Exploring with blogs to enhance communities of reflective practice during teaching practice in open distance learning ecologies

Abstract

This paper explores the use of blogs as an e-learning journal writing reflective and peer feedback tool in empowering and supporting Postgraduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) students learning to teach Economics and Management Science in open distance learning (ODL) environments. An EMSMethodspace was created for subject didactics students during their teaching practice period and they were encouraged to post their reviews on the “blog space” as a communicative platform for reflecting critically on their learning processes, as well sharing teaching practice experiences to enhance professional growth. Data collected consisting of social media questionnaire and student teachers’ blog postings and comments on the “blog space”. The findings indicated that the positive implications of a blog as a reflective tool promote critical communities of reflective practice for student teachers during teaching practice. In addition, strategies were formulated to support reconsidering the use of blogs for student teachers in ODL teaching practice spaces.