critical incidents in teaching to promote reflective practice

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Using critical incidents in teaching to

promote reflective practiceBenita G Bruster

a amp Barbara R Peterson

a

a Austin Peay State University Teaching and Learning PO Box

4545 College of Education Clarksville 37044 United States

Published online 30 Oct 2012

To cite this article Benita G Bruster amp Barbara R Peterson (2013) Using critical incidents in

teaching to promote reflective practice Reflective Practice International and Multidisciplinary

Perspectives 142 170-182 DOI 101080146239432012732945

To link to this article httpdxdoiorg101080146239432012732945

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Using critical incidents in teaching to promote re1047298ective practice

Benita G Bruster and Barbara R Peterson

Austin Peay State University Teaching and Learning PO Box 4545 College of EducationClarksville 37044 United States

( Received 1 March 2012 1047297nal version received 19 September 2012)

Literature in teacher education stresses the importance of preparing thoughtfulre1047298ective practitioners This study examined the use of critical incidents as atool for re1047298ection employed by teacher candidates during their clinical teachingsemester All participants were required to write weekly re1047298ections using either a traditional journaling format (N=10) or an on-line weblogging format (N=10)Two independent readers analyzed the narratives and collaborated to reach cen-suses using open and axial coding to determine key phrases and words and toassign themes The quantitative method used to analyze re1047298ection entries was aTwo-way ANOVA design The results indicated a signi1047297cant difference betweenthe re1047298ections of those who weblogged and the re1047298ections of those who wrotein traditional journals Participants who wrote in journals wrote complex investi-gative re1047298ections of classroom events Participants who wrote using weblogswrote less complex descriptions of classroom events In addition participantswho wrote using the weblogs generated questions about how to solve instruc-tional issues more so than those who participated in the traditional journalingformat Analysis of the participantsrsquo re1047298ective writing indicated that participantsfrom both groups moved in-and-out of 1047297ve phases of re1047298ection however thelanguage used in all re1047298ective writing provided insight into each phase andfeatured language that was representative of each particular phase

Keywords weblogging critical incidents re1047298ective phases re1047298ective practiceteacher candidates

Introduction

Re1047298ective thinking and re1047298ective practice have become common concepts in the

teacher education literature as national and state policy makers and teacher

education programs have committed themselves to preparing teachers to be

re1047298ective practitioners (American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education

2010 Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium 1992 National

Board of Professional Teaching Standards 2007 National Council for Accreditation

of Teacher Education 2000) The emphasis on re1047298ective practice challenges teacher

educators to create programs that provide constructive ways for teacher candidates

to engage in re1047298ective practice

Helping teacher candidates develop habits of re1047298ection has been an ongoing

commitment in most teacher education programs Teacher candidates are encour-

aged to re1047298ect on lesson and unit plans 1047297eld and clinical experiences and on

Corresponding author Email brusterbapsuedu

Re 1047298 ective Practice 2013

Vol 14 No 2 170 ndash 182 httpdxdoiorg101080146239432012732945

2012 Taylor amp Francis

D o w n l o a d e d b y [ U n i v e r s i t y o f T e e s i d e ] a t 0 4 1 7 0 4 O c t o b e r 2 0 1 3

various course requirements A common assumption is that re1047298ective practice

facilitates the ability to apply theory to practice and to learn from experience The

basic premise behind re1047298ective practice is that an individualrsquos actions are guided by

what they have learned from previous experiences Piaget (1967) asserted that individuals do not assimilate new information in a step-by-step manner Instead

individuals learn through intellectual resolution each event in1047298uenced by previous

experiences individual backgrounds and critical events that happen and change

ways of thinking Looking back over events situations or critical episodes in a

way that allows for deep critical introspection is re1047298ection However encouraging

deep critical re1047298ection from students in an educational environment is often met

with disappointing outcomes The idea of re1047298ection is a taken-for-granted notion

among many educators that assumes re1047298ection to be a natural response to a

dilemma or challenge Although an individual may re1047298ect how the individual

re1047298ects will have a bearing on the outcome Re1047298ective individuals have the ability

to think about their behaviors and make judgments about them In contrast Valli

(1992) suggested that individuals who are unre1047298ective are limited in their ability to

make change Deeper learning has a distinct relationship with re1047298ective practice

(Sen amp Ford 2009) and is more likely to occur when individuals engage in what is

termed as deep re1047298ection analytical re1047298ection or critical re1047298ection As teacher

educators we want to promote critical re1047298ection however when reading the writtenre1047298ections of our students we observed the re1047298ections to be descriptive in nature

with minimal evidence of being analytical or critical

From our anecdotal observations it appeared that our teacher candidates did not

automatically know how to re1047298ect analytically or critically As a result we wanted

to learn more about the nature of re1047298ective thinking and how critical re1047298ection can

be effectively implemented in a teacher education program

Theoretical framework

To develop a better understanding of the concept of re1047298ection we turned to the

work of John Dewey who recognized that individuals can re 1047298 ect on a whole host

of things in the sense of merely thinking about them However Dewey (1933)

emphasized that logical or analytic re1047298ection can happen only when there is a real

problem to solve Dewey saw true re1047298ective practice as taking place when an indi-

vidual faces a real problem that needs to be resolved in a rational manner Dewey

(1933) suggested that re1047298ection begins with a felt dif 1047297culty that can range in inten-sity from mild uneasiness to intense shock To address this sense of unease

