《实践大学应用外语学系》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《实践大学应用外语学系（15页珍藏版）》请在金锄头文库上搜索。
1、From Assessing Teaching to Reflective Teaching: The Use of Portfolios to Evaluate Pre-service English Teachers Practicum 楊文賢 實踐大學應用外語學系 yangwenhsienmail3.kh.usc.edu.tw Abstract This paper aims to examine the effectiveness of assessing pre-service English teachers practicum by using the portfolios. I
2、n terms of assessment, close-ended testing types have been traditionally preferred by language teachers to adopt on their learners for the consideration of their assumed high reliability and easy execution. However, the current new trends of assessment, in fact, have been regarded to be novel, multi
3、ple, alterative, performance-based, communicative, and flexible (Brown, 2001). The types of these assessments can be represented by task, project, or portfolio for they can evaluate appraisees performance in a holistic and humanistic perspective. This paper argues that the means of assessing pre-ser
4、vice English teachers performance should be based on the above rationale and consequently the adoption of portfolio can be an alternative. This research collected twelve pre-service English teachers practicum portfolios and self reports for data analysis. It is found that most of the participants ag
5、ree with the claimed advantages of teacher portfolios; however, they also hold a cautious attitude towards the application of its use. Furthermore, most of the data collected are in paper format at a surface level, and data about one-through-nine curriculum are critically lacked. This implies the in
6、sufficient preparation of this area for the practice teachers. Key Words: Portfolio Assessment, Pre-service English Teacher, Teaching Practicum I. Introduction: When the new teacher education policy was enacted in 1996, many universities in Taiwan were chartered to train elementary and high schools
7、teachers. Thus, more and more student teachers island-wide do their practicum every year, which makes universities supervision to ensure the quality of student teachers very vital. According to the law, in addition to university supervisors periodical visiting, the formation of (practice) teaching p
8、ortfolios is one of the very important criteria to assess these student teachers performance during the practicum (MOE, 2006). Portfolio assessment, one kind of alternative assessments, different from traditional assessment, is usually used to assess learners achievement in school subjects in the be
9、ginning, and indeed, has been proved to be effective. Nevertheless it, now, can also be adopted to assess or ensure (student) teachers performance in schools for teachers portfolios can help them reflect and then grow professionally (張德銳，民 89、92、 93；Wolf, 1996；Wolfe-Quintero however, it argues that
10、testing students should not become their major concern in the practicum but trying different teaching methods instead are. Too much learning on how to test students English proficiency should never become student teachers major task in schools. School is an organisation full of its particular cultur
11、e i.e. school culture. For student teachers, school should not only serve the role as experiencing or refining teaching methods but learning from peers or students. Growing societies like reading groups are one kind of school organisation which helps teachers grow professionally and associate with c
12、olleagues or students; however, only half the respondents record the information about this. It is very likely that many practice teachers perceive that they are simply passing visitors of schools and they will leave soon. Thus, it is, perhaps, not worthy to join any such group. It would be ironical
13、 if student teachers encourage learners to learn collaboratively in classrooms but they do not outside classrooms. In the third part of the results, a majority of the respondents agree with the claimed benefits of creating teaching portfolios in facilitating professional growth. Nevertheless, they d
14、o not show equal favour to the items 5 through 8, and the item 9. Indeed, teaching portfolios can be used as a criterion by schools to hire, appraise, promote or dismiss a teacher for it is regarded as a good source for appraising teachers performance in teaching; however, it also confront many diff
15、iculties or opposition （張德銳 ， 民 93） . Yet, in this study the respondents show higher disagreement with this use of teaching portfolios. Indeed, this concern is not surprising at all. According to Yangs (2003) research, most of teachers in Taiwan do not welcome any mechanism to appraise their teachin
16、g in order to be promoted, dismissed or even ladder classified. They hold a very cautious attitude towards any mechanism for it is difficult to convince them of the fairness and truthfulness of these mechanisms including teaching portfolios. Teachers nowadays are used to being guaranteed to be promoted to a high level annually without any essential appraisal. This is also one of the reasons attracting many young people t
