Teaching portfolio reflective role in teacher education

Abstract

Recently, many researchers have drawn on the implementation of teaching portfolios in teacher education programmes in order to develop pre-service teaching skills and promote reflectivity. This exploratory qualitative case study examines the introduction of the teaching portfolio as a reflective tool in the practical training course at the Teacher Training School of Constantine. The purpose of the study was to analyse trainees’ reflection on their teaching practices using teaching portfolios and explore student teachers’, supervisors’ and training teachers’ perceptions on developing portfolios. The study employed a qualitative research paradigm to investigate the following questions: 1) Do teaching portfolios act as a tool for trainees to engage in and develop their reflective practice? 2) What are these pre-service teachers’ perceptions on developing teaching portfolios during the PTC? 3) What are the perceptions of supervisors at TTSC and training teachers at middle and secondary schools of Constantine towards the use of teaching portfolios in the training course? The study used both document analysis and questionnaires as research means: (1) Trainees’ portfolios; (2) a questionnaire to trainees; (3) a questionnaire to training teachers and supervisors. Data analysis revealed that pre-service teachers used their portfolios to express their ideas about teaching and learning. They perceived developing teaching portfolios to be instructional involving reflection and documentation of teaching and learning. According to the qualitative analysis of their reflective writings, those trainees developed from a technical level of reflection − a mere description of teaching events, to a more practical level of reflection − using practical classroom experiences to think about teaching and learning along the three phases of the Practical Training Course. The supervisors and training teachers questionnaire also revealed that these future teachers endorse the teaching portfolio both as a process and product to be a type of worthy document of future consideration.