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Reflection about teaching practice
Reflection in teaching
Reflection in teaching
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Reflection is cognitive activity in which individual teachers engage in examination of their own actions, beliefs, thoughts, values, identities, and so on and the effects of these on their practice and others in the professional context in order to have deep and new understanding about their overall experience (Bolton, 2010; Seibert & Daudelin, 1999). In other words, it is not passive rather active, conscious, deliberate, and persistent process by which an experience, in the form of thought, feeling, or action, is brought into consideration and examined and knowledge from it is developed (Seibert & Daudelin, 1999). This reflection on experience is considered as learning conversation, method of accounting for the self and others, critical approach …show more content…
It is systematically and actively thinking about what happens in the classroom and trying to improve it (Opp-Beckman & Klinghammer, 2006). It is considered as research process and constant examination of teaching to develop insights that are helpful to reconstruct individual and collective professional practice (Schön, 1987). It involves thinking, monitoring, evaluating, reflecting, revising, and learning about the teaching process in cyclic manner and developing the habit of talking with the self and others for the purpose of professional development and effectiveness of teaching (Kidd & Czerniawski, 2010). It is about moving away from standardized form of practice towards more informed and value-driven one (Thompson & Thompson, 2008 in Moyles, 2010). It is a kind of professional enquiry and development which is so widely advocated these days by educationalists and policy makers (Grenfell, 1998). It is the characteristic of effective teachers (Kidd & Czerniawski, …show more content…
The idea is that since the scope of reflective teaching ranges from evaluating the self to the larger context of teaching practice; that is, it can be concerned with the self about the individual teacher, an aspect of a lesson, other teachers, and the larger professional context wherein the teacher works (Jay & Johnson, 2002 in Jay, 2003), teacher should strive to become critical reflective teachers and be fully conscious of the range of issues beyond themselves and their classroom actions (Larrivee,
Reflection is the process of evaluating ideas/thoughts from experiences and making active decisions. It is a necessary tool in experiential learning.[4] Several models have been developed to facilitate this process but this essay is going to be retrospective and based on John’s model of structured reflection(1992) [3,4]. The general reflective questions will be WHAT? SO WHAT? And THEN WHAT? [4]
This essay will explore the authors meaning of reflection, how various reflective styles can benefit the practitioners within their settings, and how important reflection is within Early Years Practice. According to Appleby (2010, p.10), reflection is a generic term which describes various behaviours involving feelings, and thinking about thoughts and experiences, in order to examine issues and develop, new understandings and insights. Reflection within practice allows the practitioner to develop a sense of awareness around their daily activities, and helps them to evaluate how they could evolve these activities further, if the given opportunity was to arise again. Similarly, keeping a reflective journal
Reflection is a key element of the human learning process. It can be used to justify aspects of practice and legitimise the knowledge gained from it, as opposed to traditional forms of learning.
student. In the following journal, we see the benefit of reflective practice and what it achieves
Without agreement on what reflective practice is, it is difficult to decide on teaching‑learning strategies. Reflective practice may be a developmental learning process (Williamson 1997), may have different levels of attainment (Wellington 1996), and may be affected by a learner’s cognitive ability (James and Clarke 1994), willingness to engage in the process (Bright 1996; Haddock 1997), and orientation to change (Wellington 1996). However, there does seem to be some agreement that critical reflection consists of a process that can be taught to adults. Brookfield (1988) identified four processes central to learning how to be critically reflective: assumption analysis, contextual awareness, imaginative speculation, and reflective skepticism.
Let me say personally, reflective practices therefore imply more systematic process in terms of collecting, recording, and analyzing teachers’ thoughts and observations, as well as those of their students, and then going on to make changes towards teachers' professional development for a better teaching skills. All in all, I can say that reflective practice is important because it helps teachers to make more informed decisions about their teaching skills which are basically based on solid evidence that thoroughly collected over a period of
As it mentioned above this reflective essay is based on the main theory on Reflection, which is the Honey and Mumford’s learning styles that was developed from Kolb’s work. This is based on four stages of specific styles of learning:
To assist my learning as I become a secondary teacher I will use Stephen D. Brookefield’s (1995) four lenses theory on critical reflection and effectively develop my role within the teaching profession. As a teacher it is vital to think about not only reflecting as teacher but as a learner because as Hattie (2012) puts it ‘the most powerful way of thinking about a teacher’s role is for teachers to see themselves as evaluators of their effects on students’. Reflecting is a method used to acknowledge what we are doing and what we have previously done. I will demonstrate Brookefield’s theory and how each lens of his work will assist me effectively in my future career. Becoming critically reflective through Brookefield’s four lenses allows us
Reflection within early year’s settings and schools allows for the practitioner to think about the work that is being completed either whilst doing it or after it has occurred, the reflection allows for seeing how the work has gone or whether it needs to be changed for future practice. Schön is a key writer about reflection and illustrates the differences between reflection in action, reflection on action and reflection whilst completing the task. The above critical skills help all practitioners to develop understanding as they hugely impact on others lives, if this skill is not engaged in then practice could be effected (Leeson, 2004).