Dewey suggested individuals must proceed through three steps of re1047298ection (1)

problem de1047297nition (2) analysis and (3) generalization He distinguished between

action based on re1047298ection and action that is impulsive or blind He placed

emphasis on the need to develop certain attitudes of open-mindedness and skills of

thinking and reasoning in order to re1047298ect For Dewey a fundamental purpose of

education is to help individuals acquire habits of re1047298ection so they engage in

intelligent action

Recent emphasis on the need for re1047298ective practice saw a shift from Deweyrsquos

perspective of re1047298ection as intelligent decision-making to re1047298ection as a tool for

professional development which was inspired in-part by the work of Donald Schoumln

(1987) Schoumln believed that re1047298ection can take place throughout an individualrsquos

career and is a crucial aspect of the process by which beginners in a discipline



improve their practice Schoumln proposed that in preparing professionals educators

must guide students in making decisions under conditions of uncertainty In

teaching uncertain conditions may be categorized as critical incidents (Tripp

1993) Thuynsma (2001) identi1047297ed a critical incident as a turning point that resultsin changes in the perception of effectiveness or success Dewey Schoumln and Tripp

emphasized that re1047298ecting on signi1047297cant episodes in professional practice is

essential to the development of professional judgment During the clinical teaching

semester teacher candidates encounter many signi1047297cant episodes that are dif 1047297cult

to resolve These episodes or instances become critical because they cause the can-

didate to pause think back and consider outcomes Critical incidents advocated

by Tripp (1993) are venues for teaching critical re1047298ection A critical incident is

an interpretation of a signi1047297cant episode in a particular context rather than a rou-

tine occurrence Typically a critical incident is personal to an individual Incidents

only become critical that is problematic if the individual sees them as such

Re1047298ecting on an incident after the incident has taken place is when it is de1047297ned

as critical We utilized the critical incident technique in this study as the

framework for initiating the re1047298ective process of teacher candidates during their

clinical teaching semester

Methodology

To understand the nature of re1047298ection the researchers used the critical incident tech-

nique as a tool to enable re1047298ective writing Re1047298ection during student teaching had

been an expected component of the student teaching experience for years at our

institution However re1047298ections were often sparsely written and seldom went

beyond the description of an event For the purpose of this study all teacher

candidates were asked to re1047298ect on teachinglearning incidents they deemed to be

critical during their student teaching experience A requirement for this assignment

involved re1047298ection on one critical incident each week for the duration of the

sixteen-week student teaching experience Candidates had use of a protocol to guide

their re1047298ections (see Appendix A) In developing the protocol we used three criteria

to guide our choice of prompts The participants were asked to (1) describe the

context of their incident (2) identify a dilemma they experienced or observed and

(3) discuss the resolution of the dilemma

While all participants used the critical incident technique as a means for re1047298ec-

tion we divided the participants into two different groups One group wrote their re1047298ections in a traditional journaling format Each week these participants turned

their re1047298ections in to their university supervisor as a written assignment This for-

mat had typically been used during student teaching and was a familiar format for

the university supervisors The other group wrote their re1047298ections using a weblog

The university supervisors had access to the weblogs so these participants were not

required to turn in their re1047298ections each week as an assignment The weblog format

was utilized because half of the participants in this study had been introduced to

weblogging in a methods class the previous semester they were familiar with this

medium as part of a class assignment Although the university supervisors did not

interact with the webloggers on a consistent basis they were available for help or

ldquoas neededrdquo It was felt that constant interaction with the webloggers would hamper

the dialogue and could possibly create an environment where webloggers might

censor their own writing

172 BG Bruster and BR Peterson


Recognizing that the current generation of teacher candidates write 1047298uently in

electronic media using weblogs e-mails and social networks we wanted to

examine the effect of the use of a weblog compared to the use of the traditional

journaling format on the participantsrsquo re1047298ective writing Stiller and Philleo(2003) as cited in Shoffner (2009) acknowledge that teacher educators are taking

an interest in using weblogs as re1047298ective spaces Stiller and Philleo (2003)

replaced pen-and-paper re1047298ective journals with weblogs in a teacher education

class citing several drawbacks to the more traditional paper journal among them

ldquogeneric responses illegible handwriting and instructor access to the journalrdquo(p 4)

