Week 17 - Applied practice

After reading Finlay (2008) and working with my MindLab study group I began to reflect more deeply on how I reflect. I constantly reflect on my practice privately and with colleagues. I am critical about my practice and willingly change my practice when and as needed. I make anecdotes to my plan, make notes in modelling books and have discussions with colleagues. For example if my students are not on task at the beginning of a writing lesson then I take into account the students' cues and reflect on why. I then may get the students to come back to the mat to either discuss the topic again or change the topic completely to gain better clarity. I make notes on my plan and in my modelling book for future reference and formative assessment. I then reflect with my colleagues as we plan together, we discuss what has gone well and how we can support our learners with our next steps. This works for myself, my students and my colleagues as we work well together to share our ideas.  

However from the research that I have done for this activity I have realised that I need to use more research and use reflective models such as Jay and Johnson’s (2002) reflective model. Continuing with the writing example I could use research about writing such as Sheena Cameron and Louise Dempsey’s The Writing Book (2013) to help support future change. This is what we endeavour to do in our school teaching inquiry, reflecting against our own hunch, beliefs and values but if I use research and wider reflection beyond self reflection I can challenge my own thinking. If I am not looking beyond my own thoughts and beliefs then I am not likely to change my perspective.

According to Finlay (2008) critical reflection is “understood as part of the process of life-long learning (p.1). Critical reflection-on-action should “review, describe, analyse and evaluate their past practice with a view on gaining insight to improve future practice” (Finlay, 2008, p.1). Within the mindlab course activities I noticed that others find frequent reflective practice easy when it is with colleagues or by themselves. Sharing reflections with the wider professional community is not something we are so good at and an area I also need to develop. Regular reflections that occur within our own heads and with colleagues have value that can be added through sharing with a larger community or professionals. I can improve this by ensuring I make time to use research to support my critical reflections and sharing these via my blog. I started this blog when I began my MindLab journey but I feel that I am only just beginning to become truly reflective of my learning journey.

Finlay (2008) has made me think about my perspective of reflecting as needing to be more than what I do currently in my teaching bubble. There is vast knowledge, expertise and experience just a click away that I could be tapping into to continue to enhance my professional development. This perspective will influence my reflective practice as I become more open with my reflections through sharing my critical reflections online and becoming a more of an active member in collaborative formats outside of my school colleagues such as blogging, being an activities participant in the New Zealand Teacher facebook group, other teaching/education groups and twitter groups. As a PLC leader in my school I will use the reflective model to improve my leadership practice and support my followers in their reflective learning journeys as we work through our collaborative teaching inquiries.

References

Cameron, S., & Dempsey, L. (2013). The writing book; A practical Guide for Teachers. Auckland, N.Z.: S. Cameron.

Finlay, L. (2009). Reflecting on reflective practice. Practice-based Professional Learning Centre, Open University. Retrieved from http://www.open.ac.uk/opencetl/sites/www.open.ac.uk.opencetl/files/files/ecms/web-content/Finlay-(2008)-Reflecting-on-reflective-practice-PBPL-paper-52.pdf

Jay, J.K. and Johnson, K.L. (2002). Capturing complexity: a typology of reflective practice for teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 18, 73-85.