4.2 Case Two: Olivia
4.2.3 Olivia‟s Teaching Practices
4.2.3.3 Classroom Instructions
In practice, Olivia adopted a more traditional way to teach grammar. In her class, she spent nearly the whole class time emphasizing sentence structures. She preferred to arrange sentences by dividing them into pieces, giving rules, and providing short sentences for students to practices (see Appendix I). Secondly, she mainly used Chinese as the medium of instruction and devoted most of time translating words and sentences into Chinese (see Appendix J). In the worksheets, she always provided Chinese translations for English sentences. Olivia spent the whole class hour discussing worksheets that contained grammatical rules and various drills. She believed that teaching students grammatical rules step by step would help them learn
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sentence structures. Through the intensive practices, students could connect grammar with the concrete language use.
Instruction 2: Repetitious practices
After the explicit grammar instructions, Olivia usually provided many drills including fill-in, multiple choices, error corrections, substitution, and Chinese-English translations for students to practice. To raise students‟ willingness to do drills and to promote an active classroom-learning atmosphere, she offered various candies as rewards. When students did exercises by themselves, they asked Olivia those
unknown words in the worksheets and she was willing to tell them those answers. As she said,
Since students did not memorize many words, it was hard for them to read the questions or translate sentences. With the teacher and peers‟ assistance, students could have patience to try to answer the questions. Otherwise, if you did not tell them those keywords, they would give up easily and lack interest.
(Formal Interview 2, June 3rd, 2010)
Example 4.8 showed how Olivia assisted students to finish drills.
Example 4.8
(After Olivia introduced the sentence structure, that-clause, students were doing Chinese-English translations and were assigning to write down their answers on the blackboard.)
S1: “贏得那場比賽”怎麼說？(How to say “win that game”?) T : “win that game” (Write down on the blackboard)
S2: “花了”怎麼寫？(How to say “spent”?) T : spend on
S2: “一萬元”怎麼寫？ (How to say “ten thousand dollars”?) T : ……
S3: 10 個 1000 啊！(Ten thousand la!)
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(Classroom Observation, May 19th, 2010)
As shown from the examples above, Olivia provided students keywords when they met problems. Sometimes, the students who knew answers assisted others. Also, when she reviewed the questions, she grasped her worksheets with answer keys tightly and provided only one correct sentence for students. That is, she merely translated the meanings of words and sentences into Chinese. She did not read the sentences again.
Once, she only spoke five English sentences throughout the class (Classroom
observation, May 5th, 2010). It showed that she indeed put emphasis on grammar and vocabulary instructions in her teaching.
Instruction 3: Group discussion
In addition to individual work, Olivia sometimes tried to use different teaching methods, such as group discussions to trigger students‟ learning motivations. She observed that most aboriginal students in the remedial course were not willing to participate in class and had low academic achievement; therefore, she changed her teaching from teacher-centered to student-centered. She hoped that students could discuss and find out answers together through peer-assistance. In the class, she divided students into two groups based on students‟ preferences and had competitive games from modified language drills, which caused the students to become more willing to answer questions in order to get scores and win rewards. As she reported,
My intention for doing the group work was to help those who did not pay attention to the class. Through group work, students could discuss, cooperate, and figure out answers with their classmates more or less. If they knew the answers and wrote these down on the blackboard, this would be a positive encouragement for them. Also, the repetitious drills were boring, so by this way, students would like to repeat the same sentence pattern.
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(After-classroom Interview, April 28th, 2010)
Most of the time, Olivia‟s teaching was teacher-centered which gave students few opportunities to acquire grammatical rules by themselves. By group work, the teaching shifted to students-centered which could enhance students‟ learning motivations and their learning outcomes.
Instruction 4: Assessment
Although Olivia did not teach vocabulary in class, she still thought that
vocabulary was one of the basic parts in English learning. In each unit, she selected some important vocabulary items that she wanted students to memorize and gave weekly vocabulary quizzes in the last fifteen minutes of the last session. When giving quizzes, she always spoke both English words and its corresponding Chinese
meanings for students. She thought that it was much easier for students to answer questions. Throughout the classroom observations, Olivia never forced students to join in vocabulary quizzes. As she mentioned,
If the students did not prepare for quizzes, it was useless for me to insist on them participating in the exam. They would not write any words down; instead, they would give me back the blank paper.