A mixed method approach was used for data analysis This approach consisted

of a qualitative thematic analysis of the written narratives using open and axial cod-

ing to assign key phrases and words in order to determine themes After reading

participant re1047298ections each reader used inductive reasoning to analyze all journal

and weblog entries Recurring words and phrases were identi1047297ed examined and

color coded as categories emerged Each critical incident was read separately to

con1047297rm categories and to ensure that all viable possibilities for analysis were con-

sidered Each reader tallied all similarly coded text to determine the frequencies of

all categories Both readers analyzed each category of re1047298ection to determine a de1047297-

nite 1047297t and that all categories were distinct and separate (Straus amp Corbin 1990)Following independent coding both readers compared each re1047298ection based on an

analysis of the language used to determine common words phrases and emerging

categories until censuses was reached

The quantitative method used to analyze re1047298ection entries was a Two-way

ANOVA design to compare the differences of written re1047298ections between the

students who re1047298ected using the weblog format and the students who re1047298ected

using the traditional journal format

The goal of this sixteen-week study was designed to (1) examine the impact of

using the critical incident technique to promote critical re1047298ection (2) analyze the

language used by participants in the re1047298ective narratives for emergent themes and

(3) compare the use of weblogs vs traditional journals as practical spaces for

written re1047298ections

Research participants and data collection

The participants of this study were a randomly selected subset of 20 students from anentire group of 85 teacher candidates and included undergraduate teacher candidates

seeking initial licensure in elementary education middle school education special

education or secondary education Of the 20 randomly selected participants ten

elected to re1047298ect using a traditional hand-written journaling format and the remaining

ten participants elected to re1047298ect using a weblog format Prior to this semester all tea-

cher candidates participated in weblogging as part of a university course requirement

therefore all participants were familiar with the required technology the social

interaction potential and the technical realities of writing on a blog

There were seven females and three males in the traditional journaling group

and eight females and two males in the weblogging group All 20 participants

ranged in age from the mid-20s to the mid-30s All teacher candidates who were

student teaching including the participants of this study received a critical incident

protocol that contained a common set of eight guided questions and prompts there-



fore this assignment was not an additional requirement for the participants The

protocol provided a de1047297nition of the critical incident technique as well as carefully

crafted questions and prompts designed to guide the re1047298ection process

Within the timeframe of the study the 20 participants generated 16 re1047298ectionseach one per week totaling 320 re1047298ections Of the 320 re1047298ections half were in the

traditional journaling format and half were in the weblog format Re 1047298ections were

retrieved for analysis every other week of the semester beginning with week two

Spacing data retrieval throughout the semester allowed the researchers to conduct

an in-depth study of each re1047298ective narrative and provided an opportunity to track

changes in student re1047298ections during the semester

Data analysis

The use of critical incidents was the method chosen to elicit qualitative data for this

study Woolsey (1986) indicated that the critical incident technique is an exploratory

qualitative method of research that has been shown to be both reliable and valid in

generating a comprehensive and detailed description of a situation The emphasis

was on incidents (things which actually happened and were directly observed)

which were critical (things which signi1047297cantly affected the outcome) (Woolsey

1986) All participants were asked to re1047298ect on one incident each week that appearedto be critical to them Analysis of each critical incident involved an examination of

language used by participants in their written narratives Participants responded to

eight prompts when reporting their critical incidents The prompts were designed to

lead participants to discuss a speci1047297c teachinglearning event they experienced or

observed and then to re1047298ect on the educational signi1047297cance of the event

Each critical incident narrative was coded looking 1047297rst for preliminary categories

then reread and altered as additional themes and patterns emerged (Straus amp Corbin

1990) Analysis was informed by Strauss and Corbinrsquos (1990) open and axial

coding procedures Open coding allowed for an examination of the data as a whole

with repeating elements and recurring themes noted and categorized Once initial

themes had been identi1047297ed they were isolated for further analysis in a second stage

This second stage of analysis proceeded through iterative reviews beginning in the

1047297rst review to code comments as they related to the language used by participants

This descriptive coding identi1047297ed initial categories of re1047298ection Once the

descriptive coding established these initial categories subsequent reviews of all

comments were used for validation This ldquorespondent triangulationrdquo (Hammersleyamp Atkinson 1993) enabled the adjusting of categories or the creation of new ones

to accommodate all assertions relative to the emergent themes

Analysis of the language used by both groups of participants revealed a pattern

of expression that allowed the researchers to identify 1047297ve distinct themes These

themes are described in this study as phases of re1047298ection The term phase was

utilized to denote a stage of thinking employed by the participants Phase as

de1047297ned by Merrian-Webster on-line is an aspect or part (as of a problem) under

consideration Building on former research re1047298ections were analyzed initially using

themes that had emerged from previous research (Harris Bruster Peterson amp Shutt

2010) The 1047297ve themes or phases used in this study had been generated using open

coding The phases applied to the data were (1) the descriptive phase (2) the

inquisitive phase (3) the investigative phase (4) the interdependent phase and (5)

the global phase Each phase is de1047297ned and outlined below Following the de1047297nition



of each phase of re1047298ection is a quote from one or more of the participants that

demonstrated evidence of each speci1047297c phase These quotes offered insight into

each phase and featured language that was representative of each

Descriptive phase

Participants who demonstrated language at the descriptive phase often limited their

perceptions to describing events and interactions between others Descriptions

involved situations lessons projects or actions and included the setting and obser-

vations of a situation Participants complied with the basic directions that is ldquoto

re1047298ect on a critical incident rdquo There appeared to be no evidence of critical thought

in their writing As we read and analyzed re1047298ective entries examples that illustrated

the descriptive phase emerged A particular student from the weblogging group

wrote the following re1047298ection

ldquoThis week my mentor teacher began TCAP review I did more observing this weekThis was good for me since I havenrsquot had a lot of opportunity to just observe mymentor teacher TCAP review can sound very boring and overwhelming Howevermy mentor teacher likes to make things fun and interesting for her students Sheturned review into a game for the class to identify areas in which students neededextra practice and reinforcement The schoolrsquos PTO group has raised money this year to purchase a responder computer system to work with the smart boards the school isadding to the classrooms The responder system has a computer keyboard ldquoresponder rdquoin which they can type an answer and send it to the smart board The system willshow how many correct and incorrect responses there was to each question Thestudents love to use this technology They couldnrsquot wait to come to class to use thecomputers not even knowing they were reviewing for TCAPrdquo

The descriptive phase is represented in this entry because this participant explained

classroom events but failed to provide theory or analysis to support the description

Although this participant ful1047297lled the requirement to re1047298ect this entry was strictly

descriptive in nature and there was no introspective element evident in this narrative

Inquisitive phase

Language at the inquisitive phase involved evidence of questioning or pondering

professional practice Participants examined pedagogical decisions and made

inquiries about professional actions They began to question their ability to be effec-

tive in the classroom while some questioned their decision to teach Participants

appeared to demonstrate an awareness of multiple problems and dilemmas in theclassroom Many participants expressed concerns about their limited knowledge and

lack of skills to con1047297dently resolve classroom issues Re1047298ection at the inquisitive

phase included many elements of the descriptive phase however these re1047298ections

still did not exhibit evidence of linking theory to practice Initial thoughts and ques-

tions at this phase appeared to be based on limited experiences in the classroom

and narrow understandings of teaching Upon analyzing weblogs and journal

narratives we identi1047297ed entries that illustrated the inquisitive phase A student from

the journaling group wrote

ldquoI feel really in the dark because I feel that I havenrsquot observed my mentor teacher rsquosinteraction with the students enough to get a feel for their schedule or their abilitiesyet I know this is what teachers go through at the beginning of the year but they do



have the bene1047297t of familiarizing themselves with records grades TCAP scoresdiscussions with other teachers IEP records etc that I havenrsquot had

The main thing that makes me uneasy is planning for next week I know these classesare ability grouped for instruction which makes it somewhat easier but I donrsquot knowwhat this class has covered this year how much time they have spent discussing cer-tain concepts or their individual abilities How am I going to know which studentsneed extra support or attentionrdquo

This narrative demonstrated awareness of an element of effective teaching the

importance of using studentsrsquo prior knowledge to inform instruction ldquoI know these

classes are ability grouped for instruction hellip but I donrsquot know what has been cov-

ered this yearrdquo The participant has moved beyond description to include evidence

of concern for students Evidence of inquiry in this narrative provided a more

critical examination of the classroom situation but no alternatives were sought The

language of this entry remained at the inquisitive phase

Investigative phase

Participants at the investigative phase of re1047298ection began to explore alternatives for

problems after concerns were identi1047297ed Feedback was sought from experienced

teachers and outside resources to uncover alternative practices choices and meth-

odologies to resolve dilemmas They began to investigate theories and applications

based on their knowledge or the knowledge of others Schoumln (1983) referred to this

type of re1047298ection as retrospective thinking or ldquore1047298ection-on- actionrdquo and ldquore1047298ection-

in-actionrdquo As we analyzed journal and weblog entries examples that exempli1047297ed

the investigative phase emerged A participant from a kindergarten placement who

wrote using the weblogging format provided this example of a re1047298ection at the

investigative phase

ldquoIt wasnrsquot until my drive home that I was able to re1047298ect on what I had learned fromthis experience First I shouldnrsquot have let her use so much instruction time I shouldhave nipped it in the bud respectfully but immediately I was trying to appease her and it just urged her on Second I should not have let her be sassy to me for the rest of the day Lastly I know better than to get into a battle of wills with a kindergartenerThat is a battle a grown-up cannot win Next time I will assert myself respectfullyand not waste instructional timerdquo

The re1047298ections of this student demonstrated focused attention on the management

of the class and facilitation of instruction The participant described the situation

and moved to the investigative phase to search for credible solutions that would

allow for better use of instructional time A distinct shift in professional judgment

occurred when the participant was able to look beyond ldquoself rdquo to the well-being of

the students in the classroom

Interdependent phase

Participants at the interdependent phase were able to combine an understanding of

theory with practice This application of theory into practice was clearly demon-

strated through choices actions and decisions Classroom environments social

environment the community and academic programs were considered when



planning for the best interest of the student Social emotional and physical needs

were also considered essential to the total education of the student Participants at

this phase considered the contextual factors of cultural diversity of the class eco-

nomic differences characteristics of the students and knowledge of how the content relates to students Through analysis of the narratives we classi1047297ed entries that

illustrated the interdependent phase A participant from a fourth grade classroom

wrote the following journal entry

ldquoOn Friday I was asked to join the other fourth grade teachers school administratorsand special education representative for an IEP meeting with his father I immediately

began to understand some of the issues that have faced the school staff for years withthis child His father was immediately on the defensive because of things the student had told him at home When all was discussed and issues put out on the table it wasapparent that different things were being told and done at home and school It wasnoted that better home to school communication was needed By listening I becameaware of some of the special needs of this student that I was not aware of before Ifelt that this meeting made me better prepared for him to come into my class it helped me to prepare him for what was expected of him so that he could be success-ful and it helped me be able to understand things from his perspective so that I wasmore sensitive to his behavior and ready to help defuse problems and guide himthrough how to better deal with situations When the meeting was over I felt likemany positive things had been accomplished The teachers and administration askedthe father what things he thought could be done on this end better and they outlinedthings which needed to be handled better at home The student was brought in andmade aware of what had been discussed and how things would be handled goingforward With everyone on the same page I feel and hope things will be better next weekrdquo

This participant clearly demonstrated an understanding of the student the school

environment and how family dynamics are all interdependent factors for the suc-

cess of the student The importance of positive home and school relationships was

recognized as a critical component in planning for the future success of the student

Global phase

At the global phase participants seemed to consider ethical moral and political

issues when making professional decisions Participants at this phase considered

issues in relation to their knowledge of teaching and learning Social action and

political in1047298uences to policies may result from re1047298ections at this phase Participantsat this level appeared con1047297dent in their teaching ability and their pedagogical focus

expanded beyond the classroom to include the community and the world Individu-

als at this level often consider moral and ethical issues that directly relate to teach-

ing practices and their profession A participant who wrote in a journal commented

ldquoI need to make sure I work to empower students to live above the pressure in theworld I need to be aware of where they come from and what they are dealing with sothat I can help give them the strength they need to survive in the worldrdquo

The language of this narrative speaks to an understanding of the far-reaching in1047298u-

ence of the larger community and the world The participant seemed to be clearly

focused on the teacher rsquos responsibility of preparing students to be successful in a

global workplace



Additional 1047297ndings

Comparison of the weblog re1047298ections and the journal re1047298ections revealed distinct

differences in the way in which language was used in each type of re1047298ective

method For example

bull Re1047298ective language used in the journaling group was formal and structured

Participants in this group appeared to view the journal re1047298ections as a courseassignment and not as a tool to inform instructional practice

bull Re1047298ections from the weblogging group were more informal and conversa-

tional These participants appeared to offer suggestions and ideas as a form of

support for each other The weblogging format seemed to allow participants

to interact with each other informally in a social-networking style

bull Weblog entries were supportive in nature especially among participants who

had previously worked together in other university courses These entries

contained af 1047297rmative or supportive language

bull Participants who weblogged appeared comfortable asking questions and

seeking advice from one another

Re1047298ective practice and critical thinking were intentionally promoted through

the use of the critical incident technique Analysis of the re 1047298ective narratives from

the weblogging group and the journaling group are reported in Table 1 Each of

Table 1 Number of re1047298ections vs phases and types

Source df Ss Ms f p

Phases of Re1047298ection 4 44866 112165 258 0190Types of Re1047298ection 1 64009 640090 1473 0018Error 4 17386 43465Total 9 126261

