Reflective Teaching

Reflective teaching or practice is defined as "the thoughtful consideration and questioning of what [teachers] do, what works and what doesn't, and what premises and rationales underlie our teaching and that of others." McAlpine and Weston state that expanding one's knowledge through reflection increases one's ability to develop as a teacher. Philosopher John Dewey identified three attitudes that facilitate reflection: open-mindedness, responsibility, and wholeheartedness. Teachers can use a variety of methods to promote reflection both in their professional lives and in their classrooms.

Overview

Reflective teaching has become a focus of interest and a powerful movement in teacher education. The complexity of teaching requires teachers to question their practices for their own professional development in order to improve and to increase learner performance. The ability to reflect correlates with a person's ability to reason logically. Parsons and Stephenson see critical reflection as a crucial part of the complex activity of teaching. Teachers can make sound pedagogical decisions, "if reflective thinking becomes a habit of the mind based on specific epistemic views that promote its development." One's epistemological worldview, or an individual's system of values and beliefs about the nature and acquisition of knowledge, defines attitudes about teaching. Through reflection, teachers can examine the how and what of their teaching "by examining the underlying premises on which they base their work" (Hubball, Collins, & Pratt, 2005, p. 59). They can "reconstruct experiences," attending to features of a situation and assigning new significance to them" to make sense out of that which may no longer work within the classroom. As Brookfield points out, "We can stand outside ourselves and come to a clearer understanding of what we do and who we are by freeing ourselves of distorted ways of reasoning and acting" (p. 214).

History

Reflective teaching or practice has its roots in the Enlightenment era. John Dewey, an early-twentieth century educational philosopher, was one of the first theorists in the United States to see teachers as reflective practitioners who could reform education. For Dewey, the purpose of reflective practice is to change teachers' classroom practices or actions. Teachers begin the process of reflection when they experience "a difficult, troublesome event or experience that cannot be immediately resolved" (Zeichner & Liston, 1996, p. 8). Because of teachers' concern about their practice, they analyze the experience.

In the early 1980s, reflective practice began to appear in literature about teaching and learning. Donald Schon wrote widely about reflective practice, highlighting its use in fields besides education, such as architecture and medicine. Education theorist David Kolb promotes reflection, viewing it as a necessary part of engaging the learner. Psychotherapist Carl Rogers states that reflection is appropriate to enhance self-discovery; he views self-discovery as the only learning which significantly influences behavior. In 1986, educational philosopher Lev Vygotsky promoted reflection, as reflection helps students make connections between themselves and the world around them. Sociologist C. Wright Mills describes the three types of teachers who do or do not promote reflection.

• Vulgar believers are not invested in reflection and are not interested in listening to opposing views or analyzing their own beliefs in any reflective way.

• Sophisticated believers are interested in knowing about opposing viewpoints, but only so they can argue against others' positions. They do not see that their belief systems may be flawed.

• Critical believers are open to opposing views, understanding that they may have weaknesses in their own thinking, and are strengthened by different beliefs.

Reasons for Reflection

McAlpine and Weston state that expanding one's knowledge through reflection increases one's ability to develop as a teacher. Schon promotes the idea of reflection by explaining that the time when reflection occurs can have an impact on the level of reflection. Teachers who regularly reflect do so for many reasons. They reflect on:

• The assumptions underlying teaching and learning;

• The appropriateness of their instructional decisions;

• Improving actions in a particular course;

• Generalized knowledge or approaches to teaching; and/or

• Cognitive awareness of their reflective processes.

Dewey's Attitudes Promoting Reflection

Dewey states that the function of reflection is "to transform a situation in which there is experienced obscurity, doubt, conflict, disturbance of some sort, into a situation that is clear, coherent, settled [and] harmonious” (p. 100-101). He proposes three attitudes that promote reflection:

• Open-mindedness,

• Responsibility, and

• Wholeheartedness.

