Reflective
Practice
Dr.
Frank Serafini
In the current political climate, with its focus
on standardized tests, mandated curriculum standards, increased teacher
accountability and legislative control of instructional choices, it seems
futile, or possibly naïve, to write an issue of Primary Voices suggesting that
teachers slow down, step back and spend more time thinking, reflecting and
talking about their instructional practices and beliefs. In classrooms today it
is difficult to find the time to reflect, let alone meet with other teachers to
talk about our teaching. While
this certainly is a challenging endeavor, it is one we believe teachers will
need to undertake if they are to remain a powerful voice in the decisions that
effect their classrooms and curriculum directions.
Several
years ago, I began to reframe my thinking about authentic assessment to include
reflection as an integral part of the assessment process. As a classroom
teacher, I used classroom-based assessments to gather information, reflected on
this information and then constructed learning experiences based on the
information generated by these assessments. This was the "Assessment /
Learning Cycle" I based my classroom instruction on, as well as the
structure I presented in workshops and university courses (see figure 1). In
these educational settings, I focused on a variety of assessment techniques,
including; running records (Clay, 1993), miscue analysis (Goodman, Watson,
& Burke, 1987), retellings (Brown & Cambourne, 1992), portfolios (Tierney,
Carter & Desai, 1991), observational records (Power, 1996) and reading
interviews (Burke, 1980). Our goal was to understand both how to conduct these
assessments and how to use them to make instructional decisions.
Teach
Plan
Assess
Reflect
Figure
1: The Assessment-Learning Cycle
Influenced
by the work of John Dewey concerning reflective practice, and the philosophical
work of Charles Sanders Peirce, I began to think that assessment should be part
of a "Reflective Cycle", as opposed to reflection being part of the
Assessment Cycle (see figure 2). Instead of beginning with the gathering of
information, the Reflective Cycle begins with a reflective stance; the
willingness to question our teaching and take a critical look at our beliefs,
theories and educational practices. The Reflective Cycle then continues on to
include classroom-based assessment, planning and teaching.
I
was also influenced by the questions that pre-service and in-service teachers
frequently asked regarding the assessments we were learning to conduct. They understood how to administer the
assessments, but questioned why they should collect student work in portfolios
or go through the fuss of marking running records. The problem, I realized, was with having a purpose for using
the assessments.
Reflective
Stance
Questioning
One’s Practice
Teaching
/ Observation
Assess
Planning
Figure
2: The Reflective Cycle
Since
I now believe that a reflective stance drives the reflective cycle, I realize
it was our unwillingness to critically examine our practice, not the ability to
use classroom-based assessments, which deterred us from gathering information
on our students and our teaching practices. Assessment is part of reflective practice, used by
reflective teachers to gather information necessary to make curricular decisions.
Because we had little or no doubts about the learning experiences offered to
students, there was no perceived reason for conducting these assessments. So it
was a lack of purpose, not misunderstanding the assessments, that was the
problem. This insight led us to believe that a reflective stance comes before
the use of authentic assessments; otherwise the assessments are done simply to
comply with school mandates.
Although
classroom-based assessment does not always lead to reflective practice, we can
say that reflective practice generally leads to the use of classroom-based
assessment to gather information for making curricular decisions. In short, it is our ability to suspend
judgment, our willingness to question our practice that leads to the use of the
classroom-based assessments and to becoming reflective teachers.
Reflective
Practice Requires a Reflective Stance
Becoming
a reflective teacher is a conscious, systematic, and deliberate process of
framing and re-framing classroom practice in light of the consequences of our
actions, democratic principles and the beliefs, values, expectations and
experiences we as teachers bring to the teaching-learning event. Reflective practice then is a stance, a
willingness to question our teaching.
It is a purposeful process used to inform our decisions and help us
improve the learning experiences we provide our students. Reflective teachers
view the experiences in their classroom as open to inquiry, are able to suspend
judgments in order to question why they do what they do, and critically examine
the learning experiences they create in their classrooms. Teachers who are
willing to question their beliefs and are able to critically examine their
teaching practices have adopted a reflective stance. The stance is developed
within our classroom practice and with support from our colleagues.
John
Dewey (1933) described reflective practice as an, "Active, persistent, and
careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light
of the grounds that support it, and the further conclusions to which it
tends…" (p.6). From this
perspective, reflective practice begins with a perceived uncertainty, a nagging
sense of doubt, and ends with a judgment or action. These “uncertainties” or
doubts do not appear ready-made for teachers; rather they are created or
“framed” from experiences encountered in the classroom. Teachers have to
“construct” the problems or uncertainties they will act upon based in part on
their knowledge base, their classroom environment and the learning experiences
taking place in the classroom.
