Reflecting on a Predicament of Professional Identity
Carolyn Harkness Australian Catholic University
E: [email protected]: http://www.slideshare.net/HarknessC/predicament-of-professional-identity
Today’s child?Today’s child?It is a challenge to manage the rapid It is a challenge to manage the rapid changes in ..culture, globalization, changes in ..culture, globalization, technology.technology.
© 2012 Carolyn Harkness All rights reserved.
Objectives Objectives
• Establish • the professional identity of those who educate children in
prior-formal-school-settings as teachers.
• Encourage • academic staff and pre-service teachers to consider a
variety of ePortfolio platforms to substantiate their developing professional identity to a wider, potentially global, audience.
• Investigate• digital approaches that both connect key information and
enables clear university-wide outcomes for all.
© 2012 Carolyn Harkness All rights reserved.
ApproachApproach
• Evolving• encouraging a culture where the gradual and natural
collaborative processes at at work shaping the professional identity.
• Efficient• Incorporating a deliberate integration of digital technologies
to deliver an engaging teaching and learning program.
• Effective• Harnessing standard review processes to identify success.
© 2012 Carolyn Harkness All rights reserved.
EvolvingEvolving
• Identity Formation -> Self-concept• Attachment• Self-image
• Cultural identity
• Gender identity• Professional Identity
© 2012 Carolyn Harkness All rights reserved.
EfficientEfficient
• Student Management:• Persistence• Respectful
• Teaching Approaches• Model• Ignore• Praise• Restructure• Prevent• Redirect
© 2012 Carolyn Harkness All rights reserved.
EffectiveEffective
• Resilience over time and amidst change• Positive self-esteem• High level of attention regulation• Good role-models of responsive and caring
attitudes
© 2012 Carolyn Harkness All rights reserved.
Process within the ChildProcess within the Child
• High well-being• Alert, confident,
engaged and happy.
• Low well-being• Basic needs are not
being met.
• High involvement• Engaged, enterprising,
motivated.
• Low involvement• Staring, absent, slow to
start, easily distracted,
Student
© 2012 Carolyn Harkness All rights reserved.
Approach Process Outcome
Well-being Involvement
The SpaceThe materials
ActivitiesInteraction with others
The organisationSafety …
Motor developmentLanguage skills
CuriositySocial competence
Self relianceSelf confidence …
Laevers, F., 2005
© 2012 Carolyn Harkness All rights reserved.
What about the ePortfolios?What about the ePortfolios?
• Embedded• Staged in development with the student
• Explicit instruction and modeling• Examples, workshops with simple directions
• Purposeful• Prepared as a component of critical reflection
• Practice• Presented to peers
© 2012 Carolyn Harkness All rights reserved.
What about the ePortfolios?What about the ePortfolios?
Transition into the Profession• Offered with a Practicum component• Discussion-board on Moodle
• Structured, but student led
• Professional Development Plan• Using current employment practice
• ePortfolio• Limited content > specific requirements
• Free to explore own platform
© 2012 Carolyn Harkness All rights reserved.
What about the ePortfolios?What about the ePortfolios?
Observations• Virtually all started a fresh ePortfolio• Student-led discussion-board • Professional Development Plan included• Platform preference?
• 12% Microsoft Word
• 25% Wordpress.com ®
• 63% Newer web-authoring software
© 2012 Carolyn Harkness All rights reserved.
What about the ePortfolios?What about the ePortfolios?
Observations• Artefacts
• All sourced from the early years of Primary
• 25% sourced from childcare
• Most were pristine word documents or pdfs
• Annotations• Clearly reflected the Early Childhood pedagogy
developed in Childcare and honed in Primary.