Effects of a Personal Learning Environment Approach in a Master’s Program for Future Teachers

What is it about?

This paper is about how to use personal learning environments (PLEs) to improve the learning process of students who want to become teachers. PLEs are the set of tools, resources, connections, and activities that each person uses for learning. The paper describes an experience in a university course where the students were introduced to the concept of PLEs and encouraged to use them throughout the course. The paper evaluates the impact of this approach on the students' learning by using two methods: a quantitative one, based on a test that measures four aspects of PLEs (time organization, creation-editing, searching-investigating, and collaborating-networking), and a qualitative one, based on the students' own reflections on the evolution of their PLEs. The paper reports that the students improved their scores on all four aspects of PLEs, especially on searching-investigating and creation-editing. The paper also reports that the students appreciated the benefits of PLEs for their learning, such as better information and knowledge management, greater self-awareness, improved self-diagnosis, and more effective learning strategies. The paper concludes that PLEs are a useful tool for students to enhance their digital competencies and achieve greater performance and utilization of the learning process. The paper also suggests that the PLE approach could be replicated in other fields and levels of education.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

This work stands out for the analysis of the evolution of the students’ PLEs and of the students’ own perception of what a PLE is.