Learning to bridge language and content

Learningtobridgelanguageandcontent:Teachers’experiencesduringa
professionaldevelopmentinitiativeoncontent-basedinstruction
VictorShahsavar-Arshad
DepartmentofIntegratedStudiesinEducation
McGillUniversity,Montréal
November2015
AthesissubmittedtoMcGillUniversityinpartialfulfillmentoftherequirementsofthe
degreeofMasterofArtsinSecondLanguageEducation
Copyright©VictorShahsavar-Arshad2015
Abstract
Researchshowsthatstudentsincontent-basedinstruction(CBI)programs,
wherebyanadditionallanguageislearnedthroughasubjectsuchashistory,oftenhave
difficultieswithlinguisticaccuracy.Teachersintheseprogramsarealsonotgiventhe
adequatetrainingrequiredtofocusonlanguageformswhileteachingsubjectmatter.This
qualitativestudyexploreseightsocialstudiesteachers’livedexperiencesduringayearlong
jointprofessionaldevelopmentinitiativebetweenMcGillUniversityandtheEastern
TownshipsSchoolBoard(ETSB),launchedtosupportthemastheydesignedcurricular
unitswithalanguagefocusthatwereimplementedinFrenchinschoolsdesignatedas
English-speaking.AlthoughthecallforprofessionaldevelopmentforeffectiveCBIis
widespread,thephenomenologicalrealitiesandvoicesofthosesuchinitiativesaremeant
for—CBIteachersthemselves—remainscarceintheexistingliterature.Through
questionnaires,interviews,andcloseobservationsduringeverystageoftheteachers’
involvement,findingsuncoveredsixcoreconstituentsandessentialemotionsthatdefined
theirexperiences:enthusiasm,enlightenment,confusion,collaboration,satisfaction,and
finallyreservation.Severalrecommendationsforfutureprofessionaldevelopment
initiativesregardingCBIaresuggested.
Keywords
content-basedinstruction(CBI),teacherprofessionaldevelopment,languageteachers,
socialstudiesteachers,Frenchasasecondlanguage,phenomenology,livedexperience,
teacherperceptions
ii
Résumé
Larecherchedémontrequelesélèvesdanslesprogrammesdel'enseignementaxé
surlecontenu(EAC),danslesquelsilsapprennentunelanguesecondeàtraversune
matièrecommel'histoire,ontsouventdesdifficultésaveclaprécisionlinguistique.Deplus,
lesenseignantsdanscesprogrammesnereçoiventpaslaformationnécessaireafinde
focalisersurlesformeslangagièrespendantleurenseignement.Cetteétudequalitativevise
àdévoilerlesexpériencesvécuesdehuitenseignantesenuniverssocialaucoursd'une
annéedeformationcontinueetprofessionnellemenéeparl'UniversitéMcGillen
partenariataveclaCommissionScolaireEasternTownships(CSET).Laformationavait
pourbutd’encadrerlesenseignantespendantlaplanificationdemodulesscolairesvisantà
lafoislalangueetlecontenuqu’ellesontmisesenœuvreenfrançaisauprèsdeleursélèves
dansdesécolesanglophones.Bienquel’appelàlaformationcontinueetprofessionnelle
pourl’EACefficacesoitrépandu,lesréalitésphénoménologiquesetlesvoixdes
enseignantsetdesenseignantesaucœurdecetteapproches’avèrentsouventàl’écartdans
larechercheactuelle.À traversdesquestionnaires,desentretiens,etdesobservations
prochespendanttoutelaparticipationdesenseignantes,lesrésultatsontdécouvertsix
composantesprincipalesetémotionsessentiellesquicaractérisentleursexpériences:
l'enthousiasme,l’éclaircissement,laconfusion,lacollaboration,lasatisfaction,et,enfin,la
réticence.Plusieursrecommandationspourdefuturesinitiativesdeformationcontinueet
professionnelleconcernantl’EACsontsuggérées.
Motsclés
enseignementaxésurlecontenu(EAC),formationdesenseignants,formationcontinue,
formationprofessionnelle,enseignantsdelangues,enseignantsd’universsocial,français
langueseconde,phénoménologie
iii
Acknowledgements
Thisthesiswouldnothavebeenpossiblewithoutthededicatedsupportand
encouragementofmysupervisor,Dr.RoyLyster.Asanundergraduatestudent,Ibegan
readingandreferencinghispapersonlytohavetheopportunitytoworkwithhimasa
graduateresearchermanyyearslater.Hiscriticaladvice,immediateresponsetime,and
inherentlybenevolentnaturemadehimthebestadvisoronecouldhopefor.
IwouldalsoliketothankDr.AnilaAsgharforherconstructivefeedbackand
enthusiasticguidanceduringtheinitialproposal.Herwisewordswereinstrumentalin
finalizingandsecuringfundingforthisstudy.IamalsoverygratefultoDr.Christine
BesnardfromYorkUniversityforintroducingmetothefieldofsecondlanguage
acquisitionandhermanylettersofsupportthroughoutmygraduatestudies.
Aspecialthankyouneedstobegiventotheeightparticipatingteacherswho
workedtirelesslyandpassionately,allowingmetosharetheirjourney.Iwanttoexpress
mygratitudetothemandtoallthemembersoftheMcGillUniversity-EasternTownships
SchoolBoardteamthatcollaboratedtogethertogenerateacriticallyneededprofessional
developmentinitiative.AnhonorablementionmustbemadetoPatriciaHoude,without
whomIwouldnothavebeenabletogettoSherbrooketoconductresearch.Herassistance
duringthisstudycannotbestressedenough.
ThewonderfulfriendshipsIhavemadesincemyarrivalinMontréalhavebeena
sourceofjoyandbalanceduringthisprocessandIthankeveryonewithwhomIhavehad
manygreatlaughs.TomyfriendsandformercolleaguesinAbuDhabi,Iamthankfulforour
collectiveteachingexperiencesthatpushedmetopursuethisresearch.
iv
Lastbutnotleast,theloveandcontinuedpresenceofmyfamilycreatedasolid
foundationtocompletethisthesis.TomyAuntVida,whosehumorandemotionalsupport
willneverbeforgotten.AndtomyMomVictoria,whoseintelligence,bravery,andaffection
havemademethemanIamtoday.Thankyou.
Theseacknowledgementswouldnotbecompletewithoutthesincereappreciation
ofthegenerousfinancialsupportprovidedbytheSocialSciencesandHumanitiesResearch
CouncilofCanadathroughaCanadaGraduateScholarships-Master’sAwardandbythe
DepartmentofIntegratedStudiesinEducationthroughaGraduateExcellenceAwardanda
KeeponTrackAward.
v
TableofContents
TablesandFigures viii
Chapter1:Introduction 1
1.1
ContextandPurpose
1
1.2
Content-BasedInstruction(CBI)
2
1.3
KnowledgeMobilization
4
5
Chapter2:LiteratureReview
2.1
VariationswithinCBIPrograms
5
2.2
StudentAchievementwithinCBI 7
2.3
CBIPedagogy
2.4
10
CBITeacherKnowledge
11
2.5
CBITeacherIdentity
13
2.6
CBITeacherCollaboration 16
2.7
TeacherProfessionalDevelopment(PD) 18
2.8
CBITeacherExperiencesandPD 20
2.9
ThePresentStudy Chapter3:Methodology
23
25
3.1
ResearchQuestionandDesign
25
3.2
Background 26
3.3
Participants 32
3.4
DataCollection
34
3.5
DataAnalysis
36
39
Chapter4:Findings 4.1
Enthusiasm 40
4.2
Enlightenment
47
4.3
Confusion
53
4.4
Collaboration
58
4.5
Satisfaction 66
4.6
Reservation 72
vi
Chapter5:Discussion
81
5.1
Implications 81
5.2
Recommendations 86
5.3
LimitationsandFutureResearch 91
5.4
Conclusion
92
94
References
Appendices
A.
LetterofConsent
101
B.
Questionnaire#1
103
C.
InterviewProtocol#1
105
D.
Questionnaire#2
106
E.
InterviewProtocol#2
108
F.
EnglishTranslations
109
vii
TablesandFigures
Table1
Studyparticipants
33
Figure1
ContinuumofCBIprograms 6
Figure2
TimelineoftheMcGill-ETSBproject
28
Figure3
Proactiveform-focusedinstructioninfoursteps 29
Figure4
Representationofteachers’experiences
39
viii
Chapter1:Introduction
1.1ContextandPurpose
Inthefallof2014,McGillUniversity,inpartnershipwiththeEastern
TownshipsSchoolBoard(ETSB)aboutanhourandahalfeastofMontréal,launcheda
breakthroughprofessionaldevelopmentinitiativeentitled“Améliorationdufrançaislangue
secondeparsonintégrationenuniverssocial”(ImprovingFrenchthroughcontent-andlanguageintegratedlearninginsocialsciences).Overthecourseoftheacademicyear,eight
teacherswhoteachsocialstudiesinFrenchatvariousschoolsacrosstheETSBtoamainly
English-speakingstudentpopulationparticipatedintheinitiative.Theyattendedfivefull
dayworkshopsguidedbyteammembersfromMcGillandeducationalconsultantsfromthe
ETSBinwhichtheycollaborated,plannedanddesignedinstructionalsocialstudiesunits
withaFrenchlanguagefocusthattheylaterimplementedintheirclassrooms.Theultimate
goaloftheinitiativewastoimprovestudents’Frenchlanguageproficiencybyequipping
teacherswithpedagogicalstrategiesrootedincontent-basedinstruction,whichaimsto
integratethelearningofbothasecondlanguageandcurricularcontentholisticallyand
concurrently.
Thisstudyisaqualitativeanalysisoftheeightparticipatingteachers’lived
experiencesduringtheMcGill-ETSBprojectwhichfocusedoneffectivecontent-based
instruction.Throughinterviews,questionnairesandobservationsalongeverystageoftheir
involvement,thisstudyseekstoportraythephenomenologicalrealitiesoftheparticipating
teachersduringtheprofessionaldevelopmentinitiativeastheyplannedandtaughttheir
units.Priorresearchhasshownthatstudentslearningasecondlanguagethroughsubject
matterclassesoftenhavedifficultieswithlinguisticaccuracy(Harley,1984,1992;Lyster,
1
2007;Hoare&Kong,2008;Kong&Hoare,2012)andthatteacherswhoteachinthese
programsarenotgivenadequatesupportorspecifictrainingonhowtofocusonlinguistic
formswhileteachingsubjectmattercontent(Day&Shapson,1996;Tan,2011;Cammarata
&Tedick,2012).
Thoughthecallforprofessionaldevelopmenttoprovideguidanceandclarification
foreffectivecontent-basedinstructioniswidespread(Walker&Tedick,2000;Fortune,
Tedick&Walker,2008;Kong&Hoare,2011;Lyster&Ballinger,2011;Tan,2011;
Cammarata&Tedick,2012;Tedick&Cammarata,2012),verylittleresearchhasbeen
conductedonteacherprofessionaldevelopmentfocusedoncontent-basedinstruction,and
teachers’perceptions,experiencesandvoicesremainscarcelystudiedintheliterature
(Cammarata,2009,2010;Cammarata&Tedick,2012).Inordertofillthisgap,thisstudy
exploreshowtheteachersinvolvedintheMcGill-ETSBprojectexperiencedandperceived
theeffectsoftheprofessionaldevelopmentinitiative.Thepurposeofthisresearchisto
provideinsightintothelivedexperiencesofteacherswhoteachlanguagesthroughcontent,
tobringtolighttheirvoicesduringaprofessionaldevelopmentinitiativeandto
understandhowtheyrespondtoandinterprethelpprovided.
1.2Content-BasedInstruction
Content-basedinstruction(CBI)isquicklybecomingaprevailingcurricularand
instructionalapproachwhenteachingadditionallanguagesinthe21stcentury.Educational
institutionsattheelementary,secondary,andtertiarylevelsinNorthAmerica,Europe,
AsiaaswellastheMiddleEastareimplementingprogramsinwhichsubjectmattercontent
suchashistory,geography,scienceand/ormathematicsistaughttostudentsthroughthe
mediumoftheirsecondlanguage.Thelanguageofinstructionintheseprogramsmaybea
2
foreign,regional,heritageorindigenouslanguage(Lyster&Ballinger,2011).Thelearning
ofotherlanguagesthroughcontentandsubjectmatterhasexistedforcenturiesamong
manycivilizations(Germain,1993)butitsmostinfluentialmodernmanifestationisoften
attributedtotheriseofFrenchimmersionprogramsinthesuburbsofMontréalinthe
1960s(Lyster,2007;Tedick&Cammarata,2012).Frenchimmersionprogramswithin
Englishschoolboardstypicallyofferatleast50%ofthecurriculuminFrenchbeginningat
theelementarylevel.
TheETSBisanEnglishschoolboardinruralQuébec,aprovinceinwhichthe
dominantlanguageisFrench.ItscourseofferingsaremainlyinEnglishanditserves
predominantlyEnglish-speakingcommunitiesthatalsocontainFrench-speakingfamilies.It
doesnothaveaFrenchimmersionprogramsimilartothosefoundintheMontréalregion.
However,itoffersitssocialstudiescourse(universsocial)inFrenchinadditiontoaFrench
languagecoursetobothelementaryandsecondarystudents.Learninghistoryandsocial
studiesthroughthemediumofasecondoradditionallanguageisespeciallyrichand
complexduetothedensenatureofcertainresourcesaswellasthewide-ranginglinguistic
repertoireandknowledgerequiredforreading,writingandoralexpressionontopics
covered(Schleppergell,Achugar,&Orteiza,2004;Schleppergell&Oliveria,2006).The
universsocialcourseofferedbytheETSBinFrenchtoitsmainlyEnglish-speakingstudent
bodyisconsequentlyanidealsettinginwhichtoprovideteacherswithtrainingand
professionaldevelopmenttoimprovepedagogyinCBI.Amoreenlightenedapproachfor
effectiveCBIwouldentailprioritizingbothlanguageobjectivesalongsidesubjectmatter
objectivestoensurebotharetreatedintandem.
3
1.3KnowledgeMobilization
TheuniquepartnershipbetweenMcGillandtheETSBisalsoaprimeexampleof
knowledgemobilization,whichtheSocialSciencesandHumanitiesResearchCouncilof
Canada(SSHRC)hasidentifiedasoneofitskeystrategicpriorities(StrengtheningCanada’s
CulturesofInnovation,2013).Therehavebeencallstomakeresearchinsecondlanguage
acquisitionmoreaccessibletoeducators(Spada,2005).However,thereisverylittle
evidenceofuniversitiesandschoolboardscollaboratingtoshareknowledgeandveryfew
instancesthatdemonstratehowresearchfromacademiaisimplementedinschools(Sa,Li,
&Faubert,2011).
AttheheartoftheMcGill-ETSBinitiativeisLyster’s(2007)frameworkof
counterbalancedinstruction,wherebyteachersshiftstudentattentiontolanguageformsin
content-basedclasses.ThisframeworkisasynthesisofmanyyearsofSSHRC-funded
research.Thisstudyisthereforeanexclusiveopportunitytohighlighttheprofessional
developmentofteachersduringaknowledgemobilizationeffortineducation,whichshares
researchtoimprovemethodologyandpracticewithinCBI.ThepartnershipbetweenMcGill
andtheETSBwasabletobecomearealitythankstotheChantier7programoftheQuébec
Ministèredel’Éducation,duLoisiretduSport(MELS),whichaimstoprovidefinancial
supportfortheprofessionaldevelopmentofschoolpersonnel.
4
Chapter2:LiteratureReview
2.1VariationswithinCBIPrograms
LightbownandSpada(2006)characterizeCBIas“secondlanguageprogramsin
whichlessonsareorganizedaroundsubjectmatterratherthanlanguagepoints.”(p.197).
Throughouttheliterature,thesetypesofprogramsarereferredtoaseitherCBIorContentbasedLanguageTeaching(CBLT)inNorthAmerica,ContentandIntegratedLanguage
Learning(CLIL)inEurope,English-mediumInstruction(EMI)orFrench-medium
Instruction(FMI)dependingonthelanguagecontext,aswellasimmersionprograms
whichcouldbeone-way,two-way,partial/total,early/late,50:50or90:10(Fortune&
Tedick,2008;Cammarata&Tedick,2012;Lindahl,Baecher,&Tomas,2013).
Thediverserangeofterminologyreflectsthemyriadstylesintheimplementationof
theseprograms.LysterandBallinger(2011)identifyawidevarietyofcontextsandCBI
programmodels,rangingattheelementaryandsecondarylevelfromFrenchimmersionin
Canada,BasqueandCatalanimmersioninSpaintoSwedishimmersioninFinlandinwhich
amajorityofstudents’subjectmatterlearningistaughtthroughthetargetlanguage,or
English-mediumsubjectcoursessuchas“NatureandSociety”or“ScienceandLife”taught
twiceperweektostudentsinmainlandChina.Atthetertiarylevel,adjunctorsheltered
modelsofCBIareofferedinwhichstudentsenrollinaregularsubjectmattercoursetaught
intheirsecondlanguagebutalsoenrollinaseparatelanguagecourserelatedtotheir
contentcourse.EnglishasaSecondLanguage(ESL)learnerswhoentermainstream
EnglishclassesintheUnitedStatesarealsoclassifiedaslearningthroughCBI.Thevast
majorityoftheliteratureonCBIprogramsandpedagogythusfarhascomethroughstudies
conductedinimmersionandESLsettings(Cammarata,2010).
5
Figure1.ContinuumofCBIprograms,adaptedfromMet(1998)byLysterandBallinger
(2011,p.281)
Met(1998)conceptualizedthevariationsinCBIprogramsalongacontinuum(see
Figure1).Atoneextreme,programscanbelargelycontent-driven,suchasimmersion
programsinwhich:
Contentlearningisthepriorityandlanguagelearningsecondary,ifnot
incidental,contentobjectivesaredeterminedbythesubjectmattercurriculum
and/orderivedfromcontentstandards,teachersmustidentifylanguageobjectives
thatcorrespondtothecontent,studentsareevaluatedonsubject
knowledge/skills/understandingandbothteachersandstudentsareheld
accountableforcontentlearning.(Tedick&Cammarata,2012,p.S31)
Programsmayalsotilttoanotherextremeandbemorelanguage-driven,suchas
theme-basedlanguageclassesinwhich:
Languagelearningisthepriorityandcontentlearningisincidental,language
objectivesaredeterminedbytheL2curriculum,studentsareevaluatedon
languageproficiency,andneitherteachersnorstudentsareheldaccountablefor
contentoutcomes.(Tedick&Cammarata,2012,p.S31)
TedickandCammarata(2012)havealsoadoptedMet’s(1998)continuumaswellas
Cummins’(1982)matrixonlanguageperformancetocategorizeCBIprogramsattheK-12
level.TheysituatedCBIprogramsacrossfourdistinctcategories:(a)content-drivenand
6
hightime-intensive,(b)content-drivenandlowtime-intensive,(c)language-drivenand
hightime-intensiveandfinally(d)language-drivenandlowtime-intensive.Theywerenot
abletoidentifyanylanguage-drivenandhightime-intensiveprograms.CLILprogramsin
Europe,duetotheirenormousvariability,canbefoundthroughoutthefirstthree
categories.
ThesetwomodelsillustratethediversityintheimplementationofCBI.However,
despitethisvariability,theessentialphilosophybehindCBIasapedagogicalapproach
remainsthesame.AssuccinctlywrittenbyLyster(2007),itaimstoprovidesecond
languagelearnerswith“enrichedopportunitiesforprocessingandnegotiatingthetarget
languagethroughcontent”(p.1).Theultimategoalistofosterbothcognitivedevelopment
andlanguageproficiencyby“viewinglanguageasamediumforlearningcontentand
contentasaresourceforlearninglanguage”(Grabe&Stoller,1997,p.78).Analternativeto
studyinganadditionallanguageasadiscrete,staticandcompartmentalizedphenomenon
sporadicallysuchasindrip-feed(Baker,2006)ortraditional/conventional(Cammarata,
2010)foreignlanguageprogramsthatareverylow-timeintensiveandlanguage-driven,
CBIoffersmeaningfulandauthenticcontextsforlanguagelearnerstoutilizetheirnewly
acquiredlinguisticknowledge.
2.2StudentAchievementwithinCBI
Theliteraturethusfarindicatesthat,incomparisontostudentsinnon-CBI
programs,CBImodelsstrengthenbothfirst(L1)andsecond(L2)languagedevelopment
whiledevelopingsimilarorevenhigherlevelsofacademicachievement(Brinton,Snow,&
Wesche,2003).LambertandTucker(1972)begandocumentingstudentprogressinearly
FrenchimmersionprogramsinCanadaandreportedhighlevelsoffluencyandconfidence
7
inthetargetlanguageaswellashigherachievementonstandardizedtestsofmathematics
thannon-immersionstudents.Genesee(1987)andTurnbull,Lapkin,andHart(2001)later
corroboratedthesefindings.Multiplelarge-scalestudieshaveshownthatwhiletheremay
beaslightdevelopmentallaginitiallyofimmersionstudentsintheirL1,immersion
studentsquicklycatchupandtendtooutperformnon-immersionstudentsinreading,
writingandmathematicsintheirL1aswellasintheirL2proficiency.Similarfindingshave
beenreportedinotherCBIcontexts.StrykerandLeaver(1997)concentratedon
university-levelforeignlanguageprogramsthatofferedcontent-basedcoursesinstudents’
L2andreportedhigherandenhancedstudentmotivation,self-confidence,language
proficiencyandculturalliteracy.Serra(2007)notedhigherL1mathematicsresultsin
studentsenrolledinCLILprogramsthanthosewhowerenot.
However,despitethepositivebenefitsofCBIapproachestolanguageteachingand
learning,studentperformanceinthetargetlanguageisnotashighasitcouldbe,as
conciselyexplainedbyTedickandCammarata(2012):
Theresearchshowsthatingeneral,studentswhohavetheopportunitytolearn
languageinthecontextofnonlinguisticcontentdobetteronmeasuresoflinguistic
performancethanlearnerswhoaretaughtlanguageintraditional,languagefocused
programs.Atthesametime,studiesalsorevealthatlanguagelearningwithinCBI
contextsfallsshortofitspotential.(p.S39)
Whilethestrongdevelopmentofstudents’receptiveskillsinlisteningandreadinginthe
targetlanguagehasbeennoted,theirproductiveskillsinspeakingandwritinghave
consistentlyshownlinguisticinaccuracy.IncontextsrangingfromEnglishspeaking
studentsinFrenchimmersioninCanada(Harley,1984;1992)toChinesespeaking
studentsinEnglish-mediumclassesinHongKong(Hoare&Kong,2008;Kong&Hoare,
8
2012),studiesshowthatstudents’speakingandwritingdonotattainthehighlevelof
proficiencythatistobeexpected.Lyster(2007)synthesizestherelevantresearchin
immersionsettingsthathighlightthisproblem,providingmanyexamplesinwhich
studentsproducenon-targetlikegrammaticalandsociolinguisticfeatureswithregardsto
prepositions,objectpronouns,wordorder,grammaticalgender(dependingonthetarget
language)aswellasanunderuseofinformalvariants.CammarataandTedick(2012)also
regroupasignificantbodyofworkinimmersionthatdemonstratetheweaknessesin
studentproficiency,namelythatthelanguageacquiredistypicallylimitedtoacademic
discourseandmayhavesubstantialinterferencefromthemothertongue,whilealso
lackingingrammaticalaccuracy,lexicalrichnessandsociolinguisticsuitability.
Thereisnowanincreasingconsciousnessthatinorderforanadditionallanguageto
belearnedeffectivelythroughCBI,afocusonthelanguageformsofthatlanguagemustalso
beintegratedintothecurriculum(Swain,1988;Brinton,Snow,&Wesche,2003;Lyster,
2007).AsGenesee(2008)notes:
Whilecontent-basedlanguageinstructioniseffectiveasabasicapproachtodual
languageeducation,researchersandeducatorsarecallingformoredirectand
explicitlanguageinstructioninordertoextendduallanguagelearners’competence.
Thus,inthesamewaythatwemustprovideformallanguageartsinstructionin
generaleducationprogramsfornativespeakers,wemustalsodosoindual
languageprogramsforsecondlanguagelearners.(p.33)
Exposuretocontentonitsownisnotsufficienttoproducefluentandbilingualspeakersof
alanguage.Therefore,totrulysucceedinitsmission,CBIprogramsmustengender“the
concurrentstudyoflanguageandsubjectmatter,withtheformandsequenceoflanguage
materialdictatedbycontentmaterial”(Brinton,Snow,&Weshe,2003,p.ix).Inother
9
words,theremustbeabalancedandintegratedapproachinwhichbothlanguage
objectivesandcontentobjectivesareprioritizedtogether.
2.3CBIPedagogy
Therehavebeenseveralframeworksdevelopedthataddressthecriticalissueof
preciselyhowtointegratelanguagewithinasubjectmatterclass.Snow,Met,andGenesee
(1989)proposedthatCBIteachersfirstaddresscontent-obligatorylanguagethatwouldbe
essentialforlearningthecontentofaclass.Thiswouldneedtobeextendedbeyond
vocabularyandincorporatemorestructuralelementssuchascertainverbtenses.The
secondwouldbetofocusoncontent-compatiblelanguagethatcouldbeaddedtoenhance
secondlanguagedevelopmentsuchasexpressionsandidioms.Met(2008)expandsonthe
needtodevelopvocabularybyusingBeck,McKeown,andKucan’s(2002)Tier
classificationsystemandchoosingwordsthatare(a)importantanduseful,(b)have
instructionalpotential,and(c)leadtoconceptualunderstanding.Thiswouldenablea
teachertoeffectivelydeterminethechoiceofwordstostudy,whichcanalsobeenhanced
byhighlightingprefixes,suffixesaswellascognatesthroughgraphicorganizers,studentto-studentcollaborationandscaffoldingoutputtechniquessuchasthink/pair/share.
TheShelteredInstructionObservationProtocol(SIOP)modeldevelopedby
Echevarria,Vogt,andShort(2008)forESLlearnersinmainstreamsubjectmatterclasses
providesteacherswithexplicitstrategiestocreatebothcontentandlanguagecurricular
objectives.Itprovidessuggestionstorendercontentmoreaccessibletosecondlanguage
learnersallthewhiledevelopingliteracyskillsthroughtheuseofadaptedtexts,
manipulatives,graphicorganizers,readingcomprehensionstrategies,oralpractice
activitiesandpeercollaboration.Samplelessonplans,teachingscenariosandchecklistsare
10
includedforteacherstoguidethemwhiletheyarecreatinglessons.Thecounterbalanced
approachfirstproposedbyLysterandMori(2006)andlaterexpandeduponbyLyster
(2007)entailsproactiveform-focusedinstructionforspecificlanguagefeaturesrequired
forasubjectmatterclass,especiallyinsettingsthatarehighlycontent-driven.Reactive,or
immediateform-focusedinstructioninCBIclassroomswouldentailutilizingcertaintypes
oferrorcorrectionthatwouldprovidestudentswithricheropportunitiesformeaningful
feedbackandrepair.
Despitetheavailabilityofstrategiesandframeworksforeffectiveintegrationof
contentandlanguageinCBIprograms,thereisasignificantgapintheapplicationofthese
modelsbyCBIteachers.Neitherpre-servicenorin-serviceteacherswhoteachinCBI
programshavebeengivenadequatesupportortrainingtofocusonlinguisticfeaturesof
thetargetlanguagewhileteachingsubjectmattercontentatthesametime,andthereisan
increasingcallforappropriate,systematicandsustainedprofessionaldevelopmentto
achievethisgoal(Walker&Tedick,2000;Fortune,Tedick,&Walker,2008;Kong&Hoare,
2011;Lyster&Ballinger,2011;Tan,2011;Cammarata&Tedick,2012;Tedick&
Cammarata,2012).Asurveyoftheliteratureindicatesthatanemphasisondevelopingand
fosteringteacherknowledge,teacheridentityandteachercollaborationisfundamentalin
professionaldevelopmentinitiativesforbothpre-andin-serviceCBIteachers.