(After-classroom observation, May 5th, 2010)
She held the belief that encouragement was better than force. She liked to implement soft teaching, which made students‟ learn.
4.2.3.4 Summary of Olivia’s Teaching Implementation
As a novice teacher, Olivia often reflected on her teaching after class and
modified her teaching practices to meet the remedial context. She planned her lessons before the class. She tried to manage a warm and relaxed learning environment for
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students in order to motivate their learning interests. She distributed candy and rewards to students every class and she used to do individual instruction and encourage students to practice exercises by themselves without fear. As for the teaching objectives, she emphasized grammatical patterns and repetitious exercises.
The focus was to help students get high scores on exams at school. She believed that once students got good grades, their learning motivations may be triggered and they would be willing to learn English.
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CHAPTER FIVE
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
In this chapter, the two teachers‟ teaching cognition and practices are discussed to address the three research questions. Then, the study is concluded by a brief
summary of the study findings, pedagogical implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research.
5.1 Discussion
The findings of the current study are discussed to address the three research questions framed of the study.
5.1.1 Question 1: How do the two teachers form their cognition of English teaching in the remedial program?
Researchers have indicated that teachers‟ cognition and personal experiences of teaching and learning would have a strong impact on their classroom practices (Borg, 2003; Tsui, 2003). The result of the study revealed that teachers‟ prior learning and teaching experiences strongly influenced their teaching cognition and practices.
According to the findings, there were three themes discovered, including teachers‟
prior learning experiences, prior teaching experiences, and professional coursework.
5.1.1.1 Prior Learning Experiences
Several studies have proved that teachers learn about teaching from their learning experiences in schools. As Lortie (1975) referred, “apprenticeship of observation”. Both English teachers were prone to trace back to their past learning experiences when teaching English in the remedial program.
Ron comprehended all of his education in France. He had no prior knowledge of
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Taiwanese educational system. Olivia; however, was educated in Taiwan throughout her life. Their different educational backgrounds influenced their teaching cognition and practices. For example, Ron believed language should be learned and taught as a whole. Although Olivia learned this from her professional coursework, in the remedial program she mainly put emphasis on grammar and vocabulary in her class Therefore, she modified her teaching practices. The change of Olivia‟s practices might stem from the social expectation that academic performances usually symbolized successes as well as chances and from the educational context that grammar and vocabulary were still the two main elements on school and entrance examinations. For Olivia, the way to assist students to get higher scores was from cramming. On the contrary, due to Ron‟s comparative unfamiliarity with Taiwanese educational contexts, he relied on his prior learning experiences and formed his own language teaching.
The two cases indicated that teachers from different countries seem to have a different understanding of Taiwan‟s educational system. Their cultures shape their thinking, giving them different interpretations of teaching goals of the remedial program in Taiwan. Ron‟s teaching seemed not match the goals and Olivia„s did. She took social expectations and educational contexts into consideration while choosing her teaching methods. Using this point of view, the study found two issues that whether foreign teachers were proper to serve as English teachers in the remedial program and that whether foreign teachers were needed to receive teaching training before they entered in a teaching context. The first is whether foreign teachers were proper to serve as English teachers in the remedial program and the second was whether foreign teachers needed to receive teaching training before they entered in a teaching context.
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5.1.1.2 Prior Teaching Experiences
Previous studies have indicated that the major difference between experienced and novice teachers lie in the instruction implementations in accordance with their cognition. Experienced teachers‟ prior teaching experiences may influence their current teaching and allow them to anticipate instructional issues and students‟
problems while novice teachers tend to use their learning experiences more to envision difficulties and have trouble thinking about learning issues from students‟
perspectives (Borg, 2006; Crookes & Arakaki, 1999).
