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Dissertation_Valerie Joo.pdf (18.95 MB)

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Teacher Change in Argumentative Writing Instruction in a High-School ESL Classroom: A Longitudinal Study

Joo, Hyun Jung
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9684-4077
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1546193831535107

Abstract Details

2019, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, EDU Teaching and Learning.
Argumentative writing is a crucial skill in the school years and beyond, and there is an emphasis in various local, state, and national standards on argumentative writing. However, such writing is known to be a challenging and complex genre for English Learners (ELs) with limited English proficiency as well as cultural differences in terms of how argumentative thought and writing are conceptualized (Hirvela, 2013). It can be equally challenging and complex for many English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers, who are often ill-equipped for writing instruction (Larsen, 2013, 2016). From a research perspective, there have been few studies exploring the abilities and needs of ESL teachers as relates to instruction in argumentation, especially in high school settings, where various learning and achievement standards are increasingly requiring a focus on argumentation despite the difficulty of teaching and learning argumentative writing regarding ELs. To address the gaps in the scholarship discussed above, this dissertation explores how a ESL teacher, Ms. Patrick, sought to develop her expertise in teaching argumentative writing in a suburban high-school ESL class for ELs over a two-year period using a classroom-based research methodology that involved ongoing observations of her class sessions, interviews with her and her students, and examination of her teaching activities and materials as well as her students’ responses to her instruction. This study employed as an analytical tool the notion of expertise, particularly a distinction between what is known as routine and adaptive expertise, to examine how Ms. Patrick initiated and engaged in change as a teacher over time with respect to her understanding of argumentative writing, her curricular planning, and her instructional activities. The study’s findings revealed that Ms. Patrick acquired at least a degree of Hedgcock and Lee’s (2017) three types of knowledge essential for ESL teachers: (1) subject matter knowledge, (2) pedagogical content knowledge, and (3) procedural knowledge through a professional development opportunity and her teaching experience in the previous year. Her willingness to learn and improve her argumentative writing instruction was seen as a result of her agentic action that was essential in acquiring such knowledge. Ms. Patrick’s efforts toward the acquisition of expertise in argumentative writing instruction were seen in her understanding and construction of the argumentative task based on comprehension and application of theoretical input, such as various mandated standards for student learning, and her ability to better respond to the various standards by adopting a more process-oriented pedagogy that foregrounded the structured process and workshop approaches to writing instruction in the second year of the study. Regarding expertise, it was concluded that she was very early in the process of transitioning from being a novice to achieving routine expert status. Ms. Patrick was still learning how to apply the knowledge she had acquired and was creating the grounds for growth in her routine expertise as an emerging routine-expert teacher. The study’s findings suggest several implications for L2 scholarship in the domains of writing and teacher education with regard to teacher change. The study also offers insights into the understanding of expertise in L2 writing instruction as well as the use of expertise as a tool for exploring L2 teachers and teaching.
Alan Hirvela (Advisor)
George Newell (Committee Member)
387 p.
English As A Second Language; Pedagogy; Teacher Education
teacher change; expertise in teaching; argumentative writing; L2 writing instruction; teacher education; qualitative research; case study; Longitudinal study

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Joo, H. J. (2019). Teacher Change in Argumentative Writing Instruction in a High-School ESL Classroom: A Longitudinal Study [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1546193831535107

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Joo, Hyun Jung. Teacher Change in Argumentative Writing Instruction in a High-School ESL Classroom: A Longitudinal Study . 2019. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1546193831535107.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Joo, Hyun Jung. "Teacher Change in Argumentative Writing Instruction in a High-School ESL Classroom: A Longitudinal Study ." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1546193831535107

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1546193831535107
196
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.