Dewey
(1933) described three attitudes that a teacher must adopt in order to teach
reflectively—open mindedness, whole heartedness, and responsibility. Open mindedness refers to the
ability to suspend judgment and be open to new possibilities. Whole heartedness
is the capacity to enter into the teaching event with all of one’s heart and
attention. And responsibility
refers to the moral and ethical implications inherent in the educational
process. Dewey also wrote about the concept of “suspended conclusion”,
describing this as the ability to resist the temptation to “jump to premature
judgments” and further, to carefully weigh both the evidence provided and the consequences of one’s actions
before making instructional decisions. He contended that a teacher must never
accept suggestions or solutions uncritically, and that one must always suspend
judgment during the necessary period of inquiry and reflection.
Teaching
from a reflective stance is not something teachers are “taught to do,” rather it
is seen as something they are “helped to become.” Reflective practitioners are knowledgeable teachers that act
according to their best judgments and suspend their conclusions, but also
understand that knowledge is tentative and open to both change and falsification.
For
Dewey, the purpose of reflective practice was to change teachers’ actions and
their process of arriving at decisions (Dewey, 1933). If reflection did not
lead to action, it was simply a waste of time. The purpose of reflective
practice then is to influence the actions taken by the teacher, the process of
arriving at these decisions and the various consequences and outcomes of those
decisions. Unless reflection results in action teachers are not using their new
understandings to improve practice. The value of reflection lies in its
potential to refine classroom practice and improve the quality of the teaching
learning process for both teachers and students.
Time,
Distance, Dialogue and a Preferred Vision
If
we accept the notion that reflective practice is not something we can be taught
to do, then we must explore how we go about becoming more reflective teachers
who are able to create reflective learning communities. There are four important aspects to
consider in promoting reflective practice--Time, Distance, Dialogue, and a
Preferred Vision. Each of these aspects of reflective practice must be
addressed to support teachers adopting a reflective stance to their teaching.
Reflection
on our practice demands time to think about what has happened and time to
"mull over" what should be happening. Time is at a premium with the overloading of teachers’
schedules, increases in class size, and the increasing demands of curriculum
mandates. It's hard to reflect
when you are too busy. In
the classroom portraits to follow, each teacher found ways to make time for
reflection in their schedules. Whether this time was formally sanctioned, like
Suzette’s parent board meetings, or informally developed over lunch and prep
times, each teacher knew the value of making time to think about their
practice.
Distance
refers to a critical perspective or the sense of suspended judgment described
earlier. It is hard to analyze experiences while they are happening. Using a
reflective notebook to record observations, many teachers are able to step back
from their practice, see patterns over time and come to better conclusions
about how they might proceed. There are many references to teachers as
researchers that describe in detail techniques for achieving a critical
distance from one's practice. It
is the ability to render our practice problematic, to "objectively"
analyze our teaching and our willingness to suspend judgments until information
is collected that defines a critical distance in reflective practice.
Figure
3: Teacher Research Suggestions
Cochran-Smith,
M., & Lytle, S. (1993). Inside / Outside: Teacher research and knowledge.
New York: Teachers College Press.
Patterson,
L., Minnick-Santa, C., Short, K., & Smith, K. (Eds.). (1993). Teachers are
researchers: Reflection and action. Newark, DE: International Reading
Association.
Shagoury-Hubbard,
R., & Miller-Power, B. (2000). Living the Questions: A guide for
teacher-researchers. York, ME: Stenhouse.
Shagoury-Hubbard,
R., & Miller-Power, B. (1993). The art of classroom inquiry. Portsmouth,
NH: Heinemann.
Each
teacher in this issue carries a reflective notebook for recording observations
and thoughts about their teaching. They use these notebooks to achieve a
distance from their practice, allowing them to step back and assess what has
been happening. These teachers
also record vignettes from their classroom on audio and videotapes. They often
use the recordings to provide them with the distance needed for reflection. These tools allow them step back and to
see and hear what is happening while they teach.
The
importance of dialogue with other educators cannot be underestimated in
reflective practice. Teachers need support from colleagues. They need a group to bounce ideas off
and a place to receive feedback to their ideas and instructional decisions.
Although reflective practice has been described as primarily an individual
process, it is a social process as well.
As teachers, we do not reflect in a vacuum. Rather we make decisions in
a social context, based on the social interactions we are part of. The
opportunity to meet with other educators cannot be set aside if teachers are
expected to make changes in their instructional practices.