2.4CBITeacherKnowledge
DayandShapson(1996)conductedalarge-scalesurveyacrossCanadaonFrench
immersionteachers’perceptionsabouttheirteachertrainingandprofessional
developmentneeds.Theydiscoveredthatmanyfeltthatboththeirpre-serviceeducation
programsandtheirlimited,ifany,in-serviceprofessionaldevelopmentopportunitieswere
11
insufficientorinadequatetomeetthecomplexitiesoftheireverydayrealitiesasimmersion
teachers.Kong,Hoare,andChi(2011)foundsimilaropinionsinanotherlarge-scalestudy
ofEnglishimmersionteachersinChina.MostteachersfeltunpreparedtoteachcontentbasedclassesinEnglishandmuchlessabletointegratespecificlanguageobjectivesinto
thecurriculum.WithintheCanadiancontext,therehasbeenanincreaseinthenumberof
pre-serviceteachereducationprogramsdesignedspecificallyforimmersion(Karsenti&
Dumochel,2006).However,itisuncleariftheseprogramsareadequatelypreparing
prospectiveteacherswiththerightpedagogicalrepertoireandspecificstrategiestobeable
toscaffoldlinguisticknowledgeinasubjectmatterclass.Akeysiteofstruggleremainsthe
tangibleandpracticalabilityofhowtobalancebothcontentandlanguageintheclassroom.
AsnotedbySchleppergelletal.(2004),“CBIrecommendationstypicallydealonlyvery
generallywiththelinguisticissuesrelatedtoinstructionindifferentdisciplines”(p.69).
Intheirin-depthstudyonthelivedexperiencesofthreeteachersinFrenchand
SpanishimmersionprogramsintheUnitedStates,CammarataandTedick(2012)found
thatteacherswereatacompletelossconcerningwheretobeginintegratingcontentand
language:
Theystruggletofindtheexactlanguagetheyneedtobringstudents’attentiontoas
theyteachcontent.Inotherwordstheyhavedifficultyidentifyingwhatlanguageto
focuson,figuringouthowandwhentointegratethatlanguageinthecontextof
contentinstructionanddecidinghowtofollowuponlanguageintheirassessment
strategies.(p.261)
Lindahl,Baecher,andTomas(2013)foundthatMATESOLprogramsintheUnitedStates
wereunabletoprovideadequatetrainingforpre-serviceteacherstobeabletoincorporate
specificlanguageobjectivesintocontent-basedcoursesforESLlearners.Theprogramsdid
12
notfosterwhatAndrews(2007)identifiedasTeacherLanguageAwareness(TLA),which
breaksdownlanguageteachers’responsibilitiesintothreecategories:(a)asaUserofthe
targetlanguageitself,(b)asanAnalystofthetargetlanguageinordertobeabletoidentify
linguisticfeaturesand(c)asaTeacherofthetargetlanguagewhocaneffectivelytransmit
theirknowledge.NoneoftheMATESOLprogramsofferedcoursesthatwoulddevelopTLA
holisticallywithspecificstrategiestointegratelanguageintocontent.Muchofthe
knowledgewascompartmentalizedandpre-serviceteacherswerenotabletoutilize
knowledgefromtheAnalystdomaincourses(suchasgrammar,syntaxandmorphology)
withtheirTeacherdomaincourses(suchasmethodologyandpracticums).
Baecher,Farnsworth,andEdiger(2013)alsofoundthatpre-serviceteachersinMA
TESOLprogramshadaneasiertimedevelopingcontentobjectivesbutmuchmore
difficultydevelopinglanguageobjectives.Whenspecificlanguageobjectiveswere
formulated,theytendedtofocusextensivelyonvocabulary,ignoringothercruciallinguistic
andgrammaticalformsthatstudentsrequiretorichlydeveloptheirlanguagecompetence
inatargetlanguage.Teachereducationprogramsmayormaynotspecificallyprovide
prospectiveteacherswithexplicitstrategiestobeabletointegrateimportantlanguage
objectivesinacontent-basedclass.
2.5CBITeacherIdentity
CammarataandTedick(2012)alsonotedthatanimportantstepinmovingtowards
abalancedcurriculumthatintegratesbothlanguageandcontentwasaneedforteachersin
theseprogramstofundamentallyreconfiguretheiridentities:
Atthecoreofimmersionteachers’experienceofbalancingcontentand
languageininstructionliestheneedforthemtorevisitandreshapetheir
13
teachingidentity.Thatisenvisioningthemselvesnotonlyascontentteachers,but
aslanguageteachersaswell.(p.257)
Theteachersinthestudy,priortoanyprofessionaldevelopment,hadconsidered
themselvestobeprimarilyteachersofsubjectmatter,whetherasageneralistin
elementaryeducationorasateacherofhistoryormathematicsathigherlevels.Their
emphasiswasthereforeputoncontent,withnoemphasisplacedonanylinguisticor
grammaticalform.Teachersbegantoshifttheirthinkingastheybecamemoreawarethat
theirstudents,assecondlanguagelearners,needlanguagepedagogyaswell.Asone
teacherinthestudynoted:
Itwashelpfuljusttoseemyselfmoreasalanguage[teacher]besidesan
elementaryteacher,thatwe’reteachinglanguagethroughcontent,butitstillisa
typeoflanguageteaching.Andjustbeingacquaintedandhavingtoworkwiththose
languagestandards,itbroadenedmyviewofmyselfasateacher.(p.258)
SimilarissueswerealsoreportedbyTan(2011)inMalaysia.In2003,theMalaysian
governmentmandatedthatEnglishbecomethelanguageofinstructionformathematics
andscienceinallpublicschoolsatthesecondarylevelthroughaprogramknownas
“TeachingofmathematicsandscienceinEnglish”butcommonlyreferredtobyitsBahasa
Malaysiaacronym,PPSMI.Mathematicsandscienceteachershadpreviouslyonlybeen
trainedwithintheirownsubjectarea,withnoexposureofanykindtolanguagepedagogy.
TheywerealsonotgivenanyspecifictrainingorprofessionaldevelopmentoncethePPSMI
programwasimplemented.Thisthereforeresultedinanalmostcompleteabsenceof
languageobjectivesinmathematicsandsciencecourses.Whilethescienceteachers
displayedsomewhathighertendenciesthanthemathematicsteacherstorecognizetherole
thatlanguageobjectivesshouldplayintheclassroom,neitheremployedanysystematic
14
“effort…toincorporateclassroomactivitiesthatcouldexplicitlypromotestudents’
linguisticdevelopment”(p.333).Theyviewedthemselvesasresponsiblesolelyforthe
transmissionofcontentknowledge:
Iprivilegescienceconcepts;languageisnotwhatIprioritizehere.Sothe
conceptisimportant.Aslongastheconcepthasnotbeenmastered,Icannot
change[e.g.,moveon]toanothertopic.(p.332)
I’llonlylookatthefacts.Thelanguageisthesecondarypartthere.Sowedon’t
reallybother.(p.332)
Theteachers’lackofsensitivitytolanguagedevelopmentintheirstudentswasaresultof
theirfixedandfirmidentitiesasmathematicsandscienceteachers.Therewasnotypeof
professionaldevelopmentgiventobroadentheirconceptionsaseducatorsofboth
languageandcontent.Asaresult,Malaysiabegantoslipinworldwiderankingsof
mathematicsandsciencetestscores.ThePPSMIprogramwasofficiallyabandonedin2012
duetoitsfailuretoincreasetheEnglishlanguageproficiencyofstudents.
TannotedthattheEnglishlanguageteachersalsofirmlyviewedthemselves“first
andforemostaslanguageteachers,whichiswhattheirbasictrainingpreparedthemtodo”
(p.334).Theyalsodidnotincorporateanycontentintotheirclasses,focusingonlanguage
discreetlyandslightlyoutofcontext.Cammarata(2009;2010),workingtointroduceCBI
totraditionalforeignlanguageteachersintheUnitedStates,encounteredsimilarresistance
toadoptmorecontentintothelanguageclassroomduetothefirmlydevelopedidentitiesof
theteachersassolelylanguageteachers.Trent(2010)foundthatthesetypesofrigid
teacheridentitiesalsotranslatedintoverydifferentviewsonthenatureofeducation
altogether,whichhinderedattemptsatcollaborationbetweencontentteachersand
15
languageteachersatEnglish-mediumschoolsinHongKong.Thoughmuchoftheresearch
haspointedtowardsanintegrationofcontentandlanguageinbothimmersiontype
programsaswellastraditionalforeignlanguageclassrooms,manyteachersremain
establishedintheirseparatedrolesaseithersubjectmatterspecialistsorlanguage
specialists.
2.6CBITeacherCollaboration
ArecurringthemeexperiencedbymanyCBIteachersisthatofincreasingisolation
whileworkingindependently:
Thisfeelingofisolationisprimarilyinfluencedbytheabsenceofcollegial
supportandmakestheexperienceoftryingtobalancecontentandlanguagea
frustratingone.Lackofrespectandunderstanding,orboth,aswellaslackof
supportfromothers(colleagues,theprogram,thedistrict)leadsteachersto
describethemselvesasisolatedwithintheirinstructionalcontexts.
(Cammarata&Tedick,2012,p.259)
Thistypeofseclusionlimitsproductiveengagementtoimprovepedagogy.Asidefromrigid
andstructuredmentalitiesregardingteacheridentities,Trent(2010)alsofoundseveral
obstaclesthatlimitedteachercollaborationincludingschoolculture,schoolhierarchiesand
schoolpolicy.ThiswasalsocorroboratedbyKong(2013)asshedocumentedherown
collaborationwithanEnglish-mediumhistoryteacherinHongKong.Manyteachers,both
contentandlanguagetrained,refrainfromcollaboratingtoomuchtoavoidtensionor
conflict.Inlimitedcaseswhencollaborationdoesoccur,teachersreportminimalbenefits.
Trent(2010)suggestsacross-curricularteamcomprisedofschoolmanagers,English
languageteachers(orothertargetlanguagespecialistsdependingonthecontext)and
contentteachersfromallsubjectareas:
16
Thepurposeoftheteamwouldbetocriticallyreflectonpastteachingpracticesand
toimplementanintegratedwholeschoollanguageandcontentcurriculum.The
formationoftheteammightaddress…teachers’planning,teaching,andreviewing
together.(p.187)
ReturningtotheMalaysiancontext,anotherimportantfactorinthefailureofthe
PPSMIprogramwastheverysuperficialandsurface-levelnatureofcollaborationbetween
mathematicsandsciencecontentteacherswiththeEnglishlanguageteachers.Abuddy
systemwassetinplaceineveryschoolinordertoprovidelinguisticsupporttothecontent
teacherstoimprovetheirlanguageproficiency.Therewasnoco-operationwhatsoeverto
enhancecurriculuminanyoftheclasses,whichresultedinmanylessonsinbothclassesto
appearoutofcontextandoutofsynch,asnotedbyTan(2011):
Inthis[particular]lesson,theEnglishteacherwastryingtoteachstudentshowto
usesequencingwords,suchas‘first’,‘then’,‘afterthat’,whicharefoundfrequently
intextsregardingmathematicalproceduresorscientificexperiments.Theteacher
chosetousearecipeformakingatypeofnoodlesoupinstead…Giventhat
sequencingwordsaboundinscientificandmathematicalproceduresitwas
surprisingthattherewasnoattempttolinkthesewordstoamathematicsor
scienceclass.(p.335)
Hadtherebeenamoreefficientsystemofcollaborationinplace,bothteachersand
studentswouldhavebenefittedimmenselybycoordinatingcross-curricularobjectives.
Duringaresearchstudyonthebenefitsofabilingualreadingprojectbetweenstudentsin
EnglishandFrenchlanguagesclassesinaFrenchimmersionschoolinQuébec,Lyster,
Collins,andBallinger(2009)reportedthatmostinstancesofcross-linguisticandcrosscurricularplanningbetweenteacherswasincidental.Theprojectprovedtobesuccessfulin
17
motivatingstudentstotakeaninterestinreadinginbothlanguages,yetteachers’
opportunitiestoimproveuponthisdidnotreachitsfullpotential.
InasimilarprojectwhichpromotedapartnershipbetweenEnglishandFrench
teacherstodevelopstudents’languageawarenessintermsofvocabulary,Lyster,Quiroga,
andBallinger(2013)foundthattherewastremendousenthusiasmforcollaborationonceit
wasguided,withproperparametersinplace.Duringthefirst-year,workshopsweregiven
toaidteacherswiththefundamentalsofthereadingprojectthatalsoallowedthese
teacherstoprovidementorshipandsupportnewteachersthefollowingyearwhobeganto
participate.Therewassustained,consistentandefficientguidanceprovidedtoenable
productivecollaborationbetweenteachers.
2.7TeacherProfessionalDevelopment
Thewide-scalestudyconductedbyDayandShapson(1996)foundthat
collaborativeplanningandinstructionalworkshopstobethetwohighestrankedformsof
professionaldevelopmentidentifiedandrequestedbyimmersionteachers.Theliterature
onprofessionaldevelopmentineducationhasunderscoredtheimportanceofcollaboration
asakeycomponenttosuccessfulteacherlearningandchange.Thenotionofcollectiveor
interactiveprofessionalismallowsforteacherstobecomeactiveagentsfortheirown
learningandprofessionaldevelopmentthroughsharingandcollaboration(Lieberman,
1986;Little,1987;Fullan,1991).Lieberman(1986)providesimportantguidelinesfor
collegialcollaborationthatinclude(a)efficientorganizationalstructures,(b)anintimate
teamofeducatorscollaborating,(c)adequatetimeforcollaboration,(d)dedicated
commitmentand(e)adequatetimetoshareandreflectonthecollaborativeexperience.In
theirextensiveliteraturereviewonprofessionaldevelopmentintheUnitedStatesand
18
abroad,Wei,Darling-Hammond,Andree,Richardson,andOrphanos(2009)identified
teachercollaborationandstrongcollectiverelationshipsasacentralcornerstoneof
successfulteacherprofessionaldevelopmentinitiatives.Otherimportantfactorsfor
successfulprogramsincludethosethat(a)areintensive,ongoing,andconnecttoteacher
practice,(b)focusandaddresstheteachingofspecificcurricularcontent,and(c)alignwith
schoolimprovementprioritiesandgoals.
Fullan(1991)alsoidentifiesconcretecomponentstoprofessionaldevelopmentthat
leadtosuccessfulchangeandimplementation.Therearefourcharacteristicsandcriterion
utilizedbyteacherstogaugereceptivenesstowardschangethroughprofessional
developmentinitiatives:
(a) Need:Doesitpotentiallyaddressaneed?Willstudentslearnandbenefitfrom
thechange?
(b) Clarity:Howclearisitintermsofwhatneedstobedone?
(c) Complexity:Howwillitaffectteacherspersonallyintermsoftime,energy,and
skills?Willitinterferewithexistingpriorities?
(d) Qualityandpracticality:Howrewardingwilltheexperiencebeintermsof
interactionwithcolleaguesandothersinvolved?(p.127)
Hestatesthatpartnershipsbetweenmulti-levelactors(teachersandprincipals,school
districtsandexternalentitiessuchasuniversitiesandgovernment)arealsocrucialfactors
increatingsuccessfulprofessionaldevelopmentinitiativesthatleadtosuccessfulchange.
Moreimportantlyhowever,heemphasizestheimportanceofexaminingthe
subjectiveworld–thephenomenology–ofteachersas“anecessarypreconditionfor
engaginginanychangeeffortwiththem”(p.131).Adeep,fundamentalunderstandingin
19
howteachersprocessthecharacteristicsofchange,andtheirsubjectiveexperiencesduring
aninitiativeforchangeisvitalforitssuccess:
Theproblemofmeaningiscentraltomakingsenseofeducationalchange.Inorder
toachievegreatermeaning,wemustcometounderstandboththesmallandbig
pictures.Thesmallpictureconcernsthesubjectivemeaning,orlackofmeaning,for
individualsatalllevelsoftheeducationalsystem.Neglectofthephenomenologyof
change,thatis,howpeopleactuallyexperiencechangefromhowitmighthavebeen
intended,isattheheartofthespectacularlackofsuccessofmostsocialreforms.
(p.4)
2.8CBITeacherExperiencesandProfessionalDevelopment
Althoughthecallsforprofessionaldevelopment(PD)forteachersinCBIprograms
arestrong,therehasbeenverylittleresearchdoneplacingPDforCBIorCBIteachers’
experiencesduringaPDinitiativeasacentralfocus.Thereareseveralstudiesregarding
instructionalinterventionsaimedatequippingteacherswithCBIpedagogicaltools(Lyster,
1994;Day&Shapson,2001;Lyster,Quiroga,&Ballinger,2013;Morgan,2013)butthe
primaryaimwastomeasurestudentperformance.Therehavealsobeenstudiesregarding
teacherpracticesinvariousCBIcontexts(Pessoa,Hendry,Donato,Tucker,&Lee,2007;
Kong&Hoare,2011).
YetstudiesthatplaceCBIteachers’experiencesduringPDarefewandfarbetween.
BothstudiesconductedbyTan(2011)andCammarataandTedick(2012)focusedonCBI
teachers’beliefs,experiencesandperceptionsidentifiedamajorgapinthisregard.Walker
andTedick(2000)aswellasFortune,TedickandWalker(2008)concentratedexclusively
onimmersionteachers’perceptionsconcerningCBIpedagogyanditsimplementationin
theirclassrooms.Fortune,Tedick,andWalker(2008)identifiedseveralmajorthemesin
20
differentimmersionteachers’classroomexperienceinvariouscontexts:(a)though
languagewastaughtitwasnotattendedtosystematicallywithincontent-basedlessons,(b)
contentwastheprimaryconcern,(c)teachersfeltpressuretoportraythemselvesasideal
languagemodels,(d)questions,commandsandcuesweretheprimaryformsof
communication,(e)jobdemandsandlackofplanningtimewerecitedasmajorconcerns.
Allaforementioned,comprehensivestudiesfocusingonteacherexperiencesemphasized
theurgentneedforsustainedPDinordertoprovidetheknowledgeandskillsrequiredto
enhanceCBIcurriculum.
Fullan’s(1991)influentialmodelhasstressedtheimportanceofunderstandingthe
subjectivelivedexperiencesofteachersasakeycatalystforeducationalchangeandgiven
thatthereissuchdemandandcallsforchangeandteacherPDwithinCBI,itissurprising
therehasbeensuchlittleattentionpaidtoteachers’experiencesduringCBIprofessional
developmentinitiatives.TwostudiesconductedbyCammarata(2009;2010)concentrated
specificallyonthree(Cammarata,2009)tofour(Cammarata,2010)foreignlanguage
teachersastheyparticipatedinayearlongprofessionaldevelopmentinitiativeatamajor
universitydesignedtointroduceKthroughuniversity-levelworldlanguageteacherstoCBI
pedagogyinordertobalancetheirlow-intensive,language-drivenclassroomswithmore
reallifecontentandsubjectmatter.Bothstudies,regardingthesameinitiative,placedthe
teachers’livedexperiencesasthecentralfocusandexploredtheteachers’attemptsof
integratingmorecontentintothelanguagecurriculumthroughaphenomenologicallens.
Foralltheteachersinvolved,thePDinitiativewasmetwithsomeresistance,
confusionandtension.Thefirststudy(Cammarata,2009)revealedconcernsthatstudents
wouldnotbeabletohandlematerialswithmoreofacontentfocus,thatitwouldbean
21
“idealisticandunrealisticenterprise”tofocusonbothlanguageandcontentatonce,and
thattheremightbeoppositionfromstudents,parents,colleaguesandsuperiors.Teachers
alsoexpresseddifficultyinadaptingtonewmodelsofteachinghavingalreadygarnered
significantpedagogicalexperienceandestablishedprofessionalidentities:
Asanexperiencedteacher,Ihavedevelopedasolidteachingstyleand
philosophy,butnowIamaskedtoswitchgearsandthinkdifferentlyabout
teaching…itislikesomeonetellsyou‘Itmustbelikethis,andwehavetomake
aplanlikethis’…Youknow,it’sverydifficulttobreakyourcycle.Iamsousedtothe
wayIapproachmylessonsplans,butnowwehavethistemplateandwehaveto
useitand…thetechnicalityisdifferent,everythingseemsdifferent.(p.575)
AnothermajorsiteofstrugglewasenvisioningtangiblemethodsforapplyingCBIinthe
classroom,asanotherteachernoted:
Ithink,becauseIunderstandorthinkIunderstandthetheory,Icouldthinkabout
waysthatitcouldbeimplemented,buthavingspecificconcreteexampleslike
seeinganactivitydoneinaclassroomwouldreallyhelp.Ihavenothadthatyet,and
soIdon’tthinkthatthat’scleartome…Ijustthinkthatthereisalotofmodeling
needed,andIthinkthatit’simportanttoseeitdoneandnotjusttoseeapieceof
paperthatsaysthatthisisacontent-basedunit,becausethatdoesn’treallyhelp.
(p.574)
TheinitiativeunfortunatelyonlyrequiredteacherstohypotheticallydesignCBIcurriculum
units,andimplementationwasoptional.Therefore,teachersdidnothaveany
opportunitiestoseeCBIinpractice.
Thesecondstudy(Cammarata,2010)expandeduponthesameissuesasthefirst,
andrevealedthatlanguageteachersfeltalossofcurricularfreedomwhenengagingwith
CBI,haddifficultiesidentifyingandaligningcontentandlanguageobjectivesandbelieved
22
in“anideallineargrammarsequenceoflanguageinstructionthat,ifnotfollowed,canbe
detrimentaltolanguagelearners”(p.99).Cammaratanotedonceagainthattherewasa
lackofopportunitiestoreallyobserveCBIinaclassroomsettingthroughliveobservations
orvideos.Theinitiativewasalsoprovidedtoin-serviceteachersduringthesummer,with
veryshortandquickfollow-upsinthefall,winterandspringwhichdidnotallowfor
enoughadditionalguidanceorinstructiontocreateeffectiveCBIcurricularunits:
Asaresult,veryfewteachersactuallymovedfromthecurriculardesignphase(the
focusofthePDprogram)toactualimplementation,aphaseinthelearningprocess
thatisessentialiftheyaretofullyunderstandandappropriatethenewcurricular
framework.(p.107)
2.9ThePresentStudy
CBIisconsideredtobeanoptimalmethodofsecondlanguageinstructionbecauseit
allowslearnerstoutilizelanguageinauthenticcontextswithtangiblesubjectmatter
content.However,anemphasisonlanguageneedstobeexplicitlymadeduringcontentbasedclassesinordertoproduceoptimalresults.TeacherswhoteachwithinCBIprograms
needguidancewhetheraspartoftheirpre-serviceeducationprograms,orthroughinserviceprofessionaldevelopmenttosuccessfullybalancebothlanguageobjectivesand
contentgoals.Theliteraturerevealsthatteacherknowledgeislackinginthisarea,teacher
identitymaycauseteacherstoabsolveresponsibilityforthetaskandteachercollaboration,
whilevastlybeneficial,isalsosparse.Theprofessionaldevelopmentliteratureunderscores
theimportanceofteachercollaborationandagencyduringinitiativesbutalsoemphasizes
theimportanceofunderstandingteachers’subjectiveexperiencesduringinitiativesin
ordertolearnandpromotefuturechange.Therehasbeenrelativelylittleresearchdone
regardingCBIteachers’experiencesandperceptionsduringPDinitiativesdespitethe
23
alarmingcallsformorePD.ThetwonoteworthystudiesconductedbyCammarata(2009,
2010)focusedonforeignlanguageteacherswhoareonthelanguage-drivenextremeof
Met’s(1998)continuumandtheirpersonalencounterswithlearningCBI.
Thepresentstudywillfurtheraddtothistrendinexaminingteachers’personal
experiencesbyfocusingonteacherswhoaremoreinthemiddleofMet’s(1998)
continuum,whoteachtostudentsthatarelearningsubjectmatterinacontentcourse
throughtheirsecondlanguagebutwhoarealsotakingasupportinglanguagecourse;the
socialstudiesprogramattheETSBcanbeconsideredacontent-driven,low-timeintensive
program.Thepresentstudyalsogoesastepbeyondtheexistingliteratureby
incorporatingteachersexperiences’duringandaftertheimplementationphaseoftheirCBI
units,inwhichtheywereabletoputintopracticetheCBIpedagogywithwhichtheywere
becomingacquaintedwith.
24
3.1
Chapter3:Methodology
ResearchQuestionandDesign
Thepresentstudyfocusesonansweringthefollowingresearchquestion:
!
WhatareCBIteachers’livedexperiencesduringaprofessionaldevelopment
initiativefocusingonCBIpedagogy?
Qualitativeinnature,thisstudyseekstounderstandandobservehowCBIteachers
livethrough,experienceandperceiveprofessionaldevelopmentaimedatimprovingtheir
craft.Asnotedpreviously,CBIteachers’perceptionsandexperienceswithprofessional
developmentremainscarcelystudiedintheliterature(Cammarata,2009;2010;Tan,2011;
Cammarata&Tedick,2012).Theultimategoalofthisresearchistoportrayhowteachers
whoteachinCBIprogramsprocessPDaimedatimprovingCBIpedagogy.Inorderto
providemeaningfulsupportandstrategiesinthefuture,anunderstandingintohow
teachersrespondtoandinterpretanyhelpprovidediscrucial.Thisstudythereforeaims
tobringtolightthelivedexperiencesofCBIteachersduringaknowledgemobilization
driveninstanceofprofessionaldevelopmentinordertoassistindevisingsolidmodelsof
PDforsecondlanguageteachingandCBI.
InspiredbyCammarata’s(2009,2010)studieswhichexploredforeignlanguage
teachers’livedexperiencesofCBIprofessionaldevelopment,certainelementsfromthe
hermeneuticphenomenologicalparadigmincludingvanManen’s(1997)approachtodata
analysiswereadopted.AssuccinctlydefinedbyCammarata(2009),
Phenomenologicalinquiryaimstoanswerfundamentalquestionsabouttherealm
ofhumanexperience,suchas,Whatisaparticularexperiencereallylikeforthose
whoareexperiencingit?Whatdoesthisexperiencemeanfortheprincipalactors
wholiveit?(p.566)
25
PhenomenologyisrootedinthephilosophicaltraditionofKantandHegel,butitwas
Husserlwhopioneereditasamethodforunderstandinghumanexistenceandwhoargued
thatthepersonalconsciousnessandlivedexperienceofindividualsrevealstheclosest
truthtotherealityofagivenphenomenon(Groenewald,2004).Barnacle(2004)statesthat
phenomenologyineducationalresearchconcernstheessence,ornature,oflived
experiencesofparticipantsinagivenstudy.WhereasHusserlianphenomenologytakeson
amoredescriptiveapproachtouncoverthepre-reflectiveessenceofanexperiencefor
thoseinvolved,vanManen(1997)advocatesHeidegger’shermeneuticphenomenologyin
thesocialsciences,particularlyeducation,to“constructapossibleinterpretationofthe
natureofacertainhumanexperience”(p.41).Thisinvolvesviewingtheparticipants’
experiencethroughaninterpretativelens.Utilizingstrategiescommontohermeneutic
phenomenologywasthereforeawayofprobingthesubjectiveworldoftheCBIteachers
whoparticipatedintheMcGill-ETSBprojectinordertoascertainandunderstandwhat
Fullan(1991)describedasthe“phenomenologyofchange,”theexperiencesofthosewho
areundergoingchange,whichisprimordialtoanymeaningfuleducationaltransformation.
3.2
Background
ThepartnershipbetweenMcGillUniversityandtheETSBwasspearheadedbyProf.
