Karim Aebischer, Asheesh Gulati, Aous Karoui, Trystan Geoffre
Partenaires : Nathalie Dherbey-Chapuis, Isabelle Gauvin, Philippe Genoud, Nathalie Guin, Marie Lefevre, Mireille Rodi
The increased linguistic and cultural diversity of pupils (OECD, 2018) and the implementation of an inclusive education system (Federal Constitution, Art. 2, para. 3, 8 para. 1 and 2) are leading to greater heterogeneity in mainstream primary school classes. This dual development poses challenges for professionals, particularly in the field of learning French as a language of instruction (LOI) (for pupils, the language in which teaching takes place is either their L1, first language, or an L2, language learned after L1), as French is a complex language built on a combination of plural systems (Fayol & Jaffré, 2016). However, the LOI is not only an object of learning but also a vehicle for communication and other learning. Promoting access to the LOI for all pupils is therefore a priority. One approach could be to make the learning environment plural in the sense promoted by the universal design for learning (UDL) (CAST, 2022), without changing the learning requirements of the mainstream classroom.
Computer environments for human learning (CEHL) that enable adaptive learning are encouraging resources for promoting personalisation and inclusion, and moving towards UDL. However, the ability of such systems to meet the diverse needs of students must be questioned and tested before considering a system-wide implementation. In this perspective, the DocTA2LE-FR project is innovative. It aims to document and evaluate the impacts of a digital teaching/learning environment offering adaptable/adaptive pathways on the development of reading comprehension in French as LOI among primary school pupils (5H-6H) and on the development of teachers' practice. It is therefore closely linked to three pressing issues: school, language and digital technology.
The DocTA2LE-FR project is led by an interdisciplinary team, ensuring that the complexity of areas such as literacy in French as LOI, special educational needs, CEHL and teacher training are taken into account.
Scientific and social context of the research project
The DocTA2LE-FR project is based on scientific literature dealing with the teaching of reading comprehension in French as a language of instruction, digital accessibility tools, explainable AI, and single-case experimental protocols. The absence of similar empirical work in the targeted context makes this project an ambitious and innovative endeavour, helping to document what seems appropriate for moving towards universal pedagogy with this type of teaching tool.