La creatività. Percorsi d’invenzione 20-22 settembre 2007

1. Preschool and primary school teachers’ reports on their meaningful professional experiences Maja Antonietti PHD Student University of Modena and Reggio Emilia ITALY La creatività. Percorsi d’invenzione 20-22 settembre 2007 La creatività. Percorsi d’invenzione 20-22 settembre 2007

2. INTRODUCTION • The final aim of this research is to know something more about teachers’ actions in order to have more information about their formative needs. In this sense the focus is preschool and primaryin-service teachers’ idea about professional competence they use every day: where competence is to be considered in large sense, not opposite to knowledge, but as area of action and professional knowledge (Perrenoud 1999, Barcellona Conference 2002, Coggii 2004, Pellerey 1996, Vitteritti 2004). • This research is starting from previous studies (Cardarello, Gariboldi, Antonietti, 2005 and 2006) investigating teachers’ opinion about professional competences and teachers’ problems in their profession. • The data were collected through a questionnaire - that was drawn up for that research. The analysis on 714 in-service teachers shows particularly: • - 52,2% problems related to relationship field; 42,3 % difficulties with teaching strategy; 33,9% problems related to planning and assessment; • they think to be lacking in technology/assessment, documentation, observation /planning; • they think to be “good” in promotion of ethic and social attitude/ communication and relationship field. La creatività. Percorsi d’invenzione 20-22 settembre 2007

3. PROBLEM • When they think they are competent or incompetent which kind of situation they relate to that? • Which situation of competence in action or incompetence in action teachers describe? • How teachers intend their professional competence, • by writing a self-biographical short report? La creatività. Percorsi d’invenzione 20-22 settembre 2007

4. SAMPLE METHODS • Who: preschool and primary in-service teachers attending university teacher training course. • When: at the beginning of the university study/october 2006. • Where: during a basic computer technology workshop. • Instrument: write two short reports: one about an experience of success/ competences and one about an experience of difficulty/problem (45 minute time). • Digitalization of the text: define criteria to digitalize the text. • Sample group: 431 teachers/ 89,6 female/37,6% 26-30 years old/ 24,4% 31-35 years old • 58,6% has working as teacher for 6 to 10 years; • 31,1% has working as teacher for 3 to 5 years; • 28,8% four year of secondary school certificate; • 36,4% five year of secondary school certificate; • 20,2% university diploma; • 51,5% preschool teachers; 14,2% primary school teacher; 33,4% preschool and primary school teacher. La creatività. Percorsi d’invenzione 20-22 settembre 2007

5. SUPPOSED METHODS FOR THE ANALYSIS OF THE REPORTS • Searching for: • area of action and professional knowledge which the short report is related to (example: methodology or planning): • define, distinguish and find out category of competences area according with literature (Perrenoud 1999, Barcellona Conference 2002, Coggi 2004, Pellerey 1996, Vitteritti 2004) and with the empirical material (inter-observation/software analysis); • element of story grammar (Stein and Glenn 1977) (setting/initial event/internal response/action/consequence/reaction) to recognize: • types of resourcesinvolved in teachers’ action (for example inside resources/outside resources//metodology /relationship field /planning); • sequences of story grammar adopted in teachers’ description; • kind of teachers’ analysis about the situation • frequency and level of doubt (low/high) especially related to the reason, to the situation or to the strategy adopted. Possible criteria: questions or assertion/explanations/other elements. La creatività. Percorsi d’invenzione 20-22 settembre 2007

6. Example Titolo: il passero ferito Lorenzo (quattro anni) non vuole prendere in mano il colore. Lo sgrido. E lui inizia a piangere...... ho sbagliato!!! Lui ha bisogno di sentirsi rassicurato. Lo prendo vicino a me, prendiamo insieme il lavoro e individualmente lo svolgiamo gratificando ogni piccolo risultato. Tutte le volte che bisogna colorare con lui mi osserva con gli occhi sperduti come per dirmi "cosa vuoi da me?". (ID 62, d, gruppo MO2) La creatività. Percorsi d’invenzione 20-22 settembre 2007

7. EXPECTED RESULTS In this short reports concerning real examples about professional experiences we attend to find out methodology, problem, resources related to teaching situation and we would like to put this information in connection with the results coming out from the questionnaire. Thank you for your attention antonietti.maja@unimore.it La creatività. Percorsi d’invenzione 20-22 settembre 2007