Collaborative Learning, Role Play and Case Study: Pedagogical Pathways to Professionalism and Ethics in School Placement

EasyChair Preprint 2051

Abstract

Training in the fields of ethics and professionalism plays a vital role in teacher education (TE) programmes. One cross-institutional initiative that aims to promote professionalism and ethics in TE, is a cross-institutional training programme jointly developed and delivered by the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG) and the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT). The programme employs an innovative student-centred teaching and learning methodology, incorporating a suite of active learning methods, including, collaborative learning, role play and case study analysis.One cohort to which this training is offered annually is the postgraduate student teachers on the Professional Masters of Education (PME) programme in NUIG (n=130). In the academic year 2016-2017 a student survey was conducted in NUIG to establish the effectiveness of the training programme. The survey response rate was 85%. Overall, the study found that the programme proved effective. Key findings included, that: 1) the research participants felt that they had increased knowledge of professional codes of conduct values and ethical principles,  2) the case study analyses of ethical dilemmas in teaching was  effective in raising awareness of many potential ethical and professional perspectives in teaching, and 3) the learning experience was overall an enjoyable one from the perspective of its small group collaborative learning (CL) methodology. Suggestions for improvement included the allocation of more time for the training process, a more in-depth exploration of the ‘Code’, more case studies relating to School Placement (SP), greater assistance in moral decision-making, and smaller group size. 

Keyphrases: collaborative learning, ethics, professionalism

@booklet{EasyChair:2051,
  author    = {Manuela Heinz and Mary Fleming and Pauline Logue and Joseph McNamara},
  title     = {Collaborative Learning, Role Play and Case Study: Pedagogical Pathways to Professionalism and Ethics in School Placement},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint 2051},
  year      = {EasyChair, 2019}}