Becoming a Reflective Practitioner

Transcription

Becoming a
Reflective Practitioner
Teaching Development | Wāhanga Whakapakari Ako
How can I
improve my
practice?
The Thinker—Rodin
Pip Bruce Ferguson
Teaching Development| Wāhanga Whakapakari Ako
February 2012
The learning outcomes for this workshop include the following:
Students will be expected to be able to:
 Provide a rationale for why reflection is encouraged in teacher
education;
 Describe the main features of the history of reflective
practitioner movement;
 Analyse and discuss own preferred ways of learning in a variety
of contexts;
 Critically evaluate the claimed benefits and disadvantages of
being a ‗teacher-as-researcher‘;
 Determine own preferred ways of reflecting, based on past
experience;
 Consider and critique exemplars of reflective practice presented
at the workshop.
Reflective Practitioner
▪
“If you always do what you always did, then
you’ll always get what you always got.”
▪
“One definition of insanity is to keep doing the
same things, but expect a different result.”
These quotes illustrate the necessity for
practitioners in any environment to consider how
best to refresh their practice, to get better at what
they do, to benefit from good practice that they
may have seen in others, or to avoid aspects of
their own practice that students or others have
told them needs correction.
Activity:
Using the materials provided, spend ten minutes
capturing your reflections on the kind of learning
environment that you would most prefer, when
you are learning a new skill. It can be in a
university, community education or other context.
Be prepared to share your reflections with your
colleagues shortly.
Group Task
The History of the Movement
1. Over time, in education, various
writers have suggested why and how
teachers might work to improve their
own practice. Back in the 1930s, John
Dewey (1933) described the difference
between impulsive action, routine
action and reflective action. The first,
Dewey believed, was based on trial
and error. The second relied on
BECOMING A REFLECTIVE PRACTITIONER• TDU
•3•
traditional ways of operating, sanctioned by
authority. Both of these methods he felt were
used by practitioners without engaging in much
thought about how they were operating.
However, Dewey claimed that reflective action
arose from the work of educators who were
active; who persistently and carefully considered
how they practised and what they were teaching,
and was often the result of a need to solve a
particular problem. Reflective thought is a ―chain
(which) involves not simply a sequence of ideas
but a con-sequence‖ (Dewey, 1933,p. 4).
Dewey believed that if teachers did not operate
reflectively, they risked basing their practice on
prejudice and uninformed or outdated thinking.
However, if they critically reflected on their
practice, this should improve, provided that they
used such skills as observation and reasoning,
working within a framework of responsibility for
their students, open-mindedness to better ways of
operating, and passion for their work.
2. The notion of teachers as reflective
practitioners was further developed in reaction to
a tendency for research to be done on, rather than
by, teachers. In the early 1970s Stenhouse, at the
University of East Anglia, promoted the change
from reliance on outside ‗expert‘ research
(Stenhouse et al, 1970; Stenhouse, 1975), a
discourse in which teachers were the intended
recipients of advice from university-based
researchers who wrote papers on what constituted
good practice. As Kincheloe (1991) pointed out,
this advice was usually ignored by the teachers
who perceived it as irrelevant if they were aware
of it at all (see also Elliott, 1994: Smith & Lovat,
1991, Zeichner & Noffke, 1998).
BECOMING A REFLECTIVE PRACTITIONER • TDU
•4•
Stenhouse was at the forefront of the ‗researching
teacher‘ movement in the U.K., claiming that all
teaching ought to be based on research but that
research and curriculum development should be the
preserve of teachers who gain understanding of
their work through studying their own problems
and effects (McKernan, 1991). Stenhouse coined
the term ―teacher as researcher‖ (quoted in
Zeichner & Noffke, 1998). Elliott and Adelman
(1973) further promoted teacher-research work
using action research in their Ford Teaching
Project, which aimed to promote pupil
independence, teacher identification of problems
through utilising systematic reflection, and the
ongoing development of teacher self-awareness.
