Reflective Practitioner
Do I really
need to become a reflective practitioner
At the end
of the day, after completing a task that was either successful or unsuccessful it
is crucial that we evaluate and reflect upon what went well, what did not and
how we can improve ourselves for the next challenge. Being a reflective
practitioner means to constantly learn and reflect upon activities they have
taken part in and find areas of improvement, better themselves, their skills
and be ready for any other difficult tasks that may arise.
The Gibbs’
reflective (Gibbs, G. 1988) provides a thorough framework of how to
effectively reflect on our actions in certain tasks and its importance gave me
a new perspective on reflective practice. After reading various articles, it
has come to my attention how vital it is to become a reflective practitioner,
for previous teachers and preservice teachers also. Not only does it benefit
us, but it can be extremely useful to our students, who can learn to evaluate
and continuously challenge themselves no matter what task or activity they come
across.
First let
us explore a drawback of reflective practice, (Smyth, 1993) suggests
that one issue is that the term reflection has a broad meaning and individuals
can interpret this differently. It is also a term that has just become a part
of the “educational jargon” and if not used then we are at risk of being out of
“educational fashion.” He strongly suggests that many of the educational practitioners’
reflections are kept quiet and conform to the national guidelines and
curriculum. Often teachers are encouraged to become reflective practitioners,
but their perspectives on this may look different from what the protocols suggested.
However, according
to (Peters 1985 as cited in Adler, 1991) the overall outcome of a
research found that students were able to think and talk more reflectively. In
doing so, this can increase teacher and student self-efficacy, which plays a
big role in learning. Furthermore (Yang 2009 as cited in Asian Pacific Journal of
Contemporary Education and Communication Technology) critical reflection is not
something that teachers naturally acquire, therefore it is important for
pre-service teachers especially, to have the opportunity and be open to
different teaching experiences and expand on their base knowledge.
Critical reflection does not only allow for teachers to
experience different possibilities but also enables the students and
teachers to reflect on more empowering ideas, enabling social change. As (Fook,
2016 as cited in Finlay. Linda, 2008) suggests that socially restrictive
thoughts and ideas are further explored through reflective practice and people
are “freed to make choices on their own terms”.
Being a
reflective practitioner is vital, benefiting students and teachers, by
incorporating reflective practices into teaching, they are learning how to
critically reflect on their methods of teaching and what works for their
students, whilst providing an opportunity for students to give thought to their
learning, and further assess their work. Critical thinking enables a broader
perspective and the ability to absorb a range of skills, opportunities and
different methods of improvement. This can be done through reflective writing
using the Gibbs Cycle (Gibbs, G 1988) either verbally or written at the end of
certain activities and or tasks.
References
:
Adler, S.
(1991). The Reflective Practitioner and the Curriculum of Teacher Education. Journal
of Education for Teaching, 17(2), 139–150. https://doi.org/10.1080/0260747910170203
Mathew,
D. P., Mathew, D. P., Prince, M., & Peechattu, J. (2017). REFLECTIVE
PRACTICES: A MEANS TO TEACHER DEVELOPMENT. Asia Pacific Journal of
Contemporary Education and Communication Technology, 3(1), 6
Smyth, J.
(1993). Reflective Practice in Teacher Education. Research Online.
https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol18/iss1/2/
Dear Shyna,
ReplyDeleteYou are seen to cover a great range of information on your chosen topic, really breaking down the question “Do I really need to become a reflective practitioner” through looking at numerous points of views on the topic from Alder, Mathew and Smyth, all contrasting one another appropriately. Your conclusion and drawn analysis really brings together your final opinion on reflective practitioners, making your conclusion valid. Throughout your Blog, you’re also seen to evidently expand on your ideas, showing your knowledge and thorough research on the topic, making your final piece more compelling. However, whilst your paragraphs are easy to read and understand, they are seen to be prolonged, sometimes including perhaps too much information in one sentence, making the intended impact weaker and losing the interest of the reader. If these were shorter with less continuation, perhaps your piece would become captivating to a greater extent.
Regards, Chelsea