Research Articles by José V Abad
This article reports on an action research study that assessed the influence of cognitive and met... more This article reports on an action research study that assessed the influence of cognitive and metacognitive strategies-based feedback in the oral performance of a group of 6th grade students at a public school in Medellin, Colombia. Researchers analyzed students’ oral performance through assessment and self-assessment rubrics, applied inventories to students before and after giving them the strategies-based feedback, and interviewed all students and one parent. Results showed that strategies-based feedback supported by previous strategies instruction can help students both increase the use of strategies and improve their oral performance.
Íkala, 2018
A student teacher and her mentor reflect upon their experience of becoming language teachers and... more A student teacher and her mentor reflect upon their experience of becoming language teachers and researchers within the context of an English teaching program. First, they contextualize the preeminent place that teacher research has gained in teacher education programs in Colombia, primarily because of the demands made by a recent educational reform. Second, the student teacher describes how, through her participation in a research incubator, she actively engaged in research, which allowed her to develop research competencies and to inform her own teaching practicum. Finally, building upon existing
theory, the authors conclude that research training galvanized by mentoring hasan enormous potential to further teachers’ professional development, bridge existing gaps between educational theory and teaching practice, and strengthen a school-university partnership.
This article presents the results of an inter-institutional research study that assessed the impa... more This article presents the results of an inter-institutional research study that assessed the impact of strategies instruction on students’ preparation for and performance in oral exams. Two teacher-researchers at different universities trained 26 students in their respective B1-English-level courses in using language learning strategies. The study included pre- and post-intervention tests and on-line questionnaires after each oral exam. After comparing the test scores and analyzing the questionnaire responses, we arrived at two main conclusions: First, that strategies instruction, especially in combination with evaluation rubrics, promotes students’ autonomy and enhances their oral test performance. Second, that students’ use of language learning strategies is influenced by instructional variations tied to the relative importance that teachers ascribe to specific aspects of oral communication.
In this article we present the results of a qualitative research study on the pedagogical factors... more In this article we present the results of a qualitative research study on the pedagogical factors that influence English teaching in four public schools of Medellín, Colombia. Twelve teachers were interviewed regarding three linguistic principles: communicative competence, native language effect, and inter-language. The data analysis led to the identification of various factors, such as teachers' linguistic ego, view of their teaching role, and attitude towards English, which shape English teaching and are tied to teachers' education. It was concluded that teachers' professional development must tap into these factors so teachers can effectively revise their beliefs and adjust their practices to ensure a high quality in their teaching. En este artículo se presentan los resultados de una investigación cualitativa acerca de los factores pedagógicos que influyen en la enseñanza del inglés en cuatro escuelas públicas de Medellín (Colombia). Doce maestros fueron entrevistados sobre tres principios lingüísticos: competencia comunicativa, efecto de la lengua nativa e interlenguaje. A partir del análisis se concluyó que factores como el ego lingüístico, la percepción del papel del docente y la actitud frente al inglés son determinantes en la enseñanza de esta lengua. Se concluye que dichos factores deben ser incorporados en los programas de desarrollo profesional para que los maestros puedan revisar sus creencias y ajustar sus prácticas efectivamente y así asegurar la calidad de su enseñanza. Palabras clave: desarrollo profesional docente, factores pedagógicos, principios lingüísticos.
This article presents the results of an inter-institutional research study that assessed the impa... more This article presents the results of an inter-institutional research study that assessed the impact of strategies instruction on students’ preparation for and performance in oral exams. Two teacher-researchers at different universities trained 26 students in their respective B1-English-level courses in using language learning strategies. The study included pre- and post-intervention tests and on-line questionnaires after each oral exam. After comparing the test scores and analyzing the questionnaire responses, we arrived at two main conclusions: First, that strategies instruction, especially in combination with evaluation rubrics, promotes students’ autonomy and enhances their oral test performance. Second, that students’ use of language learning strategies is influenced by instructional variations tied to the relative importance that teachers ascribe to specific aspects of oral communication.
Papers by José V Abad
Profile Issues in Teachers' Professional Development, Feb 6, 2023
This article reports on a case study that analyzed pedagogical relationships and teacher identiti... more This article reports on a case study that analyzed pedagogical relationships and teacher identities in research incubators. Conducted over two years in an English teaching program at a Colombian private university, the study included semi-structured interviews with four research incubator coordinators and two focus groups with eight students. We found that mentoring in research incubators nurtures attitudes and competencies crucial to the students’ construction of their identity as teacher researchers. From the results of our research, we built a theoretical model that describes pedagogical relationships in research education around the axes of power and affect. Finally, we draw some implications about an epistemological shift from knowledge-centered to knower-centered pedagogical relationships in collaborative approaches to research training.
