Pedagogical content knowledge of French as a foreign language: Unraveling its development

Teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) (Shulman, 1986b) is an important predictor of educational quality and student outcomes (e.g., Baumert et al., 2010; Kunter et al., 2013). Hence, it is an important task of teacher education to contribute to PCK development in the best possible way. The present project aims at a better understanding of the development of PCK. The project focuses on primary (pre-service) teachers’ PCK of French as a foreign language. Three research questions are addressed to fulfill the main objective: (1) What conclusions can be drawn from educational research about the development of PCK in the domain of French as a foreign language? (2) What is the impact of PCK sources (teacher education and teaching experience) on the development of French PCK? (3) What is the effect of systematically designed interventions on the development of PCK? Six interrelated studies are conducted: two systematic reviews addressing research question 1, two ascertaining studies focusing on research question 2, and two intervention studies covering research question 3. Based on a review of empirical research on foreign/second language PCK (Study 1), it can be concluded that research on foreign/second language PCK is scarce, covers only a small range of topics, and draws on a variety of conceptualizations and research designs. Instruments to assess PCK on a large scale are especially lacking. Furthermore, a review of intervention studies on the development of PCK (Study 2) reveals that many effective interventions address the following PCK sources: reflection, teacher education (and more specifically, courses on student understanding and instructional representations), contact with peers, and teaching experience. However, most interventions are not systematically designed, and most studies lack clear descriptions of what the interventions actually comprise. The specific contribution of two sources (teacher education and teaching experience) to PCK development is investigated in Study 3 and 4. Given the close connection between PCK, pedagogical knowledge (PK), and content knowledge (CK), in Study 3 we also examined the effects of teacher education on PK and CK. We developed quantitative paper-and-pencil instruments to assess French PCK, and in addition, PK and French CK. By comparing different cohorts of pre-service teachers on PCK, PK, and CK, we can conclude that teacher education has an impact on the development of PCK, PK, and CK. A comparison of pre-service and in-service teachers’ PCK (Study 4) does not show any differences in the quantity of PCK between groups. Nevertheless, teaching experience affects the quality of PCK. The intervention studies investigate possibilities to improve the development of PCK in (pre-service) teachers (and collateral effects of interventions on PK and CK). In Study 5, we find positive effects of a systematically developed, integrated learning environment on pre-service teachers’ PCK and PK (and no effects on CK) in an ecologically valid setting. In a more internally valid, experimental design, Study 6 investigates how teacher professional knowledge development is affected by explicitly presenting PCK, PK, and CK, and by integrating these knowledge domains. To this end, several versions of a systematically designed learning environment are compared. The study shows that, to develop PCK, PK, and CK, the explicit presentation of these knowledge domains is vital, while presenting them in an integrated way leads to similar results as presenting them in a segregated way.General Introduction 1 Research about Teachers 1 Model on Teacher Professional Knowledge 3 Foreign Language Education 10 Overview of the Project 14 Study 1: Pedagogical Content Knowledge in the Context of Foreign and Second Language Teaching: A Review of the Research Literature 19 Introduction 19 Methodology 21 Results 22 Discussion and Conclusions 31 Study 2: Developing Pedagogical Content Knowledge: Lessons Learned from Intervention Studies 35 Introduction 35 Methodology 38 Results 40 Discussion and Conclusions 53 Study 3: Effects of Opportunities to Learn in Teacher Education on the Development of Teacher Professional Knowledge of French as a Foreign Language 61 Introduction 61 Theoretical Framework 62 Methodology 68 Results 74 Discussion and Conclusions 80 Study 4: Pedagogical Content Knowledge of French as a Foreign Language: Differences between Pre-Service and In-Service Teachers 85 Introduction 85 Methodology 91 Results 95 Discussion and Conclusions 101 Study 5: The Effects of a Systematically Designed Online Learning Environment on Pre-Service Teachers’ Professional Knowledge 107 Introduction 107 Theoretical Framework 109 Methodology 113 Results 120 Discussion and Conclusions 122 Study 6: Examining the Effects of Different Learning Environments on the Development of Teacher Professional Knowledge 127 Introduction 127 Theoretical Framework 128 Methodology 136 Results 143 Discussion and Conclusions 148 General Discussion and Conclusions 153 The Development of PCK in the Domain of French as a Foreign Language 154 Theoretical and Methodological Contributions 158 Suggestions for Future Research 164 Educational Implications 171 References 173 Appendices 205 Appendix A 205 Appendix B 214 Appendix C 236 Appendix D 238nrpages: 258status: publishe