RoyLyster,professorofSecondLanguageEducationintheDepartmentofIntegrated
StudiesinEducationatMcGill,inordertoprovideteacherswhoteachsocialstudiesin
Frenchtopredominantlynon-francophonestudentswithbetterpedagogicalstrategiesto
enrichtheirstudents’languagelearning.Theprojectisa3-yearinitiativedesignedto
provideprofessionaldevelopmenttosocialstudiesteachersattheETSBincohorts,ina
similarfashiontoaprevious3-yearPDprojectbyLyster,Quiroga,andBallinger(2013);
26
theparticipatingteachersinthefirst-yearwillprovideguidancetoanewgroupofteachers
inthesecondyear,whowillinturnsupportthoseparticipatinginthefinalyear.The
Chantier7programoftheMELS,designedtoprovidefinancialsupportfortheprofessional
trainingofschoolpersonnel,allowedtheprojecttomoveforwardandfortheparticipating
teacherstoattendfivefull-dayworkshopsduringtheacademicyearinwhichtheyhadthe
opportunitytodesigninstructionalunitswithinthecontextofworkshopsguidedby
researchersandeducationalconsultantsfrombothMcGillandtheETSB.Asthemain
objectivewastoimprovestudents’French,teacherswereintroducedtostrategiesthat
wouldallowthemtointertwinetheteachingofsocialstudiesandFrenchasasecond
languageinordertointegratecontentandlanguage.
Duringthefirstthreeworkshops,threedifferentpresentationsweregiveninthe
morningsandteachersweregiventimeintheafternoontoplananddesignsocialstudies
unitswithaFrenchlanguagefocusthatreflectedtheconceptsandprinciplesfromthe
morningpresentations.Theobjectiveoftheunitswastoimprovecompetenciesinboth
universsocialandFrenchasasecondlanguage.Thefourthworkshopbeganwithashorter
presentationtoconsolidateandreviewconceptspresentedtoteachersbutwasthen
dedicatedentirelytothecompletionoftheunits,withafulldaygiventoplanin
collaborationwithotherteachersandteammembers.Teachersthenimplementedtheir
unitsintheirclassrooms,withteammembersarrivingtovideo-recordcertainlessons.The
fifthandfinalsessionwasheldafterallthelessonshadbeenimplementedandfilmed,in
whichteacherswereshownclipsoftheirteachingandweregivenopportunitytoreflecton
theprojectasawhole.Allfiveworkshopsessionstookplaceatanadulteducationcenterin
Sherbrooke,QuébecandteacherswerefilmedattheirvariousschoolsacrosstheEastern
27
Townshipsregionoverthecourseoftheacademicyear(seeFigure2).Workshopsand
mostcorrespondencebetweenteammembersandteacherswasinFrench,asthiswasthe
primarylanguageofallthoseinvolved.Thefiveworkshopsandclassroomvisitsare
describedindetailinthefollowingsections:
Workshop
#1-
Late
October
Workshop
#3-
Early
December
Workshop
#2-
Mid
November
Workshop
#5-
LateApril
Filming-
Late
February
Workshop
#4-
Late
January
Filming-
March
Figure2.TimelineoftheMcGill-ETSBproject
Workshop#1–LateOctober
Contentandinstructionalstrategiesinsocialsciences
KathyNapier,aneducationalconsultantwiththeETSBspecializinginthesocial
studiesprogram,presentedanoverviewoftheconceptsunderlyingthecontentcurriculum
andprovidedstrategiesdirectlyaimedatteachingthesubjecttostudents.Ministry
documentssuchastheProgressionofLearning,acurriculummapdisplayingwhichthemes
andtopicsaretobecoveredatwhatlevels,waspresented.EvaluationFrameworksandthe
sevenIntellectualOperationsthatstudentsmustbeabletodo(situateintimeandspace,
establishfacts,categorizeaterritory,makecomparisons,determinechanges,establish
connectionbetweenfacts,establishcasualconnections)werereviewed.Techniquesand
checklistsofCoreCompetenciesspecifictothelearningofgeographyandhistorysuchas
28
understandingtheorganizationofasocietyanditsterritory,interpretingchangeina
societyanditsterritory,andbeingopentothediversityofsocietiesandtheirterritories,
werealsopresented.Samplegraphicorganizers,worksheetsandsuggestionsforlesson
planswerealsoshared.Teacherswerethengiventimeintheafternoontoselectacontent
themetofocusonduringthecreationoftheirinstructionalunits.
Workshop#2–MidNovember
Language-and-contentintegratedlearninginsocialsciences
Prof.Lysterdiscussedthecounterbalancedapproach,synthesizedinLyster(2007),
inwhichteacherscancontinuouslyshiftstudents’attentionandawarenessfromcontentto
languageandbackagain.Thecounterbalancedapproachcomesintwoforms:(a)proactive
form-focusedinstructionforspecificlanguagefeaturesrequiredinacontent-basedclass
and(b)reactive,orimmediateform-focusedinstructionthroughscaffolding,andcertain
typesoferrorcorrectionthatprovidestudentswithricheropportunitiesformeaningful
feedbackandrepair.Teacherswereshownanhourglassfigureinordertovisualizehow
proactiveform-focusedinstructioncouldbeusedastemplateforcreatinglessons.
29
Figure3.Proactiveform-focusedinstructioninfoursteps,takenfromLyster(2014)
Teachersweregivenaneasytofollowfour-stepprocessthatcouldbeusedwhen
developinglessonsthatintegratecontentandlanguage(seeFigure3):
(a) Thefirststep,l’activitédeperception(NoticingActivity),callsforteachersto
selectalanguagefeature(suchasverbtense,pronouns,grammaticalgender)
withinthecontextofacontentclass,andtodrawstudents’attentiontothe
chosenlanguagefeaturethroughtheuseofhighlighting,underlining,boldfont,
repetitionorothersuchtechniquesinordertogetstudentstonoticelanguage
withinasubject-matterwrittentextororalactivity.
(b) Thesecondstep,l’activitédeconsicentisation(AwarenessActivity),entails
concentratingonthelanguagefeatureandallowingstudentstounderstand,
reflectandbecomeawareofitslinguistic,grammaticalorsemanticvalue;while
languagecomestotheforefront,thesocialstudiescontentisstillinthe
background.
(c) Thethirdstep,l’activitédepratiqueguidée(GuidedPractice),allowsstudentsto
usethelinguisticknowledgefromthepreviousstepinanewactivitydesignedto
reinforceitsuse,eitherthroughagamingactivitysuchasbingo,puzzlesor
crosswordsorthroughaguidedoralactivity.
(d) Thefourthstep,l’activitédepratiquecommunicative(CommunicativePractice),
bringsstudentsbackintotherealmofthecontentorsubjectmatterathandwith
anoralorwrittenactivitythatputemphasisonthelanguagefeaturedcovered,
inorderforstudentstouseitappropriatelyinanauthenticcontext.
Teachersweregivenanexamplewithawrittentextforeachofthestepswithinthe
hourglassfigure.ThefindingsofstudiesbySinclairandCoulthard(1975)ontheInitiationResponse-Feedback(IRF)sequence,aswellasstudiesconductedbySwain(1988)and
Lyster(2006)regardingthenoticingoflanguagestructureswithinCBIcontextswere
30
presentedinordertoshowteachersthebenefitsofbothproactiveform-focused
instructionandreactiveform-focusedinstruction.Teachersweregiventheafternoonto
selectalanguagefeaturethattheywishedtoincorporateintotheirsocialstudiesthematic
unit.
Workshop#3–EarlyDecember
Readingstrategiesinsocialsciences
Prof.VirginieMartelfroml’UniversitéduQuebecà Rimouski(UQAR)presentedher
workthatwassynthesizedinMartel(2009)oneffectivereadingstrategiesforstudents
studyingsocialstudies.Shefocusedontechniquesdesignedtoselectandorganize
informationfromsocialsciencetextsaswellaswaystopredictandskimtextsforkey
information.Strategiestofocusonkeyvocabularyitemswerealsodiscussedaswellasthe
useoffictionaltextstostimulatestudentinterestandreignitereadingforpleasure.
Teacherswerethengiventimeintheafternoontopreparetheirinstructionalunitswhich
incorporatedbothacontentfocusandalanguagefocus,usingthehourglassmodelof
proactiveform-focusedinstructionasatemplateandguide.
Workshop#4–LateJanuary
Prof.Lystergaveteachersabriefpresentationonreactiveform-focusedinstruction.
ThefindingsofLysterandRanta’s(1997)studyregardingcorrectivefeedbacktypessuch
asrecastsandclarificationrequestswereoutlinedinordertoclassifyandorganizethe
typesoforalerrorcorrectionteachersutilizeforsecondlanguagelearnersinCBIsettings.
Teacherswerethengiventheentiredaytocollaborateandfinalizetheirinstructionalunits
thatweretobeimplementedandfilmedinthefollowingweeks.Teammembersprovided
guidanceandassistanceasrequestedbyteachers.
31
Implementationandvideotaping–FebruaryandMarch
Aschedulewasdesignedinordertobeasunproblematicaspossibleforteachers,to
videotapetheimplementationoftheunitstheydesignedduringtheworkshops.Teachers
chosethedaysmostconvenientforthemforteammemberstoarriveandvideorecordas
muchoftheunitaspossible.Unitslastedbetweenfourtosixclasses;betweentwotosix
hoursofvideorecording,varyingfromparticipanttoparticipantduetoscheduling,was
obtained.Intotal,nearly30hoursoffilmingwasincludedinthevideodatabase.
Workshop#5–LateApril
Thefifthandfinalsessionoftheprojectgatheredtheteacherstogethertoviewclips
ofeachteacher’sinstructionalunitthatattemptedtoincorporateaFrenchlanguagefocus
withinasocialstudiescontentclass.Teachersweregiventheopportunitytodiscusstheir
unitaftertheirclipwasshownandanopportunityforstimulated-recallwasprovidedfor
teacherstoreflectonthespotandsharetheirexperiencesofplanningandteachingtheir
unit.Aftertheviewing,teacherswereaskedtocompleteaquestionnairewhiletheywaited
tobeinterviewedanddebriefedregardingtheirexperienceduringtheprojectasawhole. 3.3
Participants
TherewereinitiallytenteachersselectedtoparticipateintheMcGill-ETSBproject,
recruitedandinvitedbyJeanProvençal,akeyteammemberandeducationalconsultant
withtheETSB.However,becausetwooftheparticipantstookunforeseenmedicalleavesof
absenceduringtheproject,thefinaltotalofteacherswhocompletedallfiveworkshops
waseight.TheexperiencesoftheeightteacherswhoparticipatedinthePDinitiativeinits
entiretywerethereforeincludedinthisstudy.Alloftheparticipatingteachersinthestudy
werefemale,whichisamoreorlessaccuratereflectionofthefieldreality;87%of
32
elementaryschoolteachersinQuébecarefemale(ServiceCanada,2014).Background
informationregardingtheparticipantsisprovidedinTable1.
Teacher
MotherTongue
Background Grade
inSecond
Level
Language
Teaching
French
Yearsof
Teaching
Teaching
French/FSL
Experience aswellas
Social
Studies
33
No
Beatrice
Yes
6
Chantal
French
21
Yes
Yes
2
Corinne
French
5
Yes
Yes
4
Delphine
French
11
Yes
Yes
4,5,6
Danielle
French
20
Yes
No
6
Gabrielle
French
12
Yes
Yes
6
Sandrine
French
27
No
No
7
Vanessa
English/French
15
Yes
No
4
Table1.Studyparticipants
Sevenoftheteacherstaughtattheelementarylevelandoneteachertaughtatthe
secondarylevel(grade7inQuébec);allteachershadbetween5to33yearsofteaching
experience.Between40to99%oftheirstudentsinsocialstudieswerenativeEnglish
speakersandeveryteacherindicatedadifferentamountoftimespentteachingthecourse
inagivenweekduetoindividualschooldifferencesandtimetables.Allteachersindicated
thattheyrarelyorneverparticipatedinanytypeofPDorcollaborationwithother
teachers.UponacceptingtotakepartintheMcGill-ETSBproject,teacherswereinvitedto
participateinthisstudyabouttheirexperiencesandsignedconsentforms
33
(seeAppendixA)indicatingtheirapproval.Participantsareidentifiedbypseudonyms
throughoutthisthesis.
3.4
DataCollection
AccordingtovanManen(1997),“phenomenologyisdiscoveryoriented.Itwantsto
findoutwhatacertainphenomenonmeansandhowitisexperienced”(p.29),toultimately
“constructananimating,evocativedescription(text)ofhumanactions,behaviors,
intentionsandexperiencesaswemeettheminthelife-world”(p.19).Withinthe
phenomenologicaltradition,theinner,intuitiveworldofourday-to-dayexperienceis
referredtoasthelife-world,ultimatelybecominganempirical,legitimatesourceof
knowledgeandmeaning(Barnacle,2004).AsateammemberoftheMcGill-ETSBproject,I
wasdirectlyinvolvedinthePDinitiative,withcloseandpersonalcontactwiththe
participants.Iwasabletowitnessfirst-handallstagesoftheirparticipation,includingthe
designandimplementationphasesoftheirunits.Myuniqueandintimateinsightintothe
PDasitunfoldedpermittedcloseobservationsthroughouttheprocess,whichallowsthe
researcherto“enterthelife-worldofthepersonswhoseexperiencesarerelevantstudy
material.Thebestwaytoenteraperson’slife-worldistoparticipateinit”(vanManen,
1997,p.69).Hermeneuticphenomenologypositsthat“interpretationis(….)criticaltothis
processofunderstanding,(…)everyencounterinvolvesaninterpretationinfluencedbyan
individual’sbackgroundorhistoricality”(Laverty,2003,p.9).
Inordertoobtainself-reportedanddirectdatafromtheparticipantsregardingtheir
ownexperiences,semi-structuredinterviewsandquestionnaireswereutilized.Data
collectionconsistedoftwoquestionnairesperparticipant,twointerviewsperparticipant,
closeobservationsduringallfiveworkshopsandmultipleclassroomvisitswith
34
accompanyingfieldnotesaswellaspersonaldiscussionsandencounterswiththeteachers.
Alleightparticipatingteachersansweredaquestionnairepriortoworkshop#1online,
administeredthroughSurveyMonkey,togatherfactualinformation:theireducational
background,thecompositionsoftheirclassroomsandtheirfamiliaritywithprofessional
development(seeAppendixB).Theparticipatingteachersalsotookpartina20to30minuteaudio-recordedsemi-structuredinterviewwithopen-endedquestionsdesignedto
elicittheiropinions,whichareintherealmofinterpretationandreflection,ontheir
experiencesofteachingsocialstudiesinFrenchtopredominantlynon-francophone
students(seeAppendixC).Theseinterviewstookplaceintheafternoonsduringworkshop
sessions#1and#2.Theinitialinterviewforonesetofteachers,Corinne,Vanessa,and
Delphine,wasconductedasagroupastheseteachersworkedtogetherinthesameschool
andchosetocollaboratecloselyduringtheinitiative.Therestoftheteachers,whocame
fromdifferentschools,wereinterviewedindividually.
Closeobservationsoftheteachersduringallfiveworkshopsalsogaveadifferent
perspective,asidefromthatwhichwasself-reported,oftheirexperiencesduringthe
professionaldevelopmentinitiative.TwovisitstotheschoolsofCorinne,Vanessa,
Delphine,aswellasDanielle,foratotaloftwoperiodseach,werealsoconductedinorder
tobecomefamiliarwiththeirclassrooms,theirstudentsandtheirworkenvironmentwith
theaimofunderstandingtheireverydayrealitiesasCBIteachers.Subsequentvisitstoall
participants’schoolswerealsoconductedduringthefilmingoftheunitsdesigned.Each
teacherwasvisitedbetweentwotosixtimes,andfilmedfortwotosixlessons,varying
accordingtotimetableandschedulingissues.Thefilmingschedulewassharedbetween
35
PatriciaHoude,anothergraduateresearcherwhowaspartoftheMcGill-ETSBteam,and
myself.
Duringthelastsession,workshop#5,teachersweregivenanexitquestionnaire
online,administeredthroughSurveyMonkey,aftertheyhadfinishedviewingthevideosof
theirteaching.ThequestionnaireaskedthemtoratecertainaspectsofthePD,andtogauge
theirperceptionsregardingtheeffectivenessoftheprojectasawhole(seeAppendixD).
Teacherswerealsoaskedforasecond20to30-minuteaudio-recordedsemi-structured
interviewdesignedtoelicitbothopinionsaswellaslivedexperiencedescriptionswhich
allowedthemtofurtherexpandonnotionscoveredinthequestionnaire,aswellasthe
opportunitytospeakfreelythroughconversationalandopendialogueregardingthe
training,theirexperiencesanditsimpactintheclassroominorder(seeAppendixE).For
thesecondinterview,allparticipantswerequestionedindividuallyhoweveronthis
occasionduetotimingrestrictions,theinterviewsoftheteachersweresplitevenly(four
andfour)betweenmyselfandanothergraduateresearcher.Intranscriptions,Iam
identifiedasVictor,whiletheadditionalresearcherisidentifiedasPatricia.
3.5
DataAnalysis
AsvanManen(1997)importantlynotes:
Phenomenologicalmethoddoesnotofferaproceduralsystem;rather,its
methodrequiresanabilitytobereflective,insightful,sensitivetolanguageand
constantlyopentoexperience.(p.xi)
Therefore,phenomenologicaldataanalysisisnotboundbyanysetofrigidorlinearsteps;
itistheunderlyingfoundationandthelensthroughwhichdataisviewed.Cammarata
(2010)states,“theaimofphenomenologicalinquiryistoidentifycoreconstituentsor
36
essentialcharacteristics/featuresofaparticularexperienceunderstudy”(p.97).van
Manen(1997)alsodescribesaprocessofthematicidentificationforcoreconstituents,
whichbringsabouttheessentialthemesoftheexperienceorphenomenoninquestion:
Indeterminingtheuniversaloressentialqualityofatheme,ourconcernisto
discoveraspectsorqualitiesthatmakeaphenomenonwhatitisandwithoutwhich
thephenomenoncouldnotbewhatitis.(p.107)
Consequently,notionsofessentialthemesandthematicanalysisareattheheartofthis
typeofinquiry.Guest,MacQueen,andNamey’s(2012)guidelinesforthematicanalysis
whichalsoreferencethephenomenologicalparadigm,suggestRyanandBernard’s(2003)
sevenmarkersthatcanhelpidentifyandbringoutessentialthemeswhenanalyzing
qualitativedata:(a)repetition,(b)indigenouscategories/typologies,(c)metaphorsand
analogies,(d)transitions,(e)constantcomparisons/similaritiesanddifferences,
(f)linguisticconnectors,and(g)silence/missingdata.
Afterbothsetsofinterviewdataweretranscribed,athoroughreadingofall
questionnaires,interviewsandfieldnotesduringobservationswasmadeinchronological
orderofoccurrence.AlldatawasthenuploadedintoNVivosoftwareforeasiercodingand
classification.Asecondmorethoroughreadingwascompleted,usingthesevensuggested
markersbyRyanandBernard(2003)toidentifypatternsandcommonalitiesacross
teachers’responsesinordertodiscoverthecoreconstituentsoftheirexperiences.Issues
thatwererepeatedandphrasesthatwereusedbymultipleparticipantswereconsidered
essential,ratherthanincidental,duetotheirfrequencyandpotency.Thegoalwasto
capturehowtheparticipantslivedthroughandexperiencedthePDandtodiscoverwhat
keysentimentstheyfeltandexperienced.Afterinitialthemeswerecoded,athirdand
37
fourthreadingofthedatawascompletedandaprocessoffreeimaginativevariationwas
undertakentoconfirmwhetherthethemeschosenwererepresentativeofthePD
experienceasawhole:
Isthisphenomenonstillthesameifweimaginativelychangeordeletethistheme
fromthephenomenon?Doesthephenomenonwithoutthisthemeloseits
fundamentalmeaning?(vanManen,1997,p.107)
Triangulationofthedataalsoprovidedaglobalassessmentofteachers’perspectivesand
interactionsduringtheproject.First,theteachers’experiencesandviewpointsoftheir
professionandtrainingweregatheredinwritingviathepreandpostquestionnaires.
Second,throughworkshopobservations,liveclassroomobservationsandvideotaped
lessons,Iwasabletoimmersemyselfandgetapersonaloverviewoftheteachers’
experiences.Finally,thepreliminaryinterviewsfollowedbythefinalinterviewswerea
primeopportunityfortheteachersthemselvestoexpresstheirviews,perceptionsand
experiencesthroughconversationanddialogue.
38
Chapter4:Findings
Aftercarefulanalysis,thelivedexperiencesoftheeightteachersduringtheMcGill-
ETSBprojectonCBIpedagogywereultimatelybrokendownandcategorizedintosixcore
constituents,orkeysentimentsandessentialemotionsthatwereomnipresent:enthusiasm,
enlightenment,confusion,collaboration,satisfaction,andfinallyreservation.Thecore
constituentsfollowaslightchronologicalandcyclicalpattern,moreorlessmirroringthe
structureofthePDinitiative.Theycapturetheprogressionoftheteachers’experiential
statesastheyunfolded,yettheyalsoremaincontinuousandoverlaptoformawhole(see
Figure4).Adoptingthisevolutiontoarrangethereportingofthefindingsfollowsvan
Manen(1997)suggestion“toorganizeone’swritinginamannerrelatedtothe
fundamentalstructureofthephenomenonitself”(p.125).
Enthusiasm
Enlightenment
Reservation
Satisfaction
Confusion
Collaboration
Figure4.Directionalandinterconnectedrepresentationofteachers’experiences
39
4.1
Enthusiasm
Rightfromtheonset,alltheteachersoverwhelminglyembarkedontheinitiative
withgreatinterestandanticipation.Theyrevealedatremendoussenseofpositivityand
commitmenttobeinginvolvedinamulti-leveleffortthatfinallyaddressedessential
concernsregardingteachingsocialstudiesinFrenchtostudentswhosefirstlanguagewas
predominantlyEnglish.Teachersexperiencedunbridledenthusiasm,happythatthe
programandthosewhoteachitwereatlastreceivingsomemuch-neededsupport.A
generalconsensusamongtheteacherswasthatforparents,colleagues,administration,and
eventhemselves,thesocialstudiesprogramwasoftenrelegatedtothebottomofthe
prioritylistandtherewasagenerallackofattentionpaidtotheprogrambyall
stakeholdersconcerned.Itwasrelativelyeasytodismiss:
Chantal:
Desfoisj’ail’impressionpourmescollèguesquec’estpasquelquechose
d’important.Ahc’estjustelesscienceshumaines.Ahouais,lesélèvesontun
matchdebasketballcetaprès-midi,ahmaisc’estjustelesscienceshumaines.
(Interview#1)
Delphine:
Puisjepensequel’universsocialmalheureusementc’estunematièrequ’onpeut
plusfacilement…direqu’onn’apasbeaucoupdetemps…
Corinne:
Oublier…
Vanessa:
Dansunejournéeonplanifiepourlesmaths,languagearts,lefrançais, sciencessociales,sciences…j’aipleindeplanningàfaire,doncc’estvraique
desfois…
Victor:
Onoublieunpetitpeu?
Vanessa:
Onmetàcoté…(Interview#1)
Withatightscheduleandahighemphasisplacedonothersubjectsbyschoolsandthe
community,thePDinitiativewaslivedasanidealopportunitytofinallyengageinserious
40
discussionsregardingsocialstudiesandbringittotheforefrontofthecurriculum.The
teacherswereverykeentoparticipateinordertodedicatemoretimeandenergyto
planning.Theyweredelightedthattheprogramwasreceivingattentionandthatthey
wouldatlastreceivethetime,training,andsupporttoimprovetheirteaching:
Chantal:
Maisuneformationcommeaujourd’hui,jepensequ’oncommenceàconsacrer
plusdetempsauxscienceshumainesparcequ’onserendcomptequ’onfaitpas
bien.Lacommissionscolaire,jetrouvedepuisquej’enseigne,quandilyaun
problème,ilsl’adressent.Etça,c’esttrèspositifàmonavis.Jesuiscontentede
voirqu’onadresseceprogrammelà.(Interview#1)
Sandrine:
Jesuisbiencontentedeparticiperàceprojetlà.Jecroisquecavaêtretrès
formateur.(Interview#1)
Beatrice:
Jetrouvequel’atelierqu’onalà,jetrouvequeça…moijesuisvraiment enchantée…quandj’aireçucetteinvitationlà,j’aiditoui!Oui! (Interview#1)
Beatricewasparticularlyexcitedtotakepart,mentioningseveraltimesinpassing
duringworkshopsthatshewasluckyandgratefultohavethePDaddressingtheprogram.
Theenthusiasmandoptimismwithwhichtheprofessionaldevelopmentwasmetwasdue
tothefactthatnotonlywastheprogramoftenneglectedoroverlooked,butthatthe
teachersrecognizedtheywerehavingdifficultywiththeleveloftheirstudents’
comprehensionwhilelearningsocialstudiesinwhatformanyisasecondlanguage;this
wasoneofthemostcommonissuesforteacherswhileteachinginthisparticularCBI
context.Eachoftheparticipatingteachersstruggledwiththelargediscrepancybetween
studentswhocouldinteractindependentlywithcontentmaterial,mostlybecausethey
werealreadynativeFrenchspeakers,andthosewhohadconsiderabledifficultywith
41
reading,vocabulary,andotherlanguagefeaturesbecausetheywerenativeEnglish
speakers:
Chantal:
Cequiestdifficileaveclesplusvieuxc’estquej’aiunegrandevariété.J’enai
quisontfrancophones,j’enaiquiparlenttrèspeudefrançais,c’esttoutdansla
mêmeclasse.(Interview#1)
Vanessa:
C’estd’avoirtouslesniveauxdansuneclasse.J’aidesjeunesquine
comprennentàpeinelefrançais,tandisqued’autressontfrancophones,çaje
trouveçaunpetitpeuundéfi.
Corinne:
Unpetitdéfi?!Non,nonc’estungrosdéfi.(Interview#1)
Beatrice:
Ilyadesenfantsquicomprennenttrèsbienlefrançaispuisilyenaqui necomprennentpasdutout.Ouencoreilyadeplusenplusd’autisme danslesclasses.(Interview#1)
Delphine:
C’estsûrqu’enseignerenlangueseconde,onavraimentdesniveauxtrès
diverses(…)onadesfrancophonespuisonadesélèvesquineparlentfrançais
qu’àl’école.C’estsûrquepaliercesdeuxniveauxlàc’estpastoujoursévident
danslesmêmesclassesparcequequandonenseigne,c’estpas«streaming».
