Making to measure? Reconsidering assessment in professional continuing education

Fenwick, Tara

doi:10.1080/01580370903271446

Cited by 47 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…It is practice-based, it foregrounds experienced teachers in the process and it accords weight to the notion of the 'community' of which new teachers will become a part. And, of course, this may result in critical, engaged, context-specific forms of professional learning as described earlier by Fenwick (2009). We argue, however, that the technologies of the MTL (specifically the notion of coaching) when placed alongside the forms of personalisation we have described suggest a very different orientation in the policy discourse to the development of teachers in the workplace.…”

Section: Coaching In the Mtlmentioning

confidence: 79%

The Master’s in Teaching and Learning: expanding utilitarianism in the continuing professional development of teachers in England

Frankham

Hiett

2011

Journal of Education Policy

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The article focuses on the policy rhetoric of the Masters in Teaching and Learning (MTL). This is a new degree being launched in the summer of 2010 aimed, initially, at teachers who have just joined the profession. The degree presages the aspiration for a Master's level teaching profession in England. Professional development as conceived in the MTL is continuous rather than continuing and permeating the vision is the language of 'personalisation'. Teachers will be accompanied on the journey by an 'in-school coach'. These notions suggest a highly tailored approach to continuing professional development (CPD), with careful attention to the identification of teachers' needs and close support from a colleague. The article argues that, contrary to this impression, the MTL marks a new and significant step in expanding the utilitarianism of the English education system. The MTL represents a deepening hold on education by the state and a growing scepticism about the value of higher education in the CPD of teachers. It also aspires to a changing culture in schools as the workplace becomes the locus for the CPD of teachers. As other authors have described, the national character of education systems in Europe and in the Americas, Australia, New Zealand and Asia reflect an increasing instrumentality. The MTL, then, can be seen as part of a global phenomenon; in this case the policy lever of CPD is employed to support performative and audit policy agendas via a rigid accountability system. The MTL also represents a particular form of neo-liberal governmentality where increasing centralisation is 'masked' by a 'simulacra of care'.

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Section: Coaching In the Mtlmentioning

confidence: 79%

The Master’s in Teaching and Learning: expanding utilitarianism in the continuing professional development of teachers in England

Frankham

Hiett

2011

Journal of Education Policy

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“…This emphasis on individual, cognitive processes of recall, description and analysis, is in accord with what Beckett and Hagar (2002) term 'the standard paradigm of learning', in which knowledge is construed as a possession of the individual knower, held 'in the mind' in representations detached from the spatial-temporal context of its enactment (Dohn 2011). Building on Beckett and Hagar (2002), recent critiques (Boud 2010;Dohn 2011;Fenwick 2009) demonstrate that such approaches to reflection and learning move the focus of reflection away from the primary actions and practices.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 77%

“…She argues that learning occurs in situated practice, and recommends a 'shift [in] focus from reflective activities back to the action practices themselves' (Dohn 2011, 708). Similarly, Fenwick (2009), argues that viewing knowledge and learning in this way is problematic when: experience is cast as static and sedimented, separated from knowledge making processes. What is foregrounded are mentalist representations or events, disembodied, static and separated from the interdependent commotion of people together in action with objects and language (Fenwick 2009, 235).…”

Section: Reflection-on-actionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A practice-based approach to student reflection in the workplace during a Work-Integrated Learning placement

Sykes

Dean

2013

Studies in Continuing Education

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In the Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) curriculum, reflection on workplace activities is widely used to support student learning. Recent critiques have demonstrated the limitations of current approaches to support students' reflective learning of workplace practices. By employing a practice-based approach, we seek to refocus WIL reflection on workplace practices, emphasising the 'embedded (social), engaged (practice) and embodied (material) aspects' of students' reflective practices in the workplace. We argue that reflection-in-themidst-of-action includes an often-overlooked phenomenological contribution that shifts attention from cognition to action. This study uses a case study of one typical WIL student to illustrate the importance of reflection-in-the-midst-of-action and the limitations of pedagogical structure using an e-log and reflective journal to capture reflection-in-the-midst-of-action. We argue that the move to consider reflection as a practice, and the move to refocus reflection to reflection-in-the-midst-of-action, supports a learning approach that is more congruent with workplace action and context. In the Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) curriculum, reflection on workplace activities is widely used to support student learning. Recent critiques have demonstrated the limitations of current approaches to support students' reflective learning of workplace practices. By employing a practice-based approach, we seek to refocus WIL reflection on workplaces practices, emphasising the 'embedded (social), engaged (practice) and embodied (material) aspects ' (Yanow and Tsoukas 2009, 1342) of students' reflective practices in the workplace. We argue that reflection-in-the-midst-of-action includes an often-overlooked phenomenological contribution that shifts attention from cognition to action. This study uses a case study of one typical WIL student to illustrate the importance of reflection-in-the-midst-of-action and the limitations of pedagogical structure using an e-log and reflective journal to capture reflection-in-the-midst-ofaction. We argue that the move to consider reflection as a practice, and the move to refocus reflection to reflection-in-the-midst-of-action, supports a learning approach that is more congruent with workplace action and context.

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“…In order to understand critically reflective dialogues, we cannot rely on self-report only, because of its inaccuracy (Fenwick 2009). CRWB and critical reflection have been measured by self-report on an individual level (De Groot et al 2012;Ropes 2010;Van Woerkom 2003).…”

Section: From Work Behaviour To Dialoguesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Critically reflective dialogues in learning communities of professionals

Groot

Endedijk

Jaarsma

et al. 2013

Studies in Continuing Education

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Communities in which professionals share and create knowledge potentially support their continued learning. To realise this potential more fully, members are required to reflect critically. For learning at work such behaviour has been described as critically reflective work behaviour, consisting of six aspects: challenging groupthink, critical opinion sharing, an openness about mistakes, asking for and giving feedback, experimentation and research utilisation. We studied whether and how these aspects can be distinguished in dialogues of seven different communities of veterinary professionals (critically reflective dialogues). Our exploration of the nature of critically reflective dialogues resulted in an analytical framework. Within each aspect four different modes of communication were identified: interactive, on an individual basis, non-reflective and restricted. We assume that professionals use learning opportunities most in the interactive mode of communication. The framework was employed to study the extent to which dialogues showed these modes of critically reflective dialogues. The results demonstrate that in these communities the modes of communication within aspects were largely non-interactive (i.e., individual, non-reflective). The developed framework discriminates between communities in terms of their critically reflective dialogues. Interventions to improve the effectiveness of learning communities should focus on enhancement of members addressing each other's reasons and reflections.

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Making to measure? Reconsidering assessment in professional continuing education

Cited by 47 publications

References 29 publications

The Master’s in Teaching and Learning: expanding utilitarianism in the continuing professional development of teachers in England

The Master’s in Teaching and Learning: expanding utilitarianism in the continuing professional development of teachers in England

A practice-based approach to student reflection in the workplace during a Work-Integrated Learning placement

Critically reflective dialogues in learning communities of professionals

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