FETE 401 Reflective Journal

 

What do we mean by "Reflective Journal"?

As a teacher you are called upon to make instructional decisions for your students based upon your observations of their learning. In order to make informed decisions, you must be able to look deeply into what you are seeing, hearing, and doing. That is you should consider a variety of factors when making crucial decisions, for example: what something you observe might mean, what lesson plans to design for the student/group of students/class, what was successful or not successful with a student and why, or why students did or did not learn from the lesson, and what can you do differently to improve upon the lesson.

 

What are the factors we are supposed to think about?

They include what you know about students, subject matter, the social context, and yourself:

Π   the students (e.g., interests, special needs, culture, characteristics, learning styles, and instructional levels);

Π   the content and goals (the curriculum and key concepts, skills, and attitudes);

Π   the methods of instruction and assessment ( assessing student needs and abilities, planning and implementing instruction, and assessing student understanding);

Π   the surrounding physical, social, and political conditions (context); and

Π   who YOU are (your characteristics and assumptions influence how you interpret your experiences).

 

Am I supposed to think about all of these things whenever I make a decision?

It is best to consider as many of these factors as possible when making a teaching decision. For example, you may see a student who seems too loud as she is working in her group. You could assume that the teacher's discipline method is not working (one possible interpretation). However, you need to consider more factors than just the teacher's discipline methods before you can truly interpret this girl's loud behavior. You need to ask yourself what you know (or can find out) about this student's learning style, special needs, and interests, the content she is supposed to be learning, how the group learning method was implemented, what time of day it is, and what other conditions might have affected this student. After checking out all these angles, you might find out that the girl is very motivated on this day because she loves this activity; and that this is rare. Therefore, the teacher has made a decision to allow the girl to express her enthusiasm today. Just as considering multiple factors allowed a more accurate assessment of what was really going on in this example, your reflective interpretation of such factors will allow you to make better professional decisions.

 

Are there different kinds of reflection?

Yes, we think of two types. Although it is an oversimplification, it works well for our students to make sense of how various courses and experiences fit together. The first type is referred to as technical reflection and the second type, critical reflection.

 

1.      Technical Reflection:  This is making a decision for the short term to fix (or try) something now without much consideration of the long-term effects on students' social and personal values. Most novice teachers engage in a great deal of technical reflection by asking, “Did this strategy work to help students learn today? Did they behave? How can I do better?” and other similar questions. Such questions help teachers find ways of operating that help them survive their first years. However, as teachers continue their careers, they come to realize that they are (consciously or unconsciously) teaching their students very important values. Further, many teachers come to see that the school and social systems may need to make some changes to become more helpful to students in the long run. They spend more time in critical reflection.

 

2.      Critical Reflection:  These decisions have more to do with the "big picture." For example: ethics, morals, social justice-in short, the values and beliefs we share about what is right and wrong. Your personal values, prior experiences, and education will exert a powerful influence on how you interpret classroom events. The essence of reflection is to examine one's own assumptions and to be willing to modify them when they interfere with the best interests of students. Since your core values and experiences will drive your everyday teaching decisions, it is important to examine them carefully.

 

Think about the influence a teacher can have on students' beliefs about what is okay or not okay. Decisions as simple as whether to use a certain discipline system can have a far-reaching impact on students' conceptions of what it means to be in a social system. Some discipline systems teach obedience, others teach students to consider consequences of their actions, and still others teach students’ that "anything goes." Similarly, the choice of books, strategies, and resources may affect students' views of themselves and others as learners or their stereotypes may cause students to question some of their unexamined beliefs. Your choice of methods of teaching also conveys subtle messages about who has the right to establish and promote knowledge - the students or some distant authority.

 

You will note that your SOFD 328 course (Multicultural Education) required much critical reflection. While some methods and assessment course appears to emphasize technical reflection, it is very important to include critical reflection questions along with technical reflection questions in your everyday teaching and learning as a professional.