This being my first year of teaching I feel there are so many things that I have learned, and have helped me too become a good teacher. Yet I have so much more to learn, I still believe that students have the ability to learn and as a teacher it is my job to find ways to help them to become the best person they can be. Through being a reflective teacher, using professionalism, respecting diversity and having collaboration and community connecting this can be accomplished. When I am having fun teaching the student will have learning that material, this will help them to be relaxed and engaged in that lesson. I feel it is important to connect what they are learning to things that they have experienced in the real-world.
Through the certification process, candidates must compile a portfolio with various pieces of evidence related to general teaching practices and their specific content area. There are videos of whole group and small group lessons, analysis of student work samples and inclusion of artifacts of leadership, professional learning, community involvement and communication that must demonstrate consistent and continuous growth. Throughout the process, you are required to think about what you teach, how you teach and why you teach it a certain way. This constant reflection was revolutionary in my teaching methodology. I knew what metacognition meant but the act of writing it out and defending my thought processes clarified my reasoning and helped me to see patterns that needed to change. As teachers, we constantly reflect on our teaching but until it is articulated, those ideas tend to be nebulous and easily dissolve in the daily duties of our regular lives. I never would have realized the power that the word “because” has until it links a lesson to a child, standard, or
In today’s society, teachers are faced with ongoing challenges and need to be equipped with a range of teaching options and strategies so they are able to make the best possible decisions in their lessons. A teacher needs to be equipped to make appropriate decisions and consistently reflect on their effectiveness. This essay explains how professionalism, teacher reflection, decision making, classroom management, effective questioning and adhering to the constructivist model of thinking are all elements contributing to a valued professional in today’s society.
I believe having positive dispositions are the key to a healthy and fulfilling classroom, and as a future teacher, I know the importance of evaluating my dispositions on a consistent basis. I have reflected upon my strengths and weaknesses as a future educator, and an area of strength for me is in reflection. Reflection will also be an important part of my professional teaching because it will allow me to assess my strengths and identify areas for improvement. Through the practice of self-reflection and evaluation in my studies, I have been able to evolve and grow into an educator. Clinical practice and classroom observations have also helped me develop and fine tune my self-reflection skills. My mentor teachers instilled in me the importance of reflection and how to use it as a tool to benefit not only my students, but also myself as a professional. They have helped me gain an insight into the world of teaching and how to improve as an educator. Another area of strength for me is in my critical thinking skills which I have developed through my studies at Dominican University. Critical thinking allows teachers to analyze and evaluate information in order to solve problems in their instruction. Teachers must be responsive and use questioning as a tool for critical thinking. I have learned about fostering critical thinking skills through problem-based learning and I have developed confidence in my own ability to lead the student towards their learning goals. I like to think of myself as a lifelong learner and I believe a teacher should always be a student so they can enrich their classroom and instructional skills. I have worked hard at Dominican University to become an effective teacher and I believe in the importance of...
Prior to coming into this course, I never really knew or understood what philosophy was all about, and the thoughts and concepts of philosophy of education never crossed my mind. Although I didn’t exactly know what to expect or learn coming into this course, what intrigued me to take the course was that I want to become a teacher in the near future myself, and thought that this class would be beneficial in helping me to be able to succeed my goals of becoming a teacher, as well as helping me build my confidence to become a teacher. I came into this course with many questions, however, I was able to learn more than I expected, and I will definitely apply what I have learned in this course to not just my future, but my life in the present-day as well. As I reflect back, this course has taught me much more than what
To write a reflection paper about the whole TESOL project for the past one and a half years is not a difficult thing for me because I never regret my choice to study in Alliant International University and learning master’s TESOL program here. With completing the master’s TESOL program, I was be able to benefit a variety of new things from different courses, as well as refresh my memory on thing that I already knew.