A study of the Implementation of a Professional Development Portfolio Program as a Method to Introduce Performance Based Instruction in an Ecuadorian Bilingual Private School

Abstract

This action research explores the effect of a collaborative process that uses teachers‟ professional development portfolios to promote reflection and improvement in teaching and learning to speak English. The subjects of the research were ten high school teachers from a Catholic girls‟ private school in Guayaquil, Ecuador, who during a ten month period; planned, implemented and assessed speaking activities coherent with performance-based methodology. The portfolio described in this intervention was evidence of the understanding and use of methodology, which requires planning, teaching and assessment based on performance based objectives. Evidence provided by the teachers in their portfolios as well as during teacher-led conferences and a final interview confirms that they have improved their practices of teaching English speaking by planning focused on performance based objectives (PBOs), implementing activities coherent with them and using PBOs assessment criteria to evaluate their students performances. Findings also show that portfolios are an important tool for professional development and that they help administrators by providing evidence of teachers‟ skills and knowledge, and also of their training needs.