Online Archive of University of Virginia Scholarship
Teaching-Interested Students' Figured Worlds About Teaching English Learners: A Case Study of a University Course150 views
Author
Landon, Suzanne, Curriculum and Instruction - School of Education and Human Development, University of Virginia0009-0006-1169-7626
Advisors
Salerno, April, ED-CISE, University of Virginia
Abstract
Teacher preparation programs (TPPs) are expected to develop teaching-interested students (TISs) who are prepared to teach all learners, including English Learners (ELs). However, TPPs have been shown to significantly underprepare general-education TISs to teach ELs. In the local context, a TPP at South-Atlantic University (SAU), undergraduate education majors are not required to complete coursework related to teaching ELs. SAU offers an elective introductory ESL methods course, which was the setting of this study; the course is held online and asynchronously. This study’s theoretical framework includes consideration of figured worlds. Figured worlds have been conceptualized as simulations, where we have ideas of what is typical or normal when we think of places or relationships, and this varies by people’s cultural contexts. To gain deeper insights into TISs’ understandings of ELs and additional language learning in the course, this qualitative exploratory case study focused on two questions: In what ways do teaching-interested students’ figured worlds relate to their initial understanding of instructing English Learners in an introductory ESL methods course at South Atlantic University? How do teaching-interested students enrolled in an introductory ESL methods course at South Atlantic University develop understandings of English Learners? Data included 23 TISs’ written discussion assignment posts from a recent semester’s section of the course. Analysis of primary data sources (partner dialogues and course takeaways), supporting data (whole-group posts) and secondary data (course documents) led to this study’s findings. Findings suggest that TISs’ figured worlds about language learning related to how they planned to teach ELs, and TISs developed understandings of ELs and language learning through various experiences. Implications may help guide course design decisions, inform curricular changes in the local context’s TPP, and provide insights for similar contexts offering related courses.
Landon, Suzanne. Teaching-Interested Students' Figured Worlds About Teaching English Learners: A Case Study of a University Course. University of Virginia, Curriculum and Instruction - School of Education and Human Development, EDD (Doctor of Education), 2026-06-17, https://doi.org/10.18130/re91-1c85.
