnairs as
appendices. (2d)

(about 300 words)


Action plan for future professional development

Briefly identify ways in which this area could be adapted for inclusion in future work (or consideration of why
this area is not worth extension or adaptation). You can refer to different levels and different uses of the
approach/ procedure/ technique. Make sure your action points are concrete and measurable. (2d)

(about 200 words)


BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bibliography

Make sure your bibliography is arranged in alphabetical order of authors.