Learning communities and collaborative reflection for teaching improvement

Abstract

Purpose This study covers an experience of teacher training carried out in an Undergraduate Business School from a private university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The purpose of the project was to provide teachers with an opportunity to reflect on their teaching practices at the university. The aim of this study is to systematize lessons and challenges that emerge from this teacher training experience and get to know in which way this helped to improve student’s learning process. Design/methodology/approach A group of teachers, who showed willingness to learn teaching abilities, was selected. They worked in two learning communities that were organized by expertise: one community of the field of social sciences and one of the field of economic sciences. They completed a formative process that began by diving into a pedagogic topic, continued with class observations and finished with an individual and collaborative reflection exercise. They repeated this process with each of the topics in a systematic way among colleagues. In this study, the production of eight teacher’s e-portfolio and the expected product of their training journey are analyzed. Findings The analysis shows that after the process of shared reflection, traits related to powerful teaching and meaningful learning have appeared in the classes. Teachers reflect having reached an awareness of their own practices, identifying strengths and opportunities for improvement. The experience of sharing their own way and knowing the successes and failures of others was valued. Originality/value Teacher training programmes in business education are infrequent. This experience promotes a journey of pedagogical transformation for teachers of a Business School in Argentina, which could lead to a change in teaching practices for the entire Business School. The present study involves theoretical and pedagogical aspects of business education and its direct implications for the workplace, which may be transferred to other educational contexts.