From the accumulation of English teaching for six years, Ron found that what aboriginal students needed in the remedial program was disciplines. In his class, disciplines outweighed learning and grades during the data collection time. In contrast, Olivia highly emphasized grades at the beginning of the semester, but later she found that spending much time on handling her class was necessary for smooth teaching and efficiently learning in the remedial program. Compared with her class in the
elementary school, she found that students in the remedial program lacked the sense of security so that they kept the distance from teachers before they and teachers had mutual understanding and trust. It was found that their past teaching experiences explained why they held their teaching cognition and reflected by their teaching practices. Also, Olivia‟s case seemed to imply that novice teachers lacked ability to transfer or modify their teaching practices into different teaching contexts.
5.1.1.3 Professional Coursework
Ron did not receive professional training in language teaching prior to or during the study. He implemented his teaching based on his past learning and teaching experiences. On the contrary, Olivia had trained to be an English teacher for three years. In Olivia‟s case, she stated that her prior professional training had little impact
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on her teaching in the real class. According to Borg, professional preparation did shape trainees‟ cognition; however, if programs ignored trainee‟s prior beliefs, the training may be less effective at influencing teachers‟ cognitive development.
Interviews and classroom observations revealed that Olivia lacked the ability to link theories into practical contexts. She often considered students‟ needs as the top priority in her teaching. When designing worksheets, she traced back to her past learning experiences and stuck in grammar-oriented instructions, which seemed to violate her prior teaching cognition. It seemed that the professional training she received failed to help her realize the contextual change. Olivia‟s case echoed some researchers‟ assertion that professional coursework may not have a major impact on teachers‟ cognitive development due to the short duration of the course training, teachers‟ knowledge of professional courses, teachers‟ concerns for achieving continuity in lessons, and the association with teachers‟ prior learning cognition (Almarza, 1996; Farrell, 1999; Kagan, 1992; Richard, Ho, & Ciblin, 1996). As Johnson (1997) contended, “Teacher educators should provide teachers with
opportunities to make sense of theory by filtering it through experiential knowledge gained as teachers and learners.” (p.780)
The study is showed that for successful professional coursework, it is vital to examine teachers‟ cognition, looking into what teachers believe teaching
methodologies can bring to the classroom and how they can be integrated.
5.1.2 Question 2: How do the two teachers’ cognition interweave with classroom practices?
In this study, the two English teachers were found to realize many teaching cognition in their teaching practices in the remedial program. Johnson (1994) argued that teachers‟ beliefs could be observed from their teaching practices. In this study, it
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is found that the two teachers held various teaching cognition in their teaching practices, and revealed how the two English teachers‟ cognition interwove with their teaching practices.
In Ron‟s case, he held the same teaching cognition throughout the data collection semester. His cognition was found to dominate his teaching practices. Olivia‟s
teaching cognition was heavily influenced by her teaching practices. She often modified her teaching practices to match the situated contexts. Since Ron had taught English for six years, his cognition was formed rigidly from his past learning and teaching experiences, teaching contexts, and social contexts.
In contrast, this was Olivia‟s first year of teaching, so she was still forming ideas about how to be an English teacher. Her frequent modification of her teaching
practices showed that her prior teaching cognition was affected by the remedial context. As Borg (2003) indicated, experienced teachers have developed rich knowledge and well-established routines about how to conduct their courses and manage their classrooms while novice teachers lacked instructional knowledge and well-rehearsed routines, which lead teaching difficulties including keeping students‟
attention and having a smooth teaching flow. The two teachers‟ cases seem to support the assertion and showed that a teachers‟ cognitive development was affected by their teaching practices.
5.1.3 Question 3: How do contextual factors influence the two teachers’ cognition and practices in the remedial program?
Connelly and Clandinin (1985) contended that a teachers‟ knowledge was the reflection of an individual‟s previous experiences and of knowledge constructions and reconstructions through different situations. More specifically, the knowledge a teacher developed was through the process of teaching, conflict, and reflection to
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solve the problems occurring in the particular course with regards to the classroom context. Leinhardt (1988) referred this knowledge as “situated knowledge” which focused on how teachers developed their cognition in specific context where they operated. In this study, contextual factors, namely the general goals of remedial education, the influences of the remedial program, and students‟ participation, were found to be influential to the teachers‟ cognition and teaching practices.
5.1.3.1 The General Goals of Remedial Education
Recently, the MOE and many foundations carried out the remedial education to minimize the large gap between high achievers and low achievers in secondary education after the implementation of the Nine-year Integrated Curriculum (Chen, 2008; Chen, & Yu, 2004; Hsu, & Chen, 2007). With the goals of the MOE in mind, teachers in the remedial program used different teaching methods to increase the equality of educational opportunities for disadvantaged minorities and improve their learning outcomes.
Ron‟s teaching goal was to increase the equality of aboriginal students‟
educational opportunities. He set the goal as his teaching top priority, which seemed to be less influenced by the educational context. However, in Olivia‟s class, she thought that her responsibility was to help students get higher grades on school exams than they used to get before. Her teaching goals seemed to match the goals set by the remedial education program. Compared with Ron, Olivia seemed that she concerned about school work and students‟ grades more than Ron. Even though Ron had taught English in Taiwan for six years, he previously did not pay much attention to the remedial education goals and social expectations. From the classroom observations, it found that Olivia was deeply influenced by the social values in Taiwan. This condition may influence her teaching, and hinder her from analyzing students‟ learning
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difficulties, and students‟ learning outcomes.
5.1.3.2 The Influences of the Remedial Program
The remedial program aimed to help aboriginal students get into school contexts, enhance their academic performances, and discipline students‟ behaviors. Both Ron and Olivia kept those goals in mind while implementing various teaching methods.
Ron was more familiar with the goals than Olivia because of his extensive previous teaching experiences and his role as one of the chairmen in the remedial program. His full understanding of the operation of the remedial program and his involvement in the goal establishment helped him carry out goals set by the remedial program successfully. On the other hand, Olivia, teaching English for her first
semester, met several conflicts among her students and the remedial program‟s goals.
Olivia spent some time getting used to the remedial context by herself. The two cases showed that experienced teachers were able to tactically and efficiently handle
classroom events and teaching contexts while novice teachers set their own criteria for success in teaching and learning (Tsui, 2003).
In addition to familiarity with the goals of the remedial program, the results found that teachers‟ statuses and empowerment in the remedial program also
influenced their teaching cognition and practices. Unlike Ron, Olivia was hired by the administrator. She often felt uncomfortable to express her own opinions. Therefore, in her teaching practices, she made many compromises and tried to find a balance among the remedial program, students, and her goals.
Ron and Olivia had a different status in the remedial program, which influenced their interaction with the administrator and other colleagues. Ron was one of the chairmen in the remedial program, so he usually possessed more power than the administrator did. Due to his two roles in the remedial program, he shifted his roles
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from English teacher to chairman when he discussed students‟ issues or the operation of the remedial program with the administration. He seldom shared his teaching with his colleagues. The lack of interaction with his colleagues may have hindered his cognitive development.
By contrast, Olivia, a novice teacher, heavily depended on the administrator and her colleagues‟ advice because she was afraid of being criticized. Moreover, the frequent interaction with them also limited her teaching practices. However, at the same time, Olivia was teaching elementary students in a public school, where she had high levels of autonomy over many issues of classroom instructions and management.
Olivia‟s case showed that she was highly influenced by the teaching subculture setting.
The subculture, according to Pacchter (1991), represents reasonably consistent views about the role of the teacher, the nature of their subject, the way it should be taught and expectations of the students‟ learning. Olivia‟s case shows that a teachers‟
cognition and practices may be affected by the subculture and a teacher empowerment might be deprived in the employer-employee relationship teaching context.
5.1.3.3 Students’ Participation
Before teaching the 7th graders in 2010, Ron hoped that students could speak out English naturally and spontaneously, so he created an authentic language learning environment in his class. From the classroom observations and interviews with Ron‟s students, it is found that students‟ participations did not match Ron‟s teaching
expectations. However, Ron attributed classroom atmosphere and poor grades to students‟ laziness. On the other hand, Olivia adjusted herself to her students‟ learning
expectations. However, Ron attributed classroom atmosphere and poor grades to students‟ laziness. On the other hand, Olivia adjusted herself to her students‟ learning