Open-Mindedness

Open-mindedness is the most important attitude of reflection and is defined as the ability to remain open to multiple, alternative ideas. While teachers may have certain values and beliefs about how students learn, those who are open-minded are aware that there is no one right way to teach. Schon states that professionals need the "capacity to hold several ways of looking at things at once without disrupting the flow of inquiry" as they experiment with different problems (p. 130). Open-mindedness leads "to a plurality of ways of noticing, understanding and working towards improving practice and policy" (Ghaye, 2005, p. 182). Teachers are also open-minded when they can listen to and accept strengths and weaknesses of their perspectives.

Responsibility

Another attitude that promotes reflection is responsibility. To Dewey, being a responsible teacher means intentionally reflecting upon one's actions to bring about improvements in practice. Before they act, teachers reflect carefully about the consequences to which action might lead them. They realize that there are consequences to teaching - personal consequences, academic consequences, and socio/political consequences. Ideally, students learn that the best leaders inspire trust among followers by listening to them, understanding them, and serving as mentors and role models.

Wholeheartedness

Wholeheartedness, the third attitude proposed by Dewey, is the commitment to pursuing something worthwhile—in this case, reflection. Teachers who are wholehearted in their reflection have attitudes that include the desire to learn something new through their reflections.

Mezirow's Qualitative Aspects of Reflection

Mezirow has categorized reflective thinking into qualitative aspects of reflection; this leveling of reflection is called the taxonomy of reflective thought. One category is non-reflective action, which is considered superficial in nature. Within the category of non-reflective action is habitual action. In habitual action, a learned action is performed automatically, with little or no reflective or conscious thought involved. Thoughtful action includes prior knowledge, but there is no reflective appraisal of this prior knowledge. Through introspection, one is aware of feelings about learned actions.

The second category of qualitative aspects of reflection is reflective action. Here, reflection begins through content reflection, process reflection and content/process reflection. Through content reflection, the person reflects upon perceptions, thoughts, feelings or actions. Through process reflection, reflection is on the processes of perceiving, thinking, feeling, or acting. Content/process reflection is a combination of both types of reflective action. Premise reflection is one's awareness of the reasons behind one's perceptions, thoughts, feelings and actions. Often called critical reflection, this is the highest level of reflective thought.

Ganor's Problematizing Model

Ganor proposes yet another reflective model that includes problematizing, to ask questions and critique more deeply the issue at hand, whatever that issue might be. By problematizing, teachers respond "to the complexity of teaching and place value on the way in which teachers reflect upon the questions they have about their teaching" (p. 52). Ganor has outlined several patterns of reflection:

• Unproblemized reflection: This type of reflection focuses only on the practical strategies in which teachers engage, with only superficial discussion about issues and assumptions about teaching.

• Problematized reflection: This type of reflection promotes the idea that teachers have the insight to understand student demographics, as well as the social and political conditions of the community, that could impact and influence students' lives and successes in schools. This type of reflection promotes the confrontation of existing beliefs and a transition to newfound insights.

• Critically problematized reflection: This type of reflection creates fundamental change in thinking that results in radically different practice. Reflection can result in innovative action that impacts the greater educational community.

Hubball, Collins, and Pratt state that there are several elements that facilitate reflection:

• Those reflecting must be provided a structure or some guidance for those engaging in reflection, that there must be "an explicit rationale and criteria for critical analysis."

• There must be integrative, reflective activities, with ongoing reflection as part of a larger commitment to reflection.

• Reflection should be "authentically related" to teachers' actual teaching contexts.

• Reflection can be individual, but collaborating with others will enhance "a contextually-bound process."

• Those involved in reflection must understand that there are varying degrees of interest in different reflective activities; some prompts may be more stimulating to one person as opposed to another (p. 62).

Applications

Reflective Activities

Reiman suggests that there needs to be "guided reflective frameworks" (p. 603), or explicit prompts that help those reflecting upon their practice to regulate and monitor their cognition. Other reflective activities include:

• Developmental portfolios,

• Action research,

• Writing educational philosophy statements, and

• Telling stories within teacher dialogue groups.

Brookfield outlines six additional points of entry for teachers to enter in self-reflection:

• Teaching Logs: Recording weekly events of teachers' lives that have impressed themselves most vividly on their consciousness.

• Teacher Learning Audits: Responding to questions that are expressly designed to probe how the teachers have changed over the previous twelve months.

