USING E-PORTFOLIOS TO DEVELOP TEACHING COMPETENCE ACROSS INITIAL AND INDUCTION PHASES OF TEACHER EDUCATION Dr Kevin Marshall Microsoft Ireland Dr Victor McNair University of Ulster

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 Easter 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 Environment 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 students Immediacy 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 Confidence Resource Bank Individual Use

Embedding Issues: Strategic application Strategic Application Initiating Dialogue Planning Pathways Developing Partners

Strategic Application Initiating Dialogue Planning Pathways Developing Partners Embedding Issues: Strategic application Pragmatic Application Personal Confidence Resource bank Individual 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