Teachers as Reflective Practitioners

Paper Summary:

Reflective practice involves thinking about and learning from one's own practice and from the practices of others so as to gain new perspectives on the dilemmas and contradictions inherent in one's educational situation. This paper discusses how, despite concerns earlier about the usefulness of reflective practice in teacher education, many schools, colleges, and departments of education have developed ways to incorporate reflective practice, not only into teacher preparation, but also into ongoing professional development.

From the Paper:

"There are different levels of reflective practice and different methods of incorporating it into teaching. Coaching and peer involvement are two aspects of reflective practice seen often at the pre-service level. Ferraro (2000) explain some of the ways that teacher educators can coach student teachers in reflective practice by using students? personal histories, dialogue journals, and group discussions about their experiences to help the students reflect upon and improve their practices. The reflective writings and peer group discussions have encouraged the student teachers to challenge existing theories and their own preconceived views of teaching. Critical reflection in group sessions is also helpful in in-service teaching. However, in addition to group sessions, other activities suggested include study teams and peer coaching where teachers continuously examine their assumptions and practices."

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