Pursuing Professional Development is one of the latest additions to the TeacherSource series of books edited by Donald Freeman for Heinle & Heinle. Like the other books in the series, it is intended for pre- and in-service language teachers. Neither the authors of this book nor the series editor should need an introduction to most readers of this journal since their books, articles, and workshops in the areas of language teaching and teacher development are well-known throughout Asia and around the world. Much of the work of all three authors has been in the area of personal development and using personal experience as a source for pursuing professional development: "Self-awareness and self-observation are the cornerstones of all professional development" (p. 22). This book brings together and adds to much of that work and details a number of techniques that teachers can use to develop themselves as professionals.
        The book begins with a short introduction that describes how the three authors, who were all working in Hong Kong at the time, came to write the book together. This is followed by the series editor’s preface which explains the objective of the series, which is to make the authors' "experience and point of view" (p. viii) the central concern--to illustrate through that personal experience and point of view rather than try to "tell" readers what is important in the more traditional way. The first three chapters of the book develop the authors' theoretical background for the more practical material that makes up most of the book. In the first chapter, the authors explore the question of why professional development is necessary. In the second chapter, they discuss the value of self-awareness and self-observation for teachers, and in the third, they take a close look at the many definitions of "reflective teaching," a concept which, of course, "underpins the rest of the book" (p. 34). Each of the next nine chapters focuses exclusively on one method of teacher development. The titles of the chapters themselves say much about the content: teaching journals, using cases, language learning experience, video, action research, peer observation, team teaching, mentoring and coaching, and teaching portfolios. The book ends with two appendices containing a transcript of an actual lesson taught by David Nunan and the results of a survey on team teaching conducted by Kathleen Bailey (both of which are discussed in the text, of course) and fourteen pages of references.
        One thing that sets books in the TeacherSource series apart from other more typical books written for language teachers is their unique organization. Each book is built around three different types of content, or "strands" (p. ix). These three strands are meant to provide a balance of practical insight into teaching, theoretical background, and ideas for discussion and reflection. "Teachers' Voices" are first-person accounts, or stories really, in which various practicing language teachers are allowed to speak for themselves about their experiences and problems in teaching. "Frameworks" are sections that lay out the more theoretical concepts and issues that the authors feel are important for readers to understand in order to make sense of the topics under discussion. "Investigations" are short activities that encourage readers to pause and reflect on their own experiences and ideas about language teaching. In the text, the beginning of a new strand is indicated by a unique graphical symbol in the margin.
        In Pursuing Professional Development, each chapter includes several sections of each of the three strands, which are interwoven in various sequences to reinforce one another. For example, in Chapter 12 on teaching portfolios, after a very short introduction, there is a "frameworks" section of slightly over two pages that defines portfolios and discusses why they are important. Following that is a "teachers' voice" section of a little less than two pages in which David Nunan writes about his personal experiences and feelings about creating his own teaching portfolio. Next is another longer "frameworks" section that discusses what might be included in a portfolio. Readers are then asked to pause and reflect on what they have read so far in the chapter. An "investigations" activity, which includes a chart to fill in, encourages them to think or talk about what they themselves would want to include in a teaching portfolio. The rest of the chapter includes one more "frameworks" section, two more "teachers' voices" sections, and two more "investigations" sections. Each chapter ends with a list of "tasks for development" and an annotated list of very relevant suggested readings.
        I found this book an excellent overview of specific ways of "pursuing professional development." The authors build on theory, their personal experiences, and the experiences of other teachers in a variety of situations to cover a number of proven techniques for personal development quite thoroughly. More than any other book on reflective teaching I have read, this book actually shows--through a combination of explanation, examples, and constant challenges to the readers--how teachers can reflect on their teaching. The authors recognize, however, that not every technique is right for every teacher. Instead, readers are constantly invited to decide for themselves where they stand on the issues discussed in the book. They are encouraged through the frequent "investigations" to look inside themselves, draw on their own experiences, and find their own way--in short, to use "the self as source." In the concluding chapter, "The Heart of the Paradox," the authors point out that "professional development is not something that just happens: It must be actively pursued" (p. 246). The ideas and suggestions in this book can help teachers to do just that.
        Pursuing Professional Development should be of interest and value to both in-service teachers and students preparing to become teachers. Thanks to the questions and activities in the "investigations" sections scattered throughout the book and the list of tasks at the end of each chapter which often encourage collaboration and discussion, it might be an especially good choice for a graduate seminar or a less formal group of practicing teachers interested in professional development. However, the questions and tasks can also be appreciated by a reader working through them alone, or at least thinking through them alone, as I often found myself doing as I read through the book. Finally, although discussion and explanation in the book is thorough and complete, the language used is straight-forward and simple enough that the book should be accessible to many teachers and students who are nonnative speakers of English.
 

The Reviewer:

Rodney E. Tyson (Ph.D., University of Arizona) is an associate professor in the English Department at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. Before taking his current position, he taught at three universities in Korea for a total of more than 12 years.
Email: rtyson@aus.ac.ae