This thesis is concerned with the knowledge and skill requirements to teach technology education. Technology education has an important part to play in the UK economy. There is great demand to produce a technologically skilled workforce and secondary school technology education is a key element in the supply of skilled engineering technicians and graduates. Whilst there have been improvements in the number of pupils choosing to study mathematics and science there has been a decline in those studying technology. The work in this thesis has focused on the subject of Design and Technology as it provides pupils with the majority of their compulsory technology education in England. This thesis is comprised of four studies, adopting a mixed-methods approach. The first study characterised the background knowledge of Design and Technology teachers through a demographic analysis. In the second study observations were made on the adoption and teaching of a novel technology resource by trainee teachers. The third study analysed the opinions of teachers who attended a subject knowledge enhancement professional development course. In the fourth study the results of the previous studies were explored in further detail to triangulate findings and to test assumptions. In the first study the admissions data of 341 trainee Design and Technology teachers over the academic years 2000-2001 and 2013-2014 inclusive was analysed. The key finding of this analysis was that 81% of Design and Technology teachers have their entry qualification in creative arts and design and not in a technology subject. This misalignment of subject knowledge was discussed to be a result of the existing training standards and hypothesised to be contributory to the lack of technology teaching, and over emphasis of design in Design and Technology. The second study used observational methods to record how three trainee teachers adopted and taught lessons using a novel technology resource created for the study. The resource was designed to teach laser cutting and the design of mechanical systems. Subsequent analysis revealed the difficulties participants had in understanding and teaching the technology aspects of the projects. The existing practice, and collective knowledge of teachers within the schools used in the study were found to create obstacles for the trainees in trying to implement technological content. The third study developed a new professional development course for teachers to address the issues observed in the second study. The quantitative and qualitative data was obtained from 20 participant design and technology teachers before, during and after the course. Participants reported to be confidence in teaching technology, yet were unable to demonstrate a deep understanding of the subject content. Participants engaged with the procedural knowledge aspects of the course but not with the conceptual knowledge. They considered many aspects of technological and engineering content to be irrelevant to pupils. The fourth, and final, study developed questionnaires to assess teacher and pupil reactions to the provision of 57 different technology projects resources and training sessions to 82 schools across London. Useable data were generated from 33 teachers and 458 pupils. Measurements of teachers confidence in teaching the new Technology National Curriculum revealed that teachers strengths were the making of products. The weaknesses were teaching modern mechanical and electrical systems. Pupils motivation towards technology revealed positive attitudes, but they were unaffected by resources teachers considered to be novel. This study was used to triangulate the findings of the previous study and validate the claims made. The major contribution to knowledge of this thesis is the quantified description and analysis of teachers technology knowledge. The interrelationships of the distinct teacher knowledge domains were analysed to discover how they affect technology education. The main conclusion of this study is that teachers have difficulties in developing and teaching technology based schemes of work to meet the National Curriculum requirements. However, teachers appear unaware of this situation and consider themselves confident in teaching the technology curriculum topics. These difficulties have been caused by teachers lack of compatible background subject knowledge, and were evident in the teaching of projects without secure technology content. This thesis recommends that a significant intervention is required to provide support to Design and Technology teachers to develop their knowledge and skills in teaching technology.

Communicative approaches, such as communicative language teaching (CLT) and task-based language teaching (TBLT), have been promoted in second language education around the world for over four decades. This continued mainstream status may be due to their convincing theoretical bases in principles of second language acquisition, which are believed to be beneficial to language learners. However, they are not widely accepted by teachers in many English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts. A number of studies in a variety of contexts have aimed to identify factors which impede their implementation, but few of these have further built on the implications of these investigations. The current investigation, instead, studied classroom practice in a Taiwanese EFL secondary school, in order to identify and solve any problems arising. Based on the assumption that teacher learning is a complex process, it was necessary to set up a teacher development programme (TD) and use action research to explore how it could help teachers develop their practitioner knowledge of communicative approaches. Drawing on the data from questionnaires, interviews and classroom observations, the main finding was that the teachers’ limited understanding of these approaches seemed to be a more dominant factor than the teachers’ beliefs. This resulted in perceptions of learners, syllabus/textbooks and time becoming barriers to the implementation of the approaches, as often pointed out in past studies. This study also found effective ways to encourage teachers to learn to implement this new pedagogy. First, supplying examples of a theory’s practical application equipped practitioners to develop practical knowledge of that theory. Second, collaborative learning between the teachers, as well as the assistance of an expert, helped make the teacher education programme work. This led to the conclusion that communicative approaches motivated teachers in their professional practice. The findings of this research could shed light on these aspects of L2 teaching in a variety of other similar contexts and could be useful for educational policymakers, practitioners, and teacher educators in implementing innovative approaches.

