This naturalistic study examined the kinds of decisions prospective teachers and their instructor made in constructing and using reflective portfolios in a 13-week multicultural education course. In addition, I also examined the role reflective portfolio construction and discourse played in relation to classroom interaction with peers, instructor, pedagogy and self. The reflective portfolio model, adapted from the literacy portfolio model (Hansen, 1992), was a tool that asked students to develop a portrait of themselves as reader/writer/learner/teacher, in the context of a multicultural education course. Participants in this study included three prospective teachers and one instructor purposefully sampled from a class of eight. Data were constructed from nine data sources. The theoretical framework of this study drew from related research in the domains of portfolios, narrative and autobiography, and pedagogy. / Through reflective portfolio discourse, prospective teachers examined personal experience as it related to their emerging beliefs about teaching and learning. The primary focus of the study was to examine the process of prospective teachers and their instructor and using reflective portfolios in a 13-week course. In doing so, I explored the decisions prospective teachers and their instructor made throughout the process and the role the portfolio played in relation to classroom interaction, pedagogy, self, and the multicultural course curriculum. A secondary focus emerged during data collection. This secondary purpose examined the function/role of the reflective portfolio as a tool for examining intrapersonal context, the way in which prospective teachers view themselves, and personal experiences as they relate to multicultural course content. Seven research assertions emerged. These research assertions were presented in three categories: (a) managing portfolio pedagogy; (b) portfolio construction; and (c) curricular dimensions. These findings contribute to a new dimension in portfolio research by examining the possibilities of portfolios as reflective and discourse tools in teacher education to explore how personal experience relates to practical knowledge. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-09, Section: A, page: 2798. / Major Professor: Kathryn Scott. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_77248 |
| Contributors | Oropallo, Kathleen Ann., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 158 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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