MENTORING STUDENT TEACHERS FOR SELF-DIRECTED PROFESSIONAL LEARNING THROUGH THE USE OF E-PORTFOLIOS DURING TEACHING PRACTICE

Abstract

"Teaching Practice is a critical phase of teacher education that provides opportunities for student teachers to reflect on the development of their teaching philosophies and put them into action. Self-directed learning pertains to a process where these students take responsibility for their own learning by setting outcomes, choosing material or human resources, selecting appropriate learning strategies, and evaluating their learning. E-portfolios as learning tools can be utilized to facilitate the development of skills for self-directed learning. Good quality mentoring in schools contributes to the development of critical professional skills of student teachers and ensures the best quality learning experiences for pupils. This paper is arranged as an ideas paper that seeks to explore the intersections between mentoring, self-directed professional learning of student teachers and the use of e-portfolios during teaching practice. The most common trends on these topics will be described and intersections identified, thereby exploring how self-directed learning could be supported by the use of e-portfolios and good quality mentoring. Findings showed that e-portfolios are practical tools for self-directed, reflective and collaborative professional learning. Further findings show that formal mentoring programs are essential to meet student teachers professional learning needs. These findings will encourage mentor teachers to optimally use e-portfolios to enhance student teachers self-directed professional learning."