‘On reflection…’: enhancing reflective practice through digitally recorded professional discussion

June 2013 MJB/HL 1

To be or not to be…

Darn it! If only I’d engaged in critical incident analysis…

Jane Brooke and Heather Lister, Selby College

We have to do it because…

• ‘…it is the norm, not the exception, that both student teachers and experienced teachers in the learning and skills sector engage in reflective practice as a component of professional behaviour and development.’

• (Tummons, 2011: 2)

‘Reflective practice is now considered to be the sine qua non of professional development. It is often contrasted with mere routine action guided by tradition, habit or authority.’

(Edwards & Thomas, 2010: 403)

June 2013 MJB/HL 2

‘The wrong end of the stick’

RP has been transferred into teacher education programmes as a set of prescribed ‘skills and abilities’.

RP cannot be a prescriptive rubric of skills to be taught.

(Edward and Thomas, 2010: 404).

This view is reinforced by current professional standards.

June 2013 MJB/HL 3

The class commenced

at….

After the objectives were read…

A handout was given to the learners…

On reflection, I should of [sic]

Professional Discussions: the importance of sharing experience

‘Storying becomes part of teacher education; it is not just another pedagogical method of delivering a pre-specified teacher education curriculum.’

Edwards and Thomas (2010: 408)June 2013 MJB/HL 4

Audio/visual: the beginning

• Dragging a Y2 Cert Ed student to the finishing line…

• RJ1 was the final straw as he didn’t know what to write, and was uncomfortable writing his thoughts.

June 2013 MJB/HL 5

June 2013 MJB/HL 6

Teething problems

• ‘As Petty, 2008, page 84, edition 7’ says…

• Self conscious: Leanne (Hairdressing & Barbering, Offender Learning)

• Leanne1.mov

June 2013 MJB/HL 7

Heather and JaneJane1.mov

June 2013 MJB/HL 8

Ellie

• Ellie (Year 1 PGCE, Sports, FE college) reflects with Sarah about a disruptive class she was asked to cover.

• Ellie1.mov• Ellie1b.mov

June 2013 MJB/HL 9

Clips

• Mark (Year 2 Cert Ed, Horticulture, prison context) reflects on some of his students bunking off when he had to go to the other end of the gardens.

• Mark1.mov• Mark2.mov

June 2013 MJB/HL 10

Critical reflection?

• Judy (Year 2, PGCE, English/Literacy, Offender Learning)

• Judy.mov

June 2013 MJB/HL 11

Evaluation 1: RJ1

• All students were positive about RP.• Issues: range from technical e.g. inability

to type quickly, to conceptual (e.g. ‘At first it was really difficult to get my head around RP as it seemed quite a prescriptive exercise’ – PGCE student)

• Difficulties for new teachers/volunteer teachers and consequent lack of continuity.

June 2013 MJB/HL 12

Evaluation

• Short evaluation sent to students.• 14 returns

June 2013 MJB/HL 13

Written Verbal Combination

2 7 5

Written

• ‘I felt it has helped to improve my lesson planning and I will continue this in the future, although I will not write them academically.’

• I did not find the audio/visual discussions useful as I felt uncomfortable doing so. I preferred writing them.’

June 2013 MJB/HL 14

A Year 2 PGCE student’s views

Written

“I have not found it useful to write RJ1. It feels ‘forced’, and the problem has always been thinking of something to reflect on with enough ‘meat’ to write about. My RJ1s tend to be too descriptive as opposed to analytical, even when using the Brookfield model.”

Audio“I have found these [audio/visual] much easier and more useful. Whilst not really spontaneous in that one must decide beforehand on an incident, they do actually feel more spontaneous and ‘alive’. You have instant interaction from a fellow professional and it is easier to talk about an incident than spend two hours writing an edited navel gazing account.”

June 2013 MJB/HL 15

Year 1 PGCE Student

‘I prefer the method of completing the reflection as a discussion however I believe a combination of the two is important to prevent the process becoming repetitive.’

June 2013 MJB/HL 16

Blogging: a Year 2 Cert Ed student’s views

‘The less formal nature of the blog allowed me to express my feelings more easily and the responses from tutors came back to me very quickly. Having the responses there and then opened up the possibility of a professional discussion, which, having opted not to complete reflections via audio/visual means, was useful for me: the tutors could ask questions and I was able to think over my responses and answer them in a considered manner.’

June 2013 MJB/HL 17

Audio/visual Issues

• Still a tick box for students?• Most very technical. Does this matter?

Considerable research re difficulties of RP for new teachers.

• Time: to listen to them; moderate; download and burn…

June 2013 MJB/HL 18

Tummons (2011) problematizes the assessment process:

• What students and tutors think it is (e.g. technical, emancipatory, critical)

• Students often reluctant to position themselves in certain ways (such as being honest)

• Genre conventions: the need for a mixed register can be problematic for students new to academic writing.

• Particular difficulties for new teachers.

June 2013 MJB/HL 19

• Given the multifarious interpretations, and associated literacy practices (Tummons, 2011: 8), we should be flexible in the ways in which our students reflect.

• The word count on RJ1 is also very limiting and, surely, contradicts what reflective practice is. Just a thought.

June 2013 MJB/HL 20

June 2013 MJB/HL 21

References

• Edwards, G. and Thomas, G. (2010) 'Can reflective practice be taught?', Educational Studies, 36: 4, pp. 403 – 414.

• Tummons, J. (2011) ‘ “It sort of feels uncomfortable”: problematizing the assessment of reflective practice’, Studies in Higher Education, 36: 4, pp. 1-13.

June 2013 MJB/HL 22

Other approaches to reflection…

• Title : Happy Flagellation Date : circa 1450 Description : Members of the religious sect of Flagellants, who as a religious rite, practised public, self-inflicted whippings as a means of atonement.

• © Getty Images