A BOUNDARY-SPANNING ESL TEACHER EDUCATION PROJECT: CONNECTING CAMPUS LEARNING TO IN-SERVICE TEACHER NEEDS

Abstract

This paper describes a research-based approach to creating a collaborative means for seeking educational change to benefit ESL learners and their teachers. We used a teacher education course as a boundary-spanning space for the sharing of expertise among teacher educators and pre-service and in-service teachers. The initiative involved the creation and implementation of a series of professional development (PD) workshops. In a cyclical process of mutual learning, workshop topics were selected based upon needs identified by in-service teachers. Student teachers then created workshops and presented them to the in-service teachers, resulting in the professional growth of both the teachers and researchers. The findings of this project point to the value of developing collaborative approaches to transforming teacher education through well-informed action.