(Interview#2)
Gabrielle:
Sinon,lorsquej’enseignejediraisquec’estlacompréhension,labarrièredela
langueesttrèsdifficile.(Interview#1)
Sandrine:
Lacompréhensiondestextes,dumanuelqu’ilsutilisentquiestunmanuelde
languematernelledoncl’élèven’estpasautonomedanssalecture.Enfait,jelis
toutpoureuxpuisj’expliquetout.(Interview#1)
ThecompositionofsocialstudiesclassesinFrenchattheETSBisthusverysimilar
toatwo-wayimmersionscenario(Tedick,Christian,&Fortune,2011),withclasses
containingbothlanguage-minority,andlanguage-majoritystudents.However,second
42
languagepedagogywasnotincludedduringclasstime.Therewasnosystematicattention
paidtolanguagebyanyoftheteacherswhiletheytaughtuniverssocial;anytypeoffocus
waseitherincidentalorspontaneous.IalsoconfirmedthisthroughvisitstoDanielle,
Corinne,andDelphine’sclassroomspriortotheimplementationoftheirunits;lessonsthat
wereobservedconsistedofdiscussions,dialogues,presentationsandothercommunicative
activitiesthatdidnothaveaspecificfocusonthelanguagestructuresneededforstudents
toexpressthemselvesappropriately.Asaresult,studenterrorswerequitecommon,but
wererarelycorrectedbytheteachersduetotheirfrequency. Nevertheless,alltheteachersacknowledgedandrecognizedtheimportanceof
attendingtolanguageformstoimprovetheirstudents’comprehension.Whiletheteachers
reportedunderstandingthesecondlanguagebarriertheyfacedwithmanyoftheir
studentsinaCBIclassroomandthepositiveimplicationsofattendingtolanguage,they
wereunabletotakethenecessarystepstoalleviatethesituation.Inadditiontoalackof
appropriatematerialforsecondlanguagelearnersandthetimetoproperlyadaptexisting
ones,theycontinuedtobestuckonpreciselyhowtoincorporateattentiontolanguage
formsandsuitableresourcesintoacontent-basedclass.Gabriellewasabletocapturethe
dilemmaofteachingsocialstudieswithparticularpoignancy:
Gabrielle:
Enfait,leproblèmecen’estpasl’absencederessources.Ilyenabeaucoupen
universsocial.C’estjustequ’ilfautprendreletempsdetriercesressources,il
fautprendreletempsdesavoirquellesressourcesonenabesoinetà quel
moment.Doncilfautdéjàavoiruneidéedecequ’onvaenseignerpuis commentonval’enseigner.C’estçaqu’ilmanquedanslefond.Parcequeles
ressources,ellessontdisponibles.Ilyapleind’atlasdansl’école,ilyapleinde
manuels,ilyapleindeglobesterrestres,ilyapleindeprojets,ilyapleinde
43
livres.Leproblèmec’estdesavoirquandetcommentlesutiliserdansnotre
enseignement.(Interview#1)
Whenaskedthequestioniftheyincorporatedlanguageintotheirclasses,thisishow
DanielleandChantalresponded:
Danielle:
Pasencore.C’estpourçaquejesuisici.(rire)
Victor:
Ok.Croyez-vousquecelaestimportant?
Danielle:
Absolument.Enfait,moijemelimitaispasmalauvocabulaire.Peutêtre
justement,lesmotsdifficilesreliésaucontenu,alorsquepeutêtrec’estpaslà
oùlaprioritédevraitêtre.Jecomprendstrèsbien,jepensequejesuiscontente
d’êtreicipourça.(Interview#1)
Chantal:
Oui(hésitation).C’estimportantd’avoirlesdiscussionsenfrançais,delireen
français.Maintenantgrammatical,jesaispas.Pourcequiestdegrammaire,je
peuxpasrépondre,jenel’aipasfait.J’attendsdevoirqu’estcequ’onvam’offrir
ici.(Interview#1)
TheMcGill-ETSBprojectwasthusregardedasabearerofmuchneededassistance.The
teachersfeltveryeagertobe“here,”attheinitiative,toreceivehelpandtangiblemethods
toattendtolanguageintheclassroominamoreproductiveway;theylackedthe
pedagogicalknowledge,appropriateresources,andtimetodoso.ThePDinitiativewas
theiropportunitytofinallyreceiveconcretetrainingandthespacewithinwhichtoperhaps
answerandsolveimportantquestionsandissuestheyfacedwhileteaching.Itwaslivedas
astimulatingandcrucialoccasion.
Duringtheworkshops,alltheteacherswereimmersedintotheirimmediatereality
andenvironment;itishardtoselectsimplyonespecificinstanceormomentinwhichthis
wasapparent,asitwastrulyubiquitous.Duringeverypresentationgivenbyateam
member,teacherswereconstantlytakingnotes,noddingtheirheadsinagreement,and
44
continuouslyaskingquestions.Theywerealwaysprepared,withmaterialandcomputers,
readytogo.Theywereateaseyetthoroughlyengaged.Humor,usedbythepresentersand
facilitators,createdarelaxedandpositiveatmosphereinwhichtheteachersfeltfreetoask
questionseasily,andinwhichtheysensedthattheywerebeingsupported.Everybody
sharedanecdotesandconcerns.Someteachers,notablyDanielleandBeatrice,weremore
vocalinaskingquestionsrelatingtothecontentcurriculum,integratinglanguageand
contentaswellaslanguagepedagogy,yeteveryonewasfullypresent,readytolearn.There
wasanoverwhelmingsenseofdedicationduringtheworkshops;teachersunderstoodthe
importanceandvalueoftheinitiativeandwereenthusiasticallytakingpart.Thefollowing
exchangebetweenVanessa,Delphine,Corinne,andmyselfduringthefirstinterview
perfectlycapturesthepositiveandmotivatingenergywithwhichalltheteachers
approachedtheirparticipationandinvolvement:
Vanessa:
Jetrouvepournous,justelefaitd’êtrecapabledes’asseoirensembleetde
discuterçavadéjàchangerénormémentlafaçondefaire,puisqueonse
concentre,onsedonneletemps,onavaitditqueletempsc’étaitquelquechose
quinousmanquait…
Delphine:
C’estça.Moientoutcas,aprèscesdeuxjours,mavisionadéjàchangéetma
confianceenmoietlefaitdedire,oui,çasepeut.Puisd’avoirdesidéespour
fairedeschoses,pourcréerdeschosesquefinalementçavaêtreplusfacile.
Corinne:
Aussi,laformationcontinuejecrois.C’estl’ateliermaintenantquinousdonne
l’occasion,quinousdonnedesidéespuisl’occasiondes’asseoirensemble.La
plupartdesenseignantsquienseignentenuniverssocialnesontpasformés
pourlefaire,onestlapreuve.Souvent,c’est,allez,débrouillez-vous,volezde
vospropresailesmaisilfautleurdonnerdelaformationaussijecrois.Ça
seraituneclé,unélémentclé.Dela formationcontinue.
Vanessa:
Puis,d’avoirunejournéeaumoisdejanvierouenavril,unejournéecomplète
detravaillerlà-dessus,c’estrare.C’esttrèsrare.
45
Corinne:
Oui.
Delphine:
C’estl’unedesraisonsquej’aiditouitoutesuiteàceprojet.Jemesuisditenfin
jevaispouvoirprendredutemps…Oui,audébutjemesuisdit,5jours,mon
Dieu,pasdansmaclasseàplanifier,unremplaçant…maisaprèsça…
Victor:
Çavautlapeine?
Delphine:
Vraiment,vraiment.Jesuistrès,trèscontente.
Victor:
C’estbien.
Corinne:
Oui,c’estpositif.
Vanessa:
C’estunbonprojet.(Interview#1)
Delphinementionedthatshewasquicktoaccepttheinvitationtoparticipateinthe
initiative,echoingBeatrice’searlierstatementonsayingyesrightway.BothDelphineand
Vanessawerefilledwithhopeandpromiseastheyparticipatedintheproject,outlining
thatitwasmotivatingthemandgivingthemthetime,incrediblyrareduringday-to-day
schoollife,toconcentrate.Corinnereaffirmedthatsocialstudiesteacherswereoftenleft
ontheirown,forgottenandabandoned;sheheraldedtheimportanceoftrainingfor
teachers.ThePDtheywereapartofwasreassuring,andtheywerepleasedtobeinvolved.
Itwasalong-awaitedandindispensiblechancetofullydedicatethemselvestolearnhowto
improvestudents’languageproficiencyastheytaughtsubjectmatter.
TheMcGill-ETSBprojectwaslivedwholeheartedlywithahighlevelofenthusiasm,
frombeginningtoend,bythoseitwasmeantfor.Studentcomprehensionwhilelearning
throughasecondlanguagewasaprimaryconcern,buttherearenoadequateresources
suitableforsecondlanguagelearnersreadilyavailable,andalackoftimetoplan
appropriatelyandmodifyexistingfirstlanguagematerial.Precisepedagogicalknowledge,
thewhenandthehow,wasalsomissing.Professionaldevelopmentandtrainingaimedat
addressingtheseissueswasmetwithopenarms.
46
4.2
Enlightenment
Astrongsenseofenlightenment,epiphany,andreflectionwasattheheartof
teachers’experiencesduringthePDinitiative.Theteachersunderwentasignificant
clarifyingprocessregardingthethreedefiningdimensions,orfacets,ofCBI:thecontent
curriculum,theintegrationoflanguageobjectiveswithincontentclasses,andeffective
secondlanguagepedagogy.Theyhadtheopportunitytoincorporatenewconcepts
regardingbothcontentandlanguageintotheirteachingaswellasreflectupontheir
previouslyheldbeliefsandteachingmethods.Thiswasatimetakenbyallofthemtogain
newandupdatepriorknowledgeaswellastoexperienceseveralkeyrevelationsregarding
theirteaching.
Duringworkshop#1,whichfocusedonthespecificsofthesocialstudiescurriculum
itself,thepresenterwentintoadetailed,step-by-stepdeconstructionofMinistry
documentswithwhichtheteacherswerefamiliar.Thegeneralmentalityamongstteachers
andtheirsuperiorswasthatforaparticulargradelevel,thetopics,themes,andunitsas
outlinedinthecurriculummap,hadtobecompletedinasingleacademicyear.Thiswasa
hugeburdenofstressontheteachers’shoulders.Theywerequicktoaskthepresenterto
clarifykeypoints:Chantalwantedtoknowtheevaluationcriteriathatwastrulyrelevant
fortheyoungergrades,Danielleinquiredaboutassessmentsforcertaincompetencies,
Sandrineaskedforclarificationregardingsecondaryfinalexaminations.
Amajorahamomentwaswhenthepresenter,aspecialistonsocialstudiesforthe
ETSB,toldtheteacherstonotbetemptedtodoeverything;shesuggestednotto
overextendthemselvesandthatthecurriculummapwassimplyaguide.Intheend,itwas
uptotheirdiscretiononwhatspecificsubjectsandissueswithinbroaderthematicunits
47
theywouldtouchon;itwastheCoreCompetenciesandIntellectualOperations,theskills
thatstudentsneedinhistoryandgeography,thatwerethepriority.Uponthis
announcement,therewasacollectivesighofreliefintheair.Corinnehumorouslypleaded
forprincipalstobeallowedtoattendthePDsothatthismessagecouldbetransmittedto
themaswell.Therewasageneralmismatchbetweenthecontentcurriculumandwhat
teachers,aswellasadministration,thoughttheywereexpectedtocover.Theworkshop
wasclearlythefirstexplanationandthoroughreviewthattheyhadhad.Corinne
mentionedinbothherinterviewandquestionnaireherappreciationforclarification
regardingthecontentcurriculum,asdidDanielle:
Corinne:
Maislà,j’étaiscontenteladernièrefois,qu’ilsdisentquec’étaitunesuggestion
lalistequ’onavait,moijecroyaisquec’étaitcequ’ondevaitenseigner…mais
onpeutjamaistoucheràtoutçadansuneannéemaislàsionpeutchoisir…
(Interview#1)
Corinne:
Deplus,j'aiadorélesateliersdédiésàl'enseignementdel'universsocial.J'ai
réaliséqu'ilyavaitdeslacunesdansmacompréhensionducurriculum. (Questionnaire#2)
Danielle:
J'aiquandmêmebienappréciélaprésentationdeKathy.Elleaclarifié plusieurspoints.(Questionnaire#2)
ThePDwasthereforeanenlighteningexperienceregardingcrucialinformationaboutwhat
exactlyneededtobecovered,astheteachersoftenlamentedaboutalackoftimetoattend
tolanguagepartlyduetotheamountofmaterialtheythoughttheyneededtocover.
Importantclarificationregardingexactlywhenandhowtointegratemore
languagepedagogyduringclasstimewasaveryeyeopeningexperiencefortheteachersas
well.Duringworkshop#2,Prof.Lysterbegandiscussingtheprimaryissuethattheywere
48
concernedwithwhileintheclassroom:studentcomprehension.Hestatedthefactthat
attendingtolanguagewouldnotnecessarilydiminishfromlearningcontent;infact,it
wouldbemorebeneficialinthelongtermforbothteachersandstudentsalike.Assoonas
thepresentationcommenced,alltheteacherswereeagerlytakingnotes,transfixingtheir
gazeatthepresenter.Hepresentedavideothatwouldplaceteachersintheirown
students’shoes.Thevideowasonawareness;itaskeditsaudiencetocountthenumberof
timesthemembersofoneoftwobasketballteamswouldpasstheballtoeachotherduring
apracticegame.Whileconcentratingandfocusingonthenumberoftimestheballwas
beingpassed,itwaseasytomissapersoninabearsuitmoonwalkingitswaythroughthe
teams.Itwasonlyafterthevideohadaskedifthebearwasnoticed,andthenreplayedin
slowmotion,thattheteachersletoutacollectivelaughandrealizedtheyhadnotpaid
attentiontosomethingsoblatantlyobvious.Theanalogywasmeanttoshinelightonhow
studentscouldeasilymissimportantlanguagestructureswhiletheywerefocusedon
somethingelse.Theteachersbeganopenlynamingalistoflinguisticelementsthatmany
studentsgetwrong:grammaticalgender,correcttenseswhenrecountingeventsinthe
past,incorrectauxiliaryverbs,pronunciationofplurals.Itwasanexercisethatgotthe
teachersthinkinginanewlightandwasaperfectwaytogearthemtowardsthinkingmore
concretelyaboutsecondlanguageuseinasubject-matterclass.
Thefour-stepsequenceregardingproactiveform-focusedinstruction,withan
accompanyingvisualrepresentation(seeFigure3)wasalsoakeyaidfortheteachersto
begintounderstandhowseamlesslylanguageandcontentcanbeintegrated.Whenasked
tonameonedefiningmomentduringthePD,amomentwhichcontinuedtostaywithher,
Delphinereplied:
49
Delphine:
Moi,c’estvraimentqu’onavulapyramide,jel’appellelapyramide…
Victor:
L’espècedesablier,jevaisdemanderàRoypourclarifier.
Delphine:
J’aivraimentbeaucoup,beaucoupaiméça.Çam’avraimentfaitcommeahoui.
C’estvraimentuneprogressionquej’aimeetjepensequejevaisvraimentle
suivrebeaucoupplusmaintenant.J’aimelafaçondevoyagerentrelesdeux,de
voir.C’estpasquelquechosequejefaisaisnécessairementbeaucoupavant.Je
faisaislefrançaisenuniverssocialmaispasnécessairementl’universsocialen
français.Jelefaisbeaucoupplusetc’estsouventlesenfantsquivontdireah
c’estfun,onfaitl’universsocialdanslaclassedefrançaisalorsque…Jepense
quepourmoiçaavalidédeschoses.
Victor:
C’étaitunmomentessentielpendantleprojet?
Delphine:
Oui.(Interview#2)
Shereinstatedthesamefeelinginherexitquestionnaireaswell,asdidChantaland
Corinne:
Delphine:
J'aibeaucoupretenuetaimélapyramidedes4étapespourintégrer
l'enseignementdufrançaisetdel'universsocial.Cettefaçond'intégrerles2
matièresestsimpleàcomprendreetrendletoutbeaucoupplusfacileàfaire.
(Questionnaire#2)
Chantal:
Lastructureproposée(perception,conscientisation,pratiqueguidée,et pratiquecommunicative)m'ontfaitprendreconsciencedespossibilités qu'offraitl'universsocialpoursupporterl'enseignementdufrançaislangue
seconde.(Questionnaire#2)
Corinne:
J'aiégalementappréciéleschémadeleçonproposéparM.Lyster(prendre
connaissanceducontenu,focalisersurunenotionlangagière,pratiqueguidée
etproductionfinaleencontexte).(Questionnaire#2)
50
Afigurewhichscaffoldedtheteacherstovisualizeexactlythewhenandhowofeffective
integrationoflanguageandcontentprovedtobeindispensible.Itwasaclearerwayto
proceedandfortheteacherstobegintograspconcretelywhatCBItrulyentailed.Sucha
visualrepresentationbecameavastlyconstructivetoolforthemtoplantheirlessons.
Importantrevelationsregardingthenecessitytoattendtolanguageduringa
contentclassalsomanifestedthemselveswithintheteachers’consciousness.During
preliminaryobservationsinDanielle,Delphine,andCorinne’sclassrooms,Ididnotseeany
typeoforalcorrectionofstudents’errorsduringmyvisits.Reactive(immediate)formfocusedinstruction,thecorrectionofstudenterrorsonthespot,wastoucheduponin
workshops#2and#4.Duringthemini-presentationinworkshop#4inwhichthe
classificationsofdifferenterrorcorrectiontypesfromLysterandRanta(1997)were
shared,anotableexchangeoccurredbetweenChantal,DanielleandProf.Lyster.Chantal
sharedwiththegroupthatshehadpreviouslyattendedanotherworkshopinwhicherror
correctionwastheprimaryfocusandshebegantoimplementitmoreconsistentlyinher
classes;sheuseddifferenttechniquesthatherstudentssoonbegantoexpectofherand
wouldanticipateiftheynoticedoneoftheirpeershadmadeamistake.Atthispoint,
Daniellesharedareservationshehadregardingcorrectingstudents’pronunciation.She
wasconcernedthatifsheaskedstudentstore-readmispronouncedwords,theywouldbe
reluctanttoreadagain.Prof.Lysterrespondedreassuringlythatthiswouldnotbethecase,
andthatopportunitiesforstudentstopeer-correctortoself-correct,wouldinfactenhance
studentlearning.Theotherteacherswerequicktochimeinonthebenefitsoferror
correction,andbegantosharemorepersonalanecdotesregardingstudents’errors.Later
51
on,Daniellerecountedherexperienceduringtheinitiativeasawholeandwhatshetook
awayfromit:
Danielle:
Çaaétéunpeuunerévélationque…quand…j’imaginequec’estleministère
quiadécidéquedanslesécolesanglophonesonenseigneraitdescoursen
françaispouraméliorerlalangueetpuislàaveclesétudesquefinalementça
n’apasdonnédesrésultats(…)Parcequelachansondel’immersionjel’ai
entenduemoietçaaétéunpeuunerévélationqueokl’immersion,quandils
sontpetitsqu’ilsapprennentlelangageçava,maisquandilssontplusvieuxça
prenduneexplication,çaprenddelastructurepourmontrercommentla
languefonctionnepuistoutça.Ça,çaaétéunerévélationpourmoi,jemesuis
ditok,doncilfautvraimentquejefasseuneffortdeparlerdelalangueetde
conscientiserlesélèvesfaceà lalangueetsastructuredansd’autrescours.Et
ça,jevaistoujoursgarderça,jemettraiplusjamaisçaàcoté.Çaseraitpas
professionneldelefaire.(Interview#2)
Sheindicatedachangeinmentality,slowlylettinggoofprevious,out-datednotionsthat
studentswillpickuplanguagewithoutanyattentiontoformthroughamorenatural
approach(Krashen&Terrell,1982).Corinnedescribedasimilarmomentinwhichshe
madearealizationthatemphasisonlanguagewasindeedvitalwhileteachingcontent:
Corinne:
C’estsûrquej’aimaisça,jecroisquec’étaitpendantl’atelierdeRoy,qu’ilnous
arappelél’importance,etjepensequec’estexactementçaquej’étaisentrain
d’écriredansmesréponsesdanslesquestionnaires,quec’estpossibled’insister
surlajustessedelalanguemêmesionestencontextedelangueseconde,même
siondoitenseignerl’histoire,lagéographie,peuimporte.Çajel’avaisunpeu
oubliédesfois...onvaseconcentrerplussurlamatièreet…
Victor:
Onlaisseoublierlalangue?
Corinne:
C’estça.Uneligneouunligne,non,nonc’estimportantd’insistersurlaune.
Desfoisonl’escamotecettepartielà.Doncça,çam’afaitdubiendemelefaire
rappeler.Onestenseignantdefrançaisaudépart,fautpasl’oublierdesfois.
52
Oui.Sinon(…)Oui,ça,çaaétéungranddéclic.Oui,jepourraisdireça. L’importancedelalangue,malgrétout,lalangueestpartoutilfautquand
mêmeinsistersurlabonneutilisationdelalangue.Jediraisça.(Interview#2)
Bothoftheteachersindicatedasenseofawakening,arealizationoftheimportance
languageplayswithinaCBIcontextandthatitispossibletoincorporatelanguage
expectationsevenwithinsuchasetting.Theworkshopswerelivedascommunallearning
opportunities,allowingtheteacherstoclarifyandgainnewunderstandingofpedagogical
notionsrelatedtotheirteaching,allowingthemthespaceandtimetoreflectupontheir
practices,andgivingthemtheopportunitytoseethemselvesandtheircolleaguesfilmed.
Danielledescribedwhattheinitiativemeanttoherincaptivatingdetail:
Danielle:
C’étaitunefaçonpourmoidefaireuneréflexionsurmafaçond’enseigner,mes
objectifsd’enseignement,puisd’améliorerl’enseignementdelalangue françaisenaturellementc’esttoujoursunobjectifmaisquandonest
francophone,desfoisonoubliecequelesenfantsontbesoinpourbien comprendrelalangue.C’estça.Çaaétéuneréflexionpersonnelle,j’espèrequ’il
vam’aideràm’améliorerpasjusteseulementenfrançaispuisenuniverssocial
maisunpeupartoutparcequequandonvoitd’autresexemplesded’autres
professeursaussionalachancedediscuteretdefaireunepausepuisd’arrêter
d’êtredanslequotidien,c’estbien.(Interview#2)
ProfessionaldevelopmentfortheseparticularCBIteachersletthemcometoterms
withandunderstandmoreconcretelynotionsregardingthematerialwithinthecontent
curriculum,proceduralknowledgeregardinghowtofocusonlanguagewhileteachingthe
contentcurriculumaswellasgavethemanopportunitytore-visitnotionsregarding
secondlanguagepedagogythatoptimizedstudentcomprehensionandlearning.Itwasa
53
timethatallowedforreflectivepractice,whichledtoclarificationsandachangeof
differentattitudes.
4.3
Confusion
Althoughtheteachersexperiencedaseriesofenlighteningmomentsinwhichmany
notionsregardingCBIpedagogywereacquiredandclarified,animportantsentimentthat
wasfeltwasalsothatofconfusion.Thisfeelingwasgeneratedduringtheplanningprocess
whenprecisepedagogicalstepsneededtobetakentofocusandbringstudents’attention
tolanguagewhileteachingacontentlesson.Thefour-stepvisualsequence(seeFigure3)
offeredtotheteacherswasundoubtedlyapracticalguide;itwasindispensibleforteachers
toviewandunderstandhowtoconcretelyplanlessonswithalanguageobjective
embeddedintoasubject-mattertheme.However,theteachersstillfeltuneasy,unsurehow
toproceed.Danielleofferedarich,evocativedescriptionintothisexperience:
Danielle:
Écoute,laseulechosequejepeuxdirec’estqu’audébut,bon,laprésentationde
Royestclaire.Jesaisoùjem’envais.Etlà,jem’installesurpapier,essaiede
choisirlesujet.Etpuisj’aipassébeaucoupdetempsànagerdanslenoir.Aun
momentdonné,làj’aicommencéàchoisirmalignedirectriceetlàça…quand
çaadébloquéçaaétérapide.Maisj’ainagélongtempsdanslenoiraudébut.
Jepeuxpasdirequ’est-cequiafaitqueçaa...Jepensequ’ilfautàunmoment
donnétravaillerdans…commentjetediraisbien…nagerdanslabouepour
êtrecapabledenagerdansl’eausijepeuxutilisercetteimagelà,tu
comprends?C’étaitnouveaucommeconceptpuisaudébutc’étaitqu’est-ceque
j’aifaitlà,peut-êtrequejesuispascapabledefaireça.Jepensequec’estça.Un
momentprécis,jepourraispasledire.Maisquandçaacommencéàs’éclairer
puisàprendreplace,làj’aiditokjesuiscapable.(Interview#2)
54
Daniellerecountedunderstandingthemodelatfirst,butwhenitcametoplanning,shewas
swimming“inthedark”,“inthemud”;shewasunabletoproceedasasensationof
obscurity,lackofclarityandeveninsecurityprevailed.Shecouldn’tenvisionhowshecould
integratespecificlanguagepointsandstructuresthroughcontentmaterial,doubtingthat
shewascapableofdoingso.BeatriceandSandrineprovidedmoredetailsintothisfeeling:
Beatrice:
Audébutdelaplanification,jenesavaispasdutoutdansquoije
m’embarquais.J’aiperdubeaucoup,beaucoupdetempsparcequejenesavais
pasquoifaire.J’avaismonthèmeentêtemaisj’avaispasd’idée,jetournaisen
rond,çaaétéseulementlaveilledupremiertournagequejemesuisenfin
décidéeetpuisqueçaaétéplusclairdansmatête.Alors,ça,çaaétéuntrès,un
grosdéfiparcequed’habitudeen7ansd’enseignerj’aiplusieursidéesmaislà
desuivrelaméthodologiedeRoyaveclathéorieensuiteletexteécrit,çac’était
vraimentpasclairpourmoi.J’aitravaillébeaucoupàmettreçaenpratique.
C’estpourçaquefinalementj’aitoutrefaitlaveilledupremiertournage.
(Interview#2)
Sandrine:
J’étaisvraimentperdueaudébut,jesavaispascommentm’orienter,jesaispas
sij’aibienrespectélesactivitésdeperception,deconscientisation,pratique
guidéeettoutça.J’étaisvraiment…C’estça.J’auraisaiméêtreavecquelqu'un
d’autre,puisquelqu'und’autredesecondaire.J’auraisvraimentaiméça,c’était
difficile.Jesavaispasoùjem’enallaisvraiment.(Interview#2)
Theteachersdescribedasenseoffeelinglost,ofconfusion,ofuncertainty.Theywere
unsureofhowtopreciselyfollowthefour-stepsequence.Thetemplatehelpedshapetheir
thinking,butdidnotprovideavarietyofconcreteexamplestoconceptualizeaneffective
CBIlesson.Someoftheotherteachersalsonotedsomedifficultyinitiallyduringthe
planningphases:
55
Vanessa:
Jepensedetrouverl’idéeaudébutpourquetoutlemonde….C’étaitde travaillerensembleunpetitpeuc’étaitundéfiaudébutmaisunefoisqu’ona
débloqué,jesaispas,c’étaitplusfacile(…)C’étaitjustedevraimenttrouver,ok
sic’étaitlepassécomposé,commentallait-onfairepourl’intégrer?
(Interview#2)
Corinne:
C’estsûrqu’aveclefaitdetravaillerenéquipeonaeubesoind’unmoment
justepourchoisirlethèmeetensuitecommentondevaitl’aborder.Doncça,ça
aétélepremierdéfijedirais.(Interview#2)
Therewasageneralblockfortheteachersattheonsetoftheirplanning,whether
workingasagrouporindependently;evenwithalanguagefeatureinmind,theywere
hesitantandunsureofhowtheywouldincorporateitwithinawrittentext,orwhat
activitiestheywouldplantofollowthefour-stepsequenceofform-focusedinstruction.
Throughmyobservations,Ialsonoticedmanyoftheteachersstrugglewiththeirchoiceof
languagefeature.Chantal’scaseisavividexample.Chantalwastheonlyteachertochoose
todesignaunitforaclassofstudentsatarelativelyyoungage,ingrade2.Shechoseto
focusonvocabularyandexpressionsrelatedtomovement,inlinewithwhatthe
expectationsareinthesocialstudiescurriculumforthatlevel.However,theexamplesthat
wereproposedtoillustratethefour-stepsequenceusedwrittentextsthatweremuchtoo
advancedforherstudents;shewonderedandquestionedhowthesequencecouldbe
appliedtoyoungerlearners.Oneoftheeducationalconsultantsontheteamproceededto
providesuggestionsforChantal,givingherexamplesofhighlightingpassagesina
storybook,orusingdifferentintonationwhilereadingtogetstudentstonoticethe
vocabularyshewantedtofocuson.Heasked:
56
Jean: Est-cequeçaseclarifie?
Chantal:
Ças’obscureunpeupourmoi.(FieldNotes,Workshop#2)
Evenwithavisualtemplateandsomehelp,therewasadifficultytograspcertainconcepts.