Elliott‘s later work (1978) argued that teaching is
inescapably a theoretical activity (quoted in
McKernan, 1991:22). Teachers, according to
Elliott, should interpret their everyday practice
through the pursuit of reflective self-development.
His thesis was that the two areas, split by the
tendency for theory to be developed in universities
and promoted to practitioners, should be reunified
through being developed by teachers themselves.
This kind of thinking has been continued and
further developed in other countries around the
world. It has been used at Deakin
University in Australia by
McTaggart et al, (1982); Carr and
Kemmis, (1986, 2009); Kemmis
and McTaggart (1988b); in South
Africa by Dison & Murray
(1998); Walker (1993, 1995,
2009), and in the U.S. by
Cochran-Smith & Lytle, (1990,
2009), and Noffke & Zeichner,
(1987), among other educators.
Teachers…
should interpret
their everyday
practice
through the
pursuit of
reflective selfdevelopment.
•5•
3. Teachers-as-researchers – a disputed
concept
However, the notion is currently contested
terrain. Despite the promotion of teachers as
researchers who utilise the skills of reflective
practice to improve their own situations, there is
some debate about the extent to which the teacher
-as-researcher movement is, or even should be,
replacing a reliance on university based research.
Zeichner (1995) discussed the way that many
classroom teachers still see research as an activity
conducted by those outside the classroom for the
benefit of those outside the classroom.
McIntyre (1997), presenting his presidential
address to the British Education Research
Association, questioned the ‗relation between the
practice of teachers on one hand and
research done by professional researchers
on the other‘ (1997:131). In this statement
McIntyre clearly polarised the two areas,
which Elliott had worked to integrate. He
quoted Elliott‘s (1989) presidential address
in which Elliott claimed that there could
be no educational research in which
teachers played no important role in the
process of articulating, analysing and
hypothesising solutions to complex
educational problems, and that
professional researchers should be
subordinate to this. McIntyre, by contrast,
argued that ‗It seems to me simply unreasonable
to demand of teachers that they be researchers as
well as teachers, when the expertise required for
the two activities is so very different‘ (ibid., 132).
•6•
Why did McIntyre think that teaching and
research were incompatible activities? His
argument was based on the notion that the splitsecond judgements which teachers need to make
to practice effectively are at variance with the
single-minded concern with clearly-formulated
agendas, careful planning and analysis of what
has happened, the skills which McIntyre argued
are needed from researchers. Woodhouse,
Director of the New Zealand Universities
Academic Audit Unit, agreed, stating that there is
‗an assumption that all academics can be good at
both teaching and research, which, given the quite
different nature of the two activities, should not
be expected to be universally true‘ (Woodhouse,
1997:360; italics not in original).
4. The notion of reflection is debated (Adler,
1991; Bengtston, 1995; Cole, 1997; Grimmet et
al, 1990; Hatton and Smith, 1995 - all quoted in
Haigh, 1998), and McTaggart, 1995:32). The
most frequently quoted proponent of reflectively
practising teachers was Donald Schon, whose
1983 The Reflective Practitioner most concisely
presented the developing discourse. The kinds of
split-second judgements based on professional
past experience which McIntyre considered both
typical of good teachers and simultaneously
incompatible with their adopting of a research
function concurrently, are spelled out in Schon‘s
work, summarised by Gilbert. As Gilbert
explained it, Schon described:
•7•
Knowing-in-action [which] is the professional
knowledge that practitioners actually use, as distinct
from the theoretical, scientifically derived
knowledge that technical-rationalist approaches
assume that they used. [There is also] Reflection-inaction [which] occurs when new situations arise in
which a practitioner’s existing stock of knowledge their ‘knowing-in-action’ is not appropriate for the
situation. It involves reflecting on ‘knowing-inaction’. ‘Reflection-in-action’ is a process through
which hitherto taken for granted ‘knowing-in-action’
is critically examined, reformulated and tested
through further action. It is a process of research
through which the development of professional
knowledge and the improvement of practice occur
together (in much the same way as in action
research) (Gilbert, 1994:516, emphasis in original).
•8•
4. Some theory that underpins reflective practice
Much of our traditional learning experience has led
us to believe that we learn best by listening to experts. It has been found, however, that learning that
results in increased self-awareness, changed behavior, and the acquisition of new skills must actively
engage the individual in the learning process. In
particular, adults have been found to learn more
effectively by doing or experiencing.
Adult learning specialist, David Kolb, has described this learning process as a four-phase cycle
in which the learner:
1. does something concrete or has a specific experience which provides a basis for
2. the learner's observation and reflection on the
experience and their own response to it. These
observations are then
3. assimilated into a conceptual framework or related to other concepts in the learner's past experience and knowledge from which implications for action can be derived; and
4. tested and applied in different situations.
The adult learner assimilates useful information
into their personal "experience bank" against which
future learning events will be compared and to
which new concepts will be related. Unless what is
learned can be applied to actual work or life situations the learning will not be effective or long lasting.
People responsible for designing learning events
should keep these phases in mind as they develop
ways to help the learner understand and be able to
use the new knowledge and/or skill.
•9•
5
Source: David A.
Kolb. Experiential
Learning, New York:
Prentice-Hall, 1984.
(this material drawn
from http://
arl.cni.org/training/
ilsco/
adultlearn.html)
How can you use Kolb's model to help students
learn to learn?
 "The whole point of education is that a person
develop capacities in all four of the learning
modes:
 Learning is the process by which development
occurs…We want to accomplish an increase in
students' cognitive complexity. We want to
move them to a higher level of critical thinking.
 We used to think we were arming or empowering students when we gave them the facts. Now
we realize we must give them the theory [of
learning] - not just for a successful college life,
but for a successful productive life.‖
Quoted from The National Teaching and Learning Forum, Vol. 1, No. 5, 1992, pp2 -3. Washington, D.C.:
The George Washington University. On
http://222.augsburg.edu.depts/infotech/learn/
sld005.htm, Dr Lori Lohman and Dr Kathryn Schwalbe
• 10 •
Pip will talk about reflective practice and
action research
There is also a large amount of theoretical work
that connects reflective practice with action research. We will discuss this during the workshop,
but writers such as Kemmis and McTaggart,
Stenhouse and Elliott, McNiff, Somekh and
Whitehead have all written extensively about how
reflective practice underpins action research.
Kolb‘s cycle is the basis of the ‗standard‘ action
research spiral:
Benefits of being a ‘teacher-as-researcher’
The preceding section has described how the
teacher-as-researcher concept developed over
time, and also some of the arguments that have
been advanced against the notion. Let‘s take time
to reflect on our own perceptions of the approach.
• 11 •
Task:
For five minutes, reflect on what you think might be
the benefits of becoming a researching teacher who
inquires into your own practice. These benefits might
be theoretical, practical or both. Write them down,
and be prepared to share them with others. You may
also want to capture any ideas about the disadvantages of this approach also, for later discussion.
• 12 •
Following group discussion and feedback, list the
benefits you have shared or heard below.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
List any reservations or disadvantages you have
shared or heard below.
*
*
*
*
*
*
• 13 •
Why is it important to capture reflections in
some way as you practise?
There is a variety of ways of capturing reflections, and we‘ll look at some of these shortly.
