Valuing Reflection in My Journey to Excellence - Essay Example

Valuing Reflection In My Journey To Excellence Working with young children can be a very fulfilling career. It takes not only patience and love for children, but competence in dealing with the many different needs of children to be instrumental in maximizing their inborn potentials. I have worked with children aged five to eight, and so far, it has been an amazing experience, filled with ups and downs. Personally, I cannot help but establish close and nurturing relationships with the children assigned to me, and can be very protective of them. I share in their small joys and cheer them on when they do well in their tasks. On the other hand, I get affected when they experience painful episodes in their growing up years. Professionally, I strive to hone my skills in teaching and guiding them well so they acquire and develop the skills they need and apply the concepts they have learned in their day to day lives. However, I know I am still a work in progress because I keep committing mistakes in my practice. Sometimes, it easily goes unnoticed, but sometimes, it brings about consequences I regret. I am aware that an early years practitioner goes through her life’s journey touching other lives along the way. I, for one, may keep on making lists and plans revolving around the children I handle, hoping to address all their needs. However, it is essential that once in a while, I stop to evaluate if I am on the right track and if I am still effective in my teaching practice, lest all my efforts go to waste. According to Osterman (1990), “reflection is the essential part of the learning process because it results in making sense of or extracting meaning from the experience”. People often go through their day doing their work as second nature, sometimes without thinking critically if what they are doing is truly meaningful and relevant. As a teacher, I should cherish every moment I spend with my young wards, as time goes by so quickly and in the next blink, they are grown, and I was not done yet in terms of my goals of helping them hone the skills expected to be developed while under my tutelage. If that happens, then I will become very disappointed with myself. Bleakley (1999) cited in Robson (2006: 17) has identified the term ‘reflective practitioner’ to become a ‘catch all phrase’ and has identified that there are many conflicting theories regarding reflective practice. Before analysing the theories outlining reflective practices in teaching, it would be important to go through a few definitions of ‘reflective thinking’. ‘Reflective thinking is thinking that is aware of its own assumptions and implications as well as being conscious of the reasons and evidence that support the conclusion (Lipman, 2003:26). John Dewey defined reflective thinking as “an active, persistent and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it and the further conclusion to which it tends” (Martin, 1995:167). Reid (1993) presents a motivational definition of reflective thinking as “a process of reviewing an experience of practice in order to describe, analyse, evaluate and so inform learning about practice.” Van Manen defines reflection in terms of a means of mental action that distances the person from events in order that they may be viewed in a more objective manner (as cited in Moon, 1999:17). Many researchers have considered problem solving and value conflict as aspects of reflective thinking (Totten & Pedersen 2007:79). Reflective practice has both advantages and disadvantages. It can positively affect professional growth and development by leading to greater self-awareness, to the development of new knowledge about professional practice, and to a broader understanding of the problems that confront practitioners (Osterman 1990). However, it is a time-consuming process and it may involve personal risk because the questioning of practice requires that practitioners be open to an examination of beliefs, values, and feelings about which there may be great sensitivity (Peters 1991). Bernard (2002:84) agree that practitioners often found the process quite time consuming and there was a greater fear of becoming introspective or being critical of oneself too much in practice. Doyle (1997: 519-532) states that "reflection enables teachers to think about their attitudes, beliefs, and assumptions ... to promote self-evaluation and change.” Wade (1997: 95) claims that reflection is essential for good practice as it proven that we remember 80% of what we have learnt through real life experiences and through reflection. McPherson (1997) cited in Wade (1997:96) identifies reflection to help students with problem solving skills and develop a mindset to be able to create change. Therefore it seems reflective practice is an important valuable tool for teachers, such as myself, who are required to infuse not only the curriculum but also a vast amount of knowledge among students. French et al. (2008: 6) believe that reflective practice has been recognised to be an important tool for professional development. Rowls and Swick (2000:463) agree and observed that teachers who regularly reflected enabled them to develop their relationship with children. Training programmes, from the onset are now are very much encouraged by the DfES to reflect on his or her teaching practice. “Effective