Type of Document Dissertation Author Taylor, Donna Lester URN etd-07312007-084841 Title A Kaleidoscope of Decisions: Using Cognitive Flexibility Theory to Advance a Novice ESOL Teacher’s Scaffolding Expertise Degree Ph.D. Department Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Advisory Committee
Advisor Name Title Joyce E. Many, Ph.D. Committee Chair Dana L. Fox, Ph.D. Committee Member Lori N. Elliott, Ph.D. Committee Member Mona W. Matthews, Ph.D. Committee Member Keywords
- novice teachers
- beginning teachers
- teacher education
- ESOL teacher education
- novice teacher development
- cognitive flexibility theory
Date of Defense 2007-07-26 Availability unrestricted Abstract ABSTRACTA KALEIDOSCOPE OF DECISIONS: USING COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY THEORY
TO ADVANCE A NOVICE ESOL TEACHER’S SCAFFOLDING EXPERTISE
by
Donna Lester Taylor
Instructional scaffolding is a powerful tool that many teachers utilize to meet the
challenge of individualizing instruction for diverse learners. The concept of instructional
scaffolding is complex (Meyer, 1993), in that teachers have to determine what, how
much, and what kind of help to give to students in a moment’s notice (Rodgers, 2004/05).
Gaining expertise with scaffolding can take years, which leads us to worry about the
effectiveness of novice teachers.
A scarcity of research examining how to support a teacher’s development of
instructional decisions such as scaffolding is reported (Anders, Hoffman, & Duffy, 2000).
The ability to make scaffolding decisions requires teachers to be cognitively flexible,
drawing from multiple domains of understanding to meet the individual needs of a group
of students. However, little is known about which domains and understandings teachers
draw on during scaffolding events or the rationales underlying this decision-making
process.
This naturalistic study examined the decision-making processes of a novice
elementary ESOL teacher as she scaffolded instruction for her third-grade students. As
she videotaped what she considered to be a successful scaffolding event each week, we
unpacked the event together using the lens of Cognitive Flexibility Theory (CFT). The
guiding questions were: (1) How can the decision-making processes underlying a novice
ESOL teacher’s instructional scaffolding be described? (2) How can the lens of Cognitive
Flexibility Theory inform a novice ESOL teacher’s scaffolding decisions?
Data sources included interviews, field notes, and reflections of the sessions.
Constant comparative analysis (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Miles & Huberman, 1994) was
used to analyze data. Rigor was demonstrated by establishing credibility, transferability,
dependability, and confirmability (Lincoln and Guba).
A grounded theory model of a kaleidoscope was created to describe the novice
ESOL teacher’s decision-making processes during scaffolding events. The participant’s
decisions were influenced by a variety of pedagogical and contextual domains while also
being impacted by her views on scaffolding, on assessment, and on the connection
between theory and practice. The participant’s conceptions of scaffolding became more
complex and her confidence and sense of agency became stronger as a result of
mentoring underpinned by CFT.
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