British Columbia Ministry of Education. (2017) The Teacher Regulation Branch Standards for Education, Competence and Professional Conduct of Educators in BC. Retrieved from https://www.bcteacherregulation.ca/Standards/StandardsDevelopment.aspx
“Educators engage in career-long learning. Educators engage in professional development and reflective practice, understanding that a hallmark of professionalism is the concept of professional growth over time. Educators develop and refine personal philosophies of education, teaching and learning that are informed by theory and practice. Educators identify their professional needs and work to meet those needs individually and collaboratively” (British Columbia Ministry of Education, 2017).”
Standard number seven of the Teacher Regulation Branch’s standards for education, competence and professional conduct of educators in BC clearly state the expectation for teachers to improve throughout their careers. However, experience alone does not necessarily lead to improvement. Rather professional development requires intentionality and action. As standard seven implies, teachers must take responsibility for their own growth by identifying their professional weaknesses and addressing them. Self-assessment is essentially the first step to professional growth, we teachers must first learn to identify our problem area so that we can effectively direct our professional learning. My inquiry project seeks to meet the expectations of the teaching as expressed in standard number sever through using the reflective practice as a tool for self-assessment and professional development.
Capel, S. A., Breckon, P., & O’Neill, J. (2006). A practical guide to teaching physical education in the secondary school. London [England]; New York, NY;: Routledge.
This article outlines the two-fundamental process of reflection. Capel, Breckon & O’Neil explain that the first process of reflection is reflection-in-action, which is when one assesses what they are doing as they are doing it. This involves making choices on one’s course of action based on observation skills such as reading the class. The second type of reflective process is reflection-on-action, which “is systematic and deliberate thinking back over one’s actions” (Capel et. Al., 2006, p.19). This article provided me with a basic introduction to that key definition and terms which framed my further understanding of reflection in a professional context.
Clarke, A. (1995). Professional development in practicum settings: Reflective practice under scrutiny. Teaching and Teacher Education, 11(3), 243-261.
This article explores the applicability of Donal Schön’s notion of the reflective practitioner for student teachers during their practicums. It helped me situate my understanding of reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action in the greater context of the reflective practice. This article gave me an overview of Schön’s four-step conception of the reflective cycle: trigger, frame, reframe and plan. Reflection begins when a ‘trigger’ that causes the practitioner to be curious or intrigued by an aspect of the practice setting. After which they ‘frame’ that aspect in terms of the particulars of their setting. Then they ‘reframe’ that aspect with reference to their past knowledge or previous experience. Lastly, they develop a plan for future action. Through a spiralling process of “framing and reframing” the practitioner comes “to new understandings of situations and new possibilities for action” (Clarke, 1995, p. 245). Hens, the reflective process is like cyclical and ongoing like a helix. After a plan is implemented in the practice setting, it prompts new triggers, which extends the reflective process. As the practitioner frame, reframe and plan they bring the insight gained from their previous spirals of inquiry. This article gave me a framework for my inquiry method while inspiring me to read some of Schön’s writing.
Erickson, G., Clarke, A., & MacKinnon, A. (2013). What we owe to Donald Schön: Three educators in conversation. Phronesis, 2(1), 89-99.
“A key feature of Schön’s ‘epistemology of practice,’ this notion of being in conversation with the practice setting, with what I think he would call the ‘materials of the situation,’ paying attention to the ‘back-talk’ of experiments-in-action and, particularly, surprises and problems as they occur along the way, as they arise in the context of our understanding of the people, places and events ‘in our faces’ as we carry out the work we do. His idea of being in conversation with the practice setting emphasizes the improvisational aspects of teaching— how we think-on-our-feet, as it were, making decisions in the moment” (Erickson, Clarke & MacKinnon, 2013, p.95).
In this conversational style article, the authors re-tell their journeys of engaging with Schön’s theories on reflection with respect to teacher education. Through this article, I came to understand reflection as “a product, not a process” (MacKinnon, Clarke et Erickson, 2013, p. 93). Reflection is not an abstract thing one does, like ‘navel-gazing’; rather reflection is what is produced, such as tangible constructive insights or plans for improving one’s performance. This article also articulated Schön’s concept of problem-setting as oppose to problem-solving, as each problem is unique and intrinsically connected to the setting in which it arises. The reflective practice requires practitioners to be in a continual conversation with their practice environments. This concept helped me better understand the frame and reframe steps of Schön’s theory of the reflective process. Problem-setting will guide my reflection throughout my inquiry.
Peterson, P. L., Baker, E. L., & McGaw, B. (2010). International encyclopedia of education (3rd ed.). Oxford, UK: Academic Press.
The article illuminated the link between teacher self-assessment and professional development, namely that self-assessment is the first step to professional growth. For, teachers must first learn to identify their problem areas, so that they can effectively direct their professional learning (Peterson, Baker & McGaw, 2010). One’s choices for professional development opportunities should be not be based on one’s interests and preferences but in direct response to their needs.
Romano, M.E. (2004): Teacher reflections on ‘bumpy moments’ in teaching: A self-study. Teachers and teaching: Theory and practice, 10:6, 663-681.
This article describes one teacher’s inquiry process and gave me a clear example of teacher reflection for self-assessment. Romano’s 25-day self-study is a prime example of reflection-on-action. Romano’s self-study involved videotaping her teaching days, and then reviewing and analyzing the tapes each night for what she described as “bumpy moments” (Romano, 2004, p. 666). Through this process of taping and reflecting she identified the causes for her bumpy moments, most of which she found fell into four main categories. Romano’s article illustrates how intentional engagement reflective process can reveal patterns in one’s practice which can serve to guide future professional development opportunities.
Schön, D. A. (1991). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. London: Ashgate.
This book examines five professions, engineering, architecture, management, psychotherapy, and town planning to illustrate how professionals solve problems. It argues that the best professionals rely heavily on improvisation based on knowledge and experience gained over time. Central to this practice is reflection-in-action. A professional must be able to assess what they are doing as they do it in order recognize they should make adaptions to their actions, determine what should be done, and implement the plan on the spot. Through reading sections of this book, I came to better understand reflection-in-action and problem setting and their significance for my inquiry into the reflection and self-assessment. Through my inquiry project, I aim to get a better understanding of my own ability to reflection-in-action in the classroom and gym settings.