practice in the early years requires committed enthusiastic and reflective practitioners with a breadth and depth of knowledge, skills and understanding” (DFES, 2005). In the past the teacher’s role was about sharing knowledge in one particular way. According to Bines and Welton (1995: 12), in the 1970’s, teaching was simply about making students acquire knowledge and be more attentive in their work. The role of the teacher was simply to observe students instead of interacting and participating themselves in the classroom. There seemed to be no consideration about the reflection of the pupil’s learning experience, leaving a lot of misconceptions on how knowledge and information were received by the students, as taught and guided by their teachers. (Stones and Morris, 1972: 50). It was though at the time the pupils were not learning due to their social, cultural and environmental circumstances (Dewey, 2007:128). However through acknowledging and admitting that there were flaws in the education system and a need for a more reflective approach in the classroom, a number of teaching methods and models started to develop (Vann Mann, 1999:35). An emphasis on the importance of reflection on the part of teachers was raised. Dewey (1995) cited in Van Mann (1999:34) stressed the need in teachers for some basic traits and characters such as sincerity, involvement and responsibility to be developed and strengthened. This opened floodgates to making several challenges in teaching methods and models. Dewey’s action plan for the need of a more reflective approach may be considered as the beginning of the movement for reflective practice (Van Mann, 1995:34). Thus, the idea of teaching has become a kind of double way flow i.e. that teaching is learning too, led a transformation in the pedagogy of teaching. The Modular Programmes described by Manion et al. (1996), which looks at one-to-one discussion in planning pathways, setting targets and action planning are the typical examples used in interactive teaching today. There seemed to be a shift in focus, the teaching profession began to change as there was a realisation that teaching involved reflection and is not simply lecturing (Longhran 1996:6). Schon (1983) was particularly influential in contributing to the understanding of reflective practice when launching his book, “The Reflective Practitioner’ in 1983. He defines reflection to be ‘involving thoughtfully considering ones own experiences in applying knowledge to practice while being coached by professionals in the discipline (1996:26). The learning is to take place in real life situations and called this the ‘reflective practicum’ (Loughran 1996:6). Schon’s theory outlines two different types of reflection that occur at different time phases: reflection on action (Schon 1983:278) and reflection in action (Schon 1983:62). ‘Reflection in action’ is often referred to the colloquial phrase as ‘thinking on your feet’ a term used to being able to assess ourselves within a situation, making appropriate changes and still keeping a steady flow in the process. Reflection on action is when reflection occurs after the event. This is where the practitioner makes a deliberate and conscious attempt to act and reflect upon a situation and how it should be handled in the future (Loughran 1996:6). As a teacher, I realized that I have been doing reflection-in action without even being aware of it. I realized I was responsible for my conscious efforts to practice trial and error in some of my educational strategies, as I had to wait for my students’ reaction first on some things before I go on with my next moves. One example is when I assumed that children have acquired certain skills I expected them to have for some particular activities, and then realized that they had no clue as to what to do. As a result, they were not as efficient with the task as I had hoped. On reflection, I knew they were not to be blamed, as I neglected to find out first if they are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge for the task at hand, which was a novel one for them. Because of this oversight, there was a disruption in the lesson. The implication of reflection in this lesson is I realized that I should have asked the children how competent they felt they were with skills needed for the novel activity and then go through some of the skills required. On hindsight, I knew that my fault of assuming too much without confirmation lost me valuable time (and interrupted the lesson flow) in the delivery of my lesson. Although reflection in action felt like there was a troublesome thought that kept reminding me of things I should and should not have done, reflective practice helped me be more aware of my actions and made me remember not to repeat my mistakes next time. Although simple and logical, Schon’s theories on reflection in action and reflection on action have been controversial among scholars. Court 1988 (cited in Moon: 1999:47) claims it is impossible to ‘reflect in action’ and has redefined the term as ‘deliberation’ or a decision making process. Furthermore the nature of Schon’s concept regarding reflection-on-action is considered to be too narrow and poorly defined Moon (1999:46). Factors such as time, anticipation and imagination in the process of reflection that are naturally found to have an impact on the outcome of