When
I first started working with each of these teachers, I was impressed by their
willingness to invite me into their classrooms. They wanted another pair of
eyes to come and watch what was happening and to offer ideas to consider.
Because of the isolated nature of classroom teaching, sometimes teachers are
apprehensive about colleagues in their rooms. As educators, we need to break
down the metaphorical walls between rooms and be willing to share the successes
and the problems that happen in our teaching lives.
Unfortunately,
the physical distance that now exists between the authors in this issue
requires that we use email to keep in touch and bounce ideas off each other,
rather than visiting each in person. We do what we can do to keep the dialogue
going.
A
preferred vision is the result of thinking about what your room would look like
if everything were going perfectly.
Before we can make changes in our practice we should have a vision we
are working toward. Fullan (1993) describes change without direction as chaos.
A preferred vision allows teachers to articulate what they want their
classrooms to be like. Being able to articulate our preferred vision allows us
to know when we are making progress.
A
preferred vision is a dynamic concept that changes and grows as one’s knowledge
base and classroom experiences expands. At first, simply having children be
able to choose a book and sit and read for a sustained period of time may be a
primary goal. As the classroom evolves, the expectations we have for our
students and the preferred vision we have for our teaching expands. Our ability
to articulate what we want our classrooms to look like will directly affect our
ability to reflect on our teaching.
As reflective practitioners, we have to have some idea about where we
are headed before we begin our journey.
Promoting
Reflective Learning Communities
This
issue is devoted to the notion of teachers promoting reflective learning
communities. Thinking of teachers
"promoting" suggests more than just acting as “facilitators.” Promoting suggests that teachers would
take an active role in developing, establishing and advocating for a type of
learning community we will describe as reflective. Teachers who promote a reflective learning community are
concerned with the social relationships that develop among students, the
rituals, ceremonies, celebrations, jobs and routines that are established and
the way that students and teacher discuss and share their learning experiences
(Peterson, 1992).
The
teachers writing in this issue are trying to create a Reflective Learning
Community in each of their classrooms. Suzette will describe how her classroom
structure includes the voices of parents as reflective partners in supporting
her learning community. Rebecca and Tracy will describe how their workshop
approach to writing and reading, respectively, lead to the development of their
reflective learning communities. The teachers in each of the classrooms
described have adopted a reflective stance to their practice, and then have
promoted this stance in their learning community, working alongside children as
they gently guided them to question their work and their learning processes.
In
a reflective learning community, the teacher is a reflective practitioner
(Schon, 1983), reflecting on the experiences provided in the classroom,
demonstrating his/her personal reflective processes and providing the time and
space for students to become reflective.
Conclusion
Both
reflective practice and inquiry begin with a sense of doubt. It is this sense
of doubt, our ability to suspend judgment about our classroom practice, coupled
with our willingness to question our practice that leads to reflective
teaching. As our ability to reflect develops, so must our knowledge base expand
to support our thinking. The more we know about teaching in general, the better
we will be able to critically examine what happens in our own classrooms.
Reflection
leads to more reflection. As we open this “Pandora’s Box” and allow ourselves
to critically examine our teaching, the process gains momentum. I have been
unable to look at my teaching practices without wondering if there isn’t a
better way to do things. I carry my reflective notebook everywhere and
continually reflect upon my teaching and other aspects of my life. It is this
reflective gaze that has helped me become the educator I am today, and the one
that I hope to become in the future.
References
Brown,
H. & Cambourne, B. (1992). Read and retell. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Burke,
C. (1980). The reading interview:1977. In B.P.Farr & D.J. Strickler (Eds.),
Reading Comprehension Resource Guide. Bloomington School of Education, Indiana
University.
Clay,
M.M. (1993). An observation survey of early literacy achievement. Portsmouth,
NH: Heinemann.
Dewey,
J. (1933). How we think. Chicago: Henry Regnery.
Fullan,
M. (1993). Why teachers must become change agents. Educational Leadership,
50(6), 12-17.
Goodman,
Y., Watson, D., & Burke, C. (1987). Reading miscue inventory: Alternative
procedures. Katonah, NY: Richard C. Owens.
Peterson,
R. (1992). Life in a crowded place: Making a learning community. Portsmouth,
NH: Heinemann.
Power,
B.M. (1996). Taking note: Improving your observational notetaking. York, ME:
Stenhouse.
Schon,
D. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. New
York: Basic Books.
Tierney,
R., Carter, M., & Desai, L. (1991). Portfolio assessment in the
reading-writing classroom. Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon.