Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Digital Credentialing: Does It Offer a Meaningful Response to Initial Teacher Education Reform?

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Teacher Education

  • 1630 Accesses

Abstract

The chapter briefly outlines the initial teacher education (ITE) reform landscape, particularly within the current Australian policy context with the release of the Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group (TEMAG) report. At the heart of the most recent call for initial teacher education policy reform in Australia is to seek graduates that are able to provide evidence of their professional learning and practice and demonstrate how it is/will improve student learning in order to illustrate their classroom readiness. This policy ask is no small endeavor. The policy reform report challenges initial teacher education to seek new ways of learning and working to build enriched and stronger bridges between diverse high quality learning experiences for pre-service teachers in their coursework and professional experience contexts. The chapter examines the nature and affordances of digital credentialing and its role in education. Digital credentialing offers promise and potential to address meaningfully the calls for initial teacher education reform, particularly in areas of evidence and classroom readiness. Yet as a disruptive technological innovation it also presents its own sets of challenges and tensions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    http://www.aitsl.edu.au/australian-professional-standards -for-teachers/standards /list

  2. 2.

    AQF: http://www.aqf.edu.au/

  3. 3.

    Refer to AITSL’s webpage: http://www.aitsl.edu.au/initial-teacher-education/ite-reform

  4. 4.

    Open Badges (Mozilla): http://openbadges.org/ or Credly: https://credly.com/

References

  • Abramovich, S., Schunn, C., & Higashi, R. M. (2013). Are badges useful in education?: It depends upon the type of badge and expertise of learner. Educational Technology Research and Development, 61(2), 217–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Achievements (video gaming). (2015). Wikipedia, viewed 17 Nov 2015, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achievement_(video_gaming).

  • Ahn, J., Pellicone, A., & Butler, B. S. (2014). Open badges for education: What are the implications at the intersection of open systems and badging? Research in Learning Technology, 22, 1–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baughman, A. K., Pan, J., Gao, J.-Y., & Petrushin, V. A. (2015). Disruptive innovation: Large scale multimedia data mining. In A. K. Baughman, J. Gao, J.-Y. Pan, & A. P. Valery (Eds.), Multimedia data mining and analytics: Disruptive innovation. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Boulton, H. (2014). EPortfolios beyond pre-service teacher education: A new dawn? European Journal of Teacher Education, 37(3), 374–389.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowen, K., & Thomas, A. (2014). Badges: A common currency for learning. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 46(1), 21–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chung, H. Q., & van Es, E. A. (2014). Pre-service teachers’ use of tools to systematically analyze teaching and learning. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 20(2), 113–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cochran-Smith, M. (2012). Trends and challenges in teacher education: National and international perspectives. In F. Waldron, J. Smith, M. Fitzpatrick, & T. Dooley (Eds.), Re-imagining initial teacher education: Perspectives on transformation. Dublin, Ireland: The Liffey Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cochran-Smith, M., Feiman-Nemsar, S., & McIntyre, D. J. (Eds.). (2008). Handbook of research on teacher education: Enduring questions in changing contexts (3rd ed.). New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group and the Association of Teacher Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Codish, D., & Ravid, G. (2014). Academic course gamification: The art of perceived playfulness. Interdisciplinary Journal of E-Learning and Learning Objects, 10, 131–151.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davies, R., Randall, D., & West, R. E. (2015). Using open badges to certify practicing evaluators. American Journal of Evaluation, 36(2), 151–163.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Delandshere, G., & Petrosky, A. R. (2010). The use of portfolios in pre-service teacher education: A critical appraisal. In M. Kennedy (Ed.), Teacher assessment and the quest for teacher quality: A handbook. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Devedzic, V., & Jovanovic, J. (2015). Developing open badges: A comprehensive approach. Educational Technology Research and Development, 63(4), 603–620.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elliot, A. J. (1999). Approach and avoidance motivation and achievement goals. Educational Psychologist, 34(3), 169–189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feiman-Nemser, S. (2008). Teacher learning: How do teachers learn to teach? In M. Cochran-Smith, S. Feiman-Nemser, D. J. McIntyre, & K. E. Demers (Eds.), Handbook of research on teacher education: Enduring questions in changing contexts. New York: Routledge and Association of Teacher Educators.