reflection have not been contemplated upon (Moon 1999:50). Greenwood (1993) cited in Moon (1999:40) discuss how Schon (1983) has not referred to how reflection can occur before an event as he has only made reference to how the concept of reflection occurring in and after the learning experience This according to Greenwood (1993) is the most important type of reflection as it can reduce the number of errors involved in practical situations. Vann Mann (1991) uses the term ‘anticipatory reflection’ (cited in Moon 1999:). In this instance I learnt I should contemplate/ reflect before a lesson on the skills required for the lesson and acknowledge the prior skills the children have as I would have been more prepared for the lesson ahead. I should ask questions such as, “What could be the probable reactions of the students to this lesson?”, “What possible questions must I be ready for?”, “How would the children behave when the lesson is introduced?”, “Are the children ready for the lesson in terms of knowledge and skills?” Reflecting in a mentoring relationship is especially beneficial because a mentee can have a sounding board of her reflections. Bulman (2004: 114) found reflective practice when combined with mentoring developed a special kind of knowledge based on experience. In the book on Self Regulated Learning, Schunk and Zimmerman (1998:153) describe how a self- reflective practice allows us to monitor, evaluate and adjust our performance during learning. Adjusting strategies based on assessment on their learning helps to achieve the goal of learning and identifying the activities well suited to the situations (Schunk 1998: 153). Zeichner and Liston (1996) cited in Moon (1999:18) state that Schon (1983) understands the importance of the relationship between the student and their mentor but does not outline how this can improve practice and learning. The researchers state that he does mention how practitioners can reflect in a collaborative productive way. What I learn from this is that I can do brainstorming sessions with my students and hold back on the answers so they arrive at their own conclusions. This way, I get to supervise how they think and process information and generate hypotheses they can work on. I get to participate in their learning as an observer while taking note of how I should approach future lessons with them. It appears that David Kolb’s learning theory is of a very similar nature to Schon’s (1984). The reflection-on-action could well be equated with the abstract conceptualisation formulated by Kolb and the reflection-in-action with the second stage of reflective observation. David Kolb’s learning theory consists of four stages of experiences, reflective observations, abstract conceptualisation and finally the active experimentation leading to new experiences thereby completing the cycle is a generalised learning theory. (Clawson: 36) Here we can sense a link between the stages; that is, the second stage of reflective observation could not be separated from the first stage of experiences. Each and every moment of experiences are concurrently observed with reflection along with an approaching sense of ‘quit any moment’ alertness. As such the third stage of abstract conceptualisation loses its intensity if a quit signal is sparked and consequently the final stage of active experimentation is almost nil. However, the derived experience completes the cycle without actions. Albeit the reduction in stages the derivation of experience is not hampered which could be taken note of as an individual’s capability to cope with the pressure and to be mentally alert in active atmosphere. (Ross et al, 1997: 250). However Keogh, Boud, Keogh, Walker (2005:17) have pointed out that Kolb’s model does not really consider the process of reflection in great depth. The cycle has been criticised as he has not considered how one feels during the process of learning. Dewey, a pillar in education from the early part of the century and a sage from the past, dispenses his wisdom to modern teachers. He states that “all knowing and effort to know starts from some belief, some received and asserted meaning which is a deposit of experience, personal and communal.” (Dewey, 1929: 428). Because he believes that knowing comes from something internal in a person, it follows that knowing is not the act of an outside spectator but of the participator himself doing the action. Dewey sees reflection as “a process of finding out what we want, as we say, what we ‘really’ want, and this means the formation of a new desire, a new direction of action. In this process, things ‘get’ values – something they did not possess before” (Dewey, N.D.: 368). His definition is more similar to Schon’s reflection on action definition. Dewey writes. “To reflect is to look back over what has been done so as to extract the net meanings which are the capital stock for intelligent dealing with further experiences (Dewey, 1946: 110). It is judgment suspended during further inquiry. What he stresses is anticipatory thinking, projecting ahead from what one has reflected from past experiences. For Dewey, anticipation is more primary than recollection. He states, “the only power the organism power possesses to control its own future depends upon the way its present responses modify changes which are taking place in its medium” (Dewey, 1917: 20-21). Gleaning