An old adage is that 'management is a lonely place' and this is especially true in a small community. Traditionally, ELT communities abroad are
tight knit. As the DOS this is still true but it is necessary to have some professional distance. This distance becomes especially important when having to discipline teachers and exert your authority.
The duties of a Director of Studies include:
- support, guidance and training for teachers
- management of resources (human and material)
- observing and evaluating teachers
- scheduling of classes
- quality control of the academic programmes
- overseeing of placement testing of prospective students
- organization of extra-curricular activities
- participation in the growth and development of the school
Teacher Management
A Director of Studies is the line-manager to both local and native-speaker teachers. The Director of Studies is responsible for informing all teaching staff of their schedule and
ensuring
that they are familiar with the programmes they are scheduled to teach. On occasion, the Director of Studies will have to discipline staff for misconduct or other matters. Frequently, the Director of Studies acts as a counsellor for teachers experiencing culture shock or other personal difficulties.
Materials Development
EF Directors of Studies are constantly striving to improve the quality of instruction in our classrooms and to utilise the resources they have. An EF DOS needs good project management skills to improve the teaching resources in the school. These range from simple tasks like selecting suitable flashcards/role play cards for lamination to creating complex supplementary materials. Teachers, at certain periods in the year, will have a lighter teaching schedule (below 20 contact hours) and will devote some of their spare time to improving the supplementary materials used in the school.
Teacher Development
Often the most rewarding aspect of being a Director of Studies with EF English First is improving the quality of the teaching staff through regular observations and constructive feedback; regular Workshops and Seminars; and through being approachable and available when teachers are planning. The key to teacher development is creating an environment where teachers happily exchange ideas and materials; and are happy to approach you, as their Director of Studies, for help and support. Teachers are familiar with
the ARC (Authentic Use Activities - Restricted Use Activities - Controlled Use Activities) approach to planning but frequently need development in teaching children and/or skills development lessons. |