<jats:p>Over the last two years, the Ministry of Education in Colombia tightened the qualit... more <jats:p>Over the last two years, the Ministry of Education in Colombia tightened the quality conditions that all teacher education programs must attain in order to operate within the law. In this chapter, the authors present a case study that assessed a curriculum reform implemented by an English teaching program at a private university in response to these government requirements. The study specifically focused on the nature and impact of the modifications made to the program's practicum and research training components. Data collection consisted in two phases. The first one involved a documentary analysis of (a) the policies restructuring teacher education and (b) the programs' previous and latest study plans. The second one entailed a series of semi-structured interviews to five participants selected through key-informant and critical-case sampling. The analysis revealed a significant increase in the number of credits allocated to practicum and research training as well as the intentional articulation between them. These changes may reconfigure the student teachers' practices and teaching identities. However, for this reform to produce the desired effects, the program needs to foster a new research-based culture among all its members.</jats:p>
HOW, Jan 9, 2018
Influence of Strategies-Based Feedback in Students' Oral Performance
Reforming practicum and research training in a Colombian English teaching program., Oct 1, 2019
This book focuses on four crucial issues of teacher education, both for pre-service and in-servic... more This book focuses on four crucial issues of teacher education, both for pre-service and in-service processes as well as for different areas and educational levels. First, teachers’ educational beliefs are addressed, insofar as those beliefs seem to impact on their professional practice whereby they should be the focus of explicit attention in teacher education processes aiming at promoting specific practices. The relationship between teacher education and policy is the second topic of the book. Specifically, two chapters analyze the curriculum reforms implemented by a number of teaching programs at private Colombian universities, modifications responding to policy reforms concerning the quality conditions that all teacher education programs comply to. The book’s third topic is the extent to which higher education teachers—going beyond specific content knowledge—attribute importance to pedagogy, didactics and reflective practice in their own teaching. Finally, two chapters address the challenges and processes encountered by teachers when entering into the profession, their socialization into the community of teachers, their identities as teachers and their motivation to become teachers. It is worth noting that the contributions to this book share the use of qualitative methodologies, and present the results of narrated stories, interviews, observation, and documentary analysis, among others.. Keywords: Teacher education, teacher cognition, teacher education policy, higher education teaching, teacher socialization
Esta obra se concentra en cuatro temas cruciales de la formación de docentes, tanto antes como du... more Esta obra se concentra en cuatro temas cruciales de la formación de docentes, tanto antes como durante el servicio y en la enseñanza en diferentes áreas y niveles educativos. En primer lugar, se aborda el asunto de las creencias que los docentes tienen sobre el proceso educativo, las cuales parecen influir en la práctica profesional que estos desarrollan y, por lo tanto, deberían recibir la atención explícita de los procesos de formación de docentes que deseen promover prácticas específicas. El segundo tema de la obra es la relación entre la formación de docentes y la política pública que la rige. En particular, se analizan las reformas curriculares implementadas por varias licenciaturas en universidades privadas colombianas, en respuesta a reformas a la normatividad sobre las condiciones de calidad que a las que deben ajustarse todas las licenciaturas del país. El tercer tema analizado es en qué medida los docentes en educación superior van más allá del dominio de su saber discipli...
Ciencia y Academia, 2020
Atendiendo a la importancia de la formación en investigación en los programas de educación en Col... more Atendiendo a la importancia de la formación en investigación en los programas de educación en Colombia, cabe destacar la contribución de los semilleros de investigación a la formación de nuevos maestros investigadores. Para aportar a este objetivo, se realizó el presente artículo reflexivo que recoge las experiencias de las estudiantes integrantes del semillero Formación de Maestros de Lenguas de la Universidad Católica Luis Amigó, en conjunto con los resultados de las experiencias de los estudiantes miembros de semilleros obtenidos en el proyecto “Génesis del maestro investigador en los semilleros de investigación”. Este artículo corresponde a una mirada crítica y reflexiva de la experiencia tanto en el ámbito profesional como personal de los estudiantes como miembros de semilleros de investigación bajo la guía del investigador principal. El artículo se centra en dar a conocer las experiencias de los estudiantes en las diferentes etapas que han vivenciado en su trayectoria formativ...
Profile: Issues in Teachers' Professional Development
This article reports on a case study that analyzed pedagogical relationships and teacher identiti... more This article reports on a case study that analyzed pedagogical relationships and teacher identities in research incubators. Conducted over two years in an English teaching program at a Colombian private university, the study included semi-structured interviews with four research incubator coordinators and two focus groups with eight students. We found that mentoring in research incubators nurtures attitudes and competencies crucial to the students’ construction of their identity as teacher researchers. From the results of our research, we built a theoretical model that describes pedagogical relationships in research education around the axes of power and affect. Finally, we draw some implications about an epistemological shift from knowledge-centered to knower-centered pedagogical relationships in collaborative approaches to research training.