from Dewey’s theories, my reflective skills are at work as I learn to plan and anticipate student behaviour. I will assess my planning skills as I do my weekly lesson planning. I have In this instance, learned to anticipate student responses to most of the activities I design. Assessing my own skills, I shall relate it as much as possible to the theories discussed on reflective practice. The process of keeping a journal of happenings in my day as an early years practitioner helps in my reflective practice. Smyth (1991) claims one first has to describe current practices – events, critical incidents or occurrences that cause one to question. This may uncover important insights. Next is to inform. Objectively revisit descriptions of events and develop an understanding of the context of what happened. The third step is to confront oneself by asking where his beliefs come from and why he believes them; what assumptions did he make; why does he adopt such views or practices and what influences him to think and behave the way he does. Lastly, one can reconstruct. If such events cause conflicts between one’s theories and what he would want to happen, he should ask himself questions such as: what he would want to happen; how would he change his practices; what new theory should he adopt; and if this new theory is consistent with the old one. This may be tedious to do, but very effective in drawing out real evaluation and feelings from reflections. I realize that Smyth’s approach to reflective journal writing also applies to resolving issues with colleagues and parents of my students. Following the steps makes the issue more clear especially when misunderstandings take place. I am fortunate enough to enjoy smooth interpersonal relationships with my colleagues and parents, and have not encountered problems with them so far. If and when I do, it is great comfort to refer to Smyth’s reflective process to help me sort out the issue and regain my momentum. I am aware of how effective reflective practice is in keeping me vigilant in maintaining my professional skills. Doing this exercise of critical analysis of current research perspectives on reflective practice has exposed me to great minds whom I might as well consider as mentors. Dewey has created a great impact in terms of how thoroughly I should plan my encounters with the children, not only in terms of lesson planning, but every interaction that leads me to influencing my young students. He has taught me to consider all aspects of their social and cultural backgrounds when I make educational decisions on their behalf. Schon has pointed out the value of ongoing reflection in whatever I do, and this keeps me in check of my actions and language, as I take to heart that I am considered a rightful model for my students. Even if I know I am a natural teacher, and a skilled one at that, I must develop an attitude of excellence, as that is the quality of service I aim to provide, and that is the quality I would like to define me as a teacher. The value of reflective practice can never be overestimated. I know this for a fact now, as I have been turning to it every step of my journey as a teacher, and realizing that it is a worthy companion on my way to excellence. Works Cited Boud D, Keogh R, Walker D. Reflection: Turning Experience Into Learning. London: Kogan Page/Nichols; 1985 Bulman, C. Reflective Practice in Nursing: The Growth of the Professional Practitioner. Blackwell Publishing, 2004. Lipman, M., Thinking in Education, 2nd Edition, Cambridge University Press 2003 Dewey, J. “The Need for Recovery of Philosophy”, Creative Intelligence: Essays in the pragmatic attitude. New York: Henry Holt and Co., 1917. Dewey, J., Experience and Nature. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1929 Dewey, J. Experience and Education. New York: The Macmillian Company, 1946. Dewey, J. (N.D.) Essays in Experimental Logic. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. Kolb D. Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc; 1984 Loughran, J.J. Developing reflective practice: learning about teaching and learning through modeling. Routledge, 1996. Moon, J Reflection in Learning and Professional Development: theory and practice London; Kogan 1999 Osterman, K. F. "Reflective Practice: A New Agenda for Education." Education And Urban Society 22, no. 2 (February 1990) pp. 133-152. Peters, J. , “Strategies for Reflective Practice." In Professional Development For Educators Of Adults. New Directions For Adult And Continuing Education, no. 51, edited by R. Brockett. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Fall. 1991 Reid B., ‘But We’re Doing it Already!’ Exploring a Response to the Concept of Reflective Practice in Order to Improve its Facilitation, Nurse Education Today, 13: 305-309. 1993 Robson, J. Strategies for reflective thinking, Routledge, 2006. Schön, D. A. The reflective practitioner: how professionals think in action. New York: Basic Books. 1983. Schunk, D.H. & Zimmerman, B.J. Self-Regulated Learning: From Teaching to Self-Reflective Practice. New York: Guilford Press, 1998 Smyth, J., Teachers as collaborative learners. Milton Keynes, UK: Open University Press. 1991. Totten & Pedersen, 2007: Addressing Social Issues in the Classroom & Beyond. Information Age Publishing Van Manen, M. 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