Re: Reflective Practice
Dear Amy,
Reflection is imperative to not only the teaching profession but to professionals in nursing, psychology, social work as well as management as a means of understanding the impact of our actions and to improve our professional skills to become more effective in what we do. The ability to reflect on one’s own perceptions, beliefs and experiences is seen by many educators to be at the heart of effective teaching as an engaging process of continuous learning which defines the characteristics of professional practice whilst aiding in the development of professional competence in graduate teachers (Walkington, 2005). I’m sure you would agree with such a statement and it is fantastic to see that you are now reflecting on your past 8 weeks at Park Hill Public School (PHPS). However, it is vital that you make sure that you reflect continuously throughout the school year in all aspects of your teaching and it is hoped that this letter will guide and inform you of the effectiveness of reflective practice providing you with an indispensable tool that will support you throughout your teaching career.
Like we mentioned before, the process of reflection is a fundamental part of teaching practice and when considering what defines reflective practice you cannot escape philosopher and educator John Dewey. Dewey defined reflective practice as active, persistent and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it and further conclusions to which it tends (Dewey, 1933). To further develop the idea of reflective practice, Schon (1983) coined the concept of “reflection-in-action” as well as “reflection-on-action” which not only meant that reflection occurred after the fact or lesson but rather in the midst of action. In other words, it requires you as the teacher to respond to a teaching moment by modifying teacher strategies to student responses and contextual conditions (McLeod & Reynolds, 2007). Examples of this occur daily during the teaching of your lessons to students and you will find that you do it without you even noticing. Just to give you an example, a colleague of ours whilst teaching mathematics identified that students were not grasping the concept of plotting points on a graph using co-ordinates. Therefore, it required the teacher to modify how it was being taught and meant that a more contextual approach was required, in this case linking it to the game of Battleship. A simple yet effective activity that saw the students leave the lesson with a better understanding of a certain mathematic concept all because the teacher was able to reflect on action.
Being able to reflect on your own perceptions, beliefs and experiences and practices like the one mentioned as well as the situations that you have identified personally during your time at PHPS is a core activity for all teachers to inform their future practice (Walkington, 2005). We at Project BEAM along with Day (1993) cannot stress enough how essential reflective practice is to good teaching and its central role to learning. As you may already know, the effectiveness and relevance of reflective practice to the teaching profession is outlined in the NSW Institute of Teachers Professional Teaching Standards. Don’t forget to draw upon this vital document as it outlines not only the aims of improving student learning through quality teaching practices but by focusing on the knowledge and skills of teachers through reflection (NSW Institute of Teachers, 2004). The NSW Institute of Teachers (2004) recognises that teachers continually improve their professional knowledge and practice through the capacity to analyse and reflect on practice. Reflective practice is more than just thoughtful practice; it is the process of turning thoughtful practice into a potential learning situation (Graham & Phelps, 2003). Having the ability to reflect before, during and after will see you as a teacher move from demonstrating reflective practice to consistently, systematically and critically reviewing all aspects of practice to improve student learning (NSW Institute of Teachers, 2004).
It seems that you have finally been able to recognise your dilemmas and this is necessary for reflectivity as stated by Pultorak (1993). Developing a reflective process involves asking and answering some fundamental questions. The following questions have drawn upon Ross (1990) to aid in reflecting on your past teaching events to enhance future interactions within the classroom. This information has been taken from the following website and we advise that if you have the chance to check it out http://oregonstate.edu/instruction/ed555/zone1/reflect.htm.
- Recognizing educational dilemmas.
- Responding to a dilemma by recognizing both similarities in other
situations and the unique patterns of the particular situation.
- Framing and Reframing the dilemma.
- Experimenting with the dilemma to discover the implications of various
solutions.
- Examining the intended and unintended consequences of an
implemented solution and evaluating it by determining whether the
consequences are desirable.
(Ross, 1990)
We at Project BEAM have also attached guiding questions which can aid you in your reflecting after lessons or units of work depending on your needs. These questions are by no means exhaustive but are there as simple guides. Feel free to adapt them to suit you and your classroom needs.
- What were essential strengths of the lesson?
- What, if anything, would you change about the lesson?
- Do you think the lesson was successful? Why? Why not?
- Which conditions were important to the outcome?
- What, if any, unanticipated learning outcomes resulted from the lesson?
- Can you think of another way you might have taught this lesson?
- Can you think of other alternative pedagogical approaches to teaching
this lesson that might improve the learning process?
- Do you think the content covered was important to students? Why?
Why not?
- What moral or ethical concerns occurred as a result of the lesson?
(Pultorak, 1993)
Although some might say that reflection is a complex and intellectually challenging activity (Moran & Dallart, 2005). We hope that we have provided you with a range of effective resources and a sounder understanding of what reflective practice incorporates and how it truly is an indispensable and paramount tool to in challenging and affirming your professional identity as a teacher during your journey of professional self discovery.
