Enhancing dialogic teaching in Hong Kong ESL classrooms through video based professional development

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the design, implementation, and evaluation of a video-based teacher professional development (PD) programme for developing dialogic teaching in Hong Kong English as a Second Language (ESL) classrooms. Dialogic teaching, among its many features, highlights teachers’ skillful extension of student responses to encourage elaboration and reasoning, facilitating authentic exchanges of meaning.

Specifically, this work aimed to 1) explore trends in video-based teacher PD through bibliometric analysis; 2) examine the link between dialogic teaching, student discursive engagement, and student second language (L2) learning; 3) investigate the effectiveness of a video-based PD programme as a whole and its elements in enhancing dialogic teaching; and 4) reveal the teacher learning process during collaborative coding in the programme.

These aims were addressed through four interrelated studies. Video-based PD trends were examined in Study I through analysing the Scopus database, providing insights for developing the PD programme for Studies III and IV, especially on the concept of teaching noticing. Studies II to IV involved 27 teachers and their students from seven Hong Kong primary and secondary schools, with the teachers participating in a six-month video-based PD programme under three different dose conditions in Studies III and IV. In Study II, structural equation modelling (SEM) analysed student questionnaires (n = 490) to explore the relationships among teacher dialogic teaching, student discursive engagement, and L2 learning. Study III assessed the impact of dialogic teaching and PD elements by comparing pre- and post-intervention and the three doses, using data from student questionnaires (n = 400), lesson video recordings, and teacher interviews. Study IV further revealed the teacher learning process by examining interaction in collaborative coding workshops.

The research yielded five major findings: (1) the literature indicated that video-based PD programmes emphasised the theme of ‘noticing’, yet there was a notable gap researching humanities subjects, despite increasing interest in classroom discourse analysis; (2) extending prior research on L2-related characteristics including motivation, communication competence, and willingness to communicate (WTC), the SEM indicated that WTC in class was a mediator between students’ perceptions of teachers using productive classroom talk and their discursive engagement with other students; (3) a pre-post comparison indicated that implementing dialogic teaching enhanced ESL classroom efficacy, as evidenced by student questionnaires, teacher video recordings, and interviews; (4) a dose-response analysis showed that a three-dose intervention of video-based PD was more effective than two-dose and one-dose conditions to some extent, highlighting the importance of diverse PD elements and duration for effective teacher inquiry; and (5) collaborative coding facilitated the development of noticing in teachers for dialogic teaching.

This dissertation examines how individual student characteristics, such as motivation, and teachers’ mindful use of dialogic teaching influence student classroom participation. It also identifies crucial components of effective PD and illustrates how collaborative video coding supports the practice of teacher noticing. From a pedagogical standpoint, it demonstrates that integrating dialogic teaching through a video-based PD programme enhances ESL classroom effectiveness, providing valuable insights for PD designers and educators to improve L2 teaching and learning.