Exploring the Reflective Learning Experiences of Primary School Teachers during the use of Open Educational Resources

Abstract

This paper looks at the reflective learning experiences of primary school teachers, who were encouraged to engage in reflective activities as a way of improving their pedagogical practice during the use of Open Educational Resources (OER). The assumption of the study was that OERs have the potential to improve teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge and skills, as well as their networking and collaborative activities and impact on their professional practice. Ten (10) out of forty-two (42) primary school teachers, who participated in a training workshop focused on the use of OER, were purposively sampled to keep a reflective journal of their learning experiences and share the outcomes with their colleagues. Interviews were used in collecting data from the cohort. Using phenomenology as a methodology and content analysis as a tool for analyzing the data collected, the ‘stories’ of these teachers were analyzed manually and presented in a report at a seminar. The findings indicated that teachers acknowledged the added values that OER have had on their pedagogical practice; the influence that the new knowledge and skills have had on students' learning and the enthusiasm that students exhibited when active learning strategies were used in teaching. However, the reflective learning elements that teachers were expected to exhibit in their writing were lacking. The deep thinking and learning from their critical analysis of their experiences were not evident in their responses. It is recommended that sessions on reflective teaching, learning and writing should be incorporated into pre- and in-service teachers' training sessions. Skill building in reflective writing and learning should be introduced to teachers early in practice and during training for them to build the culture of reflection in teaching.