Figure 1 Participantsrsquo responses and phases of re1047298ectionGraphic representation of the number of responses from all participants in the study and the

phases of re1047298ection are displayed above The participants re1047298ected using traditional journalsor online weblogs The phases of re1047298ection are represented with numbers 1 thru 5description = 1 inquisitive = 2 investigative = 3 interdependent = 4 and global = 5



the phases (descriptive inquisitive investigative interdependent and global) and

the two re1047298ection formats weblogging and journaling were analyzed Analysis

was conducted using a Two-way ANOVA

The results of the Two-way ANOVA clearly indicated a signi1047297cant difference between the re1047298ections of those who weblogged and the re1047298ections of those who

wrote in traditional journals with p = 0018 lt 005 From this data we con-

cluded that the method of re1047298ection either weblogging or journaling created a

difference in the results of the re1047298ections written by the participants There was

no interaction between the two re1047298ection formats The results of the data on the

phases of re1047298ection indicated that there was no signi1047297cant difference among the

phases with p = 0190 for either the webloggers or for those who wrote in

journals

Participants who wrote in weblogs re1047298ected more extensively than those who

wrote using journals There were 30 more written narratives from the participants

who weblogged

There are several possible explanations for the extensive narratives from the

weblogging participants Participants who weblogged used the technology as a

social space in order to seek advice from classmates to support each other in dif 1047297-

cult times and to celebrate accomplishments When using this venue the social

context must be described in detail in order for other webloggers to understand and be able to contribute opinions andor help The analysis revealed that the greatest

difference was seen in the descriptive phase where almost 1047297ve times more

descriptive narratives were written by those who weblogged Re 1047298ections of all par-

ticipants exhibited a consistent pattern of response at the inquisitive investigative

and interdependent phases and accounted for 45 of all re1047298ections Participants

from both groups re1047298ected at the global phase less often however the participants

in the weblogging group demonstrated more global awareness in their written narra-

tives The quantity of responses at the global phase for participants who wrote using

weblogs was considerably more than the responses from participants who wrote

using the traditional journaling format For example the webloggers responded 1047297ve

times more at the global phase compared to those who wrote in journals When

analyzing this signi1047297cant difference we referred back to the de1047297nition and language

that described the global phase in relation to the webloggers In the global phase

participants referred to ethical and moral issues related to the teaching profession

and considered issues related to their teaching The weblogging venue provided the

social experience for additional dialogue necessary to process the critical incidentThe socially constructed dialogue used among the webloggers produced opportuni-

ties for participants to process the dilemmas of the critical incident Participants

who weblogged asked for opinions got suggestions on classroom and behavioral

issues and actively invited other webloggers to weigh-in on ideas issues and

classroom concerns According to Bohn (1990) people who think together in a

coherent movement have tremendous power Individuals who know each other and

engage in dialogue have the potential to experience a coherent movement of

communication The participants who re1047298ected using the weblog had an implicit

shared process of communication The weblogging provided a venue for these

participants to share their consciousness and to be able to think and work together

Weblogging allowed the opportunity to have a shared collective understanding and

the forum to openly dialogue



Conclusion

There is little argument that re1047298ective writing is a good way to foster critical thinking

encourage self expression and give students a sense of ownership of their work A

goal of teacher preparation programs is to ensure that new teachers emerge as

successful re1047298ective practitioners Re1047298ective practice cannot be assumed in teacher

education programs it must be a construct that is purposefully integrated into the cur-

riculum of an entire program A synthesis of the 1047297ndings suggests that opportunities

for dialogue through social media provide an increased generation of inquiry that

leads to critical re1047298ection What was essential for this work was that dialogue gener-

ated through the use of web-logs was spontaneous and inquisitive in nature Without

the introduction of a mechanism for re1047298ection like the critical incident technique it

could not be assumed that re1047298ection beyond the descriptive phase would be gener-

ated This technique afforded participants the opportunity to systematically identify

and analyze the day-to-day challenges inherent in teaching Whether participants

were discussing teaching dilemmas using traditional journals or the weblogging for-

mat the critical incident technique provided a forum for in-depth re1047298ection Analysis

of the language used by participants in their re1047298ective narratives revealed 1047297ve discrete

themes that were consistent throughout this study The critical incident technique

afforded participants the venue to move beyond descriptive re1047298ection to engagement

in a more critical re1047298ective approach Participants were able to move from merely

describing an incident to questioning and investigating alternatives that allowed them

to take ownership of their teaching Data also revealed evidence of the participants rsquo

awareness of their students and an increased understanding of the teaching process

Some participants were able to connect their re1047298ections to a global awareness

expanding their pedagogical focus beyond the classroom

One of the unexpected outcomes of this study was the insight gained by the

researchers into participantsrsquo thought processes For example both researchers were

impressed when a participant connected the importance of the familyschool partner-

ship and the impact that partnership had on the success of a child in the classroom