Encuentro Nacional de Investigación, 2018
Los autores son moral y legalmente responsables del contenido de sus artículos, así como del resp... more Los autores son moral y legalmente responsables del contenido de sus artículos, así como del respeto a los derechos de autor. Por lo tanto, estos no comprometen en ningún sentido a la Universidad Católica Luis Amigó. Para citar este texto siguiendo las indicaciones de la tercera edición en español de APA:
<jats:p>Over the last two years, the Ministry of Education in Colombia tightened the qualit... more <jats:p>Over the last two years, the Ministry of Education in Colombia tightened the quality conditions that all teacher education programs must attain in order to operate within the law. In this chapter, the authors present a case study that assessed a curriculum reform implemented by an English teaching program at a private university in response to these government requirements. The study specifically focused on the nature and impact of the modifications made to the program's practicum and research training components. Data collection consisted in two phases. The first one involved a documentary analysis of (a) the policies restructuring teacher education and (b) the programs' previous and latest study plans. The second one entailed a series of semi-structured interviews to five participants selected through key-informant and critical-case sampling. The analysis revealed a significant increase in the number of credits allocated to practicum and research training as well as the intentional articulation between them. These changes may reconfigure the student teachers' practices and teaching identities. However, for this reform to produce the desired effects, the program needs to foster a new research-based culture among all its members.</jats:p>
Íkala, Revista de Lenguaje y Cultura, 2018
PROFILE Issues in Teachers' Professional Development, 2016
This article presents the results of an inter-institutional research study that assessed the impa... more This article presents the results of an inter-institutional research study that assessed the impact of strategies instruction on students' preparation for and performance in oral exams. Two teacher-researchers at different universities trained 26 students in their respective B1-English-level courses in using language learning strategies. The study included pre-and post-intervention tests and on-line questionnaires after each oral exam. After comparing the test scores and analyzing the questionnaire responses, we arrived at two main conclusions: First, that strategies instruction, especially in combination with evaluation rubrics, promotes students' autonomy and enhances their oral test performance. Second, that students' use of language learning strategies is influenced by instructional variations tied to the relative importance that teachers ascribe to specific aspects of oral communication.
Profile Issues in Teachers Professional Development, Sep 7, 2012
In this article we present the results of a qualitative research study on the pedagogical factors... more In this article we present the results of a qualitative research study on the pedagogical factors that influence English teaching in four public schools of Medellín, Colombia. Twelve teachers were interviewed regarding three linguistic principles: communicative competence, native language effect, and interlanguage. The data analysis led to the identification of various factors, such as teachers' linguistic ego, view of their teaching role, and attitude towards English, which shape English teaching and are tied to teachers' education. It was concluded that teachers' professional development must tap into these factors so teachers can effectively revise their beliefs and adjust their practices to ensure a high quality in their teaching.
In 2010, teachers from the B.A. in English Teaching at Universidad Católica Luis Amigó formed CIL... more In 2010, teachers from the B.A. in English Teaching at Universidad Católica Luis Amigó formed CILEX (Construcciones Investigativas en Lenguas Extranjeras). Research and teaching in the program have grown synergistically ever since, but ten years down the road it was time to take stock of our research to project the direction in which we wanted to move forward. This book is the result of that effort to recognize our shared history and thus propel our upcoming academic endeavors. The book starts out by presenting the epistemological foundations of CILEX, which is based on the threefold notion of the language teacher as an intellectual, an academic, and an educator. It thereon explains the system that arranges our academic production within five thematic nodes: cultural studies, language policy, literacies, language teacher education, and language assessment. Each chapter reports on one or two studies in which the authors participated as leading researchers or advisors. Hence, the book...
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Research Articles by José V Abad
theory, the authors conclude that research training galvanized by mentoring hasan enormous potential to further teachers’ professional development, bridge existing gaps between educational theory and teaching practice, and strengthen a school-university partnership.
Papers by José V Abad
theory, the authors conclude that research training galvanized by mentoring hasan enormous potential to further teachers’ professional development, bridge existing gaps between educational theory and teaching practice, and strengthen a school-university partnership.
During the first decade of the 21st century, Colombia’s government managed to regain military control over the territory and to decrease armed violence. These conditions paved the way to the peace talks between the government and the FARC guerrilla group, which led to a historical peace agreement signed by both parties in November of 2016. Simultaneously, Colombia’s economy continued to grow despite global crises, unstable currency exchange rates, and severe natural disasters. In this context, the national government of President Juan Manuel Santos managed to have Colombia join the select group of emerging economies that make part of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (“Colombia ingresa a la OCDE”). This tremendous endeavor required the nation to redirect its attention to education, under the growing realization that it holds the key towards sustained levels of peace and equity.
Nevertheless, education in Colombia faces challenges of its own. With its advances and setbacks, it has been both the nurturing cradle and the vivid manifestation of the country’s social issues. In this chapter, the authors first paint a global picture of the country’s social, political, geographical, and economic context; then, they summarize the historical background, the legal framework, and the impending challenges of both education and teacher education in Colombia.
The main objective in writing this book is to help Latin American students of English, particularly novice and practicing English teachers, not only to hone their pronunciation but also to acquire the technical elements necessary to teach it. To that aim this book provides readers with essential theory and practice on the pronunciation of English sounds and contrasts them with those of Spanish. Although originally intended for classroom use, this book can also be used for self-study by learners with an English proficiency level of B1 (intermediate) or above.