© 1999 by Oxford University Press
Articles |
Using mazes in teacher education
Lecturer and teacher trainer at the Centre for English Language Teacher Development at the University of Warwick. She has worked in language teaching and teacher education in many overseas contexts. Her current interests are in teacher development, and the language learning process. Her ambition is to see all teacher trainers regularly returning to the classroom as classroom teachers. E-mail: 
j.kennedy{at}warwick.ac.uk
One of the most important requirements of a teacher's role is the ability to make decisions. The study of teacher decision-making shows that such decisions reflect the beliefs, attitudes, and values of the teacher, as well as the context and constraints of their working environment. Many trainees find the multitude of decisions they have to make when teaching over whelming. They have insufficient knowledge and experience of the likely outcomes of certain decisions, and do not have time to consider those decisions in any depth. The use of mazes is suggested as one way of offering trainees on teacher education programmes an opportunity to choose a particular course of action, and to reflect on its likely outcomes.