Portfolio as a Tool for Self- Reflection and Professional Development for Pre-Service Teachers

Self-reflections, especially those done through the usage of portfolios, are an essential component of teaching. Portfolio reflections allow pre-service teachers to set professional goals. This research was conducted using qualitative methodology, and all semi-structured interviews were organised with students and graduates from the Early Childhood Department-Faculty of Education, University of Prishtina. The research results show that a portfolio provides future teachers with the opportunity to organise their work better while enabling cooperation between pre-service teachers, which ergo, directly affects their professional competencies. Owing to its benefits, portfolio should be integrated by the Faculty of Education of the University of Prishtina as an integral part of its work with students.

Culture of Co-Creation

This chapter has important significances of understanding co-creation, regarding PBL as a co-created curriculum, and proposing strategies of shaping culture of co-creation in Chinese universities. Particularly, a socio-cultural model of creativity should be paid attention as it is shaped by interplays between individuals, fields, and domains. The strategies include how universities should break some barriers that facilitate the changes towards PBL, and how teaching portfolio is accordingly seen as a useful tool to enhance reflective capabilities in staff development. This chapter contributes to future reforms in Chinese universities.

Exploring candidate interaction with a high stakes teacher performance assessment: The KPTP and the Kansas laboratory

This qualitative study explores the experiences of a cohort of pre-service teachers completing a high-stakes teacher performance assessment (HSTPA), the Kansas Performance Teaching Portfolio (KPTP), during their final year of teacher preparation. The inquiry asks whether the act of completing the assessment modified candidate conceptualizations of good teaching, and, if so, in what ways. Data were gathered via in-depth interviews and content analysis, and data were analyzed via constant comparison. The study found that completing the KPTP was having some impact upon participant conceptions of good teaching, prodding them to broaden their understanding of the work of teachers to include not just dispositional and relational aspects of teaching, but elements of technical teaching practice. The article concludes with recommendations for policy, research, and practice.