Yours Sincerely,
Dear Amy,
Reflection is imperative to not only the teaching profession but to professionals in nursing, psychology, social work as well as management as a means of understanding the impact of our actions and to improve our professional skills to become more effective in what we do. The ability to reflect on one’s own perceptions, beliefs and experiences is seen by many educators to be at the heart of effective teaching as an engaging process of continuous learning which defines the characteristics of professional practice whilst aiding in the development of professional competence in graduate teachers (Walkington, 2005). I’m sure you would agree with such a statement and it is fantastic to see that you are now reflecting on your past 8 weeks at Park Hill Public School (PHPS). However, it is vital that you make sure that you reflect continuously throughout the school year in all aspects of your teaching and it is hoped that this letter will guide and inform you of the effectiveness of reflective practice providing you with an indispensable tool that will support you throughout your teaching career.
Like we mentioned before, the process of reflection is a fundamental part of teaching practice and when considering what defines reflective practice you cannot escape philosopher and educator John Dewey. Dewey defined reflective practice as active, persistent and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it and further conclusions to which it tends (Dewey, 1933). To further develop the idea of reflective practice, Schon (1983) coined the concept of “reflection-in-action” as well as “reflection-on-action” which not only meant that reflection occurred after the fact or lesson but rather in the midst of action. In other words, it requires you as the teacher to respond to a teaching moment by modifying teacher strategies to student responses and contextual conditions (McLeod & Reynolds, 2007). Examples of this occur daily during the teaching of your lessons to students and you will find that you do it without you even noticing. Just to give you an example, a colleague of ours whilst teaching mathematics identified that students were not grasping the concept of plotting points on a graph using co-ordinates. Therefore, it required the teacher to modify how it was being taught and meant that a more contextual approach was required, in this case linking it to the game of Battleship. A simple yet effective activity that saw the students leave the lesson with a better understanding of a certain mathematic concept all because the teacher was able to reflect on action.
Being able to reflect on your own perceptions, beliefs and experiences and practices like the one mentioned as well as the situations that you have identified personally during your time at PHPS is a core activity for all teachers to inform their future practice (Walkington, 2005). We at Project BEAM along with Day (1993) cannot stress enough how essential reflective practice is to good teaching and its central role to learning. As you may already know, the effectiveness and relevance of reflective practice to the teaching profession is outlined in the NSW Institute of Teachers Professional Teaching Standards. Don’t forget to draw upon this vital document as it outlines not only the aims of improving student learning through quality teaching practices but by focusing on the knowledge and skills of teachers through reflection (NSW Institute of Teachers, 2004). The NSW Institute of Teachers (2004) recognises that teachers continually improve their professional knowledge and practice through the capacity to analyse and reflect on practice. Reflective practice is more than just thoughtful practice; it is the process of turning thoughtful practice into a potential learning situation (Graham & Phelps, 2003). Having the ability to reflect before, during and after will see you as a teacher move from demonstrating reflective practice to consistently, systematically and critically reviewing all aspects of practice to improve student learning (NSW Institute of Teachers, 2004).
It seems that you have finally been able to recognise your dilemmas and this is necessary for reflectivity as stated by Pultorak (1993). Developing a reflective process involves asking and answering some fundamental questions. The following questions have drawn upon Ross (1990) to aid in reflecting on your past teaching events to enhance future interactions within the classroom. This information has been taken from the following website and we advise that if you have the chance to check it out http://oregonstate.edu/instruction/ed555/zone1/reflect.htm.
- Recognizing educational dilemmas.
- Responding to a dilemma by recognizing both similarities in other
situations and the unique patterns of the particular situation.
- Framing and Reframing the dilemma.
- Experimenting with the dilemma to discover the implications of various
solutions.
- Examining the intended and unintended consequences of an
implemented solution and evaluating it by determining whether the
consequences are desirable.
(Ross, 1990)
We at Project BEAM have also attached guiding questions which can aid you in your reflecting after lessons or units of work depending on your needs. These questions are by no means exhaustive but are there as simple guides. Feel free to adapt them to suit you and your classroom needs.
- What were essential strengths of the lesson?
- What, if anything, would you change about the lesson?
- Do you think the lesson was successful? Why? Why not?
- Which conditions were important to the outcome?
- What, if any, unanticipated learning outcomes resulted from the lesson?
- Can you think of another way you might have taught this lesson?
- Can you think of other alternative pedagogical approaches to teaching
this lesson that might improve the learning process?
- Do you think the content covered was important to students? Why?
Why not?
- What moral or ethical concerns occurred as a result of the lesson?
(Pultorak, 1993)
Although some might say that reflection is a complex and intellectually challenging activity (Moran & Dallart, 2005). We hope that we have provided you with a range of effective resources and a sounder understanding of what reflective practice incorporates and how it truly is an indispensable and paramount tool to in challenging and affirming your professional identity as a teacher during your journey of professional self discovery.
Yours Sincerely,
Project BEAM
