The Research On The Professional Development Of Middle School English Teachers Based On Information Technology

The wide use of information technology(IT) is both a challenge for the improvement of the quality of the front line teachers and a powerful professional development tool for those who are skilled at IT. But how should middle school English teachers improve their professional skills using IT? This paper will firstly make a comprehensive study of the theory about teachers' professional development and then present my own way of understanding. The widely accepted models for teachers' professional development are as follows: skill proficiency model, reflective practice model, and research practice model. Taking the unique working characteristics of the on-the-job teachers into consideration, we offer our own ways for teachers' professional development: professional training, practical application, personalized study, development research and blog-based reflective narration. Professional training is really a good start for the further professional development. Nevertheless, it doesn't mean all to teachers' professional development. What is essential is our teaching practice which is both the source and orientation of our professional development. Drifting off too much from this course will make our research empty, hollow or even meaningless. We'll theoretically and practically research into the integrating of information technology and English curriculum so as to find out what kind of ideas, related theoretical knowledge, practical skills a proficient teacher need to possess in the new information circumstances. We strongly believe that teachers are both subject and object in professional development. It is just this idea that makes us pay special emphasis on teachers' own initiative and active research action in which teachers use information technology as an assisted and cognitive tool. In this paper, I will try to depict how our front line teachers will have to change to adapt to the new circumstances , make new understanding of their educational ideas, raise their self consciousness and ability to integrate information technology into English curriculum, make themselves more proficient through personalized study and research on the support of so-called Multi-media technology and internet facilities.