Critical Commentary
The overall journey was writing journals, I passed through many times to learn, unlearn and re-learn. In this journey I realized and experienced that how important to unlearn for teachers because process of unlearn guide to close look of self-analysis. Through this process, I experienced three significance phases. In first phase I reflected on selected journal entries. This reflection helped me discover the strategies I need to adopt to build positive relationships with my students. In second phase, I articulated my own learning that I gained through narrative enquiry of the journal entries. In final phase, I explored the moments when I led my students’ and learning in order to create a sense of belongingness to a learning community.
1) Phase I: Build Positive relationship:
Going through the narratives of my daily reflections, I realized that every moment in the classroom teaching was important for me and I wanted to discuss those events in my journal entries. However, ‘Teachers are not always learning. However all teachers learn some of the time, and some teachers learn much of the time’ (Hiebert 2002). The process of writing narratives assisted me to develop from ‘learning some of the time’ to ‘learning much of the time’. It provided me the courage to critique my own teaching style into the habit of learning while thinking and realizing the potential flaws in my teaching. The process of critiquing and self-analysing my own teaching able to me see a different perceptive in my journal entries. I realized that initially, especially first few classes, I was just responsible to students. I always referred to their actions as a cause of failure of my planned lessons as I reflected in my journal on the 8th a...
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... about being a teacher who teaches but also about a learner who learns. This discovery will help me in my home context too as it will keep me well equipped with strategies to get along with students like Seema and Amin who rarely participate in classroom activities. The objective behind using this approach was to make students think, question, discuss, present and work collaboratively in order to learn from each other. It was implied that they were becoming more aware about their own learning processes and were experiencing the notion of being in charge of their own learning within the learning community. However, there are still some unexplored domains which I intend to investigate in the future. I look forward to future classes with a positive apprehension to evolve this paper further by encouraging students’ voices to create an effective learning community.
“Reflecting” entails us to ask ourselves countless questions. How well am I interacting with the students? Are they understanding the concepts? Am I creating an adequate learning environment? How effective are my teaching techniques? Etc. This newly acquired knowledge on “Reflecting” has helped me growth as a teacher and has
As professionals, pedagogues are encouraged constantly to reflect on their practice and to apply both theoretical understandings and self-knowledge to the sometimes challenging demands with which they are
Despite the widespread differences in understanding there are similarities in their delivery. The importance of thoughtfulness for teachers and students cannot be understated, few would suggest that teachers should practice without questioning their ideas (Hébert, 2015). With the importance of reflection in mind, why is it that there is not an agreed upon approach to reflective practice? Finlay (2008) describes Schön’s work as almost ‘canonical’ in the field and yet she and many others have been shown to criticise Schönian theory. Despite the critiques of each theory what is essentially important is that reflection is key to growth as a practitioner. Conversely, practitioners that engage in reflection do not automatically develop to become good teachers (McLaughlin, 1999). The importance of criticality in reflection is key, no matter how uncomfortable the lessons learned are. Finally, Schön (1983: 61) expresses the view that ‘Through reflection, practitioners can surface and criticize the tacit understandings that have grown up around the repetitive experiences of a specialized practice, and can make new sense of the situations of uncertainty or uniqueness which he may allow himself to
I believe that teaching and learning is both a science and an art, which requires the implementation of already determined rules. I see learning as the result of internal forces within the person student. I know that children differ in the way they learn and grow but I also know that all children can learn. Students’ increased understanding of their own experience is a legitimate form of knowledge. I will present my students with opportunities to develop the ability to meet personal knowledge.
Learning must begin with the teacher accepting the role of a learner by being willing to study and by being willing to apply oneself to becoming a professional educator, well prepared, and relentlessly endeavoring to advance one’s practice (Frere, 2005). As teachers apply themselves to becoming learners, then they can more aptly educate others. Teachers should not overlook professional preparation; however, they must also consider part of their efforts in scholarship to be constructing relationships with their students.
