Abstract:

Writing plays three key roles in higher education: An epistemological role, as writing is used to acquire, process, prove and construct knowledge; a social role, as students use discourse to engage in the social practices of the discipline; and, thirdly, as a tool to construct and develop one’s professional identity in a safe environment before moving onto the more challenging professional context. This paper explores and makes explicit the components of students’ professional identities as they are mapped onto a short reflective narrative text which connects students’ experiences in the practicum placement with those at the Master’s courses and in previous education or employment. This narrative text, which is presented to students as My Practicum Story, is embedded in a multi-modal e-portfolio. Through the e-portfolio, students engage with and adapt the values and beliefs that will underpin their future practices as teachers, develop the professional skills that will be required from them, and engage with their future professional environment. This paper presents the results of the analysis of over 100 texts written by students of the Master’s programme for secondary school teachers of English as an additional language (EAL) at Universitat Pompeu Fabra between the academic years 2015 and 2021.

Keywords:

E-portfolio, reflective writing, writing, identity, student teachers.