Item Details

Developing concept-based instruction, pedagogical content knowledge: Implications for teacher educators and L2 instructors

Issue: Vol 4 No. 1 (2017)

Journal: Language and Sociocultural Theory

Subject Areas: Writing and Composition Linguistics

DOI: 10.1558/lst.29542

Abstract:

Limited studies have explored how second language (L2) instructors develop pedagogical content knowledge of concept-based instruction (CBI). To address this issue the present work described how one L2 writing instructor developed, utilized and transformed his CBI pedagogical content knowledge in one learning-to-write context. A thematic analysis of the instructor’s teaching and learning logs, teaching materials and post-intervention interviews with learners in a writing course, guided in part by Pavlenko (2007) and Haenen’s (1996) stages for implementing CBI, demonstrated that the instructor’s development was informed primarily through a process of self-reflection, diagramming and comparing notes with scholarly publications related to CBI and Vygotskian sociocultural theory. This study challenges and contributes to recent discussions about other-regulated teacher education in CBI contexts (e.g., Nauman, 2011 and van Compernolle and Henery, 2015) and reveals concerns about how instructors use didactic models to orient learners to target concepts. The findings call for more research aimed at understanding CBI-related teacher education and for detailed study manuals for L2 instructors interested in implementing CBI.

Author: Gary Fogal

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