Theinitialplanningwasahazyandarduousprocess.Thesameeducationalconsultantand
Prof.LysteralsoprovidedassistancetoSandrine,whoalsowasunclearonwhattochoose
andhowtoproceed.Theydiscussedandbouncedoffideasregardingwhichspecific
languagefeature,eithervocabularywordsorgrammaticalgenderorboth,wouldbe
appropriateforherclass.Corinne,Vanessa,andDelphine,whochosetoworktogether,
werealsodiscussingwhichlanguagefeaturewouldbethemostappropriateandwhatkind
ofactivitywouldoptimizetheirchoice.Everyoneduringtheinitialplanningphasewas
experiencingsomeuncertaintyandconfusion;therewasalotofcollaborationrequiredto
discoverwhichlanguagefeatureandmaterialswouldbeideal.
Workshop#3,whichfocusedonreadingstrategiesandtechniquesforlearnersin
socialstudies,wasalsoaslightsourceofambiguityfortheteachers.Whilethepresentation
washighlyengagingandimportant,touchinguponstudentinterestwithreadingmaterial
intheclassroomamongothertopics,therewasapuzzlementdisplayedbytheteachersin
termsofhowtheycouldincorporatethenotionsintoaCBIlesson.Therewassome
questioningoverhowtointegratesubject-mattercontent,languagestructuresaswellas
readingcomprehension/strategiesintoonesinglelessonorunit.Chantalcontinuedtobe
unsureofherchoiceafterthepresentation,unsureofitsvalidityandpertinence.AsIwas
helpingher,shemadeaveryinsightfulremarkregardingthewholeprocess:
Chantal:
Onnavigue...puisonsequestionnesurnoschoix.
(FieldNotes,Workshop#3)
57
Intheend,noneoftheteachersincorporatedaverylargereadingaspectintotheirunit,
choosingtoadheretothesimplefour-stepsequencepresented,withfouractivities
revolvingaroundaspecificlanguagefeature,embeddedintoacontenttheme.Addinga
thirddimension,afocusondifferenttypesofreadingstrategies,didnotseemfeasibleat
thetime.
Evenwithatemplateandmodel,theteachersinitiallyexperienceddifficultywhen
designinglessonsthatincorporatedafocusonlanguageformsintoaspecificcontent-based
lesson.Asmentionedpreviously,noneoftheteachershadeverdesignedalessonwithin
socialstudiesthatsystematicallyfocusedontheFrenchlanguagewithinanauthentic
context.Thiswasabrandnewexperienceforthem.Whiletheygainedtheoretical
proceduralandpedagogicalknowledgetodesignaneffectiveCBIlesson,theystilllackeda
tangibleconceptualizationofwhatitcouldlooklikewhentheyfirstsetontocompletethe
task.Theydidnothaveenoughconcreteexamplesorpreviouslyemployedunitsand
lessonsthatwererelevantfortheirteachingcontexts.Thisledtoaninitialswiminthe
dark;amessy,muddyexperience,asDanielleputit,beforetheywereabletocompletetheir
units.
4.4
Collaboration
ThePDinitiativewasamomentousoccasionfortheteacherstoengagein
productivecollaborativesharing.Itallowedthemtoworkwitheachotherandteam
memberstoprogressintheirlearningtoultimatelysucceedindesigningaunitthathad
combinedlanguageelementsintoaspecificlessonrevolvingaroundsocialstudies.The
experienceofcollaborationprovedtobeakeyingredientinthefinalizationoftheteachers’
units.Priortotheinitiative,noneoftheteachersreportedcollaboratingregularlyoreven
58
sparinglywithothersocialstudiesteachersorotherteachersofFrenchasasecond
languageincaseswheretheywerenottheonesteachingFrenchtostudents.Thereisno
organizationalstructurecurrentlyinplacelocallywithinindividualschoolsorregionally
throughtheschoolboardtofacilitatesharingorcollaborationtoimprovepedagogyor
resources.Forvariousreasons,rangingfromlackofopportunityduetodifferent
timetables,tolackofstaffduetosmallschoolsizes,alltheteachersfeltleftontheirownto
planandteach.Theteachersoftensawteachingsocialstudiesasalonelyandself-guided
affair:
Gabrielle:
Iln’yapasbeaucoupdepersonnesressources,j’ensuispasmalàmontermon
matériel…touteslespersonnesquienseignaientceniveau,cettematièresont
partiesdemonécole,doncilyapersonnequiadonnécecoursàl’écoleoùje
metrouvepuisjeconnaispasbeaucoupdeprofsdanslesautresécolesnonplus
doncjesuispasmallivreràmoimême.(Interview#1)
Chantal:
Ilyad’autrespersonnesmaispasàtempsplein.Maisàtempsplein,tousles
jours,onestquatre.Toutlemondeenseignedesclassesdoubles,toutlemonde
adestâchesquineserecoupentpas.Onpeutpastravailler…ontravaille
ensembleévidemment,maisonpeutpas,auniveaucurriculaire,onpeutpas
collaborerbeaucoup.(Interview#1)
Thislackofcollaborativecontactorplanningresultedinperceptionsofafragmented
curriculuminconsistentlytaught.Manyoftheteachersreportedthatteacherstaughtsocial
studiesasbesttheycould,whichmayhaveincludedomittingcertainessentialportionsof
thecurriculumwhilefocusingonotherswhichmaynotbeasrelevantlateron.Itdidnot
seemasiftheteachershadbeengivenaproperoverviewofthecontentcurriculumuntil
workshop#1.Beatricesharedanastuteobservationontherealityofsuchanabsenceof
coordination:
59
Beatrice:
Parcequ’enplusleproblèmeaveclemanquedesoutien,n’importequi,fait
n’importequoi.Puisnosélèvesarriventàuncertainniveau,puisbon,tel
professeurvoulaitfaireçacommeça,telprofesseurvoulaitfaireçacommeça,
puisàlafinlesenfants,c’estbienbeaulà.Ilyabeaucoupdeprofesseursqui
veulenttravailler,avoirleurproprestyle.D’accord,saufque,jetrouveça
dommagecarsiontravailleraitplusenéquipe,sionavaitplusdeformation,on
auraitplusdecontinuitédansl’enseignement.(Interview#1)
Collaborativeplanningandsharingisconsideredprimordialforthesuccessand
well-beingofstudentsbutitisalsonecessaryfortheteachersthemselves.Inthecontextof
planninglessonswitheffectiveCBI,theteachershereappreciatedavisualguideto
planningbutwhenitcametimetotakingthefirststep,theyinitiallyexperiencedahigh
degreeofuncertaintyandconfusion.Beinginapartneredenvironmentandhavinga
supportivenetworkreadilyavailablehelpedtoalleviatetheinitialfearsandconcerns
regardingplanning.MycollaborativeexperiencewithChantalstandsoutasastrong
testamenttothepowerandimportanceofsharingandteamworkwhiledesigningalesson
thatintegratedbothlanguageandcontent.Chantalhadchosentofocusonvocabulary
relatedtospaceandmovementforstudentsingrade2.Shehadanenormousamountof
creativeideas,butwasyearningforconfirmationinregardstowhetherornottheywere
appropriateforthefour-stepsequence.Sheknewshewouldbefocusingonmapsand
directionsthroughapiratethemeandhadagreatideaoforganizingatreasurehuntto
practicethewordsandexpressionsshewantedtoincorporate.Wechosewhichwords
wouldbeusefultogether:localizationwordssuchasdevant,enhaut,enbas,directionssuch
asaunord,ausud,àl’est,àl’ouestaswellasverbsofmotionsuchasmonter,descendre.Our
discussionswereajointformativeprocess;Isuggestedorganizingawalkaroundthe
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schoolforstudentstouseandseethevocabularyincontextasoneoftheactivities,she
proposedherideaforstudentstocreatetheirownislandmapwithburiedtreasureand
writesentenceswithdirectionwordsastheirfinalproductforcommunicativepractice.
Aftersomeinitialhesitationandconfusion,shecreatedaremarkablysolidunit
whichherstudentsadored.Shecarefullyscaffoldedstudentsbyusingastorybookon
pirateswhichcaptivatedtheirattention,capitalizingonthisbymodelingrepeatedlywith
accentuatedintonationthelocationofcertainpiratethemedobjectsinrelationtoeach
otherandthenfollowedupwithguideddirectionsduringahuntforobjectsinthe
classroomaswellasaroundtheschool.Studentsalsohadtheopportunitytoplacepictures
ofobjectsindifferentlocationsinrelationtoeachother.Duringtheimplementationofthe
lesson,studentsweremesmerizedbyhereverywordandwereexcitedtohavetheirnames
calledouttofindobjectsaroundtheclassroom.Theyalsoloveddrawingtheirownmaps
andidentifyingdifferentobjectsinrelationtoeachotherwiththeirnewlyacquired
vocabulary.CollaborationduringthePDwasacatalystforhersuccess,asshelater
explains:
Chantal:
Votresupportquandonafaitnosplansdeleçonsaussi,qu’onpuisseendiscuter
parcequesouventonfaitdesplansdeleçonsseulescheznous,onseréveillela
nuit,onréécritdessuspuisc’étaitdufund’avoird’autrespersonnesautourde
nouspourlefaire.
Patricia:
Departager…
Chantal:
Departager…
Patricia:
Lesdoutesdesidées?
Chantal:
Lesdoutesdesidées.Jesuistouteseulequienseignelesmatièresque
j’enseigne...J’aipasde…
Patricia:
Tun’aspasdecollèguesavecqui...?
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Chantal:
Non,j’aipasdecollèguesavecqui…Ouimaisnon…J’aidescollèguesavecquije
peuxpartagerunplandeleçonmaisc’estpascommesitouteslesdeuxon
préparaitquelquechoseenuniverssocialpuisqu’onavaitdéjàundiscours
engagélà-dessuscommeici.
(Interview#2)
Herusualexperiencewasthatofworkingonherown,butChantalfeltreassuredwhen
therewerecollaboratorstoconferwithassheplannedherfirstlessonusingthefour-step
sequence.Shewasveryvocalregardingherdoubtsandwelcomedandsolicitedhelp
whenevershefeltunsure.
Delphine,Corinne,andVanessawerealsoaprimeexampleofhow“l’équipefaitla
force”,asBeatricepointedoutduringworkshop#5whileviewingtheirvideos.Thethree
teachersalltaughtatthesameschool,thesamegradelevels,butdifferentclasses.
However,theyhadneverplannedtogetherpriortotheinitiativeandwereunabletomeet
duetothedifferencesintheirschedules.ThePDwasthereforetheirfirstopportunityto
planandcollaborateasateam:
Delphine:
…Prendreletempsdes’asseoir…C’estfou,çarevienttoujoursàlamêmechose.
Victor:
Pendantlajournéeavez-vousdestempslibresdifférents?
Delphine:
Onadestempslibres,maisilssonttousdifférents.
Corinne:
Pasensemble.Destempscommuns,non.Lemercredi,onadutempsde présenceobligatoirequiestpourlesrencontresdecyclesmaishabituellement
vousvousrencontrezencyclemaismoijesuispasexactementdanslecycle,
donconsevoitjamais.C’estlapremièrefoisqu’ons’assoitlestroisensemble,
c’estici,cetteannée.(Interview#1)
Thethreelookedateachotherindisbeliefastheymadethisrealization.Allthreetookthe
opportunitytobeginworkingtogetherandthefruitsoftheirlaborripenedbrilliantly.
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Whiletheymaynothavebeenasvocalduringpresentationsassomeoftheotherteachers,
thetriowouldquicklygettoworktogetherduringthetimeallottedintheafternoons.They
brainstormedtogether,sharedresponsibilities,andthepowerofallthreegenerateda
strong,cohesiveunitthatsuccessfullybalancedbothlanguageobjectivesaswellascontent.
Theychosetofocusontheauxiliaryverbsofthepassécomposéwhilestudentslearned
abouttheexplorerJacquesCartier.CorinnecreatedaremarkableRSAAnimatestylevideo
inwhichshedrewatimelineofimportanteventsinthelifeoftheexplorerthatwas
explainedthroughavoiceoverandtimelapsedtocreateasortofslowmotionanimated
feature(availableathttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vsqzjD_oe8&feature=youtu.be).
SimilartoChantal’suseofthestorybooktocapturestudents’attention,thevideo
servedasapowerfulintroductiontoimmersestudentsintotheuniverseofthesubject
matter.Studentsthenhadawrittenversionofthevoice-overinthevideoandthethree
teachersaskedstudentstofocusontheuseofpassécomposébyhighlightingor
underliningeverytimetheysawitsformation.Language-drivenactivitiesincludinga
reviewandamnemonictohelprememberwhichverbsinthepasttakeavoir,andwhich
takeêtre,aswellasanopportunityforstudentstocreatetheirownsentencesinthepast
usingpicturesofeventsinJacquesCartier’slifewerecarriedoutuntilazoom-outof
languageandafocusbacktocontentwasundertakenwhenthestudentshadtocreatea
timelineofeventswiththeirsentencesandpictures.Itwasaseamlesstransition.Corinne,
Vanessa,andDelphineallnotedthattheircollaborativeexperiencewasatthecoreoftheir
planning,andwaswhatledthemtobeabletocreatesuchameaningfulunit.Itwasthe
sharingexperience,theexperienceofbeingabletodistributethetask,butalsotovalidate
andreassureoneanotherthatpushedthemforward:
63
Victor:
Qu’est-cequevouscroyezqueçavousarapportédetravaillerenéquipe?Quel
étaitleplusgrandbénéficedetravaillerenéquipe?
Delphine:
Departagerlesressources,departagerletravail.Ons’estvraimentdittoitu
faislesphotocopies,toituécrisletexte,toituvastrouverlesverbes.Jepense
qu’onatriplécequ’onétaitcapabledefaireenpeudetemps.Onatripléles
idéesaussi,lebrainstormd’idéesàtroisc’estbeaucoupplusefficacequetoute
seule.Puisdecroirequecequ’onfaisaitc’étaitbien,devalidernosidéesparce
quequandonesttouteseule,onseremettoujoursenquestion,est-cecorrect?
Est-cepascorrect?(Interview#2)
Corinnealsoconcurredaboutthesamebenefitsofworkingasateam:
Corinne:
Entendredesnouvellesidées,confronterlesidéesqu’ona,souventonserend
comptequ’onn’avaitpasraison.C’estjusteintéressant.Ahok,moijenel’aurais
pasvucommeça,ahok,jel’auraispasabordécommeça.Desfoisçanous
permetdevalidercequ’oncroyaitaussi.Jepensequec’estça.(Interview#2)
Thenotionofco-creationtoalleviatedoubt,anxiety,confusionanduncertaintywas
consistentlynotedbytheteachers.Havingmultiplevoicesandmindsduringtheplanning
processseemedtoallowforamoreconstructiveandeffectiveapproachtodeveloping
productiveandmeaningfulCBIcurriculum.Alltheteachersappreciatedthecollaborative
atmosphereoftheworkshops;teammembersandtheotherteachersallprovidedeach
otherwithcomfortandguidance.However,Corinne,Vanessa,andDelphineweretheonly
groupofteacherswhowerefromthesameschoolandwhotaughtthesamelevel,whoin
theendwereabletodesign,plan,create,andfinallyimplementeverythingalltogether.
Thisledtoastrongerpartnershipandallowedthemtobeunitedduringtheentireprocess.
Theotherfiveteacherswereeachfromadifferentschool.Chantalwasparticularlyvocalin
seekingsupport,whereasBeatrice,Sandrine,Gabrielle,andDanielleweremoreinclinedto
64
workindependently,askingquestionsorforguidancemoresparingly.Beatrice,Sandrine,
andDanielle’ssenseofconfusionduringtheplanningprocessasoutlinedpreviouslywas
thusmoreacute,moreheightened,amoreintenseexperiencethanthatofCorinne,
Vanessa,andDelphine.Theteacherswhoweremoreontheirownnotedthattheywould
havepreferredtoworkwithsomeonewithwhomtheycouldhavesharedmore:
Sandrine:
J'auraisaiméavoirunouunecollèguedusecondairepouréchangerdesidées.
Jemesentaisseuledansleprojet.(Questionnaire#2)
Danielle:
J'auraisaimétravaillerenéquipepourtoutleprojet.
(Questionnaire#2)
Despitethefactthattherewereteammemberswithacademicandadvising
backgroundsonhand,theteacherswouldhavepreferredtoworkwithacolleaguefrom
theirownlevelandfromtheirownschool,whointheend,hasthesamevestedinterestas
themselves.ItwouldseemthatallowingCBIteacherswhosharethesameday-to-day
professionalrealitiestoworktogethercollaborativelyleadstomoreconfidencewhile
developingaunit,aswellascreatesadynamicthatismoreconducivetocreativityandnew
ideas.DelphinestronglysuggestedforallteachersinthefutureinstancesofthePD
initiativetohavetheopportunitytoworkwiththeirowncolleagues:
Delphine:
Jevoussuggèrede"recruter"plusd'uneenseignanteparécolequandc'est
possible,carc'estunaspectquej'aivraimentapprécié,étantavecmes collègues…(Questionnaire#2)
Theworkshopsthemselvesprovidedacollegialatmosphereinthattheteachers
sharedconcerns,personalstories,andsuggestionsforclassroomactivities.Workshop#5,
whenallteachersviewedeachother’sunits,wasanoccasionforteacherstogainnew
65
perspectivesfromeachother,seeeachotherinactionandformdifferentviewpoints
towardsteaching.Alltheteachersprovidedwonderfulcommentaryandpositivefeedback
toeachotheroncetheyviewedthevideorecordings.Theoverallsenseofcamaraderie
duringthewholePDprocesswasastounding.Theteacherswhowerefromdifferent
schoolsreceivedcollaborativesupportwhenplanning,butintheend,theywerestill
designingandimplementingtheirunitindividually.
4.5
Satisfaction
Theteachersexhibitedanuncontestablesenseofprofoundsatisfactionregarding
boththeprocessandtheoutcomesoftheirparticipationandexperienceofthePD
initiative.Theyfelthappy,pleasedwiththeirinvolvementthroughoutitscourseandits
conclusion:
Delphine:
J'aibeaucoupaiméleprojetetjesuistrèsheureused'enavoirfaitpartie.
(Questionnaire#2)
Vanessa:
Iamveryhappytohaveparticipated.Asmentionedinmanyofmyanswers,I
mostappreciatedthetimetoworkonourproject.Itisararegift!
(Questionnaire#2)
Gabrielle:
Jesuisquandmêmeassezcontentedecequeçaarapporté.(Interview#2)
Beatrice:
Jesuistoujourstrèstrèscontentequandilyauneformationquis’adresseàmoi
etquejepeuxmerejoindreetcommej’aitrouvéquec’étaitunprojet
formidableçaaétéunevaleursignificativetrèsimportantepourmoietj’étais
toujourstrèscontentedeveniràmesateliersChantier7.(Interview#2)
Theirfulfillmentwasattributabletotwoimportantfactors.First,theteachers
enjoyedtheenlightening,reflective,andcollaborativeprocesswhichtheinitiative
permitted,andsecond,theywereabletoseefirst-handtheresultsandbenefitsoftakingan
66
approachthatintegratedlanguageintocontentwiththeirstudentsthankstothe
implementationoftheirowncurricularunits.Inherexitquestionnaire,Chantalgaveavery
positiveresponsethathighlightsthesecrucialfactors:
Chantal:
Leprojetnousaintroduitàdenouveauxconcepts,ilnousadonnéletempsde
discuter,dedigérercetteapproche,etfinalementleprojetnousadonnéune
opportunitéd’essayercequenousvenionsd’apprendreennousoffrantàlafois
supportetdirection.Quediredeplus,lebateauestpartietçadevraitêtreun
beauvoyage.(Questionnaire#2)
Chantal’soptimisticvisionoftheinitiativeaswellherbeautifulmetaphoroftheteachers
onanowwell-equippedjourneyoutontheseasindicatedgreathopefulregardforthe
future.ShealsoexpresseddesiretocontinueworkinginanothersimilarPDinitiativeand
toextendherexperienceduetotheholisticapproachthePDaffordedtobecome
acquaintedwithallthefundamentalconceptsandaspectsofeffectiveCBI:
Chantal:
J’espèrebienavoirlachancedetravailleravecvousuneautreannée.J’ai
beaucoupaimé.(….)Cequim’avraimentpludeceluilà,c’estquelabalance
étaitlàtoutletemps.Oui,onaapprisdesnouvellesnotions,théories,
approches,jesaispascommenttuveuxdireça,maisenmêmetemps,onavait
dutempspouryréfléchir,dutempspourlemettreenplacedanslaclasse.On
avaitunobjectifquiétaitd’avoircesleçonsprêtespourquandvousallezvenir,
cequinousamisdansunesituationoùl’apprentissageétaitconcretetqui
avaituntempsdésigné.Çam’abeaucouppluparcequejetrouvequesouvent,
onadesformationsquisontformidables,maisaprèsonretombedanstoutce
qu’onaàfairepuisonnousdonnepasdutempsàplanifier,d’avoirdela
réflexion,oudesdiscussionsqu’onaeusaussipourmettreçaenplace. (Interview#2)
67
Sheappreciatedlearningnewnotionsregardingtheintegrationoflanguageandcontent,
havingthetimetoreflectandplanunitsbaseduponCBIpedagogythroughcollaboration,
andfinallyimplementaunitwithherclass.Itwasaninitiativethatallowedherthe
opportunitytoseetheresultsofanapproachthatintegratedbothlanguageandcontent
duringclasstime,andheroverallviewwasahighlypositiveone.Delphinealsofeltthe
sameway,recallingherearlierenthusiasmthatcametoprogressintocomplete
satisfaction:
Delphine:
Enfait,moij’avaisditouitoutdesuiteparcequejetrouvequejen’investissais
pasassezdetempsenuniverssocial,doncjepensaisvraimentqueç’allaitme
permettredem’arrêteretdetrouverdutempspouravoiruneplusgrande
planification,unemeilleurecompréhensiondecommentintégrerlefrançaisà
traverstoutça.Jepensequeçaavraimentréponduàmesattentespourça.
(Interview#2)
Manyoftheteachersechoedthesameglobalsenseofpositivitybyindicatingtheyhoped
theexperiencewouldcontinueandreachouttootherteachers,duetothealreadyexisting
lackoftimeandsupport:
Corinne:
Jevoisçapremièrementcommeunepremièretrèstrèsbonnetentativede
réunirlesenseignantsdel’universsocial.Çajecroisquec’étaittrèsbienparce
qu’onabesoind’aidepourenseignercettematière.Elleestsouventdélaissée
parlesenseignantsjustementparcequec’estpastrèsévident,etonmanquede
temps.Jetrouvequec’estbiend’avoirréunilesenseignantspourunepremière
fois,etenplusqueçasoitunprojetdedeuxansetquevouslerefassiezl’année
prochaineavecd’autresouaveclesmêmes,maisjepensequ’ilyad’autres
enseignants quipourraientbénéficierdeça.(Interview#2)
Gabrielle:
J’espèrequeleprojetvacontinuer.J’aimeraisbeaucoupavoirlachance d’approfondirçaoudetrouverunefaçondelediffuserpluslargementàtravers
68
lacommissionscolaire,àtraverslesécoles.C’estpeut-êtrequelquechosequi
pourraitêtre,jesaispas,donnédanslesécoles,donnéàtouslesenseignants
d’uncycleparexemple.Jetrouvequedansnotrecontexte,oùonestune
commissionscolaireanglophonequienseigneàdesélèvesenlanguesecondeen
touttemps,jetrouvequedesavoirintégrerlecontenuàlalanguec’est quelquechosedeprimordialetdebasique,onpeutpaspasseràcote,ondevrait
pas,etpourtantilyenapleinquilefont.(Interview#2)
Vanessa:
Moi,jediraisquej’aibeaucoupappréciéqueçasoitenuniverssocial,parce
que,commej’aiexpliquédanslesondage,jetrouvequejemetssouventàcote
lessciencessocialesparcequej’ailesmaths,j’ailanguagearts,j’aifrançaiset
sciences,puisjemetsbeaucoupd’énergiedanslescoursquej’enseignetousles
joursalorsdesfoisqu’onarriveauplanningdessciencessocialesc’estunpetit
peuvitefait,j’aibeaucoupappréciéàêtrecapabledetravailleravecCorinneet
Delphine,qu’ondevraitfairebeaucoupplus,puisd’avoireuletemps,ici,de
planifierpendantdesjournéesoudesaprès-midiscomplets.Ça,çaaététrès
trèsbien.(Interview#2)
Theinitiativewasregardedasapositive,satisfyingexperiencebecauseitallowed
theteacherstotakethetimefromtheirhecticscheduletodedicatethemselvesto
improvinglanguagepedagogy,andthusstudentcomprehension,withinsocialstudies
classes.Theinitiativeprovidedsomeofthesolacetheteacherswerelookingfortoalleviate
thechallengestheyfacedwhileteaching.Theimplementationphaseoftheinitiative,which
allowedthemtoputintopracticetheunitstheyhaddesigned,provedtobeakeyelement
intheiranalysisofthebenefitsoftheinitiativeandofcontent-basedinstructioningeneral,
whichwasoneofthemainobjectivesoftheMcGill-ETSBproject.Theteacherswereableto
makeapositivecorrelationbetweenthenotionstheyhadappliedwithstudentprogress
andengagement,whichwastheirprimaryexpectation.Inamomentthatcametodefinethe
69
projectforher,Vanessadescribedwhenshehadtherealizationthattheprojectwasa
success:
Vanessa:
Çaseraitprobablementàlafinduprojet,quandmesélèvesontprésentéleur
lignedetemps.Ilyadesélèvesquiontbeaucoupdedifficultéenfrançaisqui
ontquandmêmetrèstrèsbienréussi,aupointdevuedelagrammaireen
français,maisaussidelaviedeJacquesCartieretjecroisquec’estlefait
d’avoirrépétésouvent,detoujoursmanipulerlamêmeinformationmêmesion
étaitfocusésurlefrançaisetdesfoissurl’histoire,çaabeaucoupbeaucoup
aidé.(Interview#2)
Shereiteratedthesamenotionsinherexitquestionnaire,thatseeingeffectiveCBIin
action,andhavingstudents’attentionfocusedonlanguageduringtheirlessononJacques
Cartier,allowedthemtograspimportantlanguageconstructswithinFrench:
Vanessa:
IliketheideaofusinghistorytextswhenactuallyteachingFrench
grammaticalrules.Repetitionofinformationorfactsinseveralwaysallowsthe
studentstotakeininformationwhilefocusingonthekeytargetstaughtin
French.Afterhavingdonetheprocesstaughtduringourworkshop,Iseeitas
aneffectiveteachingapproach.Thestudentseffectivelyappliedthe'passé
composé'whileexplainingJacquesCartier'slife.Havingmanipulatedthe
informationseveraltimes,theywereabletoberathersuccessful.
(Questionnaire#2)
Sandrinealsounderwentthisexperience.Sandrinehadasomewhatdifficulttimeduring
theplanningprocess,notingshefeltabitonherownbecauseshewastheonlysecondary
teacherparticipating.Shereceivedhelpfromteammemberstochooseherlanguage
feature,whichturnedouttobehistoricalconceptsrelatedtotheRomanEmpiresuchas
empire,infrastructure,andrepublic.Afterovercomingthefirstfewobstaclesduringthe
70
designphaseandafterimplementation,shenotedthemomentwhensheunderstoodthe
processhadbeenworthwhile:
Sandrine:
Quandj’aifaitlapratiqueguidéeaveclegrandjeu,oùl’onréinvestissaitle
vocabulaireàl’aidedejeu,lesélèvessesontamusésetj’aipuvraimentfaire
unerétroactionparrapportàoui,ilscomprennent.Ilssontcapablesdejouer
aveclesmots,ilslescomprennentbien.Puisavecladernièreréalisation,l’état
idéal,j’aivuqu’ilsétaientcapablesderéinvestirlesmots.Jecroisqueçavaleur
resterparcequ’ilssesontfamiliarisésenl’appliquantdansunétatidéal.
Evidemmentilyavaituncontexteàrespectermaisjepensequec’estunsuccès
puisenplusl’évaluationsommativeétaitlameilleuredetoutel’annéeetj’ai
partagéceprojetlàavecmacollègue(…)quil’aexpérimentéelleaussi.Ellea
travaillébeaucouplesmotsconceptsaveclevocabulairedécortiquéettoutça,
puiselleaussielleavuunebonneamélioration.Donc,jesuisconscienteque...il
fautlerefaireàchaquedossierdanslefond.(Interview#2)
Sandrinesharedthatshewasabletoseeforherselfthatthestudentsenjoyedparticipating
inthelessonshehadplanned,andthatthefinalevaluationoftheunitwasthemost
successfuloftheyear.ThePDinitiativeliveduptoherexpectations,whichwastoimprove
studentcomprehension.Shewasabletoformulatethelinkbetweenfocusingonlanguage
duringsubjectmatterclasstime,despitetheinitialtroublessheexperienced.Sheeven
wentastepfurtherandsharedherunitwithacolleague,whoalsoreportedthesame
positivefeedback.
Implementationwasthusakeyphaseforaneffectiveandcohesiveprofessional
developmentprogramforCBI.Theteacherswereabletoseethebenefitsforthemselves,
andwereabletoseethattherewasalightattheendofthedark,muddytunnelthat
developedduringtheplanningprocess.Theeffectsonthestudentsoutweighedthe
hardshipontheteacherswhentheydesignedtheirunits.Alltheteachersexpressed
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approvaltowardsanintegrationoflanguageandcontentwhenteachingsocialstudiesto
secondlanguagelearners.Theylivedthroughboththeplanningandtheteachingofaunit
thatcombinedlanguageandcontentobjectives,whichallowedthemtoseeitseffectson
theirstudents.Theywereallverysatisfiedwiththeoutcome.Theyallindicatedastrong
desireandanintentiontocontinueapplyingtheprinciplestheylearnedthroughthePD:
Beatrice:
J'enseignel'universsocialenfrançaisdepuisplusieursannéesmaisj'enétaisà
medemanders'ilnevalaitpasmieuxl'enseignerenanglais.Maintenant,jesuis
rassuréeetdésirepoursuivreunedémarcheenfrançais.(…)Cefutbénéfiqueet
jesuismaintenanttrèsmotivéeàpoursuivrececheminement.
(Questionnaire#2)
Sandrine:
Jevaisréinvestirceprojetdansmesfutursdossiersenhistoire.
(Questionnaire#2)
Vanessa:
Sincewearetalkingabouthistoryandtimelines,itistheperfecttimetotalk
aboutthe'passécomposé'.Iwillteachthesamestudentsnextyearandwilluse
whatIhavelearnedheretotakeonteachingthe'imparfait’.
(Questionnaire#2)
Corinne:
C'estSÛRquejevaism'inspirerdecequej'aiapprissij'aiencorela
chanced'enseignerl'U.S.(Questionnaire#2)
4.6
Reservation
ItisuncontestablethattheteachersexperiencedthePDpositively,andwith
universalsatisfaction.Theymaintainedtheirlevelofenthusiasmthroughoutitsduration,
livedthroughenlighteningbutalsoconfusingmomentsallthewhileworking
collaborativelytounderstandhowtointegratelanguageandcontentwithinaCBIcontext
boththeoreticallyandpracticallybygoingthroughboththedesignandimplementation
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phasesoftheprocess.Yetbefore,during,andafter,asenseofreservationremained.There
werestilltwomajorconcernsthatcontinuedtopermeatetheirrealitiesasCBIteachers
regardlessoftrainingandimprovedpedagogicalknowledge:lackofappropriateresources
andlackoftime.Thesetwoissuesgohandinhand,simultaneouslyintertwined:resources
usedwithinCBIcontextsaretypicallythosemeantfornativespeakersofthetarget
language,whichareusuallytoodifficultforsecondlanguagelearnerstomanipulateand
comprehend.Theteacherswerethereforealwaysrequiredtoheavilyadaptthese
materialsinordertorenderthemusableandcomprehensiblefortheirstudents,which
takesanenormousamountoftime,timewhichisincrediblyrareandprecious,andusually
non-existent:
Gabrielle:
C’estjustementletemps,étantdonnéqu’ilfautquejemontebeaucoupdemes
ressourcespuisilfautquejetrouvemoi-mêmedessolutions,puisdumatériel,
puisdesidées.Lalimitede24heuresdansunejournéearrivevite.
Delphine:
(Interview#1)
Encoreunefoisçavaêtreletempsquivaêtrelaplusgrossecontrainteparce
queçademande…c’estrarelesressourcesdéjàtoutesfaitesenfonctiondeça.
Jepensequec’estçanotregranddéfienfrançaislangueseconde.Ondoitcréer
beaucoup,beaucoup,beaucoup.Ondoitprendredeschosesquisontlà,maisles
mettredansunlangageaccessibleànosélèves.(…)
Corinne:
Ilfauttoutadapter.Onnepeutrienutilisertelquel.Quandonparledetexte,on
nepeutrienutiliser,quecesoitsurlessitesinternet,oudansleslivres,les
manuels.
Delphine:
(…)C’estvraimentçaquinousmanque.Parcequeoui,ilyadesressourcesen
français,maisenfrançaislanguesecondeiln’yenapas.Enanglaislangue
secondeoui,enanglaislanguematernelleoui.Quandj’aicommenceà
enseignerl’universsocialenfrançaislanguesecondejemesuisdit,j’aimerais
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m’asseoiretavoirdutempsàcréerunmanuel,créerdesexercices,créer…mais
c’estunemploi!(Interview#1)
Gabrielle,Corinne,andDelphineexpressedaconcernthatwasinherentinalltheteachers’
experiencesofbeingateacherofsocialstudiesinFrench:thetimetoproperlyadapt
resourcesandmaterialmeantfornativespeakersiscolossal.Theredoesnotexistanypredesignedmaterialapplicablefortheirteachingcontexts.
ThePDfamiliarizedtheteacherswithausefulfour-stepsequencethatallowedthem
tobegintheplanningprocesstointegratelanguageintosubjectmatter,alsogivingthem
thetimeandspacetoplanappropriatelyalongwithasupportivenetwork.These
extraordinarycircumstancesgrantedthemtheopportunitytoproduceeffectiveCBIunits
forwhichtheywereextremelygrateful.Theywereabletocapitalizeonthisoccasion,
spendingconsiderabletimeandenergyinfindingappropriatematerialstointegratea
focusonlanguage.Inordertofollowthefour-stepsequencetheyfirsthadtofindmaterial
andadaptitsuitably,andsecond,adaptitfurthertobringtheextraattentionandfocusto
languageform,somethingmanyhadnotdonebefore.Whilecreatingthenoticingactivity
forherstudentsusingtheRomanEmpireashertheme,Sandrinehadtoheavilymodifythe
textshewantedtouse:
Sandrine:
C’estqu’enfait,j’aisimplifié,enécrivantcommeunrésumédelaromanisation
doncj’aivraimentintégrétouslesconceptsensimplifianttoutcequ’ilsonten
50pagesdeleurcahierd’exercice.Doncçajepensequeçaaaidéàla
compréhensionaussi.
Patricia:
Puisça,çafaisaitpartiedetaplanificationdeceprojetlà?
Sandrine:
Demaplanification,oui,exactement.Etc’estlapartielaplusdifficilejedirais,
decondensertouslesconceptspourqu’ilyaitunecertainesuitelogique.Quand
t’espasécrivaine…
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Patricia:
T’astoutréécrit?
Sandrine:
C’estça,maisJeanm’abeaucoupaidé.Puisenmêmetempsj’ail’inquiétudede
direest-cequej’aioubliédeschosesessentiellesquipourraientseretrouverà
l’examendefindecycleparcequedesfoisilssontvraimentpointusparrapport
àdeschosesdeprogramme.Toutça,onveutsimplifiermaisfautpastropnon
plus.Maisenrèglegénéraleçaabienété.Jesuisvraimentcontente.
(Interview#2)
Danielle:
Parcequelaméthodedefaireremarquerauxélèvesqu’est-cequ’ilyade
différentdanscetextepuisd’allercherchereux-mêmesleraisonnementpar
exemple,çajesuishabituéedefaireça,maislàj’étaisprisedanslecontextede
l’universsocialetjetrouvaispaslestextesappropriésàlatâchequejevoulais
faire.Alorsilfallaitremanierdestextesettoutça.Jetrouvaisçaquandmême
assezlourdetunbondéfi.(Interview#2)
NeitherSandrinenorDaniellehadeverbroughtaspecificlanguagefocustotheirsocial
studiesclassesinthepast,andbothfeltanextrachallengeandconcernwhenproperly
adaptingtobringfocustolanguage.Sandrinewasconcernedaboutleavingimportant
informationoutwhilecondensingatext,whereasDaniellecouldnotfindtheappropriate
textforthelanguagefeatureshewantedtobringstudents’focusto.Bothconcededthat
therearechallengesregardingplanningtimeandworkloadtonotonlyadaptthematerial
sothatitsaccessibletostudents,butalsoadaptingthematerialsothatstudentsnoticethe
focusonlanguageformsthataneffectiveCBIapproachwouldrequire:
Sandrine:
Jecroisqu’ilfautquejeprenneletempsdelefaire.Detravaillerlevocabulaire
davantage.Legrosproblèmec’estqu’onvatoujourstropvitemaisévidemment
onatoujourslacontraintedesbulletins.(...)Onesttoujoursàlacourse,àla
course,àlacourse.(Interview#2)
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Danielle:
Çavamefaireplusdetravailparcequelesdocumentsquiexistent
présentementenhistoireetengéographiesontpastellementcompatibles
avec...Onavu,jemesouvienspasquiétaitprofesseuredelaquatrièmeannée
quinousmontraitcommentlesmanuelsdevraientêtremontésetçafonctionne
pas,ilyatropdetrucssurunepage.Oui,çamedonneplusdetravail,c’estsûr.
C’estévident.Maisquandonveutbienfairenotretravail,c’estsûrqu’ilfautse
roulerlesmanchespuisyaller…(Interview#2)
Evenwiththeseissuesinmind,bothSandrineandDaniellecontinuedtobereceptive
towardsintegratinglanguageandcontentduringtheirteachingandexpressedpositiveand
optimisticattitudes.Whilealltheteachersoverwhelminglyexpressedinterestin
continuingtoapplythenotionstheytookawayfromthePD,theywerealsoawareofthe
factthatitwasthePDthatallowedthemthreeafternoonsandafourthdayofalmostfull
planningtimetobeabletogeneratetheirunits.InthecaseofVanessa,Delphine,and
Corinne,allthreewerecognizantofthefactthattheydidnothaveanytimetomeetoutside
ofthePDinitiativewhiletheywereatschool,andthatitwasentirelythankstotheir
meetingsduringtheworkshopsthattheywereabletomakesignificantandproductive
progress:
Corinne:
C’étaitbien,cecidit,unechancequ’onavait…lesseulsmomentsoùona
travailléensemble,c’estquandonétaitici.Al’école,danslaroutine,letrain
quotidien,onararementeulachancedes’asseoirensemble.Doncencoreune
foisc’estbienqu’ilyaeucetatelierpournouspermettredelefaireparceque
çaaétédifficiledelefaireàl’école.(Interview#2)
Delphine:
C’estça.Lestextesenhistoire,lesvidéosqu’ontrouvesonttoujoursenanglais
languematernelleouenfrançaislanguematernellealorsc’esttrèsdifficilede
trouverdesressourcesappropriéespuisdetrouverletemps.Làonaeuletemps
pourquelquescours,onamisbeaucoupdetempslàdessus,maisc’estpasvrai
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danslaréalitéqu’onpeutfaireçapourchacundenosunités.(…)C’estça.C’est
parcequ’onavaitletempsici,etparcequ’onétaittrois.Moi,çaaétél’unde
mesgrandsbonheursdetravailleravecVanessaetCorinne,çac’estsûr.Une
petitechosequenonplusonn’arrive…c’estdifficiledetrouverdutempsétant
donnéquelestroisonenseignepasqueça.(Interview#2)
ThisobservationdidnottakeawayfromtheirappreciationofthePDor
ofintegratinglanguagewhileteachingsubjectmatter,butitwasanissueofwhichthey
wereverymindful.Thelackofenoughplanningtimetobeabletofindsuitableresources
andmaterialtointegratelanguageandcontenteffectivelywasanexternalhurdlethatthe
PDcouldnotrectifyinthelongterm.AsDelphinestated,thePDallowedthemagood
amountoftimewithinwhichtheywereabletobuildonesolidunit,butonlyforashort
portionofthecurriculum.OncethePDwasfinished,theallottedtimetheteacherswould
havetoplanwouldremainthesame.Planningtimevariedfromteachertoteacher;Corinne
mentionedone45-minuteperiodanda30-minuteperiodperweek,with20minutesatthe
endoftheday,whileChantaldescribedonlythree45-minuteperiodsforplanningper
week.Thisdoesnotallowthemtoconferwithcolleagues,exchangeideas,ordevote
specifictimeforonlysocialstudiessincemanyhavecountlessotherresponsibilities;some
arehomeroomteachersforallsubjects,someteachoneormoresubjectsinadditionto
socialstudieswhilealsobeinginchargeofmultipleclassesandgradelevels.Delphine
includedmanyconstructiveremarksinherquestionnaireregardingthisveryconstraining
dilemma,butherwordsduringourconversationinthesecondinterviewcapturedthe
teachers’strugglepoignantly:
Delphine:
Laplusgrandedifficultéquejetrouveetquej’airépétésouventdansle questionnairejetrouve,c’estvraimentlesressourcesenlangueseconde.Peut
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êtrequec’étaituneattentequej’avaisquiétaittropélevéederepartiravecdes
ressourcesdéjàtoutesfaites.Parcequec’estsouventlagrandedifficulté.Je
trouvelàj’aiunemeilleurecompréhension,j’aivraimentbeaucoupaiméla
pyramideaveclesquatreétapes.Maintenantcequimanquec’estletemps,c’est
toujoursleplusgranddéfi,letempsdecréercesressources.Çadevientmême
frustrantquandonsaitcequ’ondoitfaire,maisquandonn’arrivepasàle
mettredansnotrehorairepourréussiràlefaire.Maisj’aivraimentbeaucoup
appréciéàfairepartieduprojet.(Interview#2)
Onceagain,sheexpressedsatisfactionwiththePD,andwascommittedtomore
collaborationwithhercolleaguesandtocontinuecombiningtheteachingofsocialstudies
withFrenchasasecondlanguageforherstudents.However,sheexpressedherfrustration
aboutthelackofappropriateresourcesandlackoftimetomakeeffectiveCBImore
sustainable.Theseimportantconcernsareinterwovenintotheirexperienceswhile
teachinginCBIcontexts.
InasimilartonetoDelphine’shopeofthePDprovidingmoreconcrete,practical
resourcesandmaterialsthatwouldbeusableintheirteachingcontexts,someofthe
teachersalsoexpressedalongingformorespecializedtrainingandguidancethatwould
allowthemtointegratelanguageandcontentmoreeffectively.Whileincrediblygrateful
andoverjoyedoftheiroverallexperience,theyfeltthatthePDcouldhaveperhapsgone
evenfurtherbyprovidingthemwithmoretraining,morefeedbackregardingtheir
curriculumunitsandteachingstyles,aswellastangiblesuggestionsandideasforunitsthat
integratelanguageandcontentwithinsocialstudies.Theteacherswerehappywithwhat
theyreceived,butwantedmoresupportthattheywouldbeabletotakeawaywiththemto
usepracticallyinthefuture.Danielle’scommentaryregardingpreciseideasforfutureunits
particularlystoodout:
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Danielle:
Jepensequepourcontinuerdansladémarchequenousavonscommencé,c’est
lefund’avoirdesrappelsdesfois,oudespetitesidées.Onaparléduféminin,du
masculin,c’estunebonnenotionàpasserenuniverssocial.Onaparlédes
tempsdeverbes,onaparlédesmots,jesaispascommentilss’appelaient,les
connecteurslogiques,quelquechosecommeça.Çaseraitlefund’avoirdansla
mesurequetoiouVictorouvousavezdesidéescommeçadenousdire,telle
choseoutellenotionseraitbien,justepournousréactiverunpetitpeu,parce
quec’estfacilede,maintenantquel’équipevaêtredésintégrée,deretomber
danscequ’onfaisaitavantmêmesionycroitbeaucoup,commej’aiditc’estun
effortlechangementpuisdesfois,c’estça,ilfautêtrecréatifdanstoutesles
matières.J’enseignehuit,alorsjetrouveraisçaintéressantparcequeçaaété
vraimentunexercicededireok,qu’est-cequejepourraispassercommenotion
quipourraitbiens’intégrerenuniverssocialetilfautquej’ypense.Choisirdes
adjectifs,ok,maiscommentjevaisintégrerça?D’avoirdespetitesidées
commeça,çaseraitlefun.Maisengénéraljesuiscontenteavecleprojet.
(Interview#2)
Thenotionoflackoftimecontinuedtoresonate.Daniellewasworriedthatsincethe
supportive,collaborativenetworkoftheMcGill-ETSBteamandparticipantswouldno
longerremain,duetoanoverloadedschedule,shewouldnothavethepropercapabilities
tointegratelanguageandcontentinherlessonsasmuchasshewouldwantto.Thiswasa
reservationthatmanyoftheteachersfelt;theywantedtocontinueintegratinglanguage
andcontent,butneededmoresustainedandlong-termguidance,ideas,materialsandtime
todoso.ThePDinitiativewhettedtheirappetitesformore,andmanyexpressedthedesire
forfutureoccasionsofPDregardingCBI.Duringworkshop#5,Beatriceproposedthe
creationofateamornetworkthatwouldcontinuetocollaborateandshareresourcesin
ordertoalleviatethesereservations.Gabriellealsosharedherhopeofacommonspace,
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perhapsonline,thatwouldallowtheteacherstokeepintouch,toshareresourcesinorder
tousethemmoreeffectively:
Gabrielle:
S’ilyavaitunendroitoùilyavaitdesressourcesquisoientfacilement
disponiblesetquisoientcohésivesetcomplètesdanslesensoùonpeut
vraimentavoiruneidéedecommentenseignerunemodule,pasjusteunsiteoù
onpeuttrouverdesphotoshistoriques,pasjusteunsiteoùonpeuttrouverdes
lectures,unsiteoùonpeuttrouverducurriculummappingquinousdit
commentfairecetteactivité,aprèstupeuxfaireça,ensuitetupeuxévaluerde
cettefaçon,unespècedeprogrammequiseraitdéjàdisponibleseraitgénial.
(Interview#1)
Thesamereservationsandconcernsthatexistedattheonsetbeforetheir
participationandwhichledthemtobegintheinitiativewithgreatenthusiasm,continued
toremainevenaftertheinitiativewascompleted.Nevertheless,theirinitialenthusiasm
evolvedintosatisfactionwiththeoverallPDexperience,andtheteachers’responsestothe
trainingtheyreceivedwasoverwhelminglyoptimistic.Fourofthesixconstituents,
enthusiasm,enlightenment,collaboration,andsatisfaction,canbeconsideredtobemore
positivewhereastwoofthesix,confusionandreservation,canbeconsideredsomewhat
morecomplexanddemanding.
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Chapter5:Discussion
5.1
Implications
Thesefindingsportrayaninsiderviewintotheexperiencesandperspectivesof
eightteachersduringanin-serviceprofessionaldevelopmentinitiativedesignedto
improveCBIpedagogy.Thefindingsprovideanunderstandingintohowtheteachers
processedajointuniversity-schoolboardattempttoimprovetheteachingandlearningina
CBIprogram.ThefindingsalsobegintoclarifyanareaofinquiryidentifiedbyTedickand
Cammarata(2012)ascriticalforfutureresearch:
Whatpre-serviceandin-serviceexperiencesactuallyhelpteachersapplyan
understandingofhowtobalancelanguageandcontentinCBI?(p.S48)
Inthisparticularstudy,teachersrespondedpositivelyanddescribedsatisfyingbenefits
whenthein-servicePDinitiativeprovided:
(a)
Athree-tier,holisticapproach
(b)
Avisualandsequentialguide
(c)
Acollaborativeandsupportivenetwork
(d)
Animplementationphase
AdetailedanalysisforeachofthefourbeneficialcomponentstothePDwillbeexpanded
uponinthefollowingsections.
Athree-tier,holisticapproach
Therewasaconsistentfocustoraiseawarenessamongtheteachersofallthree
essentialandinterdependentaspectsofmeaningfulandeffectiveCBI:thecontent
curriculum,languagepedagogy,andtheintegrationofthetwo.ThePDtargetedallthree
componentswithpresentationsandworkshopsforeachsothatteacherscouldunderstand
theirimportance.Thisthree-tier,holisticapproachhasasimilarunderlyingprincipalasthe
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language-content-task(LCT)frameworkdevelopedbyShort(2002)forshelteredsocial
studiesclassescontainingESLlearnersthataimstodevelopthethreecomponents
associatedwithacademicliteracy:knowledgeofthetargetlanguage(L),knowledgeofthe
contentarea(C),andknowledgeofhowtasks(T)aretobecompletedtosucceedin
academicsettings.Itprovidesavisualconceptualizationofhowlessonplanscanbe
structuredaroundlanguage,content,andtaskscompletedindividuallyorininteraction.
Thelanguagedomainoflessonplanningfocusesonthetraiditonalfourskillsofreading,
writing,listening,andspeakingbutalsoonsemantic,syntacticandpragmaticaspects
secondlangaugelearnersneed.Thecontentdomainoflessonplanningrealtestoschool
curriculumobjectivesandcontentwithinmaterialandresourcesaswellasspecific
learningstrategiesneededtomasterthecontent.Thetaskdomainemphasizescommon
academictasksthatengagestudentstousestrategiestoimprovetheirapplicationof
contentandtrainingtoaccomplishsuchtasks.Whilethismodelwasoriginallyconceived
forsocialstudiesteacherstousewhendesigninglessonsinashelteredclassroom,itis
easilytransferabletootherdisciplinesandcanalsobeusedasanideologicalframework
andtemplatetoshapethetraininganddesignoffuturePDinitiativesforCBIteachers.The
languageandcontentdomainsremainthesame,buttasksandactivitesthatoptimizethe
integrationoflanguageandcontentwouldbeaddedintothetaskdomain.
Inthecontextofthisstudy,whiletherewasnosuchframeworkusedinthe
preparationoftheworkshops,athree-tierapproachsimilartoLCTwastakenthat
discussedandtoucheduponCBIholisticallyanditappearedtobesuccessful.First,the
teachersneededandappreciatedaclarificationofthecontentcurriculum:whatmaterial
needstobecovered,whatcontentobjectivesarethepriority,whatarebeneficialstrategies
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andtechniquestoteachspecificcontent.Therewasalotofinconsistencyreportedbythe
teachersanditwasimportanttosettherecordstraight.Knowledgeofthesubject-matter
curriculumistheunderlyingfoundationuponwhichlessonplanningoccursanditis
criticalforthisfoundationtobefirmlyconceptualizedinthemindsofCBIteachers.Second,
teachersweregivenanoverviewofreactiveform-focusedinstructionthatincludederror
correctionstrategiesandoralscaffoldingtechniquesthatmaximizesecondlanguage
learning.Teacherswerehighlyreceptivetothisasitwasarealizationandareminderof
theconstantpresenceofthelanguageneedsoftheirstudents.Andthird,afocusonthe
integrationofthetwo,thecreationoftaskstouseShort’s(2002)terminology,whichisat
theheartofeffectiveCBI,wasfocuseduponwithastep-by-stepvisualguideofproactive
form-focusedinstructionthatcouldbeusedbyteacherswhendesigningtheirlessons.The
teachersdescribedenlighteningandsatifysingexperiencesthankstotheintitativetakinga
three-tier,holisticapproach.
Avisualandsequentialguide
Thefour-stepsequencethatwasprovided(seeFigure3)wasaneffectiveresource
fortheteacherstoatleastbegintovisualizeandcomprehendhowanintegrationof
languageandcontentcanbeachieved.Itprovidedaclearimagetoanabstractconcept.
VisualrepresentationsofCBIframeworkssuchasthoseprovidedbyShort(2002)forthe
LCTframeworkandsequential,step-by-stepguidelinessuchastheoneprovidedbyLyster
(2014)forproactiveform-focusedinstructionaredirect,linearmodelsthatcanbereferred
towhenindoubt.Theteachersappreciatedaclear,meaningfulvisualandsequentialguide
thatmadethetaskofcreatingactivitiesthatintegratedbothlanguageandcontenteasier.
Theywereabletoretaintheconcrete,easytofollowinstructions:beginwithanoticing
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activitythathighlightsalanguagefeatureandcapturesstudents’attention;followupwith
anawarenessactivitythatfocusesonandexplainsthelanguagefeature;continueto
practiceusingthelanguagefeaturewithinactivitiesthatarerelatedtothecontenttheme;
endwithafinalactivitythatutilizesthelanguagefeatureinanauthenticcontext.Toooften,
CBIframeworksaredescribedingeneral,theoreticaltermswhichmaynotbeapplicableto
theontheground,everydayrealityofteachers.Theguideprovidedtoteachersservedasa
templatethatwaspossibletoemulate.
Acollaborativeandsupportivenetwork
TheMcGill-ETSBprojectbroughtmulti-levelactorssuchasteachers,consultants,
andresearcherstogethertowardsacommongoal:toimprovestudentcomprehensionand
languageproficiencythusimprovingstudentoutcomesandlearning.Thepartnership
amongstdifferenttypesofeducatorsfromacrosstheeducationspectrumisdocumentedas
beingacontributingfactortowardsthepositiveexperienceofteachers(Maeroff,1988;
Fullan,1991).Withinthecontextofthisstudy,themultilateralpartnershipcreateda
professionallearningcommunity(Hord,2009)inwhichtheteachersfoundmeaning
throughcollaborativesupportandlearning.Thisprovedtobeacrucialelementforthe
completionoftheCBIcurricularunitsastheteacherswereabletoovercomeapervasive
feelingofisolation,acommonexperienceoftheCBIteacher(Cammarata&Tedick,2012).
Theywereabletoprevailovertheirsensationsofinsecurityanduncertaintywhenthey
begantodesigntheirunits.Theywereabletodiscusstheirdoubtswithteammembers.
Theypushedeachotherforward.
FindingsbyPyle,Wade-Wooley,andHutchinson(2011)aswellasSmith(2015)
duringprofessionaldevelopmentinitiativesthatsupporttoprogressteacherpracticesin
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theclassroomdemonstratethatcollectiveandcollaborativeteacherexperiencesduring
suchinitiativesareprimordialforsuccessandchange.Theteachersherealsofelt
satisfactionandfulfillmentwiththeinitiativeasitrespectedLieberman’s(1986)guidelines
foreffectivecollegialcollaboration,namely(a)anorganizationalstructureprovidedthe
timeandspaceforcollaboration,(b)therewasanintimateteamofdifferenttypesof
educatorscollaborating,(c)workshopswerespacedoutacrosstheacademicyear,allotting
adequatetimeforplanning,collaboration,andimplementation,(d)allteammemberswere
enthusiasticallydedicatedandcommittedtotheproject,and(e)therewasanadequate
amountoftimeallottedtoshareandreflectontheexperienceasawhole.Thissupportive
networkprovidedthetimeandspacefortheteacherstocollaborate,andalsoprovided
supportandreassuranceduringtheplanningprocess.
Animplementationphase
Instrumentalinteachersreportingsatisfyingandproductiveexperiencesduringthe
initiativewastheactualimplementationoftheCBIcurricularunitstheyhaddesigned
themselves.PreviousattemptsatinitiatingforeignlanguageteacherstoCBIthrough
professionaldevelopmentbyCammarata(2009;2010)werehaltedpartlyduetoalackof
opportunityfortheteacherstowitnesstheeffectsandbenefitsofintegratinglanguageand
contentinpractice.Morgan(2013)howeverfoundthatforeignlanguageteacherswere
moreinclinedtoembraceCBIthroughaninstructionalinterventionandhadagreater
positiveoutlooktowardsitaftertheimplementationofaCBIunit.Theteachersinthe
currentstudywentthroughtheimplementationprocessandmanydescribedrealizingthe
benefitsandsuccessofintegratinglanguageandcontentafterthisstep.Theyacquiredfirsthand,practicalexperienceofintegratinglanguageandcontentintheclassroom,and
85
perceivedachangeintheirstudents’progression.Thiswasacrucialfactor;allteachers
reportedapositivevariationintheirstudents’learning.
Guskey’s(2002)modelofteacherchangepositsthat,ifprofessionaldevelopment
providesteacherswithanopportunitytotestandchangepracticesintheclassroom,
therebyenablingthemtonoticeorseeachangeinstudentlearningoutcomes,thenthere
willbeachangeinteachers’beliefsandattitudes:
Significantchangeinteachers’attitudesandbeliefsoccursprimarilyaftertheygain
evidenceofimprovementsinstudentlearning.Theseimprovementstypicallyresult
fromchangesteachershavemadeintheirclassroompractices-anewinstructional
approach,theuseofnewmaterialsorcurricula,orsimplyamodificationinteaching
proceduresorclassroomformat.Thecrucialpointisthatitisnottheprofessional
developmentperse,buttheexperienceofsuccessfulimplementationthatchanges
teachers’attitudesandbeliefs.Theybelieveitworksbecausetheyhaveseenit
work,andthatexperienceshapestheirattitudesandbeliefs.Thus,accordingtothe
model,thekeyelementinsignificantchangeinteachers’attitudesandbeliefs
isclearevidenceofimprovementinthelearningoutcomesoftheirstudents.(p.383)
Therefore,thePDexperienceofimplementingalessonfocusingonlanguageinthe
classroomisthefirststepinwhetherornotteacherswillcontinuetodosointheir
teaching.ItisanexperiencethatiscrucialwhendesigningCBIPDinitiativesforteachers
andanimportantfactorinteachers’decisionstocontinueonwithintegratinglanguageand
content.
5.2
Recommendations
ThisexplorationofCBIteachers’livedexperiencesandperspectivesduringaPD
initiativeopensawindowintotheirinnerworldandsubjectiverealitiesaseducators
undergoingachangeinpedagogyandpractice.Itallowsustoengageinananalysisand
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reflectionofwhatprofessionaldevelopmentmeanstothoseinvolvedthemselvesandhow
theyprocessthehelptheyreceive,anecessarystepasFullan(1991)notes,topromoteand
designfutureopportunitiesforimprovementandchange.Thepositiveexperienceswith
professionaldevelopmenttheteachersdescribedarevaluablesuggestionstoputinto
practiceduringfutureinitiativesregardingCBI.Conversely,themoredifficultencounters
withthePDinitiativealongwiththereservationsandconcernstheyexperiencedalso
providevaluablesuggestionsregardingwhatcanbedonetoimproveCBIprofessional
developmentinitiativesinthefuture.Inadditiontothefourreportedmeaningfuland
helpfulcomponentsofthesuccessfulinitiative,thefollowingarealsosuggested
recommendationsforfuturePDbasedupontheteachers’experiences:
(a) Pairingofteachers
(b) Specializedguidanceandfeedback
(c) Concreteexamplesandsuggestions
(d) Sharingmethodsanddatabases
Adetailedbreakdownofeachrecommendationwillfollow.
Pairingofteachers
Certainstudiessuggestthatprofessionaldevelopmentismoreeffectiveifteachers
fromthesameschool,department,areaorgradelevelcollaboratetogether(Wayne,Yoon,
Zhu,Cronen&Garet,2008;Smith,2015).Inthisparticularcase,alltheteachers
participatedinacollaborativeenvironmentyetthosethatwererecruitedfromseparate
schoolsindicatedmoreconfusion,andmorefeelingsofisolationthanthegroupofteachers
workingasateamfromthesameschool,andteachingthesamegradelevel.PDforCBI
teacherscanmaximizeitspotentialifteachersteachingthesamegradelevelfromthesame
schoolcanhavetheopportunitytocollaboratewitheachother.Thisallowsforstronger
87
commitmentandlessanxietyintheirchoiceofwhichlanguageobjectivesandlanguage
formstochoose,andwhichactivitiestoplan.Italsoallowsforawiderrangeofactivities,as
theresponsibilityfortheworkloadissharedanddivided.Incaseswherethismaynotbe
possible,suchasinsmaller,moreruralcommunities,partneringteachersfromdifferent
schoolsbutwhoteachthesamegradelevelcanalsobeanoption.Theessentialobjectiveis
topairorcreateateamofteacherswiththesamevestedinterest,inthesamecurriculum,
inordertocreateamorecollaborativedynamic.
CertainteachersinthisstudywerealsonottheFrenchteacherfortheirstudents
and,therefore,didnothaveanycontroloveroranywayofknowingwhatwasbeingtaught
intermsoftheFrenchcurriculum.Invitingtheteacherinchargeoflanguageinstruction,in
theeventthatitisnotthesameteacherasthesubjectmatterclass,isalsoanexcellent
opportunityforcross-curriculardevelopmentsothatcontentandlanguagealignandarein
tandem.Firmlyentrenchedbeliefsinteachers’identitiesandrolesascontentmatter
teachers(socialstudiesorgeneralist)and/orlanguageteacherswerenotimpedingfactors
intheteachers’experiencesinthiscontextasithasinothercasesofCBIcollaborationand
development(Cammarata,2009;2010;Trent,2010;Tan,2011;Cammarata&Tedick,
2012;Kong,2013).However,inthefuture,bringingtogetherteachersfromdifferent
disciplineswhoteachsecondlanguagelearnerstogethermaybeinevitable,ascrosscurricularcollaborationhasbeennotedasuseful,andevennecessarytooptimize
meaningfulCBIandmorefruitfulintegrationofcontentandlanguage(Arkoudis,2006;
Schleppergell&deOliveria,2006;Kong,2009;2013;Lyster,Quiroga,&Ballinger,2013).
Specializedguidanceandfeedback
Thefindingsofthisstudyindicatethattheintegrationoflanguageandcontent
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duringthedesignoftheactualtasksandactivitiesmeantforstudentscontinuestobea
confusingandproblematicprocess,identifiedbyoneoftheparticipantswithapowerful
imageof“swimminginthedark,inthemud”,echoingthe“stabinthedark”metaphorbya
participantinCammarataandTedick‘s(2012)study.Thisisconsistentwithprevious
researchindicatingthatteachersstruggleattheleveloftask/integrationoflanguageand
content(Bigelow&Ramney,2005;Stoller,2008;Bigelow,2010;Cammarata,2010;Fisher
&Frey,2010;Baecher,Farnsworth,&Ediger;2013).
Morespecializedguidanceandattentionduringthispreliminaryphase,when
teachersarechoosinglanguagefeaturesandobjectivesanddesigningactivitiesthat
incorporatebothcontentandlanguagegoals,arerequiredtodirectteachers.Followingup
withteachersproactively,checkinginontheirprogressconsistently,andprovidingmore
modelingcanalleviatefeelingsofconfusion,insecurityanddoubt.Afocusonlanguage
whileteachingcontentisanewconceptformanyteachersandslow,guidedprogression
throughallthestagesofplanningisvitalbyfutureorganizersofPD.Providingfeedback
duringplanningaswellasafterimplementationcanalsohelpeaseteachers’tensionswhile
goingthroughtheprocess.Offeringconstructivecriticismandsuggestionseven
preemptively,beforetheinsistenceofteachers,toimproveduringplanningandafter
designingcurricularunitsisgreatlyappreciatedbyteachers,helpingthemprogressintheir
teachingpracticeandfamiliaritywitheffectiveCBI.
Concreteexamplesandsuggestions
Oneparticularandnoteworthymethodforspecializedguidanceandfeedbackfor
CBIteachersistoprovideconcreteexamplesofrelevantCBIunitsandsuggestionsfor
contentthemesandlanguageobjectivesthatcanbepairedandintegratedtogether,allthe
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whileremainingrelevanttotheteachers’contextsandcurriculum.Integratinglanguage
andcontentcontinuestoremainanabstractconstruct,evenwiththemyriadof
frameworksthathavebeendeveloped.Thesequentialguidethatwasofferedtoteachersin
thisstudywashelpful,butdidnotfullyalleviatedifficultexperienceswhileplanning.The
teachershadahardtimeenvisioninghowtofollowthesequence.Teachersneedtangible,
practical,andready-to-goexamplesinordertobegincreatingtheirown.OrganizersofinservicePDinitiativescancreatesuchlistsorunitsbeforehand,orduringworkshopswith
teacherscollaboratively.Teachersandorganizerscanbrainstormideasforintegrated
contentandlanguageobjectivescollectivelyasagroupafterbecomingmorefamiliarwith
theteachers’classroomrealities.ConcreteideasforCBIunitswouldallowteachersto
envisiondifferentunitstheycouldcreateandimplementwithintheirindividualschool
contexts.
Sharingmethodsanddatabases
Theissuesoflackofplanningtimetodevelopappropriatecurricularmaterialsare
welldocumentedintheCBIliterature(Walker&Tedick,2000;Fortune,Tedick,&Walker,
2008;Cammarata&Tedick,2012;Kong,2013).Thetwomajorcausesforapervasive
feelingofreservationregardingthefeasibilityandsustainabilityofintegratinglanguage
andcontentforeffectiveCBIexpressedbytheteachersinthisstudywerethelackof
enoughplanningtimeduringtheregularacademicyear,andthusthelackoftimetoadapt
materialtomakeitsuitablefortheirstudents.Implementinganeffectivesharingmethod,
suchasonlinedatabasessuggestedbyHorn(2011),forCBIunitsdevelopedduringPD
initiativeswillallowteacherstodistributetheirworkandre-useotherunitsdevelopedfor
differentlessons,differentgradelevelsanddifferentthemes.Suchamethodordatabase
90
mustbeschoolboardandcurriculumspecificifitistobeconsideredusefulandpractical
forteacherstoemploy.InthecontextoftheMcGill-ETSBproject,anobleattempttouse
GoogleDrivetouploadmaterials,PowerPointpresentations,resourcesandreferencesdid
notreachitsfullpotential.TeachersrarelyusedGoogleDriveasitwasnotfeatured
prominentlythroughouttheinitiativenorwasitintegratedintotheplanningandreflective
processasmuchasitcouldhavebeen;itwasinconsequentialtotheteachers’overall
experiencesduringtheinitiative.Requiringteacherstouploadtheirunitsafterthe
implementationphaseintoanofficialfile-sharingdatabaseforaspecificCBIprogram
withinaparticulargeographicalareafacilitatesthedistributionofpre-plannedcurricular
unitsthatareeasilyaccessibletoteachers,whichinturnwillhelpalleviateteachers’
reservationsregardingresourcesandtimeforplanning.
5.3
LimitationsandFutureResearch
Aswithanytypeofqualitativeresearch,thegeneralizabilityoffindingsisoftena
limitation.Thisstudyfocusedexclusivelyoneightsocialstudiesteachersduringone
yearlongprofessionaldevelopmentinitiativecompromisingfivefull-daysessions.
Professionaldevelopmentinitiativesmustbetailoredtosuitlocalneedsandcontexts;thus,
thelogisticsandspecificsmaybevastlydifferentfromoneinitiativetoanother.What
teachersmayhaveexperiencedinthiscasemaynotbethesameexperiencesofteachersin
anotherinstanceofprofessionaldevelopmentelsewhere.However,giventherelative
silenceandmissingvoicesofCBIteachersduringprofessionaldevelopmentinitiativesin
thecurrentresearchliteraturewithinthegeneralbutoftenunheededcallsformore
trainingforteachers,thisstudycanserveasasteppingstonetounderstandingthemeaning
certainCBIteachersattributetothehelptheyreceive.Itbringstotheforetheir
91
perspectivesandwillhopefullyinspiremoreresearchwhichfocusesonCBIteacher
experienceswithPDindifferentcontexts.Similarstudiesofthesamenaturewillexpand
ourunderstandingandinsightintohowtocreateeffectivePDforeffectiveCBI.Fornow,
giventhelackofsimilarstudies,thevoicesandexperiencesoftheCBIteachersduringthe
McGill-ETSBprojectarebeneficialinseeingwhataspectsofoneparticularPDinitiativeon
CBIpedagogywereuseful,andwhataspectscanbeimprovedupon.
5.4
Conclusion
AsCBIprogramscontinuetoexpandacrosstheglobe,implicatingmoreandmore
studentsandteachers,theimportanceofeffectivepedagogyfortheintegrationoflanguage
andcontentbecomesmoreandmoresignificant.Pre-serviceandin-serviceteacher
educationprogramsmustprovideteacherswiththeprecisepedagogicalknowledge,tools,
andmethodologiestoachievethefullpotentialCBIhastooffer,forthesakeofthe
countlessnumberofstudentsenrolledinsuchprograms.Thefindingsofthisstudybegin
toaddtoourever-growingunderstandingintothewayteachersmakemeaningofcontentbasedinstructionandthewaytheyexperienceanin-serviceprofessionaldevelopment
attemptatprovidingthemmuchneededassistancetobeabletointegratelanguageand
content.Fourcomponentstotheprofessionaldevelopmentenhancedtheteachers’
understandingofeffectiveCBI:
(a) Athree-tier,holisticapproach
(b) Avisualandsequentialguide
(c) Acollaborativeandsupportivenetwork
(d) Animplementationphase
Fourcomponentscouldalsohavebeenimprovedupontofurthertheteachers’knowledge
andappropriationofCBIpedagogy:
92
(e) Pairingofteachers
(f) Specializedguidanceandfeedback
(g) Concreteexamplesandsuggestions
(h) Sharingmethodsanddatabases
Theseeightsuggestionsandrecommendationsforfutureinstancesofteacherprofessional
developmentcouldhelpenhancetheintegrationbyteachersoflanguageandcontentin
theirCBIclassrooms.
Itisvitaltonotehowever,thatregardlessofthetypeofteachereducationprovided,
fundamentalimprovementsmustbemaderegardingthecurriculumandmaterialavailable
forCBIprograms.Teacherscontinuetobeboundbychallengingandrestrictiveexternal
factorsthatimpedetheirabilitiestoteachCBIeffectively.CBIprogramsareoftenbased
solelyonacontentcurriculum;therearenolanguageobjectivesembeddedwithinthe
curriculumitself.CBIresourcesarerare,especiallyforFrenchasaSecondLanguage;there
arenopre-developedmaterialsthatcanbeusedinclassrooms,readytogo.Andto
compoundthesetwomatters,CBIteachersaregivenlimitedplanningtimedespitenow
beingexpectedtotargetbothlanguageandcontentsimultaneously,withoutappropriate
resourcesorclearcurriculumguidelinestodoso.Suchstructuralandsystematicreforms
arecriticallyneededinadditiontoimprovedpre-serviceandin-serviceteacherguidance
andsupportinordertosustaineffectiveCBIlong-term.
93
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100
AppendixA
October21,2014
DearETSBTeacher:
ThankyouforagreeingtoparticipateintheETSB-McGillprofessionaldevelopment
projectcalledImprovingFrenchThroughContent-and-LanguageIntegratedLearningin
SocialSciences.Yourparticipationwillinvolveattendanceatfivefull-dayworkshopsheldin
October,November,December,January,andApriltobeheldatNewHorizonsAdult
EducationCentreinSherbrooke.Theseworkshopswillrevolvearoundthedevelopment
andimplementationofproject-drivenSocialSciencesunitswithalanguagefocus.In
conjunctionwithyourvoluntaryparticipationintheprofessionaldevelopmentsessions,
wewillconductvideorecordedobservationsoftheclassesinwhichyouimplementthe
unitsinFebruary/March.
Thevideoshavetwopurposes,neitherofwhichisforteacherevaluation.Thefirst
purposeistoserveasasourceofprofessionaldevelopmentforyouduringthelastsession
inAprilbygivingyouarareopportunitytoobserveyourselfandyourstudentsinaction.
Thevideorecordingsareanintegralpartoftheprofessionaldevelopmentcomponentof
thisproject,sobyvolunteeringtoparticipateintheprojectyouareagreeingtobevideo
recordedforthispurpose.Thesecondpurpose,however,isformeasateachereducatorto
beabletosharewithothersinthefieldofeducation(a)thebenefitsassociatedwith
participatinginprofessionaldevelopmentpartnershipsand(b)thefeasibilityof
implementingSocialSciencesprojectswithafocusonlanguage.InApril,afteryouhave
seenthevideos,IwillgiveyouadifferentconsentformaskingyouifIcanusethevideo
recordingsforsucheducationalpurposes,whichmightincludeshowingclipsat
presentationsatprofessionalorscholarlyconferencesandinmyownteachingatMcGill.
InordertojustifyandmaintainthefundingwearereceivingfromtheMELSto
supportthisproject,weneedtoevaluateitsprogress.Todoso,VictorArshad,aMcGillMA
student,willberesponsibleforadministeringaquestionnaireatthebeginningand
interviewsthroughouttheproject.Inaddition,wewouldliketovideorecordthefinal
sessioninordertodocument(a)yourreflectionsuponviewingthevideosofyourlessons
and(b)thefinalwrap-updiscussionsabouttheproject.Wewouldliketoaskforyour
permissionforhimtousethedatafromthequestionnaire,theinterviews,andthewrap-up
discussionforhisMAthesis.Histhesisaimstounderstandhowteachersmayormaynot
benefitfromprofessionaldevelopmentinitiativesandhowwecanimprovethemto
respondmoreeffectivelytoteachers’needs.Asinanykindofresearchofthiskind,noone
willbeidentifiedbynameandsowecanensureconfidentiality.Thequestionnaireand
101
interviewdatawillbestoredonVictor’spersonalcomputerinpassword-protectedfiles
andthevideodatawillbestoredonacomputerinmyresearchofficealsoinpasswordprotectedfiles.
Ifyouhaveanyquestionsaboutthisresearchorwouldliketowithdrawyour
consentatanytime,pleasefeelfreetocontactmeat514-398-5942orbyemailat
[email protected],McGill’sResearchEthicsOfficer,at
[email protected].
Sincerely,
Dr.RoyLyster
ProfessorofSecondLanguageEducation
DepartmentofIntegratedStudiesinEducation
ConsentForm
Name:________________________________________
1.Byvolunteeringtoparticipateinthisprofessionaldevelopmentproject,Iagreetohaveat
leasttwoofmySocialScienceslessonsvideorecordedforthepurposeofviewingthem
ataourfinalsessioninApril2015.
Yes______
No_______
Signature:_______________________________________________
********
2.Iunderstandthepurposeoftheinterviews,questionnaires,andvideorecordingofour
finalsessionandagreetohavethesedatausedforresearchpurposesaslongasmy
identityiskeptanonymous.
Yes______
No_______
Signature:_______________________________________________
102
AppendixB
Questionnaire#1
https://fr.surveymonkey.com/r/mcgilletsb
SectionI:Renseignementsgénéraux
1.
Votrenom: 2.
Votreâge: 3.
Votrelanguematernelle: 4.
Votreécole: SectionII:L’enseignement
1.
Depuiscombiend’annéesenseignez-vous?
2.
Depuiscombiend’annéesenseignez-vousdansvotreécoleactuelle? 3.
Veuillezindiquerlesdiplômesquevousdétenezetdequellesuniversitésvousles
avezreçus.
4.
Quelsniveauxenseignez-vousàl’heureactuelle?
5.
Depuisquandenseignez-vousl’universsocialenfrançais?
6.
Enseignez-vousauxmêmesélèvesdescoursdel’universsocialetdu
français/françaislangueseconde?
7.
Enseignez-vousd’autresmatièresenfrançais?Sioui,veuillezpréciserlesquelles.
8.
Combiendeclassesdifférentesd’universsocialenseignez-vousenfrançais?
9.
Quelleestlaproportiondesélèvesayantl’anglaisentantquelanguematernelle
dansvosclassesdel’universsocial?
10. Quelleestlaproportiondesélèvesayantlefrançaisentantquelangue
maternelledansvosclassesdel’universsocial? 11. Quelleestlaproportiondesélèvesayantuneautrelangueentantquelangue
maternelledansvosclassesdel’universsocial?Veuillezpréciserlesquelles.
103
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
Avez-vousreçuuneformationspécialiséedansl’enseignementdufrançais
languesecondeoud’immersionfrançaise?Sioui,veuillezpréciserquel
typedeformation.
Veuillezindiquerlafréquenceàlaquellevousprenezdescoursuniversitaires
entantqueformationcontinue.
Veuillezindiquerlafréquenceàlaquellevousparticipezauxséancesdeformation
continue.
Veuillezindiquerlafréquenceàlaquellevousassistezauxconférencesentantque
formationcontinue.
Veuillezindiquerlafréquenceàlaquellevouscollaborezavecvoscollèguespour
planifiervosleçons.
Veuillezindiquerlafréquenceàlaquellevousparticipezàd’autresactivitésde
formationcontinue.Veuillezpréciserlesquelles.
104
AppendixC
InterviewProtocol#1
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Combiendetempsparsemaineconsacrez-vousàl'enseignementdel’univers
social? Croyez-vousquevotreformationacadémiquevousabienpréparéàenseigner
l’universsocialenfrançais? Queltypedeformationavez-vousreçueenrapportdirectavecl’enseignement
decettematière?
Mettez-vousl’accentsurdesaspectslinguistiquesougrammaticauxdelalangue
françaiselorsquevousenseignezl’universsocialenfrançais?Sioui,comment?
Croyez-vousqu'ilestimportantdemettrel’emphasesurlesaspectslinguistiques
ougrammaticauxdelalanguefrançaiselorsquevousenseignezleprogramme
del’universsocial?
6.
Quelstypesdematérielsetressourcesutilisez-vouslorsquevousenseignezcette
matière?
7.
Quefaites-vouslorsquevousrencontrezdesdifficultésenrapportà
l’enseignement,aumatériel,auprogrammeouàlalangueetàlalinguistique?
8.
Quelssontlesplusgrandsdéfisauxquelsvousfaitesfacelorsquevousenseignez
l’universsocialenfrançais?
9.
D’aprèsvous,commentpourrait-onaméliorerl’enseignementdel’univers
social?
Quelgenredesoutiensouhaiteriez-vousrecevoirafindemieuxenseigner
l’universsocialenfrançais?
10.
105
AppendixD
Questionnaire#2
https://fr.surveymonkey.com/r/mcgilletsb2
SectionI:Renseignementsgénéraux
1.
Votrenom: 2.
Votreécole: SectionII:L’enseignement
3.
Veuillezrésumerlesconceptsfondamentauxquevousavezretenuslorsdevotre
participationauprojetduChantier7.
4.
Suruneéchellede1à10ou1signifie«trèsfaible»et10signifie«trèsélevé»,
commentavez-voustrouvél’utilitédel’ensembleduprojet?
Veuillezexpliquervotreréponse.
5.
Suruneéchellede1à10ou1signifie«trèsfaible»et10signifie«trèsélevé»,
quelétaitvotreniveaud'appréciationduprojet?
Veuillezexpliquervotreréponse.
6.
Suruneéchellede1à10ou1signifie«trèsfaible»et10signifie«trèsélevé»quel
étaitleniveaud’importancedesthèmesabordésàl’enseignementde l’univers
socialenfrançais?Veuillezexpliquervotreréponse.
7.
Suruneéchellede1à10ou1signifie«trèsfaible»et10signifie«trèsélevé»
D’aprèsvous,est-cequelemodèledel’intégrationdel’universsocialetdu
françaislanguesecondeprésentéaétébienexpliqué?
Veuillezexpliquervotreréponse.
8.
Suruneéchellede1à10ou1signifie«trèsfaible»et10signifie«trèsélevé»Est-ce
quevosnotionsdel’enseignementdel’universsocialauxapprenantsdelangue
secondesesontaméliorés?Veuillezexpliquervotreréponse.
9.
Suruneéchellede1à10ou1signifie«trèsfaible»et10signifie«trèsélevé»
Quelleseralaprobabilitépourvousdecontinueràintégrerlesnotionsduprojet
dansvotreenseignement?Veuillezexpliquervotreréponse.
10. Suruneéchellede1à10ou1signifie«trèsfaible»et10signifie«trèsélevé»
Est-cequevotreparticipationauprojetacorresponduàvosattentes?
Veuillezexpliquezvotreréponse.
106
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
Quelaspectduprojetavez-voustrouvéleplusbénéfiqueouefficace?
Quelaspectduprojetavez-voustrouvélemoinsbénéfiqueouefficace?
Avez-vouseuletempsnécessaireafindecomplétervotreunitéd’enseignement?
Avez-vouseusuffisammentd’occasiondecollaboreravecvoscollègueset/ou
dedemanderdesconseilsafindecomplétervotreunité?
Auriez-vouseffectuédesmodificationsquantaudéroulementduprojet?
Sioui,veuillezpréciserlesquelles.
107
AppendixE
InterviewProtocol#2
1.
Quelleaétélasignificationdeceprojetpourvous?
2.
Quelssontlesdéfisauxquelsvousavezfaitfacelorsquevousétiezentrainde
planifiervotreunité?
3.
Pourriez-vouspartagerunmomentpendantvotreparticipation,votreplanification
ouvotreenseignementquidemeuredansvotreesprit?Unmomentdanslequelvous
avezeuuneréflexionouuneprisedeconscienceimportantes?
4.
Quesignifiel’intégrationdelalangueetducontenupourvous?
5.
Quepensez-vousdel’impactdecetyped’enseignementàcourt,moyenetlong
termesurvosélèves?
6.
Quelseraitl’impactdecetyped’enseignementsurvotrepratiqueprofessionnelle?
108
AppendixF
Enthusiasm
P.40
Chantal:SometimesIhavethefeelingthatformycolleaguesit’snotsomethingthat’s
important.Ohit’sjustsocialstudies.Ohyeah,thestudentshaveabasketballgamethis
afternoon,butit’sok,it’sjustsocialstudies.(Interview1)
Delphine:SoIthinkthatsocialstudiesunfortunatelyisasubjectthatwecaneasily…saywe
don’thaveenoughtimefor…
Corinne:Forget…
Vanessa:InadayweplanforMath,LanguageArts,French,SocialSciences,Sciences…I
havetonsofplanningtodosoit’struethatsometimes..
Victor:Youforgetalittlebit?
Vanessa:Weputitaside…(Interview1)
P.41
Chantal:Buttrainingliketoday,Ithinkwearestartingtodevotemoretimetosocial
studiesbecausewerealizethatwearen’tdoingwell.Theschoolboard,eversinceI’vebeen
teachingIfind,whenthere’saproblem,theyaddressit.Andthisisverypositiveinmy
opinion.I’mhappytoseewe’readdressingthisspecificprogram.(Interview1)
Sandrine:Iamreallyhappytoparticipateinthisproject.Ithinkit’sgoingtobereally
helpful.(Interview1)
Beatrice:Ifindthatthisworkshopthatwearehavingnow,Ifindthat..I’msothrilled,when
IreceivedtheinviteIsaidyes!Yes!(Interview1)
P.42
Chantal:What’sdifficultisthatwiththeolderonesIhavealargevariety.Ihavesomethat
arefrancophone,IhavesomethathardlyspeakanyFrenchandtheyareallinthesame
class.Interview1
Vanessa:It’shavingallthedifferentlevelsinoneclass.Ihavesomekidswhobarely
understandFrenchwhileothersfrancophones,whichIfindtobealittlebitachallenge.
Corinne:Asmallchallenge?No,no,it’sahugechallenge.(Interview1)
Beatrice:TherearechildrenwhounderstandFrenchreallywellandthentherearesome
whodon’tunderstandatall.Andtherearemoreandmorewhoareautisticintheclasses.