• Role Model Profiles: Talking to colleagues that teachers admire and outlining their qualities and abilities that could be emulated.

• Survival Advice Menus: Advising future teachers about how they can survive in a job such as their own.

• Videotaping: Viewing one's own teaching to see how much teacher talk occurs instead of student talk.

• Peer Observation: Inviting colleagues to view their teaching.

Student Reflection

Teaching students to reflect is also a strategy used within the classroom, as a means of helping students reach their fullest potential. Dewey sees reflection as an education experience that fosters purposeful and meaningful learning. Hubbs and Brand state that reflection can "actively engage students with content in an intensely personal way" (p. 61). To Kolb, reflective journaling within the classroom can create learning conditions that result in meaningful and purposeful learning. Students must be taught about the purposes of reflection and the importance of self-knowledge in learning. Kerka states that students who are reflecting must trust the reader of their reflections, must be provided clear expectations and must receive quality feedback.

Reflective Journaling

Reflective journaling is used as a tool for reflection. Seen as a versatile strategy that can be used by students and teachers alike, journaling can also be used for in-class learning activities that can stimulate learners to link critical class concepts to reflective thinking. Reflective journals are defined as "written documents used to stimulate learners to increase their awareness of their beliefs, values, and practices" (Billings and Kowalski, 2006, p. 104). Boud views journaling as a pedagogical device that can be used to extract meaning from events and experiences in the classroom, as well as to enhance writing and critical thinking skills. Journaling becomes "a questioning attitude" (Moon, 1999, p. 189). The key advantage to journaling is "the ability to prompt learners to think critically and process information in the affective domain, as well as cognitively" (Billings and Kowalski, 2006, p. 104). Reflective journaling can lead students through a transformative process, as they move towards learning new material.

Rubrics

If journals are used to enhance reflection among students, rubrics can be used to assess them. Rubrics are grading criteria given to students at the time of the assignment. Sections on the rubric can measure judgments about the depth of thought of journal content; the completeness of entries; the relationship of course concepts to the entries; as well as the connection between theory and practice. Lyons suggests that there are five potential outcomes of sustained reflection. They include: performing a defined action, based on reflections; preparing systematically to reflect more; acting to deliberate in an intentional fashion; knowing what we are about when we act, and constructing meaning.

Actions of Reflective Teachers

Zeichner and Liston state that reflective teachers act in specific ways. Reflective teachers:

• Examine, frame, and attempt to solve the dilemmas of classroom practice;

• Are aware of and question the assumptions and values they bring to teaching;

• Are attentive to the institutional and cultural contexts in which they teach;

• Take part in curriculum development and are involved in school change efforts; and,

• Take responsibility for their own professional development.

Journaling

Journaling is reflective in nature and can be used by teachers within the classroom as a learner-centered assessment tool. Teachers can use journaling for students to reflect within so that the teachers can determine if and how students are understanding content. Students can also reflect upon their understanding of content by self-assessing where they need to devote more time on a particular content area. Teachers can also use journaling for formative assessment, as journaling entries can reveal insight through student responses so that teachers can construct questions or future assignments. There are downsides to journaling, as journaling can be perceived as busywork. Also teachers can be disappointed in the level of reflection that students may place in the assignment; reading journals also takes time on the part of the teacher.

Electronic Versions of Journaling

With the advent of the Internet, reflective journaling has taken the form of electronic media such as web logs or blogs. Blogs are postings on the web that appear in reverse chronological order. They can be personal or public in nature. Teachers may move to require reflective journals to take the form of web blogs, as there is a time stamp posted on each entry. The blogs are easily accessible, as they only require a computer instead of many unwieldy notebooks. Bouldin, Holmes, and Fortenberry state that teachers must set guidelines for blogging that include expectations and descriptions of journal prompts and ways to respect one another as they share their responses.

Assessment of Reflective Journals

Journals can be assessed through frequency of postings, clarity of writing, and relevancy of entries. Rouldin, Holmes, and Fortenberry state that entries should be "thoughtful, engaged, and relevant to course content" (p. 2).

