Developing a portfolio to promote authentic enquiry in teacher education

Abstract

This paper presents a case study of tutor and student experiences of using a portfolio in a pre-service teacher-education programme for university lecturers. The portfolio aimed to provide a space for ‘authentic enquiry’ that focused on student self-determination and the process, rather than the outcomes, of learning. The rationale behind the portfolio is explained with reflections on practice as the curriculum developed during the research cycle. Initially, portfolios were evaluated formatively during supervisory meetings and each student decided what part of their portfolio should remain private and what the tutor might read and comment on. In the second phase of development, formative judgements about work were no longer made and portfolios became private documents. Challenges for student teachers were associated with the novelty of the experience, the time taken for reflection to develop and the individualistic nature of the task. My own challenges centred on new methods of supervision and trying to live up to the explicit values that informed the curriculum.

An early version of this paper was presented to the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE) conference in June 2002 at McMaster University, Canada. I am deeply indebted to my fellow PCHE teachers and the students whose commitment to education impacted so much on the programme and my developing practice.