This depth of understanding was rarely evident in the re1047298ective writing of teacher

candidates prior to this study

Regardless of the medium of re1047298ection it is imperative that teacher educators

embed opportunities for critical re1047298ective practice throughout their programs In

order to generate stronger critical analysis of teaching teacher education programs

need to incorporate a technique that fosters re1047298ection through increased opportuni-

ties for dialogue There is considerable empirical work needed to establish a full

understanding of re1047298ective thinking

Acknowledging the need for increased opportunities for re1047298ection it is essential

that teacher education programs examine new ways to promote re1047298ective practice

among teacher candidates This study was limited by the sample size future studies

are necessary with a larger pool of participants to extend this body of research

If we are serious about preparing teacher candidates to succeed in a world with

high accountability it is imperative to provide them with tools to re1047298ect critically

and think analytically about the context of their teaching

Notes on contributors

Benita Bruster is an associate professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Austin Peay State University 601 College Avenue Clarksville TN 37044 e-mail

brusterbapsuedu She is the current editor of the Tennessee Reading Teacher Journal and



the coordinator for Literacy and Reading Her research interests include literacy criticalthinking and re1047298ective practice

Barbara Peterson is an associate professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Austin Peay State University 601 College Avenue Clarksville TN 37044 e-mail

petersonbapsuedu Her research interests include re1047298ective practice transformativelearning school-university partnerships and mentoring and teacher induction

References

American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (November 2010) Teacher performance assessment consortium httpaacteorgindexphpProgramsTeacher-Performance-Assessment-Consortium-TPACteacher-performance-assessment-consortiumhtml

Bohn D (1990) On Dialogue Ojai CA David Bohn SeminarsDewey J (1933) How we think A restatement of the relation of re 1047298 ective thinking to the

educative process Boston HeathHammersley M amp Atkinson P (1993) Ethnography Principles in practice New York

NY RoutledgeHarris EA Bruster BG Peterson BR amp Shutt TR (2010) Examining and facilitating

re 1047298 ection to improve professional practice Lanham MD Rowman amp Little1047297eld Publish-ers Inc

Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) (1992) Model stan-dards for beginning teacher licensing assessment and development A resource for statedialogue Washington DC Author

Merrian-Webster on-line httpwwwmerrian-webstercomMerrian-Webster on-line httpwwwmerrian-webstercom

National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (2007) httpwwwnbptsorg National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (2000) Program standards for ele-

mentary teacher preparation National Council for Accreditation of Teacher EducationAuthor

Piaget J (1967) Six psychological studies London London University PressSchoumln DA (1983) The re 1047298 ective practitioner New York Basic BooksSchoumln DA (1987) Educating the re 1047298 ective practitioner Toward a new design for teaching

and learning in the professions San Francisco Jossey-BassSen B amp Ford N (2009) Developing re1047298ective practice in LIS education The SEA-

change model of re1047298ection Education for Information 27 181 ndash 195 doi 10-3233EFI-2009-0884

Shoffner M (2009) Personal attitudes and technology Implications for per-service teacher re1047298ective practice Teacher Education Quarterly 36 (2) 143 ndash 161

Stiller GM amp Philleo T (2003) Blogging and blogspots An alternative format for encouraging re1047298ective practice among pre-service teachers Education 123(4)789 ndash 797

Strauss A amp Corbin J (1990) Basics of qualitative research Grounded theory proceduresand techniques California SAGE

Thuynsma B (2001) Caring in teaching Critical incidents in preservice teachersrsquo 1047297eld experiences that in 1047298 uence their career socialization Unpublished dissertation State Uni-versity of New York at Albany

Tripp D (1993) Critical incidents in teaching Developing professional judgment NewYork Routledge

Woolsey LK (1986) The critical incident technique An innovative qualitative method of research Canadian Journal of Counseling 20(4) 242 ndash 254

Valli L (1992) Re 1047298 ective teacher education Cases and critiques New York SUNY Press



Appendix A

Re1047298ection on Critical Incidents in Teaching

Respond to at least one critical incident each week Submit each critical incident toMilestone IV under clinical teaching ldquoextrasrdquo In addition submit one Critical Incidentunder Standard 1 Share your critical incident with your university mentor at eachweekly seminar

(1) Give a brief description of a teachinglearning incident you experienced recentlyThis can be something you observed or something you participated in

(2) What were the consequences (effects or outcomes) of this event(3) Did an educational dilemma exist If so describe it(4) Is this incident signi1047297cant enough for you to reinforce it Why or Why not(5) What if anything would you have done differently Why(6) What do you expect the students learned from this event(7) What did you learn from this event(8) What further thoughts or questions were generated from this event(9) What in your training helped you respond to the critical incident

What is a critical incident

In order to de1047297ne a critical incident think of an interaction with a learner in which a signi1047297-cant step in learning occurred ldquoCriticalrdquo in this usage means ldquosigni1047297cant rdquo or ldquorelevant rdquo It may also be interpreted to mean clearly effective or ineffective interaction For example alearner discovers a new topic for study and adjusts goals accordingly A learner asserts that certain tasks or materials are not useful to his or her goal a learner sets a different pace or scope for learning as a result of encountering an unexpected obstacle These are critical inci-dents because they clearly contribute to the evolution of an educative experience

An incident is not intended to tell the whole story of a complex relationship Rather it isintended to describe a single speci1047297c exchange some particular activity done on a particular occasion notable or interesting in itself regardless of the eventual outcome