According to Paul (1999), reflective practice has become a dominant paradigm in second language teacher education in recent years. Further, Biggs (2003) cited that learning new technique for teacing is like the fish that provides a meal for today which same as reflective practice that acts as the net that provides the meal for the rest of one’s life. To begin with, reflective practice has been a major movement since the eighties in teacher education (Calderhead, 1989; Cruickshank &Applegate, 1981; Gore, 1987; Zeichner, 1987). Even more, research acknowledges a number of potential benefits that arise from reflecting on ones’ teaching both for pre-service and in-service teachers (Bailey, 1997; Cruickshank, 1987; Mckay, 2002; Oterman and Kottamp,
Most people question the purpose of writing a journal. People who write a journal keep it to fulfill a basic human need – “self expression and reflection” (Sagan 1). Writing is known as one of the easiest ways to express your personality and who you truly are. You can write in a journal without having anyone judging you – unless you chose to have someone else read it of course. You may reflect on your writing while you are writing your journal/diary entries. Then, once you have expressed your thoughts, you can even go back to your past entries to reflect on what you have said before. Reflecting on your writing can help you develop as a person. It helps you think through a situation and possibly solve it. Reflections help generate ideas for how to improve as an individual. But really, it’s entertaining to re-read past memories and see how much...
Utilizing a reflective conversational approach to identify the problem and then reflect to decipher the root cause of the difficulty, can assist the educator in understanding where the issues in their teaching lie (Jackson, 2009). Another consequential way of deducing where the teacher is lacking is to observe their lessons, take detailed notes, and collaboratively discuss the findings. Here, the mentor can discuss specific instructional methodologies that need to be amended and together research the most proficient methods in order to create more effective and interesting lessons. After the observations and discussions have been completed, encouraging the teacher to observe a higher-preforming educator's classroom and reviewing their lesson plans can be an exceptional learning tool (Moran, 2007). Discussing the qualities and shortcomings of the lessons observed and how the instructor could utilize some of those instructional approaches in their classroom can be effective in crafting more engaging lessons. Last, co-planning a few lessons, executing them and then collaboratively reflecting on the good and bad aspects of the sessions, aid in the creation of successful lesson construction and efficiency. Above all, reflection is a critical ability, that will ultimately be the last piece in their learning and formation of effective teaching
As a facilitating instructor, I plan to construct an eclectic blending of a student-centered, yet authoritative, classroom. In this respect, I will take both a demanding and responsive approach to teaching, while still allowing my students to remain actively involved in the learning process. My aim is to increase the motivation of children by providing them with reasonable choices regarding structure and materials. Focusing on problem solving activities, rather than mere rote learning and dogmatic instruction, I shall strive to develop students' abilities to think analytically and creatively. At the same time, however, I hope to improve their social skills by engaging them in real-world activities.
The intention of reflective practice is to help the teacher/learning coach evolve and develop the quality of their teaching by the continuation of personal development. Although most teachers have done this for years, reflective modelling or methods have formulized a structure which can be followed and adapted to best suit their methods. It is an ongoing process which takes feelings and emotions into consideration and so it will not always have a definitive answer/ending. Since most models of reflection require subjective and objective thinking then there is a willingness to be honest to engage constant self appraisal. It asks that the teacher become flexible analytical and socially aware when addressing their chosen model of reflection.
Instead of seeing students as partially full vessels waiting to be filled, teachers should conceive their work as creating learning situations where students can build their own knowledge through an a...
In this course I experienced an important change in my beliefs about teaching; I came to understand that there are many different theories and methods that can be tailored to suit the teacher and the needs of the student. The readings, especially those from Lyons, G., Ford, M., & Arthur-Kelly, M. (2011), Groundwater-Smith, S., Ewing, R., & Le Cornu, R. (2007), and Whitton, D., Barker, K., Nosworthy, M., Sinclair, C., Nanlohy, P. (2010), have helped me to understand this in particular. In composing my essay about teaching methods and other themes, my learning was solidified, my knowledge deepened by my research and my writing skills honed.
School community relationship is a mutual understanding through which the school and the community link with each other for the achievement of goals of the community and school too. School is a social organization functions properly on the effective interrelationship within it and with its associate communities. An issue in a school affects the community likewise to what happens in the community affects school. This implies that the community builds its schools likewise to the schools (Sidhu, 2007). Therefore, school relation with the community is mutually interdependence.
Along these two weeks we have been prompt to make a recall to our own way of learning and why we became a teacher: Was it because coincidence, due to life circumstances, maybe because family tradition, was it a conscious decision or because someone influenced us? Whatever the answer is, we have to face reality and be conscious that being a teacher does not only means to teach a lesson and asses students learning. It requires playing the different roles a teacher must perform whenever is needed and required by our learners, identify our pupils needs and preferences, respecting their integrity and individuality but influencing and motivating them to improve themselves and become independent.
"The Teacher's Role in Developing Interaction and Reflection in an Online Learning Community." (n.d.): n. pag. Taylor and Francis. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.