ESOL Teachers Lived Pedagogies

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ESOL Teachers Lived Pedagogies

• Gloria Park, Ph.D.
• Indiana University of Pennsylvania
• The Three River TESOL Fall Conference
• October 25, 2008

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Opening Question

• What life experiences (i.e., lived experiences)
  do you bring into your teaching?

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What are my Lived Pedagogies?

• My autobiographical Narrative on Growing up in
  the U.S. as an English language learner with Gen
  1.5, bilingual, NNES identities
• Teaching as a Personal Political Journey--My
  own journey as an EFL/ESL Teacher and Teacher
  Educator as it relates to the issues or race,
  language, gender interlocking systems of
  privilege and marginalization
• Teaching as a Transformative Process providing
  students (ESL students and ESOL teachers) with
  the tools for self-empowerment

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Emerging Project Summer 2007

• ESOL Teachers Narrative Inquiry Constructing
  our Knowledge, Identities, Pedagogies
• The purpose of this edited book project is to
  document ESOL teachers lived experiences and how
  our lived experiences shape and continue to shape
  the construction of our knowledge, identities,
  and pedagogies. (How is our knowledge, ways of
  knowing, constructed, Who are we, and How do
  these factors influence our teaching)
• The project speaks to pre-service, in-service
  teachers and teacher educators, and others
  interested in conducting narrative inquiry,
  especially with practicing K-20, ESOL teachers.

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Course Overview (Teachers Research Course-Summer
2007)

• Readings/Discussions (please refer to the course
  syllabus, contact the instructor for an e-copy)
• Requirements
• Craft a 3-page Autobiographical Narrative
• Read the classmates Auto-Narrative Develop
  interview questions for the classmate (i.e.,
  face-to-face or e-interview)-Students were paired
  to examine each others auto narratives
• Find themes that run across the two narratives
  and discuss the themes
• As a concluding project, respond to, What
  insights have you gleaned from the teacher
  narrative inquiry, mini-project?

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Conceptual Framework

• Conceptualizing Narrative Inquiry (The importance
  of using Narrative Inquiry in understanding the
  work of teachers)
• Deweys (1968) and Clandinin Connellys (2000)
  work on how our past experiences inform present
  and future experiences (continuity of
  experiences)
• Teachers re-storying their experiences as
  essential to their growth
• Researchers providing narratives interpretations
  based on teachers stories
• Examine the stories as situated within the places
  or sequences of places in which they occur and
  from which they emerge
• Narratives have to be understood within
  sociocultural, sociohistorical, and
  sociopolitical contexts
• the teachers ask the broader questions of not
  just whether their practices work but for whom,
  in what ways, and why (Johnson Golombek, 2002,
  pp. 5-6)

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Conceptual Framework

• Conceptualizing Our Knowledge, Identities, and
  Pedagogies (Donald Freeman, Paula Golombek, Karen
  Johnson, Bill Johnston, Lee Shulman)
• No element of teachers life history,
  professional development, beliefs, and knowledge,
  or teacher identity can be properly understood
  without taking into account the complex social,
  cultural, and political context in which it
  occurs (Johnston, Pawan, Mahan-Taylor, 2005,
  p. 56)

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Demographics of Teacher Learners

• Elementary Classroom Teachers (3)
• Middle School Foreign Language Teacher (1)
• Career Changers (3)
• High School Foreign Language Teacher (1)
• High School Special Education Teacher (1)
• Adult ESL Teachers (3)
• 11 female and 1 male Teachers
• 3 Non-Native English Speaking Teachers

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Group Work Analysis of the Narratives(about
10-15 minutes)

• Please get into groups of 3
• Examine the segment of the narratives, and list
  some emerging themes (lets list them on the
  board)

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Revisiting the Opening Question

• How do these lived experiences influence your
  teaching? Your interactions with students? (i.e.,
  lived pedagogies)

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Preliminary Themes from Teachers Narratives

• Life Histories-Teaching Experience-Pedagogy-Identi
  ty Connection
• Teachers Role in Research
• Teachers as Professionals
• Teaching and Gender Teaching and Parenting
  (Maintaining a Stable Home)
• Native Speaker Fallacy NNES ESL/SFL Teaching
  Identity
• Teaching as Empathy
• Teaching for Equity and Social Justice

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Life Histories-Teaching Experience-Pedagogy-Identi
ty Connection

• Kathryns (Kara) Narrative Excerpt- the link
  between life and teaching experiences and
  pedagogy
• Meghans (Sherry) Narrative Excerpt- Life
  stories as they relate to teacher identity
• Kirstens (Chris) Narrative Excerpt- How life
  experiences shape our lives and teaching
  practices
• Amavis (Liz) Narrative Excerpt- Teaching using
  life experiences

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Teachers as Professionals Our Professional
Identities

• Davids (Katy) Narrative Excerpt- professional
  identity
• Amavis (Liz) Narrative Excerpt- Teacher
  Identities (Cultural and Professional)

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Native Speaker Fallacy NNES ESL/SFL Teaching
Identity

• Anias (Tsegga) Narrative Excerpt- NNEST
  Identity
• Tseggas (Ania) Narrative Excerpt- Self-concept
  NNEST Identity
• Sherrys (Meghan) Narrative Excerpt- The
  position of NNES ESOL/EFL Educators The Native
  Speaker Fallacy

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Implications Future Pedagogical and Research
Directions

• The use of ESOL Teachers Narratives should
• Explore the meanings of humanizing and critical
  pedagogies (Price Osborne, 2000) that may be
  intimately connected to how ESOL teachers
  understand their prior and current schooling
  experiences (Freire, 1998)
• Help ESOL teachers take ownership of educational
  research, make it relevant to teaching (Nieto et
  al., 2002)
• Assist ESOL teachers to assert and utilize
  personal practical knowledge (Golombek, 1998)

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References

• E-mail me at gloria.park_at_iup.edu for references
  to the discussed project as well as the syllabus