Aspects of Professional Learning: A New Framework for Student Reflection in PGCE Context
Exploring the professional learning journey in a PGCE program, this framework focuses on bridging practice, theory, and research to enhance student reflection and understanding. Through a partnership framework, tutors design, manage, and assess student progress, emphasizing personalized learning and practitioner inquiry approaches. The challenge lies in creating coherence among diverse program demands and enabling students to connect practical experience with academic elements. The three-year inquiry aims to develop a pedagogic tool for enhancing metacognitive awareness of professional learning processes.
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Aspects of professional learning; a new framework for student reflection Rachel Lofthouse & Roger Knill, School of Education, Communication & Language Sciences, Newcastle University TEAN Conference 21stMay 2010
Our context 36 week M.level PGCE: bridging practice, theory and research Students work towards QTS standards and Ofsted ITT grading: tracking and evidencing standards TDA directives regarding ITT curriculum: overcrowded programme, increasingly content heavy
Our role PGCE course tutors Designing and managing the student experience Working in partnership with school mentors and other subject tutors Assessing student progress (professional and academic)
Our focus Focus on the professional learning journey; QTS as one element Personalised professional learning within a common programme and partnership framework M.level assignments focusing on Reflection on professional processes enabling a developing understanding of subject pedagogy Development of practitioner enquiry approaches within the context of placement schools and own classroom
Our dilemma How to create coherence across the diverse demands and aspects of the PGCE Looking for sense-making tools which can allow students to find relationships between their practical experience, their reflection and the academic elements of the programme
Our 3 year enquiry To develop a model of professional learning that is derived from evidence of the outcomes of professional learning experiences To make this model accessible to student teachers so that it can be used as the basis of personal reflection and professional dialogue To determine how and whether the model can be used as a pedagogic tool to stimulate greater student teachers metacognitive awareness of the processes and outcomes of their professional learning
Year 1 Students reflected on their use of video-recording Thematic review of written questionnaire responses and assignments Comments were coded and categorised Regularly occurring themes and relationships Described a number of aspects of professional learning, as conceived by the student teachers
Understanding of, and ability to focus on, the significant others , in this case the students Development of reflective attitudes and skills Acquiring professional confidence and identity Constructive engagement in professional dialogue with other practitioners 8 Aspects of Professional Learning Willingness & ability to take action to develop own practice and solve problems Understanding of how practice evidence can be collected and analysed Ability to evaluate own practice Critical user engagement with relevant theory, research and policy
Year 2 8 aspect model offered to students as a means through which to reflect on their experiences during the PGCE Students produced two annotated diagrams using model - exemplified elements of their experience and considered its impact Diagrams used as the basis of one-to-one progress tutorials with the students
Year 3 in focus Students were asked what their personal objectives were for the course. Responses mapped onto the eight aspects of professional learning and fed back to the group. Stage 1: Stage 2: Stage 3:
To engage students and get them interested in Geography Become an inspirational Geography teacher To increase my knowledge of how children learn Understanding of, and ability to focus on, the significant others , in this case the students Organised and confident in the classroom Development of reflective attitudes and skills Acquiring professional confidence and identity 14 To be effortlessly confident in front of a class To be able to brush off the bad days and learn positively from them 4 2 Constructive engagement in professional dialogue with other practitioners 8 Aspects of Professional Learning Willingness & ability to take action to develop own practice and solve problems 1 Have a better idea of how to cope with difficult situations 2 Understanding of how practice evidence can be collected and analysed Ability to evaluate own practice Critical user engagement with relevant theory, research and policy To feel like I am improving & see progression Stage 1: Personal objectives for PGCE
Year 3 in focus Stage 1: Students worked in groups to review first placement experience and identify what activities and processes had enabled them to make progress in each of the 8 aspects of professional learning. Thematic review, Stage 2: Stage 3:
Stage 2: Review of first placement Reported key experiences related to 8 aspects model Interpretation of emerging themes Undertaking the core tasks of a teacher (planning, teaching, assessing, differentiating) Students respond positively to getting on with the job and start to problematise the role of teacher Working with others; peers and mentors Significance of routines (such as mentor meetings, reflective training journals) Feedback from others Meeting the challenge of M.level enquiries Self-reviewing & enquiry processes The importance of feedback loops (from pupil learning, mentoring, self-evaluation) and taking action
Year 3 in focus Stage 1: Stage 2: Students worked in groups to construct concept map illustrating the relationships between the 8 aspects of professional learning as experienced part way through long placement. Qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. Stage 3:
Understanding of, and ability to focus on, the significant others , in this case the students (9) Development of reflective attitudes and skills (13) Acquiring professional confidence and identity (14) Critical user engagement with relevant theory, research and policy (6) Willingness & ability to take action to develop own practice and solve problems (6) Constructive engagement in professional dialogue with other practitioners (9) Ability to evaluate own practice (13) Understanding of how practice evidence can be collected and analysed (8) Stage 3: Relationships between aspects of professional learning
Acquiring professional confidence and identity (14) Development of reflective attitudes and skills (13) Ability to evaluate own practice (13) Number of links made to other aspects Constructive engagement in professional dialogue with other practitioners (9) Understanding of, and ability to focus on, the significant others , in this case the students (9) Understanding of how practice evidence can be collected and analysed (8) Willingness & ability to take action to develop own practice and solve problems (6) Critical user engagement with relevant theory, research and policy (6) Stage 3: Relationships between aspects of professional learning
Stage 3: Relationships between aspects of professional learning Examples of strongly related aspects Ability to evaluate own practice Student comment Understanding of how practice evidence can be collected and analysed Having evidence to evaluate has provided better evaluations and has helped provide evidence for reflection Constructive engagement in professional dialogue with other practitioners Development of reflective attitudes and skills From reflecting on own practice we start to see good aspects of practice in others. This promotes dialogue between practitioners. Acquiring professional confidence and identity Understanding of, and ability to focus on, the significant others , in this case the students In first placement you are mostly focussed on yourself as a teacher and developing your professional identity, but in the Long Placement you have more of an idea of yourself as a teacher so you plan for the students more and take them into account increasingly in your lesson.
Thinking about professional learning Eraut (2007): Importance of informal learning: asking questions, getting information, locating resource people, listening and observing, reflecting, learning from mistakes, giving and receiving feedback and use of mediating artefacts. Lave and Wenger (1991): Learning is a function of the activity, context and culture in which it occurs. Learners, such as student teachers, thus become involved in a community of practice which embodies certain beliefs and behaviours.
8 Aspects of Professional Learning Starting to describe the model as a tool (Wall et al., 2010) Its function varies according to the intent of the user (tutor, individual student or group of students ) Functions include: teaching, interaction, feedback, framing
References Eraut, M. (2007) Learning from other people in the workplace, Oxford Review of Education, Vol. 33 (4), pp. 403-422. Lave, J. & Wenger, W. (1991) Situated learning. Legitimate peripheral participation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Wall, K., Hall, E., Baumfield, V., Higgins, S., Rafferty, V., Remedios, R., Thomas, U., Tiplady, L., Towler, C. and Woolner, P. (2010) Learning to Learn in Schools Phase 4 and Learning to Learn in Further Education, Campaign for Learning: London