Esta dissertação traz uma pesquisa cujo foco é o docente de formação técnica que atua ou atuou nos cursos oferecidos no âmbito do PROEJA – Programa Nacional de Integração da Educação Profissional com a Educação Básica na Modalidade de Educação de Jovens e Adultos instituído pelo Decreto n° 5.840, de 13 de julho de 2006. O objetivo da pesquisa é investigar a forma como o professor de formação técnica se faz docente em sua atuação nos cursos oferecidos no âmbito do PROEJA em dois campi do IFSUL – Instituto Federal Sul-rio-grandense: Campus Sapucaia do Sul e Campus Charqueadas. Como objetivos específicos pretende: conhecer as trajetórias profissionais e formativas destes docentes; identificar os saberes mobilizados na prática docente, considerando como e onde o professor os tem construído; identificar o espaço da formação continuada nas suas trajetórias; e analisar se há e quais são as características específicas da atuação nos cursos do PROEJA em relação a outros em que atua. De abordagem qualitativa, utiliza a metodologia do estudo de caso. Os dados foram produzidos através de entrevistas semi-estruturadas com seis docentes que não cursaram licenciatura ou cursos de pós-graduação em Educação e analisadas a partir do método da análise de conteúdo. Entre os achados destaca-se a especificidade da atuação docente no PROEJA, a importância de formações continuadas baseadas na experiência e contexto real de trabalho dos professores, o status da docência na rede federal de educação profissional e tecnológica e a aprendizagem da profissão através do aperfeiçoamento, na prática diária da sala de aula, dos saberes trazidos das experiências discentes. O trabalho apóia-se nos referenciais teóricos dos campos de estudo do trabalho-educação, PROEJA e do trabalho docente e busca contribuir com a discussão sobre a formação de professores para a educação profissional e tecnológica e a profissionalização docente. / This research focuses on the technical training teacher who either teaches or has taught in the courses offered under PROEJA - National Program of Integration between Vocational Education and Basic Education for Youth and Adults established by Decree No. 5840 of July 13, 2006. The objective of this research is to investigate how the technical training teacher who does not hold a degree in education performs as a teacher in the PROEJA courses offered in two campuses of PROEJA IFSUL - Federal Institute of Rio Grande do Sul: Sapucaia do Sul Campus and Charqueadas Campus. Having these as specific objectives, this research intends to : learn about career paths and training of these teachers; identify the knowledge mobilized in the teaching practice, considering how and where the teacher has acquired them; identify the space of continuous teacher training in his/her teaching career; and to analyze whether there are and what are the specific characteristics of his/her practice in the PROEJA courses in relation to other courses in which he/she teaches. This study makes use of the qualitative approach, using the case study methodology. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with six teachers who had not received a degree in education or made graduate studies in education and were analyzed by the content analysis method. What should be highlighted among the findings is the specificity of the teacher performance in PROEJA, the importance of a continuing education program based on experience and teacher real working environment , the prestige of teaching in the federal network of professional and technological education schools and the learning about the teaching profession through daily practice in the classroom and through knowledge acquired by the experience brought by students. The study is based on the theoretical fields of study of work and education, PROEJA and the teaching practice and seeks to contribute to the discussion on teacher training for vocational and technological education and to the professional practice of teachers.

Orientador: Roberto Nardi / Banca: Odete Pacubi Baierl Teixeira / Banca: Silvania Sousa do Nascimento / Banca: Isabel Martins / Banca: Sandra Regina Teodoro Gatti / Resumo: Compreender o papel da linguagem na Educação em Ciências tem sido o objeto de investigação de estudos para diversos pesquisadores nos últimos tempos. Além disso, verifica-se, também uma mudança na maneira de compreender o papel da linguagem na educação científica. Ou seja, tem havido um crescente interesse sobre a natureza das interações entre professores e alunos visando à construção de conhecimentos científicos, e sobre o papel das diferentes linguagens e discursos que circulam no contexto interativo discursivo da sala de aula. Diante disso, nos concentramos neste estudo a investigar o processo de mobilização de saberes docentes em cotextos interativos discursivos de ensino de Física envolvendo analogias e seu potencial como recurso didático. Além disso, por estar inserido na área de formação de professores, este estudo também tem por objetivo gerar reflexões acerca do potencial das analogias como recurso didático, possível de subsidiar o desenvolvimento de ações no campo da formação inicial de professores, investigar habilidades que os futuros professores possuem (ou deveriam possuir) visando a produção e o desenvolvimento de atividades de ensino que comportem a analogia como um recurso didático / Abstract: Understanding the role of language in Science teaching has been the object of research studies for many researchers in recent times. Moreover, there is also a change in the way of understanding the role of language in science education. In other words, there has been a growing interest in the nature of interactions between teachers and pupils to the construction of scientifc knowledge and the role of different languages and discourses that circulate in the discursive context of the interactive classroom. Given this, we focus in this study to investigate the mobilization of teachers knowledge in interactive contexts discursive teaching physics involving analogies. On addition, by being inserted in the area of teacher training, this study also aims to generate ideas about the potential of analogies as a teaching tool possible to subsidize the development of actions in the field of initial teacher training, research skills that future teachers have (or should have) aiming at the production and development of educational activities involving the analogy as a teaching resource / Doutor

Esta dissertação traz uma pesquisa cujo foco é o docente de formação técnica que atua ou atuou nos cursos oferecidos no âmbito do PROEJA – Programa Nacional de Integração da Educação Profissional com a Educação Básica na Modalidade de Educação de Jovens e Adultos instituído pelo Decreto n° 5.840, de 13 de julho de 2006. O objetivo da pesquisa é investigar a forma como o professor de formação técnica se faz docente em sua atuação nos cursos oferecidos no âmbito do PROEJA em dois campi do IFSUL – Instituto Federal Sul-rio-grandense: Campus Sapucaia do Sul e Campus Charqueadas. Como objetivos específicos pretende: conhecer as trajetórias profissionais e formativas destes docentes; identificar os saberes mobilizados na prática docente, considerando como e onde o professor os tem construído; identificar o espaço da formação continuada nas suas trajetórias; e analisar se há e quais são as características específicas da atuação nos cursos do PROEJA em relação a outros em que atua. De abordagem qualitativa, utiliza a metodologia do estudo de caso. Os dados foram produzidos através de entrevistas semi-estruturadas com seis docentes que não cursaram licenciatura ou cursos de pós-graduação em Educação e analisadas a partir do método da análise de conteúdo. Entre os achados destaca-se a especificidade da atuação docente no PROEJA, a importância de formações continuadas baseadas na experiência e contexto real de trabalho dos professores, o status da docência na rede federal de educação profissional e tecnológica e a aprendizagem da profissão através do aperfeiçoamento, na prática diária da sala de aula, dos saberes trazidos das experiências discentes. O trabalho apóia-se nos referenciais teóricos dos campos de estudo do trabalho-educação, PROEJA e do trabalho docente e busca contribuir com a discussão sobre a formação de professores para a educação profissional e tecnológica e a profissionalização docente. / This research focuses on the technical training teacher who either teaches or has taught in the courses offered under PROEJA - National Program of Integration between Vocational Education and Basic Education for Youth and Adults established by Decree No. 5840 of July 13, 2006. The objective of this research is to investigate how the technical training teacher who does not hold a degree in education performs as a teacher in the PROEJA courses offered in two campuses of PROEJA IFSUL - Federal Institute of Rio Grande do Sul: Sapucaia do Sul Campus and Charqueadas Campus. Having these as specific objectives, this research intends to : learn about career paths and training of these teachers; identify the knowledge mobilized in the teaching practice, considering how and where the teacher has acquired them; identify the space of continuous teacher training in his/her teaching career; and to analyze whether there are and what are the specific characteristics of his/her practice in the PROEJA courses in relation to other courses in which he/she teaches. This study makes use of the qualitative approach, using the case study methodology. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with six teachers who had not received a degree in education or made graduate studies in education and were analyzed by the content analysis method. What should be highlighted among the findings is the specificity of the teacher performance in PROEJA, the importance of a continuing education program based on experience and teacher real working environment , the prestige of teaching in the federal network of professional and technological education schools and the learning about the teaching profession through daily practice in the classroom and through knowledge acquired by the experience brought by students. The study is based on the theoretical fields of study of work and education, PROEJA and the teaching practice and seeks to contribute to the discussion on teacher training for vocational and technological education and to the professional practice of teachers.

Este estudo propôs-se a entender alguns traços relacionados à formação da identidade de professores de Ciências e Biologia e, com isso, contribuir com as pesquisas sobre identidade docente. Nossa hipótese inicial era de que esses desenvolveriam características provenientes de dois estatutos epistemológicos diferenciados: o que compreende as Ciências Biológicas e o que compreende as Ciências Humanas e as Ciências Educacionais. Ao lançar mão de características provenientes destes dois modos de construção de conhecimento, estes professores teriam um diferencial identitário importante. As construções teóricas utilizadas na argumentação e na análise dos dados foram elaboradas à luz de referenciais teóricos de perspectiva sociológica e epistemológica. A perspectiva sociológica diz respeito ao entendimento que temos sobre a formação de identidades profissionais, no que se refere às relações sociais estabelecidas na dinâmica escolar, e, também, aos saberes da profissão docente. A perspectiva epistemológica foi utilizada para compreendermos como as Ciências Biológicas entendem seu objeto de pesquisa e como constroem conhecimentos a partir deste entendimento. Dessa forma, articulamos três construções teóricas: o conceito sociológico de identidade, proposto por Claude Dubar (2005); os saberes docentes, formulados por Maurice Tardif (2007); e a teoria epistemológica e noção de perfil epistemológico de Gaston Bachelard (1979a, 1979b, 1996). A investigação foi desenvolvida com base numa abordagem qualitativa, por meio de questionário e, em função do número amostral, revelou-se um estudo de caso. Participaram do estudo professores de Ciências e Biologia, atuantes na rede pública estadual de ensino de Porto Alegre, formados na Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, nos últimos dez anos. Nossos dados apontam que a identidade docente destes professores está relacionada ao perfil empírico-positivista. No entanto, características do mesmo perfil podem ser percebidas em docentes graduados em outras áreas disciplinares, que se referem a outros modos de produção de conhecimento e, portanto, outro estatuto epistemológico. Também podemos inferir que a conformação do Curso de Licenciatura em Ciências Biológicas da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul prepara o estudante para atuar tanto como pesquisador como professor. Assim, a identificação profissional constitui-se em relação à profissão que mais apresenta status diante do olhar do outro: a de pesquisador. / This study aimed to understand some peculiarities according to the identity formation of science and biology teachers, and intend to contribute with the research on teacher identity. Our hypothesis was that these traits develop from two different epistemological status, which includes, by one side, the Biological Sciences and, by the other side, which embraces the Humanities and Educational Sciences. By resorting to features from these two ways of constructing knowledge, these teachers have an important differential identity. The theoretical constructs used our study as argument and data analysis were prepared in the light of theoretical and epistemological sociological perspective. The sociological perspective deals with the understanding that we have on the formation of professional identities related to social relations in school routine, and also to the knowledge of the teaching profession. The epistemological perspective was used to understand how the biological sciences view their research object and how they build knowledge. Thus, we articulated three theoretical constructs: the sociological concept of identity proposed by Claude Dubar (2005), the teacher knowledge, formulated by Maurice Tardif (2007), and the notion of epistemological theory and epistemological profile of Gaston Bachelard (1979a, 1979b, 1996). The research was based on a qualitative approach, then according to sample size, proved to be a case study. The sample was composed by science and biology teachers who work in public schools in Porto Alegre, and graduated at Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in the last ten years. Our data indicate that the teacher identity of the participants is related with the positivist-empirical profile. However, features of the profile can also be perceived in teaching graduates in other disciplines, which refer to other modes of knowledge production and, therefore, another epistemological status. We can also infer that the conformation of the Degree in Biological Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul prepares students to act both as a researcher and teacher. Thus, the identification work ends up happening with the profession that has more status in the eyes of the other: as a researcher.