Meanwhile, why is it important to record your
thoughts as these happen? Teachers have said:
▪
―When I‘ve been doing professional reading, I
sometimes come across really great ideas that
someone has tried out in their class, and written about. I‘d like to try those out in my own
work, but the pressures of work often mean
that I don‘t get around to it unless I actually
write into my plan for a subsequent session
that I‘ll try one of them in that session.‖
▪
―Sometimes, when I‘m teaching a session, I‘ll
get to the end and think that something didn‘t
go quite right. At the time, I can remember
why that happened. But if I don‘t write it
down, then the next time I come to teach that
session I have a gnawing feeling that something didn‘t go well, but I‘m darned if I can
remember what it was! It can make me feel
quite anxious about how the session will proceed.‖
▪
―When I‘ve been out walking, I‘ve often had
flashes of insight into how to teach a class in a
better way. If I don‘t take the time to write
down my insight when I get home, I often
can‘t remember it in the future.‖
• 14 •
▪
―I‘ve been observing someone else‘s teaching,
either in a formal sense when I‘ve been asked
to give peer feedback, or sometimes through
something I‘ve seen in a movie or on TV. I
think there are some aspects of the way that
person is teaching that I‘d love to try out. But I
don‘t always remember how they set the situation up, or what they did, so I can find myself
reluctant to try it.‖
If we don‘t take the time to write down or record
ideas in some way as these occur to us, we‘re in
danger of losing them. So, as you develop as a
reflective practitioner/teacher-as-researcher,
we encourage you to find a way of capturing
ideas that works for you.
A further benefit of capturing ideas and then
formally reflecting on the effectiveness or
otherwise of these, is that they are data for
academic papers. We‘ll be looking at examples of these later in the workshop.
Reflection time:
Take a couple of minutes and write down ways in which you keep a record of reflections on your practice as these occur, or subsequently. Be
prepared to share these with the group.
• 15 •
Exemplars: how do people capture their
reflections?
The way that people capture their reflections is
largely dependent on (a) their own learning
style; (b) their discipline – whether they‘re in a
predominantly written-oriented, performanceoriented or oral discipline; and (c) what resources they happen to have at hand at the time!
For practical reasons, most people capture their
reflections via written forms such as diaries,
post-it notes on lesson plans, journals, portfolio
materials, poetry, sometimes short stories, novels or books (e.g. McWilliam, 1994).
However, some capture reflections in dance, some in drama,
some in song. We will look at
a couple of these ‗alternative‘
forms of reflection during the
workshop. You may even
choose to present your own
reflection in such a way. A
student at the University of
Waikato gained her Masters
thesis through the combination
of dance and reflective practice (Bright, 2007)
and is now studying for her doctorate at this
university. She has taken a number of academic
papers to conferences reporting on this work.
• 16 •
References
Atkinson, T., & Claxton, G. (2000) The Intuitive
Practitioner on the value of not always
know what one is doing. Buckingham: Open
University Press.
Bright, D. (2005) Light Reflections: a Grief Embodied. Thesis for M. Sports and Leisure
Studies, University of Waikato, Hamilton,
N.Z.
Carr, W., & Kemmis, S. (2009). Educational
Action Research: A Critical Approach. In S.
Noffke & B. Somekh (Eds)The Sage Handbook of Educational Action Research (pp. 74
– 84), Los Angeles: Sage.
Carr, W., & Kemmis, S. (1986). Becoming Critical: Education, Knowledge and Action Research. London: The Falmer Press.
Cochran-Smith, M., & Lytle, S. (1990). Inside/
Outside: Teacher Research and Knowledge.
New York: Columbia: Teachers College
Press.
Cochran-Smith, M. & Lytle, S. (2009) Teacher
Research as Stance. In S. Noffke & B.
Somekh (Eds)The Sage Handbook of Educational Action Research (pp. 39 - 49), Los
Angeles: Sage.
Dadds, M. (1995). Passionate Enquiry and
School Development: a story about teacher
action research. London: The Falmer Press.
• 17 •
Dadds, M. (2009) From Passionate Enquiry to
Loving Detachment, in S. Noffke & B.
Somekh (Eds)The Sage Handbook of Educational Action Research (pp.278 - 289), Los
Angeles: Sage.
Dewey, J., 1933. How we think: A restatement of
the relation of reflective thinking to the educative process, Heath & Co, Boston
Dison, A., & Murray, S. (1998, July). Facilitating Conceptual Development in an English
for Academic Purposes (EAP) Course in a
South African University. Paper presented at
the Transformation in Higher Education:
Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasian Annual International Conference, Auckland, New Zealand.
Elliott, J. (1994). Research on Teachers' Knowledge and Action Research. Educational Action Research, 2(1), 133 - 140.