    Google Scholar 

  • Finkelstein, J., Knight, E., & Manning, S. (2013). The potential and value of using digital badges for adult learners: Draft for public comment. Washington, DC: American Institutes for Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fontichiaro, K., Ginsberg, S., Lungu, V., Masura, S., & Roslund, S. (2013). Badging a conference. School Library Monthly, 29(7), 5–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gamrat, C., Zimmerman, H. T., Dudek, J., & Peck, K. (2014). Personalized workplace learning: An exploratory study on digital badging within a teacher professional development program. British Journal of Educational Technology, 45(6), 1136–1148.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibson, D., Ostashewski, N., Flintoff, K., Grant, S., & Knight, E. (2015). Digital badges in education. Education and Information Technologies, 20(2), 403–410.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ippoliti, C. (2014). Are you being served? Designing the customer service curriculum. Public Services Quarterly, 10(3), 177–192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jovanovic, J., & Devedzic, V. (2015). Open badges: Novel means to motivate, scaffold and recognize learning. Technology, Knowledge and Learning, 20(1), 115–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knight, E., & Cassilli, C. (2012). Mozilla open badges. In D. G. Oblinger (Ed.), Game changers: Education and information technologies. Washington, DC: EDUCAUSE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loughran, J. (2006). Developing a pedagogy of teacher education: Understanding teaching and learning about teaching. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loughran, J., & Corrigan, D. (1995). Teaching portfolios: A strategy for developing learning and teaching in pre-service education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 11(6), 565–577.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moran, W., Vozzo, L., Reid, J., Pietsch, M., & Hatton, C. (2013). How can technology make this work? Pre-service teachers, off-campus learning and digital portfolios. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 38(5), 116–130, Article 8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Byrne, W. I., Schenke, K., Willis, J. E., III, & Hickey, D. T. (2015). Digital badges: Recognizing, assessing, and motivating learners in and out of school contexts. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 58(6), 451–454.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Randall, D. L., Harrison, J. B., & West, R. E. (2013). Giving credit where credit is due: Designing open badges for a technology integration course. TechTrends, 57(6), 88–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schön, D. A. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action (First edition, reprinted in 1995 ed.). Hants, England: Arena.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schön, D. A. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group (TEMAG). (2014). Action now: Classroom ready teachers. Canberra, Australia: Department of Education and Training, Australian Government.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thigpen, K. (2014). Digital badge systems: The promise and potential. Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tunon, J., Ramirez, L. L., Ryckman, B., Campbell, L., & Mlinar, C. (2015). Creating an information literacy badges program in blackboard: A formative program evaluation. Journal of Library & Information Services in Distance Learning, 9(1–2), 157–169.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zeichner, K., & Wray, S. (2001). The teaching portfolio in US teacher education programs: What we know and what we need to know. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17(5), 613–621.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia

    Josephine R. Lang

Authors
  1. Josephine R. Lang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Josephine R. Lang .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education and Arts, Federation University Australia, Ballarat, Victoria, Australia

    Robyn Brandenburg

  2. Faculty of Education and Arts, Federation University Australia, Ballarat, Victoria, Australia

    Sharon McDonough

  3. Faculty of Education and Arts, Federation University Australia, Ballarat, Victoria, Australia

    Jenene Burke

  4. Faculty of Education, Monash University, Berwick, Victoria, Australia

    Simone White

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Lang, J.R. (2016). Digital Credentialing: Does It Offer a Meaningful Response to Initial Teacher Education Reform?. In: Brandenburg, R., McDonough, S., Burke, J., White, S. (eds) Teacher Education. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0785-9_4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0785-9_4

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-0784-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-0785-9

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation