Reflective

Practice

Reflection, Ethics and

Professionality

• “The knowledge and understanding which

should properly inform the professional

consciousness of the competent teacher

is…a kind of moral wisdom or judgement

which is rooted in rational reflection about

educational policies and practices and

what is ethically, as well as instrumentally,

appropriate to achieve them” (Carr, 2000)

What is reflective teaching?

1. Reflecting as looking back…

2. “routine” action and “reflective” action

(Dewey, 1933)

3. Reflecting on different views of

teaching

More on Dewey

Routine action –impulse, tradition

or authority

Implementation of solutions

reflection

Modified solution

Persistent careful

consideration of practice in light of knowledge and beliefs

Reflective action

(Hatton & Smith, 1995)

Open-mindedness,

responsibility, and

wholeheartedness

Why should teachers be reflective?

Personal and interpersonal (Korthagen & Wubbles, 1991)

Sociological (Zeichner, 1992)

Technical (Cruikshank, 1987)

Professional (Dobbins, 1996)

Zeichner and Liston’s criteria of

reflection (1987)

TECHNICAL CRITERIA

Did I maintain order?

Did students achieve predetermined objectives?

EDUCATIONAL CRITERIA

In what ways did my teaching context influence teaching and learning?

How did my teaching meet differing educational goals?

ETHICAL CRITERIA

How does my teaching align with moral and ethical aspects of teaching and education?

How did power operate in my classroom?

• CRITICAL REFLECTION –

Consciously taking account of wider historic,

cultural and political values of beliefs in

framing and reframing problems to which

solutions are being sought.

Conscious detachment from an activity

followed by a distinct period of detachment

– with a view to explore alternatives which

might be implemented in the future

(Hatton & Smith, 1995)

Valli’s focus possibilities (1993)

Non - reflective

Ethical / Critical

Reflective

Technical

Skill Development Practical Decision Making

Indoctrination Moral Development

Schön’s reflective processes (1983,

1987)

REFLECTION-ON-ACTION

An attempt to understand past events

Planned reflecting

The focus and process of reflection can be explicit and deliberate

REFLECTION-IN-ACTION

Occurs “on the run”

Problems need to be identified, resolved and tested almost subconsciously

The focus and process of reflection is usually tacit

What are common barriers to reflective

teaching?

If it’s so easy why don’t teachers do it?

Killen (2003) suggests barriers such as:

Preoccupation with subject matter

Fear of failure

Perceived limited potential of reflection

Feelings of powerlessness

Confusion

Additional barriers might include:

False sense of competence

Perceived lack of time

Lack of (extrinsic and intrinsic) motivation

Feelings of isolation

Apathy

Some methods of reflection

• The next section of the lecture will outline

some approaches to reflection…

Modes of reflection - Critical

Dissonance

• The goal of ‘critical dissonance’ or ‘incongruity

based on a critical perspective’ is to interrupt the

potentially conservative influences of student

teachers school-based experiences and instead

help to develop stronger, more critical

perspectives that confront issues of race, class,

power, and gender.

• WHAT CAN YOU DO IN SCHOOLS TO

MAINTAIN A CRITICAL DISONANCE?

Modes of reflection - Collaborative

Resonance

• The goal here is to prolong and intensify the influences of university and school experiences, both of which are viewed as potentially liberalizing. Teachers, from both the inside (schools) and outside (uni, research and pre-service teachers) alike critique the cultures of teaching and schooling and call into question the policies and language of schooling that is taken for granted.

How can teachers reflect on their

teaching?

Portfolios - NSW Institute Professional Standards

Inquiry-oriented supervision

Cross-cultural teaching experiences

Reflectivity training

Journal writing

Action research

Ethnographic studies

Collaboration

Case studies

Analysis of classroom discourse

Microteaching

Killen (2003)

How can teachers use Quality

Teaching as a lens for reflective

teaching?For classroom practise, ask questions like:

What am I already doing that is consistent with the model?

What needs development or change?

For assessment practise, ask questions like:

Can you see evidence of all three dimensions?

What could you have changed to increase the intellectual quality, quality learning environment and significance?

Clarifying Intentions to Achieve

Inclusivity

• Keep track of your thought process

– One way of keeping track of our thought processing is to note moments when we experience surprise, especially in the educational context. This is important because surprise is one of the reactions we have when our expectations are violated.

– Identify a moment when you experienced surprise in a classroom or school. Then explore these questions:

Surprise…

• 1. Why were your surprised?

• 2. What assumptions did you bring to that

interaction?

• 3. What does the existence of these

assumptions suggest for you as a

participant in the education process?

References

Cruikshank, D. R. (1987). Reflective teaching: The preparation of students of teaching. Reston: VA: Association of Teacher Educators.

Dewey, J. (1933). How we think. Boston: D.C. Heath.

Dobbins, R. (1996). The challenge of developing a reflective practicum. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 24(3), 269-280.

Gore, J. M., Williams, C., & Ladwig, J. G. (2006). Pedagogy and teacher induction: A critical moment in professional development, Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting. San Francisco.

Hatton, N. & Smith, D. (1995). Reflection in Teacher Education: Towards Definition and Implementation. Retrieved 25th October, 2010, from: http://alex.edfac.usyd.edu.au/localresource/Study1/hattonart.html

Killen, R. (2003). Effective teacing strategies: Lessons from research and practice (Third ed.). Tuggarah, NSW: Social Science Press.

Korthagen, F., & Wubbles, T. (1991). Characteristics of reflective practitioners: Towards an operationalization of the concept of reflection: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago.

Schon, D. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. New York: Basic Books.

Schon, D. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner: Toward s design for teaching and learning in the professions. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Valli, L. (1993). Reconsidering technical and and reflective concepts in teacher education. Action in Teacher Education, 15(2), 35-44.

Zeichner, K. (1992). Connecting genuine teacher development to the struggle for social justice, Issue Paper 92-1. east Lansing, MI: National Center for Research on Teacher Learning.

Zeichner, K., & Gore, J. M. (1995). Using action research as a vehicle for student teacher reflection: A social reconstructionalistapproach. In S. Noffke & R. Stevenson (Eds.), Educational action research: Becoming practically critical. New York: Teacher College Press.

Zeichner, K., & Liston, D. (1985). Varieties of discourse in supervisory conferences. Teaching and Teacher Education, 1, 155-174.