Inquiry Portfolios as a Bridge Between Theory and Practice in Teacher Education

• In Event: 64.086 - MTCC Roundtable Session 27
  In Roundtable Session: 64.086-11 - Portfolios as a Vehicle for Collaborative Inquiry and Reflection in Teacher Education

Abstract

Educators preparing professionals in almost every field from law, to medicine, to social work contend with the dilemma of how to bring research together with practice in ways that enable both a mutual interaction and a qualitative upgrading of practice. The problem of practice is particularly acute in teacher education where reports on teacher education suggest a field that is in disarray and losing credibility with both policymakers and the public. In this study, we find that preservice teacher inquiry as demonstrated in 200 inquiry-oriented mostly e-portfolios can serve as a bridge connecting research and practice both for student teachers and for teacher educators studying the efficacy of their programs.

Authors

• Frances OC Rust, University of Pennsylvania

• Laura K. Colket, University of Pennsylvania

• Christopher George Pupik Dean, University of Pennsylvania

• Charlotte E Jacobs, University of Pennsylvania