NCICentre for Research and Innovation

in Learning and Teaching

Staff induction 5th of September 2008

Leo Casey

How to be an accomplished teacher through scholarly reflection on practice

The promise of reflective practice

If you do this you will be a better teacherRegardless of subject or contextYour will find teaching more enjoyableYour students will learnIt’s easy, flexible, controlled-by-you and can be as private as you wish

A note to yourself in the future

(1)______________________________________

(2)______________________________________

(3)______________________________________

(4)______________________________________

(5)______________________________________

1. Ask the right questions

2. Read learning theories

3. Gather evidence -keep a journal

4. Challenge your assumptions

5. Try new strategies

(1) Ask the right questions

What phenomenon and processes are taking place?

Hunting assumptions

What are you trying to achieve?

Critical questions

Who’s perspective (lens)?

Reflection-in-actionOccurs during teaching when we respond to ongoing situations in the classroom -usually happens very fast, perhaps even intuitively. It can be transient and quickly forgotten.

Reflection-on-actionAfter a teaching events -there is time for in-depth reflection-when this is rigourous, systematic and ongoing, teachers are acting as reflective practitioners.

Levels of Reflection

(2) Read learning Theories

The scholarship of teaching and learning

Learning theory

Why think about theory?

Your learning theory

Your learning theory

What comes to mind when you think about

learning?

How do you learn?

Learning theory

What did you focus on?

remembering

communicating

studying

visualising

understanding

changemaking meaning

Learning theory

Learning occurs when a response R shows relatively permanent modification as a result of conditions in the environment sometimes referred to a stimuli or Ss. Travers (1963)

Learning is the process by which long-lasting changes occur in behavioural potential as a result of experience.Anderson (1995)

Learning is the process of using a prior interpretation to construe a new or revised interpretation of the meaning of one’s experience in order to guide further action. Mezirow(1996)

Learning theory

Learning theory

Behaviourist Cognitive

Constructivist

Situated cognition

Experience

Long and short-term memory

Problem solving

Information-processing

Extinction

RepetitionContiguityReinforcement

Social

Cognitive Psycho-dynamic

The Three Dimensions of Learning (Illeris 2002)

external

internal

Learning theory

Why think about theory?

Your learning theory

Why think about theory?

Insight Affirmation

SharingProblem-solving

Reflection

Scholarship

Justification

Power

1. Ask the right questions

2. Read learning theories

3. Gather evidence -keep a journal

4. Challenge your assumptions

5. Try new strategies

A reflective teacher

* examines, frames and attempts to resolve the dilemmas of classroom practice;

* is aware of and questions the assumptions and values he or she brings to teaching;

* is attentive to the institutional and cultural contexts in which he or she teaches;

* takes part in curriculum development and is involved in (institutional) change efforts;

* and takes responsibility for his or her own professional development.

(Zeichner and Liston 1996: 11, cited in Bailey et al, 2001: 39)and from:http://www.prodait.iehosting.co.uk/index.php