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Part of
Teacher Development for Immersion and Content-Based Instruction
Edited by Laurent Cammarata and T.J. Ó Ceallaigh
[Benjamins Current Topics 110] 2020
► pp. 39–66

In search of immersion teacher educators’ knowledge base

Exploring their readiness to foster an integrated approach to teaching

| University of Alberta
| University of Alberta

Although it has long been touted as a key ingredient to successful immersion practice, no research to date has examined immersion teacher educators’ (ITEs) knowledge base as it relates to the work of content, language, and literacy integration in curriculum planning and teaching. Thus, it is difficult to know whether or not ITEs are ready and able to support the pedagogical transition toward better-integrated practice in the immersion classroom. This qualitative study set out to fill this gap in our knowledge by exploring ITEs’ understanding of the nature and role of language and literacy in the context of their discipline of expertise through the use of an analytic framework designed to examine ITEs’ knowledge base. Key findings point to the need for the elaboration of a professional development (PD) program specifically dedicated to supporting ITEs’ continuous knowledge growth, particularly when it comes to the issue of pedagogical integration.

Keywords: teacher educator, immersion, knowledge base, integrated approach
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Background to the study
    • 2.1Content and language integration in immersion: A call for adapted teacher education preparation
    • 2.2Teacher knowledge matters
    • 2.3What do we know about what teachers need to know to integrate effectively?
    • 2.4Why a focus on ITEs’ knowledge? A call to explore the missing variable
  • 3.A framework and analytical tool to capture ITEs’ knowledge for integration
  • 4.Methodology
    • 4.1Context
    • 4.2Participants
    • 4.3Data collection
    • 4.4Data analysis
  • 5.Findings
    • 5.1Marie’s knowledge depth and distribution as it relates to the work of integration
    • 5.2Significant patterns in ITEs’ understandings
      • 5.2.1Lack of conceptual clarity
      • 5.2.2No evidence of an awareness of the importance of language and literacy in disciplinary learning/teaching when ITEs were not directly probed about it
      • 5.2.3More elaborated understanding of the literacy-content relationship
      • 5.2.4Non-existent or faint awareness of connection between literacy and language
  • 6.Discussion and implications
    • 6.1The importance of knowledge base mapping when considering pedagogical integration
    • 6.2The need for a curriculum dedicated to immersion teacher educators
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
  • Appendix
Published online: 17 September 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/bct.110.jicb.18009.cam
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