Using diary studies as a tool for professional development: A reflective approach

• Main Author: Estacio, Maria Vivian G.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2004
• Subjects: Diaries > Authorship; Autobiographies; Education; Higher Education and Teaching
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/3179; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/etd_masteral/article/10017/viewcontent/CDTG003712_P.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

This study investigates whether diary entries of teachers can yield operational data indicative of the needs of teachers' improvement in the areas of their teaching practices. The respondents, consisting of ten teachers (2 males and 8 females) randomly selected from 40 full time members of the English Department of Far Eastern University, were asked to write two diary entries a week for a period of three months. Each week, the teachers were given a prompt with specific focus or cue questions on what they were requested to include in their entries. The raw scores that were gathered from the sets of instruments were analyzed using frequency counts, means and percentages. Likewise, the entries were analyzed by episodes and were interpreted and categorized using the groupings presented in the framework. Four indicators provided evidence whether diary keeping will be considered by the teachers and administrators in identifying the needs of the teachers and which are considered necessary for professional development. Some of these are 1) strong feelings expressed by the teachers concerning diary writing, specifically referring to diary writing as useful, relevant and important practice 2) optimistic response articulated by the teachers regarding the usefulness of diary keeping to effective teaching, effective classroom management and to promoting professional development 3) constructive outlook of the teachers of the benefit they could derive from diary keeping 4) encouraging support by the administrators to make diary keeping as one possible option in designing professional development programs and 5) the teachers' desire to write their own diary of teaching experiences in the coming semester, as well as the interest expressed by two other teacher-respondents to embark on similar study. This study shows that diary writing could be a considerable tool for designing professional development programs.