USING E-PORTFOLIOS TO DEVELOP TEACHING USING E-PORTFOLIOS TO DEVELOP TEACHING COMPETENCE ACROSS INITIAL AND INDUCTION COMPETENCE ACROSS INITIAL AND INDUCTION

PHASES OF TEACHER EDUCATIONPHASES OF TEACHER EDUCATIONDr Kevin Marshall Microsoft Ireland kevmar@microsoft.com Dr Victor McNair University of Ulster v.mcnair@ulster.ac.uk

Introduction

Context / Issues• PiL in Ireland covers two educational

jurisdictions • Policy• Infrastructure

• Issues / Practice on the ground remains the same

Teacher Education • Pre-Service vs. Experienced Teachers

Education in Northern Ireland: An Overview

1245 schools

20,700 teachers

40,000 networked computers

344,881 pupils (all ages)

300,000 online users (Sept 05)

One NI-Wide MLE for all pre-16s

Broadband connectivity

All teachers NOF – ICT Accredited

Growing online population

emPowering Schools Strategy

PGCE - One year Postgraduate Certificate c. 400 BEd. - Four-year Undergraduate 590 UU (PGCE) 195 PGCE students (9

subjects)

Teacher Education in Northern Ireland

Christmas

Easter

School-based Project

School Experience

School ExperienceEaster

Subject Workshops and Professional Issues

Subject Workshops and Professional Issues

Jointly explore one issue in their teaching and relate it to the classroom

Share project with one PGCE partner

Establish a body of knowledge and develop an action plan

Implement in the classroom

Evaluate with partner

Share experiences on line

Embed in students’ teaching strategies.

ITN: Online teaching and learning

Traditional Support

Received Knowledge

Understanding

Implementation in schools

Professional dialogue (SCH)

Observation

Reflection

Professional Dialogue (tutor)

ITN: Rationale

Received Knowledge and Understanding

Experiences in schools

Professional Dialogues

ITN

Env

iron

men

t

Innovative Teachers

ITN: Structure of online interaction

ITN: Geography: Teaching in a divided Society

ITN: Gains

Linking UU with schools, essential Additional – ‘on-demand’ support for studentsImmediacy of classroom interaction and evaluation Promoting dialogue between teachers, students and

UU Tutors Transferable skills for teaching Promotion of reflection in and on action as it

happens

“It’s teaching, Jim, but not as we know it”

Learning teaching concepts(Received Knowledge)

Evaluating-validating Judgement criteria

(Observation)

Building skills & understanding

(practice)

Evaluating the effectiveness

of practice

Re-building and restructuring

knowledge Re-applying knowledge

Sharing Successes and challenges

Re-validating knowledge

ITN: A model for online reflection

Rationale: Reflective ICT-Based Teaching

Purpose of the Pilot was to: •Review Teaching and Learning • Identify Areas of Strength and Weakness•Show Evidence of Reflection

•Plot Professional Development Directions

VCT: Purpose of the e-portfolio

Developing ICT skills: E-portfolio structure

Teaching …“Well [compiling the e-portfolio] opened up my eyes to the ways in

which ICT can be used in an art classroom …. The children give me good feedback and they seemed to be very pleased with themselves, thinking they had achieved something that looked good…”.

Beliefs…“[compiling the e-portfolio] made me totally rethink my attitudes to

teaching. I realized that every pupil is an individual and they have their own needs, they all have to be reached on different levels”.

Resource building…“...it is good to have it all on disk and bring the information if and

when you need it, its like having your own teaching file.”.

Findings: Student confidence in…

ICT Repertoire…“… you know that when it comes to teaching a topic you have

the resources you need to recap on how it is done.”. Seeing the Bigger Picture “I have been developing my e-portfolio as part of my

induction…. The actual practice of putting together the e-portfolio made me push myself further than I would have…”.

Developing professional dialogue…“[the process of compiling the e-portfolio] did make me ask

for more help in ICT”.

Findings: Student confidence in…

Seeing former students as more rounded…“the e-portfolio has an intrinsic value to the induction

teacher… it summarizes what they can do”. Supporting a changing culture in the school…“I explained that I had completed an e-portfolio and the

interview panel seemed very interested, it was from here that the Head asked to see the work when I got the job and asked me to become involved in the whole school’s e-learning programme.”

Integration into teaching and learning…“ [the] beginning teacher’s competence in ICT was such that

they could integrate it into their lesson with ease”.

Findings: Schools’ views

School-based Priorities “ we have other things to talk about”Confidence as NQTs…“I have mentioned it to [the staff in school], but I felt like they quickly

skimmed over it Lack of Professional Dialogue…“I don’t think anyone else has asked about it because they just assume I

know about ICT”. Rocking the Boat…“I will discuss [the ICT portfolio] when I get established”The reality shock… “[I am just concentrating on] survival… getting established… and coping

with the workload”Uptake uncertain…“I feel that if the schools examined it (the e-portfolio) more they would

realize that it is an untapped resource, that would be useful for the whole school, teachers and pupils”.

But……….

Embedding Issues: Pragmatic application

Pragmatic Application

Personal ConfidenceResource BankIndividual Use

Embedding Issues: Strategic application

Strategic Application

Initiating DialoguePlanning Pathways

Developing Partners

Strategic Application

Initiating DialoguePlanning Pathways

Developing Partners

Embedding Issues: Strategic application

Pragmatic Application

Personal ConfidenceResource bankIndividual use

Effective Professional Development

Development of the concept

• Better use of data capturing

• Broader constituency involved in Professional Development

• Further development of peer support

• Coherent and consistent approach byHEIs and schools

• Broadening of the ICT theme to all areas of competence

• The development of standards including: • Protocols for access

• Ownership issues

• The development of a culture of asynchronous support for Beginning teachers