Professional Growth
Developing Intercultural Competence in Pre-service EFL Teachers through Video-conferencing Exchanges: Preparing the Global Citizen
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Lena Barrantes Elizondo, Karla Granados Valverde, Fernando Méndez Zúñiga
Sustainable Development Objective 4 aims to ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and culture’s contribution. Looking back at effective instructional strategies implemented during COVID-19, English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers could keep transforming learning experiences by developing digital literacies, language skills and culture awareness through videoconferencing exchanges. The purpose of this paper is to share how exchanges of this type resulted in an opportunity to develop intercultural competencies that prepare pre-service EFL teachers to become global citizens by fostering cultural and linguistic diversity. Videoconferencing exchanges brought together EFL pre-service teachers and language learners in geographically distant locations via means of online communication to develop language skills and intercultural competence. Intercultural competence is the ability to develop targeted knowledge, skills and attitudes that lead to visible behavior and communication that are both effective and appropriate in intercultural interactions. To this matter, in this study, pre-service teachers at a public university in Costa Rica share their findings after analysing their experiences as participants in a series of video conferencing exchanges with students in a Canadian university. Using Deardoof´s model that frames attitudes, knowledge, skills, internal outcomes and external outcomes as core components, pre-service teachers assessed how this instructional strategy in their EFL Teaching Program provides the opportunity to guide them in their role as members of a large global community and use their skills and education to contribute to that community.
Teachers Experiencing Flipped Classroom Approach to Understand Socio-constructivist Learning
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Christina Lim-Ratnam
Though Singaporean teachers are familiar with the catchphrases of socio-constructivist learning, many are relatively unfamiliar with its epistemological difference from their deeply entrenched habits of pedagogic thinking. This is because the roots of our educational heritage do not stem from the socio-constructivist paradigm. In this paper, I present how the flipped classroom approach in a post-graduate degree course (Masters in Education) provided the platform for students who are practicing teachers to experience socio-constructivist learning. The data is drawn from reflections of over 80 students over four semesters. Having experienced socio-constructivist learning through the flipped classroom approach in this post-graduate degree course, these teachers reflected on their epiphanies and realizations of misconceptions of socio-constructivism in their own teaching. I also highlight how the structure of the course brings out the necessary conditions to effectively scaffold socio-constructivist learning.
Research Transfer in Co-teaching: A Three-dimensional Approach
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Birgit Strotmann, Magdalena Custodio Espinar
This paper showcases how a series of teaching innovation projects on co-teaching, grounded in practitioner research, have the potential to generate a virtuous cycle of multiple transferability, reaching students, teacher trainees, teaching professionals and the research community. Arising from a grassroots initiative of university professors wishing to explore the challenges and benefits of co-teaching in terms of the acquisition of 21st century skills such as collaboration or critical awareness, project members researched their own co-teaching practice and its impact on the students participating in it by means of a mixed methods study carried out at a medium-size private university in Spain. A total of 15 courses were co-taught, involving 27 professors from three departments. Following a convergent mixed methods design, data was gathered and triangulated from multiple sources: student surveys, student focus groups, professor interviews, and professor diaries. Study results were made available by means of three integrated strategies of innovation transfer, which will be outlined in this presentation: 1. Transfer of theory into practice (teachers modelling co-teaching - students applying what they have learnt to internships, bachelor theses and future teaching practice). 2. Transfer as dissemination in conferences, congresses, publications, etc. 3. Transfer as a motor of innovation – good practice leading to tailor-made training at schools. Teaching innovation, practitioner research and cross-sectional transferability can thus form part of a virtuous cycle of quality assurance in educational policy, pedagogy and practice.
Constructing and Evaluating a Career Planning and Vocational Education Curriculum Integrating Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction Motivation Model View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Lu Yi Jen
This study examines an innovative curriculum titled "Career Planning and Vocational Education and Training" devised by a Teacher Education Centre, aimed at nurturing future educators for elementary and secondary schools. The curriculum integrates vital career planning components drawn from Taiwan's 12 year basic education framework, addressing the changing needs of the educational landscape. It uses the ARCS motivation model, which focuses on Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction, to enhance student engagement and learning outcomes. The programme caters to a broad spectrum of students, from undergraduates to doctoral candidates across various disciplines, engaging them in career-orientated themes and activities to build their career competencies and motivation. Embedding experiential learning, the curriculum melds theoretical insights with practical applications, preparing educators to effectively incorporate career planning into their teaching. The study employs an action research methodology, assessing the curriculum's efficacy via both quantitative and qualitative methods, including career development scales and the ARCS motivation scale. The results underscore a significant increase in student career development competencies and motivation, illustrating the alignment of the curriculum with the goals of the 12-year basic education system and its substantial potential to influence teacher education.