(Interview1)
109
Delphine:Definitelyteachinginasecondlanguage,wereallyhavediverselevels…wehave
francophonesandthenwehavestudentswhoonlyspeakFrenchatschool(…)Forsure
mixingthosetwolevelsit’snotalwayseasyinthesameclassbecausewhenweteach,the
levelsaren’tstreamed…(Interview2)
Gabrielle:Otherwise,whileI’mteachingI’dsaycomprehension,thelanguagebarrieris
reallydifficult.(Interview1)
Sandrine:Comprehensionoftexts,thetextbooktheyuseisafirstlanguagetextbooksoa
studentisn’tindependentintheirreading.Actually,IreadeverythingforthemandIhave
toexplaineverything.(Interview1)
P.43/44
Gabrielle:Actuallytheproblemisn’tthelackofresources.Therearealotinsocialstudies.
It’sjustfindingthetimetolookthroughtheseresources,wehavetotakethetimetoknow
whichresourcesweneedandatwhatmoment.Soalreadywehavetohaveanideaofwhat
wearegoingtoteachandhowwearegoingtoteachit.Thisiswhat’smissing.Because
resourcesarethere.Therearetonsofatlasesatschool,therearetonsoftextbooks,there
aretonsofglobes,therearetonsofprojects,therearetonsofbooks.Theproblemisto
knowhowandwhentousetheminourteaching.(Interview1)
Danielle:Notyet.That’swhyIamhere(laugh).
Victor:Ok.Doyouthinkthatit’simportant?
Danielle:Absolutely.ActuallyIlimitedmyselftovocabulary.Justmaybe,difficultwords
relatedtocontent,that’smaybenotwherethepriorityshouldbe.Iunderstandprettywell,
nowandIthinkI’mhappytobehereforthis.(Interview1)
Chantal:Yes(hesitation).It’simportanttohavediscussionsinFrench,toreadinFrench.As
forgrammar,I’mnotsure.Intermsofgrammar,Ican’tanswer,Ihaven’tdoneyet.I’m
waitingtoseewhatwillbeofferedtomehere.(Interview1)
P.45/46
Vanessa:Ifindthatforus,justthefactthatweareabletosittogetheranddiscussit’sgoing
toreallychangethewaywedothings,becausewearegoingtoconcentrate,giveourselves
thetime,wesaidthattimewassomethingthatwedidn’thave..
Delphine:Exactly.Mepersonally,aftertwodays,myvisionhasalreadychangedandIhave
confidenceinmyselfandthefactofsaying,yesit’spossible.Andhavingideastodothings,
tocreatethingssothatfinallyitwillallbeeasier.
Corinne:Andthetraining,Ithink.It’sthisworkshopthat’sgivingustheopportunity,that’s
givingustheideasandtheopportunitytositdowntogether.Mostoftheteacherswho
teachsocialstudiesarenotproperlytrainedtodoit,wearelivingproof.Mostofthetime
it’s,goon,figureitout,flywithyourownwingsbutyouhavetogivethemtrainingaswellI
think.Itwouldbethekeyaspect,afundamentalkeyaspect.Professionaldevelopment.
110
Vanessa:AndtohaveadayinthemonthofJanuaryorApril,onewholedaytoworkonitis
rare.Reallyrare.
Corinne:Yes.
Delphine:It’soneofthereasonsthatIsaidyesrightawaytothisproject.Itoldmyself
finallyI’dhavethetime…Yea,atfirstItoldmyself,fivedays,myGod,Iwon’tbeinmyclass
planning,asubstitute…butafterthat…
Victor:It’sworthit?
Delphine:Definitely,definitely.I’mreally,reallyhappy.
Victor:that’sgood.
Corinne:Yes,it’spositive.
Vanessa:It’sagoodproject.(Interview1)
Enlightenment
P.48
Corinne:Buthere,Iwashappythelasttimethattheysaidthatthelistwehadwasonlya
suggestion,Ithoughtitwasallwehadtoteach….Butwecannevercoverallofthatone
yearbutifwecanpickandchoose…(Interview1)
Corrine:Furthermore,Ilovedtheworkshopsdedicatedtotheteachingofsocialstudies.I
realizedthereweresomeinconsistenciesinmycomprehensionofthecurriculum.
(Questionnaire2)
Danielle:IreallyenjoyedKathy’spresentation.Sheclarifiedmanypoints.(Questionnaire2)
P.50
Delphine:Me,it’sreallywhenwesawthepyramid..I’mcallingitthepyramid..
Victor:Thesortofhour-glassfigure,I’mgoingtoaskRoytoclarify.
Delphine:Ireally,reallylovedit.It’sreallygottomelike,ohyea.It’sreallyaprogressionI
loveandIthinkI’mreallygoingtofollowitalotmorenow.Ilovethewayittravels
betweenthetwo,tosee.It’snotsomethingthatInecessarilydidalotofbefore.Iwoulddo
FrenchinsocialstudiesbutnotnecessarilysocialstudiesinFrench.Idoitalotmorenow
andit’susuallythekidswhosayohit’sfun,we’redoingsocialstudiesinFrenchclass
whereas…Ithinkitvalidatedalotofthingsforme.
Victor:Wasitakeymomentduringtheproject?
Delphine:Yes.(Interview2)
Delphine:Ireallyrememberedandlovedthepyramidwiththefourstepstointegratethe
teachingofFrenchandsocialstudies.Thiswayofintegratingthetwosubjectsissimpleto
understandandrendersitallreallyeasytoaccomplish.(Questionnaire2)
Chantal:Thestructureoffered(perception,awareness,guidedpractice,communicative
practice)mademerealizeallthepossibilitiessocialstudiesofferedtosupporttheteaching
ofFrenchasasecondlanguage.(Questionnaire2)
111
Corinne:IalsoreallyappreciatedthelessonschemaofferedbyMr.Lyster(becomingaware
ofcontent,focusingonalanguageelement,guidedpracticeandfinallyproductionin
context)(Questionnaire2)
P.52
Danielle:Itwasabitofarevelationthat..when..Iimaginethatit’stheministrythatdecided
thatinallAnglophoneschoolswewouldteachcoursesinFrenchtoimprovelanguageand
nowwithallthestudiesthatfinallyitjusthasn’tgivenanyresults…Becausetheimmersion
songI’veheardanditwasrevelationthatok,immersion,whentheyareyoungwhenthey
learnthelanguage,itsfine,butwhentheyareolderittakesexplanation,ittakesstructure
toshowhowthelanguagefunctionsandallthat.That,thatwasarevelationforme,Itold
myselfok,Ireallyhavetomakeanefforttospeakthelanguageandmakethestudents
awareofthelanguageanditsstructureinotherclasses.Andthat,Iwillalwayskeepthat,I’ll
neverputthataside.Itwouldn’tbeprofessionaltodoso.(Interview2)
Corinne:DefinitelyIlikeditwhen,IthinkitwasduringRoy’sworkshop,whenhe
remindedustheimportance,andIthinkthisisexactlywhatIwaswritinginoneofmy
answersinthequestionnaire,thatit’spossibletoinsistonaccuracyoflanguage,evenifwe
areinasecondlanguagecontext,evenifwehavetoteachhistory,geography,whatever.I’d
forgottenthatalittlebitsometimes…Wefocusonthesubjectmatterand…
Victor:Weforgetaboutlanguage?
Corinne:That’sit.Achild,Achildrenno,no,it’simportanttoinsistonachild.Sometimes
weskipthatpart.Soit,itreallymademefeelgoodtohaveitremindedtome.Weare
Frenchteachersessentially,weshouldn’tforgetitsometimes.Yes..Otherwise(..)Yes,it,it
wasabigahamoment.Wecouldsaythat.Theimportanceoflanguage,despiteeverything,
languageiseverywhere,andwehavetoinsistoncorrectusageoflanguage.I’dsaythat.
(Interview2)
Danielle:Itwasawayformmetoreflectonmywayofteaching,myteachingobjectives,
andtoimprovetheteachingoftheFrenchlanguageobviouslythat’salwaysanobjective
butwhenyou’reafrancophone,sometimesyouforgetwhatthekidsneedtoreally
understandthelanguage.That’sit.Itwasapersonalreflection,hopeitwillhelpmeto
improvemyselfnotonlyinFrenchandinSocialStudiesbutalsoalittlebiteverywhere
becausewhenweseeotherexamplesofotherteachersandwehavethechancetodiscuss
andtotakeatimeoutandtostopbeinginthedailygrind,it’sgood.(Interview2)
Confusion
P.54
Danielle:Listen,theonlythingIcansayisthatatthebeginning,ok,Roy’spresentationis
clear.IknowwhatI’mdoing.Then,Isitdownwithpenandpaper,trytopickatopic.AndI
spentalotoftimeswimminginthedark.Atacertaintime,Istartedtochoosegoingdowna
pathandthen..whenIunblockeditwasreallyfast.ButIspentalotoftimeswimmingin
thedarkatthebeginning.Ican’treallysaywhatwasitthat..Ithinkthatagivenmoment
112
youhavetowork…howshouldItellyou..swiminthemudtobeabletoswiminwater,ifI
canusethatimage,youunderstand?Itwasanewconceptandatthebeginningitwaslike
whatIamdoinghere,maybeI’mnotcapableofdoingthis.Ithinkthat’sit.Aspecific
moment,Ican’tsay.Butwhenitstartedtobecomeclearerandtotakeshape,that’swhereI
saidok,Icandoit.(Interview2)
P.55
Beatrice:Atthebeginningoftheplanning,IhadnoideaonwhatIwasembarking.Ilosta
lot,alotoftimebecauseIdidn’tknowwhattodo.IhadmythemeinmyheadbutIdidn’t
haveanyideas,Iwasturningaroundandaround,anditwasonlythenightbeforethe
filmingthatIfinallydecidedandthatitwasclearerinmyhead.Sothat,thatwasabig,big
challengebecauseusuallyinsevenyearsofteachingIhavetonsofideasbuthere,tofollow
Roy’smethodologywiththetheory,followedbythewrittentext,thatwasn’tveryclearto
me.Iworkedalottoputthatinpractice.That’swhyintheendIredideverythingthenight
beforethefilming.(Interview2)
Sandrine:Iwasreallylostinthebeginning,Ididn’tknowwhichwastoturn,Iwasn’tsureif
Ifollowedtheperceptionactivity,theawarenessactivity,theguidedpracticeandallthat.I
wasreally…that’sit.Iwouldhavelikedtohavebeenwithsomeoneelse,andsomeoneelse
insecondary.Iwouldhavereallylovedthat,itwasreallyhard.Ididn’treallyknowwhereI
wasgoing.(Interview2)
P.56
Vanessa:Ithinkfindingtheideainthebeginningsothateveryone….Workingtogetherwas
abitofachallengeatthebeginningbutoncewegotunblocked,Idon’tknow,itwaseasier
(…)Itwasjustlike,ok,ifit’sgoingtobethepassécompose,howarewegoingtointegrate
it?(Interview2)
Corinne:Forsurethefactthatweworkedasateam,weneededsometimetochoosepick
thethemeandthenhowweweregoingtoapproachit.Sothat,thatwasthefirstchallenge
I’dsay.(Interview2)
P.57
Jean:Isitclearer?
Chantal:Noit’sgettingalittlemoreconfusingforme.(FieldNotes,Workshop2)
Chantal:Wenavigateandthenwestartquestioningourchoices.(FieldNotes,Workshop3)
Collaboration
P.59
113
Gabrielle:Therearen’talotofresourcepeople,Iprettymuchcreatedmyownmaterial..all
thepeoplewhotaughtthislevel,thissubjecthaveleftmyschool,sothereisn’tanybody
whohasgiventhiscourseattheschoolthatI’minandIdon’treallyknowalotofother
teachersinotherschoolseithersoI’mprettymuchleftonmyown.(Interview1)
Chantal:Thereareotherpeoplebutnotfulltime.Butfulltime,everyday,we’refour.
Everybodyteachesdoubleclasses,everybodyhasdutiesthatdon’talign.Wecan’twork..
weworktogetherobviously,butwecan’t,atacurricularlevel,wecan’tcollaboratealot.
(Interview1)
Beatrice:Becauseontopofthelackofsupport,anybodycandowhatevertheywant.Then
ourstudentsarriveatacertainlevel,well,thisteacherwantedtodothisway,thatteacher
wantedtodothatthatway,thenattheendthekids,wellthat’senough.Therearealotof
teacherswhowanttoworkwiththeirownstyle.Fine,except,Ithinkit’stoobadbecauseif
weworkedmoreasateam,ifwehadmoretraining,wewouldhavemorecontinuityin
teaching.(Interview1)
P.61/62
Chantal:Yoursupportwhenweweredoingourlessonplansaswell,thatwewereableto
discussbecauseoftenwedoourlessonplansaloneathome,wewakeupatnight,weredo
them,butitwasfuntohaveotherpeoplearoundustodoit.
Patricia:Toshare…
Chantal:toshare..
Patricia:doubts?
Chantal:Doubts.I’mtheonlyonewhoteachesthesubjectsthatIteach,Idon’thave…
Patricia:Youdon’thavecolleagueswithwho…?
Chantal:NoIdon’thavecolleagueswithwho…Yesbutno…IhavecolleagueswithwhomI
cansharealessonplanbutit’snotlikethetwoofuswouldpreparesomethinginsocial
studiesthenwewouldhaveanengageddiscussiononitlikewedidhere.(Interview2)
Delphine:Takingthetimetositdown..It’scrazy,italwaysgetsbacktothesamething.
Victor:Duringthedaydoyouhavedifferentfreeperiods?
Delphine:Wehavefreeperiodsbuttheyarealldifferent.
Corinne:Nottogether.Commontimeno.Wednesdayswehaveplanningtimethat’s
mandatorybutit’sforthesamecycles,sousuallyyouguysmeetinthecyclebutI’mnot
exactlyinthecycle,soweneverseeeachother.Thisisthefirstthethreeofusaresitting
together,it’shere,thisyear.(Interview1)
P.64
Victor:Whatdoyouthinkbenefitedyouworkingasateam?Whatwasthemostbeneficial
aspectofworkingasateam?
Delphine:Sharingresources,sharingthework.Wereallysaidtoeachother,you,youdothe
photocopies,you,youwritethetext,you,you’regoingtofindtheverbs.Ithinkwetripled
whatwewerecapableofdoinginashortamountoftime.Wetripledtheideasaswell,the
114
brainstormofideasbythreeisalotmoreefficientthanalone.Andtobelievewhatwewere
doingwasgood,tovalidateourieasbecausewhenyou’realone,youalwaysquestion
yourself,isthisright?Isthisnotright?(Interview2)
Corinne:Hearingnewideas,confrontingtheideaswehave,oftenwedon’trealizewewere
wrong.Itwasinteresting.Ohyea,Iwouldn’thaveseenitthatway,ohyea,Iwouldn’thave
approacheditthatway.Sometimesitalsoallowsustovalidatewhatwebelievedaswell.I
thinkthat’sit.(Interview2)
P.65
Sandrine:Iwouldhavelikedtohavehadacolleaguefromsecondarytoexchangeideas.I
feltaloneintheproject.(Questionnaire2)
Danielle:Iwouldhavelikedtohaveworkedinateamforthewholeproject.
(Questionnaire2).
Delphine:Isuggestyourecruitmorethanteacherperschoolwhenit’spossiblebecauseit
wasanaspectthatIreallyappreciated,beingwithmycolleagues(Questionnaire2)
Satisfaction
P.66
Delphine:IreallylovedtheprojectandI’mreallyhappytohavebeenapartofit.
(Questionnaire2)
Gabrielle:I’mprettyhappywithwhatitbrought.(Interview2)
Beatrice:IamalwaysreallyreallyhappywhenthereisaPDthatisaddressedtomeand
thatIcanjoinandsinceIfoundittobeanamazingprojectitwasareallysignificant
experienceformeandIwasalwaysreallyhappytocometomyChantier7workshops.
(Interview2)
P.67
Chantal:Theprojectintroducedustonewconcepts,itgaveustimetodiscuss,todigestthe
approachandfinally,theprojectgaveusanopportunitytotrywhatwehadjustlearnedby
offeringusbothsupportanddirection.Whatelseistheretosay,theshiphassailedandit
shouldbeagreatjourney.(Questionnaire2)
Chantal:Ihopetohavethechancetoworkwithallofyounextyear.Ireallylovedit.(…)
WhatIreallylikedaboutthisonewasthatthebalancewasalwaysthere.Yes,welearned
newtheories,approaches,Idon’tknowhowyouwanttosayit,butatthesametime,we
hadtimetothinkaboutthem,timetoputtheminpracticeinclass.Wehadanobjective
whichwastohavetheselessonsreadyforwhenyouarrived,whichputusinasituation
115
wherethelearningwasconcreteandhadadesignatedtime.IreallylikeditbecauseIfind
thatoften,wehavePDthatisamazingbutafterwegetlostinallthethingswehavetodo
andtheydon’tgiveusenoughtimetoplan,toreflectortohavethediscussionsthatwehad
toputeverythingintoplace.(Interview2)
P.68
Delphine:ActuallyIhadsaidyesrightawaybecauseIfoundthatIdidn’tinvestenough
timeinSocialStudies,soIthoughtthatitwouldreallyallowmetostopandfindthetime
formoreplanning,abettercomprehensiononhowtointegrateFrenchacrossallofthat.I
thinkitreallyfulfilledmyexpectationsinthatregard.(Interview2)
Corinne:Iseethisfirstlyasaveryverygoodfirstattemptofgatheringsocialstudies
teachers.ThisIthinkwasreallygoodbecauseweneedhelptoteachthissubject.It’soften
leftasidebyteachersjustbecauseit’snotobviousandwelackthetime.Ithinkit’sgoodto
havegatheredtheteachersforthefirsttime,andthefactthatit’saprojectovertwoyears
andthatyouareredoingitnextyearwithotherteachersorthesameones,Ithinkthereare
otherteacherswhocouldbenefitfromthis.(Interview2)
Gabrielle:Ihopetheprojectwillcontinue.Iwouldreallyliketohavethechancetogointo
thismoredeeplyortofindawaytospreaditacrosstheschoolboard,tootherschools.It’s
maybesomethingthatcouldbe,Idon’tknow,giventoallschools,giventoallteachersofa
cycleforexample.Ithinkthatinourcontext,whereweareanEnglishschoolboardthat
teachestostudentsinasecondlanguageallthetime,Ithinkknowinghowtointegrate
contenttolanguageissomethingthatisprimordialandrudimentary,wecan’tputitaside,
weshouldn’tbutactuallytherearealotofpeoplewhodo.(Interview2)
Vanessa:IwouldsaythatIreallyappreciatedthatitwasaboutSocialStudies,because,like
Iexplainedinthesurvey,IfindthatIoftenputsocialstudiesasidebecauseIhaveMath,
LanguageArts,FrenchandSciences,andIputalotofenergyintothecoursesthatIteach
everydaysosometimesyougettoplanningforsocialstudiesandit’salittlerushed.Ireally
appreciatedbeingabletoworkwithCorinneandDelphine,weshoulddefinitelydoitmore,
andthefactthatwehadthetime,heretoplanduringwholedaysorafternoons.That,that
wasreallygood.(Interview2)
P.70
Vanessa:Itwouldprobablybeattheendoftheproject,whenmystudentspresentedtheir
timeline.TherearesomestudentswhohavealotofdifficultyinFrenchwhowereableto
reallyreallydowellintermsofgrammarinFrenchbutalsoonthelifeofJacquesCartier
andIthinkit’sthefactofrepeatingoften,alwaysmanipulatingthesameinformationeven
ifwefocusedonFrenchandsometimesHistory,itreallyreallyhelpedalot.(Interview2)
P.71
Sandrine:WhenIdidtheguidedpracticewiththebiggame,wherewereusedthe
116
vocabularythroughthegame,thestudentshadfunandIwasabletoassessthatyes,they
understand.Theyarecapableofplayingwiththewords,theyunderstandwell.Thenafter
thelastassignment,theidealstate,Isawthattheywereabletoreusethewords.Ithinkit
willstaywiththembecausetheybecamefamiliarwiththembyapplyingthemintheirideal
state.ObviouslytherewasacontexttorespectbutIthinkthatit’sasuccessandontopof
thatthesummativeevaluationwasthebestofthewholeyearandIsharedthisprojectwith
mycolleague(…)whoalsotrieditaswell.Sheworkedalotonwordconceptswiththe
vocabularyanalyzedandallthat,andshealsosawgreatimprovement.SoI’mawarethat…
Itneedstobedonewithallunitsintheend.(Interview2)
P.72
Beatrice:I’vebeenteachingsocialstudiesinFrenchforafewyearsbutIkeptaskingmyself
ifitwasn’tbettertoteachitinEnglish.Now,I’mreassuredandIwishtocontinueteaching
itinFrench(…)itwasbeneficialandI’mreallymotivatedtopursuethisapproach.
(Questionnaire2)
Sandrine:IwillreusethisprojectinmyfutureunitsofHistory.(Questionnaire2)
Corinne:ForSUREIwillinspirefromwhatI’velearnedifIhavethechancetoteachSS
again.(Questionnaire2)
P.73
Gabrielle:It’sactuallythetime,giventhatIcreateallmyresourcesandIhavetofind
solutionsmyself,aswellasmaterials,aswellasideas.Thelimitof24hoursadayhappens
fast.(Interview1)
Delphine:Onceagainit’sgoingtobethetimethatwillbethebiggestconstraintbecauseit
requires…ready-maderesourcesforthisarerare.Ithinkthat’sourbiggestchallengein
FrenchasaSecondLanguage.Wehavetocreatealotalotalot.Wehavetotakethingsthat
aretherebutputitinalanguageaccessibletoourstudents(…)
Corinne:Everythinghastobeadapted.Wecan’tuseanythingasis.Whenwetalkabout
texts,wecan’tuseanything,whetheritsInternetsites,orinbooks,ortextbooks.
Delphine(…)That’sreallywhatwearemissing.Becauseyes,thereareresourcesinFrench,
butinFrenchasasecondlanguagethere’snothing.InEnglishasasecondlanguageyes,in
firstlanguageEnglishyes.WhenIstartedtoteachSocialstudiesthroughFrenchasa
secondlanguageItoldmyself,Iwouldlovetositdownandhavethetimetocreatea
textbook,createexercises,create…butit’safulltimejob!(Interview1)
P.74
Sandrine:It’sthatactually,Isimplified,bywritingasortofsummaryofRomanizationsoI
reallyintegratedalltheconceptsbysimplifyingallthattheyhavein50pagesoftheir
exercisebook.SothatIthinkreallyhelpedcomprehensionaswell.
Patricia:Andthat,thatwaspartofyourplanningforthisproject?
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Sandrine:Inmyplanning,yes,exactly.Andit’sthehardestpartI’dsay,tocondenseallthe
conceptssothattherewouldbealogicalsuit.Whenyou’renotawriter…
Patricia:Yourewroteeverything?
Sandrine:Yep,butJeanreallyhelpedme.ButatthesametimeIwasworriedandaskedifI
forgotessentialthingsthatwouldbeonthefinalexambecausesometimestheyarereally
specificaboutcertainthingsintheprogram.Allthat,wewanttosimplifybutwecan’ttoo
mucheither.Howevergenerally,itwasfine.I’mreallyhappy.(Interview2)
Gabrielle:Becausethemethodofhavingstudentsnoticewhatisdifferentinthetext,then
havingthemdeduceitthemselvesforexample,thatI’musetodoing,buthere,Iwascaught
withinthecontextofsocialstudiesandIcouldn’tfindtheappropriatetextsfortheactivity
thatIwantedtodo.Soallthetextshadtoberedoneandallthat.Ifoundthattobereally
heavyandabigchallenge.(Interview2)
P.75
Sandrine:IthinkIhavetofindthetimetodoit.Toworkmoreonthevocabulary.Thebig
problemisthatwealwaysgosofastbutobviouslywehavetheconstraintofreportcards
(…)We’realwaysracing,racing,racing.(Interview2)
Danielle:It’sgoingtobegivemoreworkbecauseallthedocumentsthatcurrentlyexistin
historyandgeographyaren’treallycompatiblewith…Wesaw,Ican’trememberwhich
teacherofthefourthgradewasshowingushowthetextbooksshouldbewrittenandit
doesn’twork,therearetoomanythingsonapage.Yes,itgivesmemoreworkforsure.It’s
obvious.Butwhenwewanttodoourjobwell,forsurewehavetorollupoursleevesand
getcracking…(Interview2)
P.76
Corinne:Itwasgood,buthavingsaidthat,achancethatwehad…theonlytimeswe
workedtogether,waswhenwewerehere.Atschool,withtheroutine,thedailygrind,we
rarelyhadthechancetositdowntogether.SOagainitwasgoodthatwehadthisPDto
allowustodoitbecauseitwasdifficultytodoitatschool.(Interview2)
Delphine:That’sit.Thetextsinhistory,thevideosthatwefindarealwaysinfirstlanguage
EnglishorinfirstlanguageFrenchsoit’sdifficulttofindappropriateresourcesandthento
findthetime.Herewehadthetimeforafewcourses,weputalotoftimetoworkonit,but
it’snotrealisticthatwecandothisforeachoneofourunits(…)That’sit.It’sbecausewe
hadthetimeheretodoitandbecausewewerethree.Me,itwasoneofmygreatpleasures
toworkwithVanessaandCorinne,that’sforsure.Onesmallthingthatwedidn’tgetto…
It’sdifficulttofindthetimegiventhatthethreeofusdon’tjustteachthis.(Interview2)
P.77
Delphine:ThebiggestdifficultyIfindandIrepeateditofteninthequestionnaireIfind,it’s
reallytheresourcesinsecondlanguage.MaybeitwasanexpectationthatIhadthatwas
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toohightoleavewithresourcesalreadymade.Becausethat’softenabigchallenge.Ifind
thatnowIhaveabetterunderstanding,Ireallylovedthepyramidwithfoursteps.Now
what’smissingisthetime,it’salwaysthebiggestchallenge,thetimetocreatethese
resources.Itbecomesevenfrustratingwhenweknowwhatwehavetodo,butwe’renot
abletoputitinourscheduletobeabletodoit.ButIreallyappreciatedbeingpartofthe
project.(Interview2)
P.79
Danielle:Ithinkthattocontinuedownthepaththatwestarted,it’snicetohavelittle
reminderssometimes,orlittlesuggestions.Wetalkedgender,whichwouldbeagood
notiontocoverinsocialstudies.Wetalkedaboutverbtenses,wetalkedaboutthewords,I
forgotwhattheyarecalled,linguisticconnectors,somethinglikethat.Itwouldbeniceto
have,inthesensethatyouorVictororyouhavetheseideastotellus,thisorthatconcept
wouldbegood,justtoreactivateusalittlebit,becauseit’seasyto,nowthattheteamwill
bedisintegrated,tofallbackintowhatweweredoingbeforeevenifwereallybelieveinit,
likeIsaidit’saefforttochangeandsometimes,that’sit,youhavetobecreativeinall
subjects.Iteacheight,soIwouldfinditinterestingbecauseitwasreallyachallengetosay
ok,whatcanIcoverasaconceptthatwouldintegratewellwithsocialstudiesandIhaveto
thinkaboutit.Choosingadjectivesok,butwillIintegratethat?Havingsmallideaslikethat,
itwouldbenice.ButingeneralIwashappywiththeproject.(Interview2)
P.80
Gabrielle:Iftherewasaplacewheretherewereresourcesthatwereeasilyavailableand
thatwerecohesiveandcompleteinthesensethatwecouldreallyhaveanideaonhowto
teachaunit,notjustasitewherewecanfindhistoricpictures,notjustasitewherecanfind
readings,asitewherewecouldfindcurriculummappingthatwouldtellsushowtodothis
activity,afteryoudothis,thenyouevaluatethisway,asortofprogramthatwasalready
available,wouldbeamazing.(Interview2)
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