AUTHOR=Mathers Sandra , Siraj Iram 

TITLE=Researching Pre-school Teachers’ Knowledge of Oral Language Pedagogy Using Video

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Education

VOLUME=6

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/education/articles/10.3389/feduc.2021.748347

DOI=10.3389/feduc.2021.748347

ISSN=2504-284X

ABSTRACT=<p>The Observing Language Pedagogy (OLP) tool uses videos of authentic classroom interactions to elicit the procedural knowledge which pre-school teachers can access, activate and use to support classroom decision-making. Three facets are captured: <italic>perceiving</italic> (the ability to identify salient language-supporting strategies); <italic>naming</italic> (the use of specific professional vocabulary to describe interactions); and <italic>interpreting</italic> (the ability to interpret the interactions observed). Prior research has shown that the OLP predicts classroom quality; with <italic>naming</italic> and <italic>interpreting</italic> proving the strongest predictors. This study examines OLP responses from 104 teachers to consider the nature of their pedagogical knowledge (<italic>perceiving, naming, interpreting</italic>), and describe differences between expert teachers (those leading language-supporting classrooms) and non-expert teachers (those leading lower quality classrooms). It offers insight into the nature of language-related expertise and to guide design of teacher professional development, suggesting a tri-fold focus on knowledge of linguistic input, relational pedagogy and cognitive challenging interactions.</p>