Elliott, J., & Adelman, C. (1973). Reflecting
where the action is: The design of the Ford
Teaching Project. Education for Teaching, 92,
8 - 20.
Gilbert, J. (1994). The construction and reconstruction of the concept of the Reflective
Practitioner in the discourses of teacher professional development. International Journal
of Science Education, 16(No. 5), pp. 511 522.
• 18 •
Haigh, N. (1998, July). Teaching ways of being
reflective about practice. Paper presented at
the Transformation in Higher Education:
Higher Education Development Society of
Australasia Annual International Conference,
Auckland, New Zealand.
Kemmis, S., & McTaggart, R. (1988). The Action
Research Reader. (3rd ed.) Geelong, Victoria:
Deakin University Press.
Kincheloe, J. L. (1991). Teachers as Researchers:
Qualitative Inquiry as a Path to Empowerment.
London: The Falmer Press.
McIntyre, A. (1997). The Profession of Educational Research. British Educational Research
Association, 23(2), pp. 127 - 140.
McNiff, J. (1988) Action Research Principles and
Practice. London: Routledge.
McTaggart, R. (1995). Reflection on Teaching:
Creating an Enquiry Culture in Education. Reflect, 1(2, July), pp. 32 - 39.
McTaggart, R. et. al. (1982). The Action Research
Planner. (Revised edition ed.) Geelong, Victoria: Deakin University Press.
McWilliam, E. (1994). In Broken Images: Feminist Tales for a Different Teacher Education.
Columbia University: Teachers College Press.
• 19 •
Noffke, S., & Zeichner, K. (1987). Action Research and teaching thinking: The first
phase of the action research on action research project at the University of WisconsinMadison. Paper presented at the
Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Washington,
D.C.
Noffke, S., & Somekh, B. (Eds) The Sage
Handbook of Educational Action Research.
Los Angeles: Sage
Schon, D. (1983). The Reflective Practitioner:
How Professionals Think in Action. (1995
ed.). Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Ltd.
Schon, D. (1987). Educating the Reflective
Practitioner. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
Smith, D. L., & Lovat, T. J. (1991). Curriculum: Action on Reflection. Wentworth Falls,
N.S.W.: Social Science Press.
Somekh, B. (1995) The contribution of action
research to development in social endeavours: a position paper on action research
methodology. British Educational Research
Journal, 21 (3) 339—55.
Stenhouse, L. (1975). An Introduction to Curriculum Research and Development. London: Heinemann Educational Books.
Stenhouse, L. et. al. (1970). The Humanities
Project: An introduction. London: Heinemann.
• 20 •
Walker, M. (1993). Developing the Theory and
Practice of Action Research: A South African
case. Educational Action Research, Vol. 1
(No. 1), pp. 95 - 110.
Walker, M. (1995). Context, Critique and
Change: doing Action Research in South Africa. Educational Action Research, 3(1), pp.
9 - 26.
Walker, M. (2009) Capabilities, flourishing and
the normative purposes of action research. In
S. Noffke & B. Somekh (Eds)The Sage
Handbook of Educational Action Research
(pp. 301 - 314), Los Angeles: Sage.
Whitehead, J. (various) http://
www.actionresearch.net/writing.shtml
Woodhouse, D. (1997, July). Auditing Research,
and the research/teaching nexus. Paper presented at the Research and the New Tomorrow Conference, UNITEC Institute of Technology, Auckland.
Zeichner, K. (1995). Beyond the divide of
teacher research and academic research.
Teachers and Teaching Theory and Practice,
1(2), pp. 153-172.
Zeichner, K., & Noffke, S. (1998). Practitioner
Research. In V. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook
of Research on Teaching (4th edition).Washington, D.C.: American Educational Research Association.
• 21 •
Produced by:
Teaching Development Unit | Wāhanga Whakapakari Ako
Private Bag 3105
Hamilton 3240 New Zealand
Phone: +64 7 838 4839
Fax: +64 7 838 4573
[email protected]
www.waikato.ac.nz/tdu

Becoming a Reflective Practitioner

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