Conceptualizing High-Leverage Practices: Pre-Service World Language Teachers’ Perspectives

This qualitative case study examined two pre-service world language (WL) teachers’ thinking about, implementation of, and attention to high-leverage teaching practices (HLTPs) during a semester-long practice-based WL teaching methods course in the Southwestern United States. Data were collected through course assignments, including (a) pedagogical reflections, (b) lesson plan units, (c) microteaching lessons, and (d) teaching reflections. The participants’ responses were analyzed using Glisan and Donato’s HLTP framework, which was emphasized in the course as a guide. The findings revealed that the pre-service teachers increasingly implemented and integrated three foundational HLTPs, with varying levels of confidence and competence, through a prioritization of one significant HLTP, Creating a Meaningful Context for Language Instruction. Furthermore, increased capacity toward implementing HLTPs through repeated reflection was evident. The implications of this research highlight how educator preparation programs can utilize the HLTP framework as a practice-based approach to improve pre-service teachers’ confidence and competence to enact and integrate research-based teaching practices.