6-The+Reflective+Practice+of+Teaching

The reflective practice of teaching

The Ethics of Teaching

Perhaps we can use some of these quotes & resources for the formation of this section on reflective teaching. I pulled these from some of my lecture notes. See Stace for TONS more stuff.

There’s a strong connection between truly reflective teaching and the Art & the Science of teaching… “…being able to write a well-structured lesson plan is desirable. However, knowing what to do with it when faced with the reality of the teaching context is more important. Spontaneous decision-making is required. Intuition to do so relies on having confidence—confidence in knowing how, but also in knowing why. The combination of intuitive and reflective practice assists pre-service teachers to make decisions confidently rather than reverting to some long held belief (or fall back position) when challenged with a difficult situation. (Wideen et al., 1998). If they are to develop a strong sense of their own teacher identity, pre-service teachers must be able to take the risk to challenge opinions.”

“Many of today's youth lack the basic skills to function effectively when they enter the workforce. A common complaint is that entry-level employees lack the reasoning and critical thinking abilities needed to process and refine information.” “Critical Thinking in Community Colleges” by Shannon Hirose ERIC Digest.

The connection between writing & thinking… “writing facilitates critical thinking” ("Skipping on the Brink of the Abyss: Teaching Thinking through Writing," by James J. Sheridan, 1992) An analogy can be seen in the need for adult passengers on a commercial airline traveling with small children…that before one puts an oxygen mask on a child, one must first place a mask on oneself. Periodically, it is important to take a look at the key role model for children in the classroom, the teacher. Toward that end, this article will present a practical approach for early childhood teachers to use to re-evaluate aspects of their practice through the analysis of some of their own emotional intelligence abilities. (The Emotionally Intelligent Early Childhood Educator: Self-Reflective Journaling”, Janet Pickard Kremenitzer, Early Childhood Education Journal. Vol. 33. No. I. August 2005)

Lectures, tutorials, and workshops at university cannot simulate the spontaneity of the classroom or the nuances of the workplace. For the pre-service teachers, time on professional experience is a ‘sharp learning curve’ about teaching and about themselves as teachers. …It involves… learning about teaching and themselves as teachers, as well as learning to teach. (Becoming a teacher, p. 59)

P. 6: The "habit" of daily reflection and journaling is an important one for teachers, even within the reality of a very busy professional life. Framed as part of a teacher's required professional development plan will not then be seen as an additional "burden" on a teacher's time, but rather, should be seen as a most efficient method for meeting this requirement. Just as teachers maintain anecdotal notations on their students, keeping these for oneself will provide on-going and continuous assessment of personal progress.

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