MirrorMe@work: A Theory-Informed Methodology to Support Novice Teachers' Individual and Collective Professional Development at the Workplace

Abstract

Novice teachers are often discouraged by the problems they encounter in their daily professional practices and they (still) feel unable to cope with. This is also reflected in high drop-out rates in the early stages of teachers’ careers. In this paper a theory-informed methodology to support novice teachers’ individual and collective professional development at the workplace is proposed. This methodology, called MirrorMe@work, strives to reduce teachers professional loneliness, increase their confidence and reduce stress, through technology-enhanced support of self- and co-regulation, (collective) reflection and knowledge co-creation processes, informed by (shared) memorable moments and critical incidents that teachers experience in their practices. Future and further research is needed to determine whether the MirrorMe@work method supports novice teachers as intended and whether this indeed reduces novice teachers’ drop-out rates.