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-03T16:15:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ADRICAMO.pdf: 1149687 bytes, checksum: 00b824bc7f7b2da24edd1e1400703475 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-08-29 / According to data from INEP National Institute for Educational Research (2007), there are around 8,866 lato sensu courses in Brazil, and consequently the number of professors who teach at higher education has increased, once we consider 2010 s Census of Higher Education, in which 345,335 bonds of higher education teaching were registered. Based on these facts, the following questions raised: what are the professors pedagogic knowledge and practice in relation to their teaching at lato sensu? How have the professors who teach at this segment become teachers once their education is not always pedagogic? The level of education needed to teach at this segment is set forth in article 66 of the Law of Guidelines and Bases for Education, which states that the preparation to teach at higher education is done through Post-Graduation, being Master s and/or Doctor s Degree programs priority and it is known that the indication of pedagogic education is not mandatory for one to become a professor. Therefore the research about the aforementioned questions was done through a survey about these professors educational and professional paths, so we could identify whether the lack on pedagogic education influences or has influenced their teaching knowledge and practice. Also, we wanted to know how they have built their professor identities throughout their careers, and what their real motivation to becoming teachers is. Four professors who teach at a private institution of higher education in São Paulo/ SP were interviewed. Semi-structured interviews were done as a tool for data collection, and the organization of the category analysis was done through the content analysis method. The survey also had a historic contextualization about the laws of lato sensu, and a theoretic discussion about teaching knowledge and practice focused on higher education.The data analysis has confirmed the hypothesis that those who teach at lato sensu have gotten their knowledge and practice from what they experienced when they were students, using the references they had throughout their educational and professional paths as role models. It was verified that, most of the times, the professors only seek pedagogic education after being involved in the teaching at lato sensu, depending almost exclusively on their own decisions, once the laws do not predetermine the profile of the professors who teach at this segment. Hence, they gradually become professors, and the pedagogic education is rather a possibility of practice, once the professional experiences they have in their area come first. / Segundo dados do INEP (2007) temos cerca de 8.866 cursos de lato sensu no Brasil e, consequentemente, o número de docentes que atuam no ensino superior se torna um crescente, se observarmos os dados do Censo da Educação Superior de 2010, onde foi registrado 345.335 vínculos de funções docentes em exercício nas instituições de educação superior. Baseados nestes dados surgem as seguintes questões: quais são os saberes e as práticas pedagógicas destes docentes diante do ensino no lato sensu? Como os professores que atuam neste segmento, se constituem docentes, tendo em vista que nem sempre a sua formação é pedagógica? A formação para a atuação nesta modalidade é prevista no Artigo 66 da Lei de Diretrizes e Bases da Educação Nacional, que afirma que a preparação para o exercício no magistério superior se fará em nível de pós-graduação, prioritariamente em Programas de Mestrado e/ou Doutorado e sabemos que não há, especificamente, uma indicação de formação pedagógica para a docência. Assim, a investigação sobre as questões acima anunciadas se realizou por meio de uma pesquisa sobre a trajetória formativa e profissional de docentes que atuam no lato sensu, para identificarmos se a falta de formação pedagógica influencia/influenciou seus saberes e práticas docentes, como construíram sua identidade de professor ao longo de sua carreira, e sobre qual a real motivação para tornar-se professor. Os sujeitos da pesquisa são quatro professores que atuam em uma Instituição particular em São Paulo/Capital. Foram realizadas entrevistas semi-estruturadas para a coleta de dados e organização de categorias de análises por meio da metodologia de análise de conteúdo. Esta pesquisa teve também uma contextualização histórica sobre a legislação do lato sensu e uma discussão teórica sobre saberes e práticas docentes direcionadas para o ensino superior. A análise dos dados confirmou a hipótese de que os professores que atuam no lato sensu resgatam seus saberes e práticas de experiências vivenciadas quando eram alunos, tomando como modelo referências que tiveram ao longo de sua trajetória formativa e profissional. Foi constatado que na maioria das vezes, o professor só procura a formação pedagógica após já estar inserido no contexto da atuação no lato sensu, dependendo quase que exclusivamente, de uma busca por iniciativa própria, uma vez que a legislação não pré-determina qual o perfil deste professor para atuação no lato sensu. Constituem-se docentes de maneira gradual e a formação pedagógica é mais uma possibilidade para a atuação, uma vez que em primeiro lugar vem a experiência da prática profissional de sua área de formação de origem.