This thesis explores how work portfolio and peer feedback can enrich student academic skills at UCN Hjørring. The reason is the reform of the pedagogues education from 2014, where the purpose was to strengthen professionalism in central areas such as professionalism and quality, interdisciplinary competences, handling skills, practice interrelation and specialization focusing on the future labor market. Public debate and studies show that the professionalism has not increased, and there is a tendency for a lower number of first-priority applicants to apply for the pedagogue’s education.
The purpose of the thesis is the design and construction of a preliminary work portfolio, a tool where peer feedback is an important component that is tested on two teams at pedagogue’s education at UCN Hjørring. This tool, after testing, is included as part of the process of developing a work portfolio in a future workshop. The thesis was instigated by UCN Hjørring.
The theory of science of this thesis is pragmatism, which is why the thesis uses John Dewey. His learning theory is based on reflections and reconstructions of reflections in an investigative context that takes place in social interactions. In addition, the thesis's theoretical starting point is Donald Schön and David Nicol. Donald Schön's understanding of knowledge is based on reflection of actions, and is inspired by Dewey's experiential pedagogy, which unfolds in practical situations. The thesis has used Nicol, where his perspectives on peer feedback are central to the construction work portfolio. Furthermore, his perspectives also include didactic considerations, where dialogue and framing of professionalism are cardinal points.
The thesis's empirical basis is focus group interview, where participants are pedagogue’s students. The validity of the thesis is strengthened through the nuances in the form of statements from the interviewees who express their life world and experience in the use of work portfolio. The truth of this dissertation is based on what the participants express in the interviews and with a perspective on the thesis's pragmatic foundation. The thesis has included teachers and an educational leader in the development of work portfolio, which takes place in a future workshop.
The study shows that pedagogical students lack a formalized framework in their work on goal achievement of competence objectives. The students express that the visibility of knowledge and competence objectives as a work portfolio contains, mean that the students know concrete what is being worked on and that the constant visibility helps to maintain focus on specific knowledge areas. The thesis shows that the work portfolio contributes to the focus on their own education and they are motivated to use this tool as it offers the opportunity to strengthen their professionalism. In addition, it appears that the students express a positive approach for the opportunity to return to previous areas of knowledge which appear easier and clear. The dissertation also shows that the students express the possibility of peer feedback can promote their professionalism, and the dialogue with other students gives other perspectives contextual professional interventions. The dissertation also states that the dialogues allow for a stronger social community. Furthermore, the thesis shows that the teachers need a didactic framework of competency objectives and they want to include aesthetic expressions in the work portfolio.
The project group's conclusion is based on the different findings in the thesis. These clearly indicate a need for framing and formalization of the professional knowledge distributed by the institution, UCN Hjørring. In a future context for framing and developing students’ academic skills, this thesis recommends that similar context can take advantage through a work portfolio, which in fact could be the one this thesis has developed or alternatively another working portfolio design.