The purpose or intent of the described incident should be fairly clear to you Your description of the incident should include the intention of the response and its apparent effects on the learner In other words what difference did your assistance or the assistanceof the person you observed make to the progress of the learner toward the goal Whenassessing the signi1047297cance of the incident you should trust your own perceptions You areencouraged to select critical incidents from current experiences but any detailed report of signi1047297cant past interactions is appropriate The important criterion for a critical incident isthat you must 1047297nd it signi1047297cant to teaching and learning



Using critical incidents in teaching to promote re1047298ective practice

Benita G Bruster and Barbara R Peterson

Austin Peay State University Teaching and Learning PO Box 4545 College of EducationClarksville 37044 United States

( Received 1 March 2012 1047297nal version received 19 September 2012)

Literature in teacher education stresses the importance of preparing thoughtfulre1047298ective practitioners This study examined the use of critical incidents as atool for re1047298ection employed by teacher candidates during their clinical teachingsemester All participants were required to write weekly re1047298ections using either a traditional journaling format (N=10) or an on-line weblogging format (N=10)Two independent readers analyzed the narratives and collaborated to reach cen-suses using open and axial coding to determine key phrases and words and toassign themes The quantitative method used to analyze re1047298ection entries was aTwo-way ANOVA design The results indicated a signi1047297cant difference betweenthe re1047298ections of those who weblogged and the re1047298ections of those who wrotein traditional journals Participants who wrote in journals wrote complex investi-gative re1047298ections of classroom events Participants who wrote using weblogswrote less complex descriptions of classroom events In addition participantswho wrote using the weblogs generated questions about how to solve instruc-tional issues more so than those who participated in the traditional journalingformat Analysis of the participantsrsquo re1047298ective writing indicated that participantsfrom both groups moved in-and-out of 1047297ve phases of re1047298ection however thelanguage used in all re1047298ective writing provided insight into each phase andfeatured language that was representative of each particular phase

Keywords weblogging critical incidents re1047298ective phases re1047298ective practiceteacher candidates

Introduction

Re1047298ective thinking and re1047298ective practice have become common concepts in the

teacher education literature as national and state policy makers and teacher

education programs have committed themselves to preparing teachers to be

re1047298ective practitioners (American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education

2010 Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium 1992 National

Board of Professional Teaching Standards 2007 National Council for Accreditation

of Teacher Education 2000) The emphasis on re1047298ective practice challenges teacher

educators to create programs that provide constructive ways for teacher candidates

to engage in re1047298ective practice

Helping teacher candidates develop habits of re1047298ection has been an ongoing

commitment in most teacher education programs Teacher candidates are encour-

aged to re1047298ect on lesson and unit plans 1047297eld and clinical experiences and on

Corresponding author Email brusterbapsuedu


Vol 14 No 2 170 ndash 182 httpdxdoiorg101080146239432012732945

2012 Taylor amp Francis








































intelligent action

























Methodology




















































































Data analysis








































Descriptive phase














Inquisitive phase

























Investigative phase










investigative phase



























Global phase












global workplace






method For example
















Source df Ss Ms f p
















journals



who weblogged


































Conclusion




















































References






















Appendix A

















































intelligent action

























Methodology




















































































Data analysis








































Descriptive phase














Inquisitive phase

























Investigative phase










investigative phase



























Global phase












global workplace






method For example
















Source df Ss Ms f p
















journals



who weblogged


































Conclusion




















































References






















Appendix A




























Methodology




















































































Data analysis








































Descriptive phase














Inquisitive phase

























Investigative phase










investigative phase



























Global phase












global workplace






method For example
















Source df Ss Ms f p
















journals



who weblogged


































Conclusion




















































References






















Appendix A

































































Data analysis








































Descriptive phase














Inquisitive phase

























Investigative phase










investigative phase



























Global phase












global workplace






method For example
















Source df Ss Ms f p
















journals



who weblogged


































Conclusion




















































References






















Appendix A














Descriptive phase














Inquisitive phase

























Investigative phase










investigative phase



























Global phase












global workplace






method For example
















Source df Ss Ms f p
















journals



who weblogged


































Conclusion




















































References






















Appendix A




















Investigative phase










investigative phase



























Global phase












global workplace






method For example
















Source df Ss Ms f p
















journals



who weblogged


































Conclusion




















































References






















Appendix A























Global phase












global workplace






method For example
















Source df Ss Ms f p
















journals



who weblogged


































Conclusion




















































References






















Appendix A














method For example
















Source df Ss Ms f p
















journals



who weblogged


































Conclusion




















































References






















Appendix A





















journals



who weblogged


































Conclusion




















































References






















Appendix A











Conclusion




















































References






















Appendix A














References






















Appendix A











Appendix A











critical incidents in teaching to promote reflective practice

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