Melbourne Graduate School of Education - Theses

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    The use of teacher written portfolios to enhance professional development, communication and appraisal
    Barker, Gregory John ( 1999)
    The author has taught for a total of twelve years in secondary schools, the past five years as the Head of the Science Faculty at the study school (Ladies' Catholic College). The use of teachers' portfolios was an inquiry, instigated by the author, in professional development, to improve collegial interaction as well as to record crucial information within the department. Given the exceptional diversity of structure for 'portfolios', both in the literature and in teaching situations, the reader is invited to familiarise themselves with the actual portfolios used as the basis for this study (Appendix A and B). The portfolios in this study were produced by small groups of teachers working on single units of work. These portfolios are investigated as both a product and a process in this study. The impetus for the initial portfolios was the author's concern about what Shulman (1987) and Wise (1978) describe as the "collective amnesia" that can pervade teaching and the difficulty of achieving real change through conventional professional development. While assessing the value of the portfolios, for departmental reflection and collegiality, it became clear that the role of the portfolios could be expanded. This expansion included positioning the portfolios with whole school development, enhancing communication between departments, and investigating a possible role for portfolio writing in strengthening discursive practice in schools as part of teacher appraisal. The teachers who produced the portfolios found them to be a useful process to enhance their reflection on teaching and learning. From the perspective of appraisal they gave the teachers a chance to investigate and communicate the types of knowledge they have about teaching. Teachers, who viewed the portfolios also found them useful for their own reflection, they also gave them insights into a department. The portfolios also provided a focus for teachers in different departments to discuss teaching, this discussion could be centred in a familiar school context. The educators, who collaborated in the research, were mostly members of one school community. These educators bring different perspectives to the research. These varying educational viewpoints are illuminated through the discussions of their impressions of the portfolios. The author received the enthusiastic support and co-operation of the College Principal, two Science teachers who were involved in the production of portfolios, another Science teacher, an English teacher, and the Deputy Principal of another College. Their anonymity and that of the school, which was the site of the investigation, have been protected by the use of pseudonyms. The author investigated the perceived strengths and limitations of the use of portfolios in faculty development and appraisal through the use of reflective conversations. This study has aspects of ethnography in Woods' (1994) sense of contributing to a celebration of school achievement. The conversations with a diverse group of educators, positioned at different levels in policy making, provide a clearer understanding of the scope for use of this particular form of portfolio in departmental settings in schools.