Reflective Practise Week 17
Hi,
Been a bit late with more work, but here is my blog for Week 17 MindLab!
Been a bit late with more work, but here is my blog for Week 17 MindLab!
Week 17: Reflective Practise for Rose
Tavelia
When I think of reflective practice, I
cringe at the thought of how I was in my early years as a teacher. I wrote so
much information on weekly planning that I am sure I could have published a
reflections novel based on the all the anecdotal notes I wrote for myself. Through time and experience I learned to
tweak that area of learning and began to manage my time more efficiently at
school.
The reflective model by Jay and Johnson
(2002) outlines key questions when reflecting on my teacher practice today. When I asked my peers the questions within the
descriptive indicators, most teachers were able to respond instantly. I could recall who, what,
when, and how the lesson went. But of
course, this is all from my own perspective.
Only recently, have I learnt to reflect on current practice through
teachers and leaders who were able to use evidence based information to ask me
questions about choices I had made daily practice.
Feguson et al (2008) describe how teachers
need to be able to deliver a future focused education that had high
expectations and successful outcomes for diverse learners. When unpacking my own practice I needed
teachers who could ask me the uncomfortable questions and Zalipour (2015)
talked about this could bring out complex emotions in teachers. This made me think about my own cultural
beliefs, personal experiences and the models of teaching I had seen and learnt
over the years in education.
Sometimes it’s hard (and I’m being honest)
when asked (by your coach) questions about the way I delivered my lesson and
how it impacted on the student learning.
It’s even harder when you’re given evidence base responses to challenge
your thinking but I guess I wouldn’t have it any other way. Sometimes you don’t
realize you’re using justifications that have been shaped from your own
personal beliefs and assumptions and that’s where evidence based discussions
bring in a more substance based discussion when given feedback/feed forward
from peer observations.
When I think of the implications of
alternative perspectives, I think its great and quite humbling. Sometimes as
adults we hate being told what to do or shown ways to improve ourselves. I know
I do…LOL. However, in saying this, I
know what is central to the decisions I make and why I am in education. It’s
about our children. Our learners. MOE
(2016) threw out a question for educators in schools. What are you doing to
improve outcomes for children who are achieving below curriculum
expectation? This made me think about
what I am doing to help our children today.
So, I guess for me being informed in the
way of research has made me more aware of other ways I can improve my program
and better support more successful outcomes for the students in my class. But
having a community of teachers who use evidence based reflective practices,
which are able to share and critique practice is new to me and am must admit I
am enjoying this part to my learning journey.
Can’t wait to see what the future holds for the November 2017 MindLab
teachers in the time to come.
Bruce Ferguson, P.,
Gorinski, R., Wendt Samu, T., and Mara, D. (2008). Literature Review on the Experiences of Pasifika Learners
in the Classroom. Wellington: New Zealand Council of
Educational Research.
Jay, J.K. and Johnson,
K.L. (2002). Capturing complexity: a typology of reflective practice for
teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 18, 73-85.
Ministry of Education, 2016
Zalipour, A (2015). Reflective
Practice: Teaching Development Unit, Wahanga Whakapakari Ako
Hi Rosaline, I just love your candid approach. Yes, as a BT I remember writing reflective diaries, and planning for miles and miles and miles.... I would have to carry in ring binders to keep all of this in check. I started as a Primary school teacher, and planning evidence is so much more stringent and by the book than Secondary school approaches - which focus on different issues and accountability (as you'd understand). But there is a point and time where I would have to tell myself to just stop! I also agree where as adults its a very humbling process to be told what we have to fix up about our practice. I too would get really hard on myself for not getting the perfect appraisal, of for not meeting some requirement. Eventually, I learned that not ticking all the boxes in an observation appraisal was normal, and sometimes impossible as the lesson comes across as ingenuine, robotic, and limited for creative flow. On the other hand, I also learned that once you do master the dreaded observation process it feels great, but where to next? If my teaching is so perfect in the classroom, then what do I work on next???? A checklist appraisal system forgot to point that out too.... I now enjoy feedback, and the more constructive - the better. Finally, yes an informed research approach truly widens perspective, especially when led to a plethora of ideas, and possibilities - that this course has created. I'm loving it! I have so many initiatives that I would like to launch and this course has given me the confidence to go forth and slay!!! Hope you can join me on that quest too.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your reply! Its true...recieving contructive feedback that is informed by research evidence does it for me. Cant wait to see the new initiatives being implemented at your school and am looking forward to you posting your outcomes in the near future!
DeleteWell done, you're up and running with a very honest, informative and humourous blog.
ReplyDeleteThis has given us more food for thought about getting away from just commenting when something didn't go so well in our teaching. Future thinking is quite a new concept for me really.
There's so many ways we can add feedback immediately in our teaching now through digital media. We just need to be open and brave enough to throw ourselves to the wolves...
Thank you for your reply! I love the comment about throwing ourselves out to the wolves....but I guess when I become more tech/digitally savvy and more confident about what I know...I will be laying it all there too!
DeleteI love your honesty Rose! I can feel your passion for teaching and learning coming through your reflection and it makes me want to be a better teacher. When you talked about being asked the 'uncomfortable questions', it forces me to reflect on my initial attitude towards them- "oh no you just did not ask that!", "whatever!", or "what's your problem" (such a fix mindset right??? LOL). I understand now that we are in a profession where we WILL be challenged but it's O.K. because challenges allow us to grow! For me, those 'uncomfortable questions' are still just that; uncomfortable! But my attitude towards them has shifted completely. I now welcome them as a way to reflect, review and refine my practice :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Agnes for your feedback. I wouldnt say its a fixed mindset as such. I think its a normal reaction that you would feel ( being uncomfortable) because you have hit the root of a problem. What or how we chose to address it, is another matter. Sometimes as individuals working within the teaching profession, we need to weed out personal critism and ensure we are giving constructive feedback based on the evidence we see in front of us. I think thats why I prefer video recordings of the teacher with their students because it gives them a chance to sit back and listen to themselves. We are all in this together. Our students are learners...just as we are learning much about them. What we do with that information is what helps inform our next learning steps to improve our practise.
DeleteYour right Rose at the end of the day its all about how we can best teach our students to help them be successful learners and as teachers we need to welcome those difficult reflective questions, and YES this is very difficult for most teachers (myself included) as it is hard to get out of that fixed mindset. But we need to take those questions as a constant opportunity to grow and develop and with time and practice hopefully that we can start to move away from that fixed mindset :)
ReplyDelete