The electronic portfolio as a tool to develop and assess pre-service student teaching competences: Challenges for quality
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the use and effects of a competence-based e-portfolio for the development and assessment of teacher competences during teaching practice in an academic teacher education program.
About: This article is published in Studies in Educational Evaluation.The article was published on 2014-12-01. It has received 31 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Teacher education & Assessment for learning.
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TL;DR: In this article, it is argued that multiplechoice items have the capacity to assess certain higher-order skills, and a series of practical guidelines for test developers seeking to construct such items is provided.
Abstract: Across education, certification and licensure, there are repeated calls for the development of
assessments that target higher-order thinking, as opposed to mere recall of facts. A common assumption
is that this necessitates the use of constructed response or essay-style test questions; however,
empirical evidence suggests that this may not be the case. In this paper, it is argued that multiplechoice items have the capacity to assess certain higher-order skills. In addition, a series of practical
recommendations for test developers seeking to purposefully construct such items is provided.
82 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose a self-assessment methodology that universities can employ to compare their performance relative to the aforementioned domains, thus enabling the identification of performance gaps, the knowledge of which is crucial to the formulation of more targeted strategy.
Abstract: This study envisions the architecture of a modern era university with sustainable standards of excellence. Sustainable University Excellence is herein defined as the ability of a university to excel in the core areas of knowledge creation and dissemination via the mobilization of human, social, intellectual, and financial capital to serve on socioeconomic and environmental fronts ethically, efficiently, and effectively to secure a sustainable future. Seven core performance domains of a university are explored: Teaching quality, research culture, technological capability building, accessibility, community engagement, internationalization, and environment, which should be prioritize in order to continuously advance along a sustainable excellence continuum. This study provides a self-assessment methodology that universities can employ to compare their performance relative to the aforementioned domains, thus enabling the identification of performance gaps, the knowledge of which is crucial to the formulation of more targeted strategy. This approach allows decision makers to form a more coherent vision for sustainability within institutional and broader contexts. The approach proposed herein incorporates the three aspects of sustainability that form the so-called Triple Bottom Line (TBL).
18 citations
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...but the potential reward is enormous [92]....
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01 Jan 2018
TL;DR: Buyarski et al. as discussed by the authors proposed the Theory-to-Practice (T2P) ePortfolio, which served as a venue through which students developed an understanding of how the theories they learned in class connected meaningfully to teaching and influenced their teaching philosophy.
Abstract: Instructors often use ePortfolios to facilitate deeper learning by providing an outlet for reflection, analysis, integrative thinking, and transfer of learning (Buyarski et al., 2015; Reynolds & Patton, 2014). In line with these objectives, I sought out to deepen learning and motivation on a required, semesterlong assignment in an introductory educational psychology course for preservice teachers that is linked to a practicum experience. The original assignment was a template in Microsoft Word in which students included a summary of each major theory learned in class, provided a teaching example, and wrote a reflection about each topic. The new assignment is titled the Theory-to-Practice (T2P) ePortfolio, given that the focus of the assignment was to serve as a venue through which students developed an understanding of how the theories they learned in class connected meaningfully to teaching and influenced their teaching philosophy. Thus, the assignment served as a portfolio of this development. Independent samples t tests revealed that students’ perceptions of usefulness in the course were significantly higher in the intervention groups and that ePortfolio assignment grades were significantly higher in the intervention groups. The assignment rubrics included dimensions from AAC&U VALUE rubrics measuring integrative learning, critical thinking, analysis, and written communication. The change in assignment format was positively associated with deeper learning on the assignment and perceived value in the larger course experience.
13 citations
Dissertation•
01 Jan 2019
12 citations
TL;DR: In this article, an e-portfolio-based unit in the Faculty of Education in an Australian University was investigated using a mixed methods research design to analyse the data gathered through conducting pre-unit and post-unit interviews.
Abstract: The term e-portfolio refers to a portfolio in electronic format that allows users to collect evidence of learning in several media types (e.g., audio, video, text, and graphics) and to organise these using hypertext links (Barrett, 2001). E-portfolios have been introduced into teacher education programs internationally to help pre-service teachers (PST) build records of their learning and reflections, and allow them to assemble collections of evidence of their achievements against graduate standards. These e-portfolios may function as digital CVs; and also support lifelong learning after graduation (Oakley, Pegrum, & Johnston, 2014). Through investigating the experience of e-portfolio use by PSTs, this thesis provides significant evidence about the high quality implementation of e-portfolios in higher education. The thesis explores the reasons behind the participants’ success in an e-portfolio-based unit. In particular, the research explores the reasons why a number of the participants were more successful than others when using e-portfolios. This is the first research which has examined PSTs perspectives on e-portfolio-based learning within constructivism, students’ approach to learning (SAL), the 3P model (presage, process, and product) of learning, and self-regulated learning (SRL). An e-portfolio-based unit in the Faculty of Education in an Australian University was investigated using a mixed methods research design to analyse the data gathered through conducting pre-unit and post-unit interviews. The qualitative analysis examines the participants’ conceptions of e-portfolios, their perceptions of the teaching and learning context, and the effect of these on their approaches to learning and their learning outcomes. A questionnaire was distributed at week 11 to measure how they conceived e-portfolios, how they perceived the quality of the teaching, the clarity of the goals, and the appropriateness of the assessment and workload.
