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.

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Why is it important?

This study is significant because Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) represent a key pedagogical strategy for developing autonomy and digital competence in future teachers. In a context where education demands professionals capable of managing their own lifelong learning, demonstrating that a PLE approach significantly improves time organization, content creation, information searching, and networking has direct implications for the design of initial teacher training programs. Results show significant improvements across all four measured factors, validating this approach as an effective tool for teacher education in the digital age.

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