Activity 3 - Reflecting on reflective practice response.

Activity 3: Responses to Finlay’s (2008)’s article
Read the article “Reflecting on reflective practice” by Lynda Finlay (2008). Create a blog post that discusses your responses to the article and evaluate your reflective practice. You can use the following as provocations or come up with your own.

• What is/are the points in the article that captivate your attention? In which way?
• What reflective model(s) do you find most suitable to use? Explain why?

Finlay (2008) defines reflective practice as “learning through and from experience towards gaining new insights of self and/or practice (Boud et al 1985;  Mezirow, 1981). This definition resonated with me. Over this year my practice has changed from that typical in a traditional classroom to a more independent learning environment. This has meant I had to be aware of my own practice and critically evaluate on a daily basis to identify what is working, what is not and how can I change the structure to improve it.

Another area that interested me was the discussion around the multiple meanings of reflective practice. There are a great range of ideas within the teachers I know, from the thinking approach to real critical reflection using current educational readings to alter their classroom practice. My concern is that many do not see reflective practice as a productive use of time.

Schon (1983) discussed two types of reflection, reflection in action and reflection on action. Personally the majority of my reflection is reflection-in-action, the down side is trying to remember changes I think of within the busy classroom environment so I can implement them later. I tend to use the reflection-on-action for larger changes in the class which tend to be longer term.

It was very interesting reading about the development of adaptive practice as you become more experienced in the classroom. I have become aware that in my role as a tutor teacher new teachers do require lots more thinking time to come to terms with new situations.

The next point that captured my interest was the idea of reflection, critical reflection and reflexivity being on a continuum with critical reflection occurring somewhere in between reflection and reflexivity. The continuing breakdown into

·      Introspection – solitary self dialogue probing personal meanings and emotions.

·      Intersubjective reflection – focussing on the relational context, on the emergent, negotiated nature of practice encounters.

·      Mutual collaboration – Mentor and student or members of a team seeking to solve problems collaboratively.

·      Social Critique – Focussing on the wider discursive, social and political context.

·      Ironic Deconstruction – I liked the term but really struggled to understand what it actually meant in reality.

The first three I could relate to, especially the mutual collaboration. With the implementation of independent learning in the senior classes I have worked closely with other teachers and it has led to the development of a number of ideas that help develop our new way of teaching. The collaboration has led to the development of varying levels of independent learning groups within the class.

Reflective Model I find Suitable

Perhaps the post potent comment from Finlay was in her summary of the modelling reflective practice process where she states “Different models are needed, at different levels, for different individuals, disciplines and organisations, to use in different contexts” (10). In essence, of all the models no one suits all! 

Personally I liked the Jay & Johnson (2002) model. It is simple to understand and has many prompts for triggering reflection. The intertwining of the model, the inclusion of research in the comparative view to redefine understandings are all ways that I would like my practice to work. The critical dimension would be the area I would possibly struggle with, identifying implications from alternative perspectives, the larger picture viewpoints.

Personally I liked the Jay & Johnson (2002) model as seen below. It is simple to understand and has many prompts for triggering reflection. The main points I took from this reading were that reflection is not an easy thing to do well.

It needs to be done with a clear purpose and valid reason where the reflector can see some benefit.

To be a critically reflective person is very difficult, to reflect badly is very easy.

• 
  

  
  

  References

  
  

  Boud D, Keogh R & Walker D (1985) Reflection: turning experience into learning. Kogan Page, London.

  
  

  Finlay, L. (2008) Reflecting on reflective practice. PBPL. Retrieved from http://www.open.ac.uk/opencetl/files/opencetl/file/ecms/web-content...

  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.


  Mezirow, J. (1981). A critical theory of adult learning and education. Adult Education, 32, 3 24.

  
  

  Shon, D. A., (1983). The reflective practioner. How professionals think in action. New York: Basic Books.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  

Activity 2 - What I have learnt about myself as a learner!

Create a blog post in which you reflect on the last 24 weeks of study. Provide a critical discussion of at least three things you have learned about yourself as a learner (metacognitive process) and three key changes in your own practice

 

Over the last 24 weeks I have learnt many things about myself as a learner. 

1.    I have really enjoyed researching and discovering  things, however I have to see a benefit and reason for me to do this.  I enjoyed the DCL component of the course, using some of the tools at Mind Lab such as the Makey Makey, 3D printing, discussions around Modern Learning Environments. I could see the application of  this in the classroom. With some of the later assignments I have not been able to see as clearly how the activities relate to me so I have been far less engaged.

2.    I feel that given the opportunity to work collaboratively on assignments was fantastic. I definitely think I prefer to work collaboratively rather than on my own. Having someone to discuss ideas with helps me consolidate my own thinking.  I feel it also takes the pressure off me as the responsibility is shared. Whilst I have enjoyed working collaboratively on many of the assignments, this also presented some challenges. Working with someone who takes a different approach to tasks, can be challenging. Slavin (1989) suggested that working collaboratively members should create both group and individual goals. Within our pair we allocated work individually, researched, then came back and discussed our findings together. I feel this shared the knowledge and perhaps allowed us to learn more, which reinforces the findings of Beckman (1990).

3.    I have enjoyed, and am still enjoying, implementing some of the ideas I have picked up from the course.  I have found that perhaps I may be a little impetuous in my implementation of ideas and that sometimes it may be a good idea to take a step back before implementing. I have also found that implementing new ideas and seeing how they develop is also exciting. My study has helped me develop a consistently reflective attitude.

Changes in my Practice.

1.    I have undertaken many changes in my practice.  Over the course of term 3 I implemented a Genius Hour time within the class. I was inspired to implement this by reading around the topic after discussions during our Mind Lab class workshops. Darling-Hammond & Butler (2008) highlighted how developing inquiring minds yields significant benefits. I was impressed by a number of the projects in the class, the developing independent learning of the students and the engagement during these projects. I am considering running another session, but perhaps not every term.

2.    I have also introduced changes in the classroom designed to develop the independent learning dispositions of the students. This has been a major change in my teaching and developed due to a number of factors. Again discussions at Mind Lab along with purchasing a number of devices for the classroom, allowing me to have 1 device for 2 students. This change has been interesting to implement, the increased engagement in the majority of students has been amazing. Parent feedback has been positive as they see students begin to take responsibility for their own learning, and being concerned about the accountability they have to have.

3.    A third area that has changed has been the collaborative side of my teaching. This is still developing but I feel as we move down the independent learning pathway we need to increase collaboration between classes. I have had requests from other schools to come and look at what we are doing, as well as teachers within other classes asking if students can come and take part in particular activities (Genius Hour) as they feel it would be a positive experience for these particular students and they are not in a position to implement the changes themselves at this time. 

References

Barron, B., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2008, October). Powerful Learning: Studies Show Deep Understanding Derives from Collaborative Methods. Retrieved 5 October 2015, from http://www.edutopia.org/inquiry-project-learning-research

Beckman, M. (1990), Collaborative Learning: Preparation for the Workplace and Democracy? College Teaching, 38(4), pp. 128-133.

Slavin, R. E. (1989). Research on cooperative learning: An international perspective. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 33(4), 231-243.