Plan de Gestión del Alcance para la Elaboración de Ofertas Durante el

useful in investigating and conceptualising effective teacher professional development (PD). Vygotskian concepts have been brought to the field of teacher PD in recent years as researchers (Fani & Ghaemi, 2011; Warford, 2011) have begun extending Vygotsky’s concept of the ZPD, in particular, to include a zone of proximal teacher development (ZPTB). According to Shabani, Khatib, and Ebadi (2010), a teacher’s ZPD is considered to be “… a learning space between his present level of teaching knowledge … and his next (potential) level of knowledge to be attained with the support of others” (p. 242). Based on such literature, the researcher utilises the Vygotskian sociocultural theory, specifically, the

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concept of the ZPD, to conceptualise how teacher development may optimally be enhanced.

To begin, one of Vygotsky’s (1978) primary intentions was to interlink both theory and practice in what he referred to as praxis (Lantolf & Poehner, 2014) to better understand child development. Praxis may be ensured in a PD model by providing participants with pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) (Shulman, 1987). This approach recommends integrating both content and subject matter (i.e. the theory) with pedagogical knowledge of how to teach such content (i.e. practices). This concept strengthens Smith’s (2012) reference in relation to the enhancement of content and pedagogical knowledge. Therefore, PCK requires teachers to attain a deep conceptual understanding of the subject, Irish in the case of the current study, which is proposed to allow teachers to progress further than a “rule-based” approach to grammar instruction (Lantolf & Poehner, 2014, p. 216). This should be a crucial consideration in the development of any PD model for immersion teachers.

Grounding teacher development in a Vygotskian framework appears further appro- priate due to Vygotsky’s emphasis on gradual development over time, but also due to the central role played by social and cultural interactions in cognitive development (Eun, 2008). This theoretical stance coincides with Guskey’s (2000) analysis of effective PD, as he maintains that social interactions lie at the root of all beneficial PD programmes. It ap- pears to the researcher that Vygotsky’s theory of child development provides a rationale for the essential need of PD programmes to begin as workshops whereby teachers may so- cially interact and co-construct knowledge with the guided assistance or scaffolding, of an MKO. The social interaction, from a SCT perspective, is suggested to awaken higher-order processing within the teachers’ inter-psychological plane. Furthermore, such workshops enable the teacher educator to serve as the MKO, as they assess teachers’ current ability and provide appropriate scaffold in accordance with the teachers’ ZPD. Therefore, in keep- ing with this viewpoint, it should be noted that a teacher’s current or existing PCK needs to be considered before any PD model is planned. On this point of planning, Guskey (2000) further addresses that the most effective PD models include instances where teachers are involved in the planning of the programme. He further suggests that this form of planning is considered superior when conducted as a whole school approach.

Smith (2012) highlights the importance of any PD model to be on-going and sus- tained, i.e. provide teachers with follow-up support after workshops. It is suggested that such an approach may support teachers through the “implementation dip” (Fullan, 2014, p.

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5). Both Smith (2012) and Fullan’s (2014) claim is warranted by Vygotsky’s theory of child development, as such sustained PD enables the MKO to provide support to the teach- ers in accordance with their individual needs and abilities, in a contingent and gradual manner (Vygotsky, 1978). As the teacher’s autonomy and knowledge develops, the MKO can gradually transfer the responsibility to the teacher (van de Pol et al., 2010) as the level of scaffold provided by the MKO readily fades. Such on-going and sustained practice may enable the teacher to progress to a self-regulated position, where he/she may independently implement the newly gained knowledge in her/his own classroom without the guided scaf- fold of the MKO. It is important to re-iterate in the context of teacher PD that Vygotsky postulates that a shift in progression from the inter-psychological to the intra-psychological plane to reach a self-regulated position requires ample time (Shabani, 2016). The limited amount of time provided to teachers during PD is a regularly criticised shortcoming of tra- ditional forms of PD in Ireland and needs to be considered in establishing effective PD models.

Supported by literature (de Paor, 2016), it is essential that the follow-up support is provided to teachers in their own classroom/school context. This approach allows for the construction of “localised knowledge” (Lantolf & Poehner, 2014, p. 212), which in turn creates a “… mediational space for teachers to engage in on-going, in depth systematic, and reflective examinations of their teaching practices and their students’ learning” (John- son, 2009, p. 95). In availing of follow-up support within their own sociocultural context, teachers may receive appropriate feedback and it may be easier for teachers to reflect on their own practices, which is a critical component of any effective PD model (Ní Chuaig, 2016).

Finally, according to Vygotsky, learning thus development is a mediated endeav- our, which is influenced by a variety of tools. The researcher postulates that such a stance is appropriate in terms of teacher development also. Although the MKO serves as the pri- mary mediator during PD, Vygotsky (1978) further recommends the use of a variety of cultural tools to mediate the developmental/internalisation process. This stance highlights the need for teachers to receive other forms of support material in a PD programme, which may aid their development in implementing the new-gained knowledge in their own soci- ocultural environment. Such mediated resources may include books, teaching resources, information, reflective diaries etc. These resources may further encourage teachers to re- flect on their new knowledge and increase their autonomy, as suggested by Smith (2012).

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Table 2.7 illustrated below summarises and interlinks the primary theoretical trajec- tories of the SCT and teacher PD. This table is based on previous literature but extended by the researcher to include other literature explored in this section.

Table 2.7.

Professional Development within a Vygotskian Theoretical Framework

Key theoretical concepts

Related professional development practices Social Interac-

tion

Workshops, colloquia, seminars, mentoring Internalisation

& ZPD

Individually guided activities (video self-assessment; journal writing) Ample time and support in accordance with the teachers’ current and developing capacities

Mediation & Scaffolding

Continuous follow-up support that includes the varying types of medi- ators: Other-mediation, object-mediation (artefact), self-mediation Psychological

Systems

Development of professional development programs that focus on changing teachers’ attitudes as well as instructional practices

Praxis Enhance/develop content and pedagogical based knowledge by converg-

ing theory and practice

(Adapted from Eun, 2008, p. 144 & Shibani, 2016, p. 6) In brief, it appears that PD, established within a Vygotskian framework, supports the “pro- cess approach” adapted by transformative models of PD, as suggested earlier by Smith (2012, p.80).

2.9.4. Summary of PD. It appears from the literature reviewed that the most