This research showed that there was variation in the academic achievements of the PSTs when using e-portfolios and the results of the analysis confirmed that the learning outcomes at the surface or deep approach to learning were affected by the participants’ conceptions of the e-portfolios, their perceived role, and the perceptions of their lecturers’ role. In particular, their experience in the course depended on their perception of good teaching, clarity of their goals, and appropriate workload and assessment in the unit. Therefore, these factors seemed to be significantly related to what they did, and the strategies they used when using the e-portfolio. The implications of the results of this thesis are relevant for educators responsible for designing new e-portfolio-based units or courses, and improving the teaching and learning outcomes of existing e-portfolio-based learning.
12 citations
Cites background from "The electronic portfolio as a tool ..."
...Consequently, many teacher education institutions aim to develop teacher competencies during teaching practice (Struyven et al., 2014) to improve their employability skills....
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...PSTs, in contrast, believe that the e-portfolios are unable to reflect and demonstrate their teaching competencies sufficiently (Struyven et al., 2014)....
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22,082 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the crisis of confidence in professional knowledge from technical rationality to reflection-in-action is discussed and its implications for the professions and their place in society are discussed.
Abstract: Contents: Professional Knowledge and Reflection-in-Action: The crisis of confidence in professional knowledge From technical rationality to reflection-in-action. Professional Contexts for Reflection-in-Action: Design as a reflective conversation with the situation Psychotherapy: The patient as a universe of one The structure of reflection-in-action Reflective practice in the science-based professions Town planning: Limits to reflection-in-action The art of managing: Reflection-in-action within an organizational learning system Patterns and limits of reflection-in-action across the professions. Conclusion: Implications for the professions and their place in society.
4,076 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a thematic review of the recent research on workplace learning, which is divided into two main sections: the first section asks what we know about learning at work, and states four propositions: (1) the nature of workplace learning is both different from and similar to school learning; (2) learning in the workplace can be described at different levels, ranging from the individual to the network and region; (3) workplace learning are both informal and formal; and (4) workplaces differ a lot in how they support learning.
981 citations
"The electronic portfolio as a tool ..." refers background in this paper
...During recent years, workplace learning has gained increasing importance as a significant learning experience in vocational programmes aimed at the development of professional competences (Tynjälä, 2008)....
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TL;DR: In this article, a more fundamental form of reflection is needed, referred to as core reflection, which concurs with the recent emphasis in psychology on attending to people's strengths rather than their deficiencies.
Abstract: Reflection is currently a key concept in teacher education. The reflection process is often described in terms of a cyclical model. In the present article, we explain how such a model can be used for supporting student teachers’ reflection on practical situations they are confronted with, and on their behaviour, skills and beliefs in such situations. In some cases, however, more fundamental issues appear to influence teachers’ practical functioning. For example, their self‐concept can have a decisive influence on the way they function, or they may do what is expected of them, and yet not feel truly involved. In such cases, a more fundamental form of reflection is needed, which in this article we refer to as ‘core reflection’. The focus on core reflection concurs with the recent emphasis in psychology on attending to people’s strengths rather than their deficiencies.
775 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a diagnostic instrument was constructed that covered four leaming components: cognitive processing, metacognitive regulation, mental leaming modeis, and leaming orientations.
Abstract: Background. Classical instructional design theories and constructivist theoTies disagree on the issue of how high-quality learning can be realised. Research on student learning bas identified a large number of learning components, but the problems of overlap among conceptualisations and the direction of interrelations among constructs have received little attention. Aims. The main aims of this study were: increasing integration of existing models of student learning; gaining understanding of the regulation of constructive learning processes; and investigating the degree to which these phenomena generalise across contexts. Samples. A total of 717 students from an open university (OU) and 795 students froma regular university (RU), fiom various academic disciplines, participated in the studies. The mean age of the OU students was 36.2 years and of the RU students 22.5 years. Methods. Based on phenomenographic studies, a diagnostic instrument was constructed that covered four leaming components: cognitive processing, metacognitive regulation, mentalleaming modeis, and leaming orientations. It was administered to all students trom the samples. Factor analyses on the data were conducted to achieve a more integrated model of student leaming. Regression analyses were performed to study the directionality in the regulation of learning processes. Results. Eour leaming dimensions were consistently found: an undirected, reproduction-directed, meaning-directed and application-directed style. These styles consisted of typical combinations of leaming components. Moreover, students' use of constructive processing strategies was explained much better by self-regulation of leaming than by extemal regulation. These findings were almost identical at both educational institutions, indicating a high degree of generalisability. Conclusions. The integrated model of student leaming developed in this study caD reduce the overlap among leaming component conceptualisations considerably. The results stress the importance of process-oriented teaching models foT improving the quality of student leaming.
622 citations