Putting reflective practice into practice – teaching in a changing Japan

In this public works professional doctorate, I present nine public works: three books and six articles from peer-reviewed journals drawn from my ongoing professional development as a teacher of English as a foreign language and as a teacher educator in secondary and tertiary educational contexts in Japan. The public works were produced during a period when Japan was undergoing demographic change, revisions to educational curricula at all levels, and changes in the makeup of the tertiary student body, a time when I was well positioned to pioneer the development of innovative teaching materials in my market-leading textbooks and to undertake innovative practitioner research projects, which include possibly the first use of a crowd-sourcing methodology in secondary education research, and being the first to investigate the ability of secondary students to generate items for Student Experience of Teaching surveys.

The public works discussed in this context statement are grouped into three themes: developing as a writer of receptive materials, research aimed at encouraging productive language output among my English language students, and research to obtain a better understanding of how secondary and tertiary students in Japan perceive their learning environment.

The public works are bound together by two conceptual threads which underlie my teaching and approach to professional development as an English language teacher and teacher educator. The first thread encapsulates my seeking to gain a better understanding of my approach towards professional development, and identifies how the linkage between reflective practice, practitioner-research, and classroom experience can be used to identify and respond to student needs, generate new knowledge, drive change within an organisation, and respond to changes imposed from without. The second thread identifies the centrality of collaboration with both peers and students as a key feature of my approach towards teaching and professional development. Together, the public works provide an overview of the breadth of my work and represent my contributions to the fields of second language acquisition and education.
The public works make a significant contribution to knowledge and practice by developing innovative teaching materials, adding to pedagogical knowledge by demonstrating effective methods to elicit student voice, by adding student-centred nuance and detail to an ongoing debate in English language teaching in secondary education in Japan, generating new knowledge in an under-studied area of secondary education research, and by providing an improved understanding of cultural differences in tertiary education in Japan at a time when student demographics are undergoing rapid and profound change. The impact of the public works in the public domain is demonstrated through book sales, awards, citations, and inclusion in collected editions.

This context statement draws on a range of perspectives, theoretical, academic, and personal, to investigate the creation and reception of the public works, as well as to identify their strengths and limitations. Its primary contributions are the demonstration of the value of pairing reflective practice with practitioner research and the recognition that collaboration, both peer collaboration and teacher-student collaboration, plays a fundamental role in being a successful teacher and is also a key component of effective professional development.

Appendix file restricted.