PEDAGOGY STUDENTS’ REFLECTIVE PRACTICE: A BLENDED LEARNING INTERVENTION

Authors

  • Charikleia Pitsou Dr., Department of Education and Social Work, University of Patras, Rio, 26504, Greece
  • Niki Lambropoulos (Lampropoulou) Dr., Department of Education and Social Work, University of Patras, Rio, 26504, Greece

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v7i12.3418

Keywords:

reflective practice, shadowing, blended learning, flipped classroom, collaborative learning

Abstract

Authentic reflective practice in real working conditions acts as a bridge between the university environment with the engagement and responsibility of a professional. Educating the pedagogy students as teachers is one of the main aims of the Department of Education and Social Work Sciences, University of Patras, Greece. An intervention to support students’ reflective practice with new technologies took place following the flipped classroom and collaborative learning approaches; 169 university students were registered in the associated online course. The course organization, the instructions and the educational material was provided via the course on eClass for the flipped classroom approach. Following collaborative learning methods, the students were divided into small teams, this is 20 students average for each group for teachers’ shadowing and small groups of 3-5 for onsite meetings with tutors. Other than the students’ reflective practice diaries, the tutors also kept observational note. A mixed-methods research design was utilized; the findings derived from an online questionnaire, the eClass logs, a focus group discussion, and tutors’ observation notes. It appears that the blended learning intervention advanced students’ reflective engagement and accelerated their learning and the teaching practice. Η αναστοχαστική εκπαιδευτική πρακτική σε πραγματικές συνθήκες εργασίας λειτουργεί ως γέφυρα μεταξύ του πανεπιστημιακού και του σχολικού περιβάλλοντος στο πλαίσιο της πρακτικής άσκησης των φοιτητών/τριών. Η προετοιμασία των φοιτητών/τριών ως μελλοντικών εκπαιδευτικών είναι ένας από τους κύριους στόχους του Τμήματος Επιστημών Εκπαίδευσης και Κοινωνικής Εργασίας του Πανεπιστημίου Πατρών στην Ελλάδα. Στην παρούσα έρευνα μελέτης περίπτωσης πραγματοποιήθηκε παρέμβαση με συνδυαστική εκπαίδευση με σκοπό την υποστήριξη του εκπαιδευτικού αναστοχασμού των 169 φοιτητών/τριών που συμμετείχαν στο μάθημα της πρακτικής άσκησης. Συγκεκριμένα, υιοθετήθηκαν οι παιδαγωγικές προσεγγίσεις της ανεστραμμένης τάξης και της συνεργατικής μάθησης με την υποστήριξη των νέων τεχνολογιών. Η οργάνωση του μαθήματος της πρακτικής άσκησης, οι οδηγίες και το εκπαιδευτικό υλικό ήταν αναρτημένα στο eClass. Ακολουθώντας τις μεθόδους και τεχνικές της συνεργατικής μάθησης οι φοιτητές/τριες χωρίστηκαν σε μικρές ομάδες, με μέσο όρο 20 άτομα σε κάθε ομάδα για την παρατήρηση και παρακολούθηση του έργου των εκπαιδευτικών στο σχολείο, καθώς και σε μικρές ομάδες των 3-5 φοιτητών/τριών για αναστοχαστικές συναντήσεις με τις ερευνήτριες. Επιπρόσθετα, οι φοιτητές/τριες διατηρούσαν ημερολόγια αναστοχασμού κατά την παρακολούθηση της διδασκαλίας. Οι ερευνήτριες διατηρούσαν, επίσης, παρατηρητικά σημειώματα. Χρησιμοποιήθηκε ο ερευνητικός σχεδιασμός μικτών ερευνητικών μεθοδολογιών και τα ευρήματα προέρχονται από δεδομένα που συλλέχθησαν με διαδικτυακό ερωτηματολόγιο, τα αρχεία καταγραφής eClass, τη συζήτηση ομάδας εστίασης και τις σημειώσεις παρατήρησης των ερευνητριών. Τα αποτελέσματα δείχνουν ότι η συγκεκριμένη παρέμβαση βοήθησε τον αναστοχασμό των φοιτητών/τριών και επιτάχυνε τη μάθηση στην εκπαιδευτική πράξη και έτσι, συνέβαλε στην επίτευξη των σκοπών της πρακτικής άσκησης.

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Author Biographies

  • Charikleia Pitsou, Dr., Department of Education and Social Work, University of Patras, Rio, 26504, Greece
    Dr. Charikleia Pitsou studied Pedagogy at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She completed her master's degree at the University of Patras in "Intercultural Education: Greek as a Second or Foreign Language" (2010). Afterwards, she did her doctoral thesis research in: "United Nations" Policies on Education for Human Rights (1995-2009). The application of the educational model of the "cognitive pyramid" to the Greek Teacher and Kindergarten Departments" (2013). Her research interests focus on Human rights education, Pre-primary and elementary education, International organizations policies, Higher education, Lifelong learning policies, Teacher education and training. She has publications in international journals, book chapters, as wellas conferences. She works as Laboratory Teaching Staff, in the Department of Education and Social Work, University of Patras. Also, she teaches in the Hellenic Open University, and in the Higher School of Pedagogical and Technological Education (ASPAITE).
  • Niki Lambropoulos (Lampropoulou), Dr., Department of Education and Social Work, University of Patras, Rio, 26504, Greece
    Dr. Niki Lambropoulos (Lampropoulou) is specialised in sociocultural learning with special interest in creative collaborative learning and eLearning, collaborative creative writing and storytelling using multimedia to support online learning small groups and communities (CSCL/Writing). She has a PhD from London South Bank University followed by Marie Curie postdoctoral research funded by the EU, and an MA in ICT in Education from the Institute of Education, UCL. She finished her BA at the Pedagogical Academy of Tripolis and University of Athens in Greece, has a Diploma in Education from Maraslio and over 25 years of educational experience in primary and higher educational levels. She works as Laboratory Teaching Staff, in the Department of Education and Social Work, University of Patras and has published widely in her fields of interest.

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Published

2020-11-09

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 12 (2020)

Section

Articles

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