Dissertation - Application Form
( 25 October 2001)

Please describe the research area/topic on which you propose to work under the following headings:

Project Title

(Include both the deeper question of your research and the specific focus of your work. If your work is part of a larger/funded project please also include the name of the project:

Towards the Development of a Digital Portfolio Aid:
Using ICT to Support Reflective Practice & Self-Evaluation in Teaching

Proposed Supervisor:

Dr. B. Tangney

Project Summary:

The research project will investigate the use of an ICT artefact (the Digital Portfolio Aid) that is designed to assist practicing teachers in the related activities of reflective practice and self-evaluation. The DPA will support the preparation of a ‘reflective portfolio’. The research focus of the project is to explore the degree to which the artefact can support reflective practice. It is anticipated that participants in the study will use the artefact for a period of 8 weeks. During this period they will be expected to:

1.                  Record, develop and review a personal philosophy of education that is centred on their teaching practice.

2.                  Use the DPA to plan and evaluate a series of lessons.

3.                  Identify areas of their practice that are deemed to be in need of remedial action.

4.                  Use the DPA to record changes in teaching practice arising out of their participation in a programme of supported reflective practice.

5.                  Incorporate the data arising from using the DPA, as well as external data such as graphics, text documents and web pages, into a professional reflective portfolio.

Your own expertise and how well you will be positioned to carry out the work:

I am competent is basic ICT use and am capable of designing an ICT artefact that will be based on a Microsoft Access 2000 relational database. I have previous experience of undertaking research at postgraduate level.

Potential benefits of the Study:

The main area of educational research to which the current study will contribute is that of the use of the portfolio in reflective practice. The rational for the study comprises a number of inter-related strands:

Meaningful changes in educational practice can only be brought about where practitioners incorporate changes into their day-to-day practices. Research suggests that mandated curriculum changes via exclusively ‘top down’ models of educational change have limited impact on classroom practices.

·         Critical-reflective practice is one model of curriculum development that sees the teacher as a key researcher of his or her own practice. Reflective practice is regarded as having the potential to support action research.

·         The use of the professional portfolio has the potential to support reflective practice. The portfolio can take many different forms, with the use of ICT-based portfolios considered a potentially useful way to develop and maintain a professional portfolio.

·         Based on a relational database, it is feasible to develop, deploy and evaluate an artefact that can assist teachers in the development and maintenance of a digital portfolio. This portfolio can serve as a key aid to professional reflective practice.

Research Aims:

·         To undertake a literature review on the use of the professional portfolio to promote reflective practice in education.

·         To develop a model detailing the key elements of a professional portfolio used to underpin reflective practice.

·         To use this model as the basis for the development of a relational database, the database to act as the central element of a digital portfolio aid.

·         To assess the use of the digital portfolio aid in a practical school setting.

Methodology:

·         Develop a theoretical context via a review of research literature on the topics of reflective practice, teacher self-evaluation and the use of the reflective portfolio in education.

·         Arising from the study of relevant research, construct an ICT artefact that will support the related activities of portfolio preparation and reflective practice.

·         Identify potential participants in the study, supply participants with the relevant hardware support where necessary and instruct the participants in the use of the DPA.

·         Participants will use the artefact for a period of approximately 12 week, with structured interviews and questionnaires used as data gathering tools at the end of weeks 4 and 8 and 12.

·         The preparation of the formal research report.

How might this research go forward?

What organizations should be informed of your work?

We wish to be convinced that this dissertation will not simply gather dust on a shelf.

If your work is not presently funded identify potential sources of funding.

To expand the work, or present work at a conference for example.

Organisations that may express an interest in the research include:

·         The Educational Studies Association of Ireland

·         Educational Departments at Universities offering the Higher Diploma in Education. (The DPA may prove a useful tool for student teachers.)

Time scale

Problem Areas

1            Selection of participants: Can participants be non-random? Will this influence the manner of reporting findings?