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-03T16:16:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Cristiane Calderari.pdf: 821723 bytes, checksum: 3056a6393f53305885047cb4bad42a53 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-09-03 / Este trabalho tem por objetivo problematizar a docência em cursos de tecnólogos, as formas de atuação e de construção de conhecimentos da docência superior por professores universitários de Cursos de Tecnólogos. Considerando o ensino tecnológico, a pesquisa tem seu foco na docência e na constituição dos saberes docentes, partindo da ideia de que os profissionais que ministram aulas em tais cursos não tiveram uma formação para a docência. Desta forma, pretende-se analisar como tais profissionais que atuam na Educação Superior Tecnológica constroem seus conhecimentos sobre a docência superior. Partindo do estudo da legislação pertinente a tais cursos, considerando o contexto socioeconômico e político que os regulamentou, o trabalho fundamenta-se em Tardif (2002) e Cunha (1998; 2001; 2006;2008), em suas discussões sobre os saberes docentes no âmbito do ensino universitário. Para o desenvolvimento da pesquisa foram entrevistados 25 professores que atuam no ensino superior de tecnólogos, analisando aspectos relacionados ao ensino que ministram o que e como ensinam, o planejamento e a avaliação de aulas, a organização do trabalho pedagógico, a relação professoraluno. A contribuição pretendida com este estudo refere-se à compreensão da docência enquanto forma de atuação e de construção de conhecimento sobre a docência, em cursos de Tecnologia Superior.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:31:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2010-03-16Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:42:11Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 bozelli_fc_dr_bauru.pdf: 1232729 bytes, checksum: cb50e3f6c750cb47683028091f94a1ae (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / Compreender o papel da linguagem na Educação em Ciências tem sido o objeto de investigação de estudos para diversos pesquisadores nos últimos tempos. Além disso, verifica-se, também uma mudança na maneira de compreender o papel da linguagem na educação científica. Ou seja, tem havido um crescente interesse sobre a natureza das interações entre professores e alunos visando à construção de conhecimentos científicos, e sobre o papel das diferentes linguagens e discursos que circulam no contexto interativo discursivo da sala de aula. Diante disso, nos concentramos neste estudo a investigar o processo de mobilização de saberes docentes em cotextos interativos discursivos de ensino de Física envolvendo analogias e seu potencial como recurso didático. Além disso, por estar inserido na área de formação de professores, este estudo também tem por objetivo gerar reflexões acerca do potencial das analogias como recurso didático, possível de subsidiar o desenvolvimento de ações no campo da formação inicial de professores, investigar habilidades que os futuros professores possuem (ou deveriam possuir) visando a produção e o desenvolvimento de atividades de ensino que comportem a analogia como um recurso didático / Understanding the role of language in Science teaching has been the object of research studies for many researchers in recent times. Moreover, there is also a change in the way of understanding the role of language in science education. In other words, there has been a growing interest in the nature of interactions between teachers and pupils to the construction of scientifc knowledge and the role of different languages and discourses that circulate in the discursive context of the interactive classroom. Given this, we focus in this study to investigate the mobilization of teachers knowledge in interactive contexts discursive teaching physics involving analogies. On addition, by being inserted in the area of teacher training, this study also aims to generate ideas about the potential of analogies as a teaching tool possible to subsidize the development of actions in the field of initial teacher training, research skills that future teachers have (or should have) aiming at the production and development of educational activities involving the analogy as a teaching resource

abstract: This project examines how writing teachers of multilingual students conceptualize their pedagogical practices. Specifically, it draws on work in teacher cognition research to examine the nature of teacher knowledge and the unique characteristics of this knowledge specific to the teaching of second language writing. Seeing teacher knowledge as something embedded in teachers’ practices and their articulation of the goals of these practices, this project uses case studies of four writing instructors who teach multilingual students of First-Year Composition (FYC). Through qualitative analysis of interviews, observations, and written feedback practices, teachers’ goals and task selection were analyzed to understand their knowledge base and the beliefs that underlie their personal pedagogies. Results from this study showed that while participants’ course objectives were primarily in alignment with the institutional goals for the course, they each held individual orientations toward the subject matter. These different orientations influenced their task selection, class routines, and assessment. This study also found that teachers’ understanding of their students was closely tied with their orientations of the subject matter and thus must be understood together. Findings from this study support a conceptualization of teacher knowledge as a construct comprised of highly interdependent aspects of teachers’ knowledge base. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Linguistics and Applied Linguistics 2017