Reflective Engagement

Lyons defines reflective engagement as:

a deliberate and intentional act of interrupting, or suspending, one's teaching processes to interrogate or inquire into them systematically and to heighten one's conscious awareness of one's practices and of one's students and then using that consciousness to redirct one's practice and actually acting to change (p. 166).

Those teachers who are involved in these acts of inquiry may reflect alone or with others to promote change in the classroom. Change may include teaching students in a new way about concepts or processes.

Conclusion

Reflective teaching or practice is challenging, as reflection is often a struggle to begin and maintain. Reflective analysis enables teachers to make appropriate instructional decisions; however, the skills to make such analysis may take instruction and experience, and, therefore elude many pre-service and novice teachers. Ostorga states that novices in reflection often do not understand their own beliefs, values and attitudes about teaching or possess the cognitive ability to reflect effectively. Often in teacher education programs, novices reflect superficially. Boud and Walker state that novice reflections often are "diffuse and disparate (in their reflections) so that conclusions or outcomes may not emerge." Reflection has also become a buzzword or catch-all term, as those in teaching may not clearly understand the role of reflection in their professional lives. Those who are "required" to reflect may be very uncomfortable with sharing ideas that they may consider to be too superficial, particularly if they do not understand the value of or purpose to reflection.

NCATE, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, promotes reflection as an important element of teacher education programs. Reflection on one's teaching is "likely to raise the question of how one teaches and, in the end, to have a positive effect on the improvement of teaching" (Hubball, Collins, and Pratt, 2005, p. 60). Ghaye states that through the practice of reflection, teachers and students alike can learn "to appreciate the successful aspects of our work, no matter how small, and the practical wisdom that led to them" (p. 182).

Terms & Concepts

Academic Consequences of Reflection: Valli states that academic consequences of reflection are "the effects of one teaching on pupils' intellectual development" (p. 11).

Blogs: A blog (or web log) is a website where entries are written in chronological order and posted by time stamps. Recently, blogs have been a source for posting reflective journal entries.

Formative Assessment: Formative assessment is a form of assessment that provides for immediate evidence of student learning in a particular course or at a particular point in a program. Formative assessment improves the quality of student learning and should not be evaluative or involve grading students. By informally evaluating students during a lesson, the teacher can gain an understanding of what the students know or can do, based on instruction to that point in the lesson

Personal Consequences of Reflection: Valli states that personal consequences of reflection are "the effects of one's teaching on pupil self-concepts" (p. 11). What one teaches impacts student self-discovery.

Rubrics: Rubrics are documents that explicitly state the criteria for student work. They are developed through gradations of criteria that are specific and detailed. They generally appear in chart form.

Self-Discovery: Self-discovery is the act or process of achieving understanding or knowledge of oneself through reflection.

Socio/Political Consequences of Reflection: Valli states that socio/political consequences of reflection are "the projected efforts of one's teaching on the life changes of various students" (p. 11).

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Suggested Reading

Bouldin, A., Holmes, E., & Fortenberry, M. (2006). "Blogging" about course concepts: Using technology for reflective journaling in a communications class. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 70 , 1-8. Retrieved December 14, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete.

Dearborn, J. (2006). Reflective teaching, reflective learning. California English, 12 , 22-24. Retrieved December 14, 2007 from EBSCO online database Education Research Complete:

Ghaye, T. (2006). From private to public - writing a reflective account? Reflective Practice, 7 , 1-8. Retrieved December 14, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Premier.

LaBoskey, V. (1995). A conceptual framework for reflection in preservice teacher education. In J. Calderhead and P. Cates (Eds.). Conceptualizing reflection in teacher education (pp. 23-38). Washington, DC: Falmer Press.

Lyons, N. (2002). The personal self in a public story. In N. Lyons and V. LaBoskey (Eds.). Narrative inquiry in practice: Advancing the knowledge of teaching. (pp. 87-100). New York: Teachers College Press.

Noffke, S., & Brennan, M. (2005). The dimensions of reflection: A conceptual and contextual analysis. International Journal of Progressive Education, 1 ,

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Singer, J. (2005). Finding and framing teacher research questions: Moving from reflective practice to teacher research. Teaching and Learning, 19 , 144-155. Retrieved December 14, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete.