Abstract
Teachers are lifelong learners. While students learn from teachers, teachers too can learn from students. This paper documents how learner feedback can function as an effective tool for teacher learning and subsequent continuing professional development. The paper is based on a 60-hour course, The Second Language Classroom, offered to 11 trainee teachers of the MA TESL Programme at the English and Foreign Language University, Hyderabad, India. Learner feedback was gathered on three major aspects of teaching: 1) the content. 2) the delivery, and 3) the assessment tools. Feedback was collected at three strategic phases during the course: 1) at the beginning of the course, 2) in the middle of the course, and 3) at the end of the course to appraise overall course effectiveness. Findings reveal that learners rate tasks that trigger problem-solving as effective and consider rapport building as a major contributor to maximizing learning as well as confidence building.
Keywords: teacher learning, learner feedback, continuing professional development.
