Abstract

CHACON CORZO, María Auxiliadora; CHACON, Carmen Teresa  and  ALCEDO S., Yesser Antonio. Interdisciplinary Learning Projects in Teacher Education. RMIE [online]. 2012, vol.17, n.54, pp.877-902. ISSN 1405-6666.

The objectives of this study were to elaborate, implement, and evaluate learning projects in which future English teachers made an interdisciplinary integration of the course content of Curriculum Development and Educational Innovations, Psycholinguistics, and Professional Practice. Based on action research, the study aimed at promoting educational actions to reconstruct teachers' knowledge. The participants were majoring in English in the teacher education program at the Universidad de Los Andes "Pedro Rincón Gutiérrez" in Táchira, Venezuela. The techniques and instruments for collecting data were observation, interviews, journals, and reports from graduates. Interdisciplinary projects and collaboration were shown to generate reflective and critical processes that strengthen the construction of teachers' knowledge; they also favor teachers' commitment to their profession and their awareness of needing to be lifelong learners, since teacher education is a complex, ongoing process.

Keywords : teacher education; teaching English; collaborative work; interdisciplinary aspects; teachers' professional development; Venezuela.