Reflective Practice for Teachers

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"Like other professionals, teachers cannot become
effective by following scripts. Instead, they
need to create knowledge in use as they practice
... knowledge does not exist apart from teacher
and context." Thomas Sergiovanni, Moral
Leadership
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Reflective PracticeA New Paradigm for
Professional Development

• Equity Excellence in Higher Education

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Agenda

• Welcome
• Definition of Reflective Practice
• A Critical Incident Protocol
• Early Outcomes from the Reflective Practice
  Demonstration in NH
• Implementation Assistance

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Reflective Practice

• A cognitive process and open perspective that
  involves a deliberate pause to examine beliefs,
  goals or practices in order to gain new or deeper
  understanding that leads to actions improving the
  learning of students.

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Typical Professional Development Approach
Focus on AWARENESS
Reflective Practice
Multi Day Training, Courses
One Day Training, Inservices
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New Paradigm-Creating Learning Communities
Focus on Application and Synthesis
Reflective Practice
Multi Day Training, Courses
One Day Training, Inservices
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In other words...

• Reflective Practice is an in-depth conversation
  open about what we do, how it works, and why we
  do it
• so that our students are able to learn more
  effectively in our classrooms

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A Foundation of Reflective Practice Protocols

• A set of guidelines
• Clear role definitions
• Common elements
• Presentation
• Clarifying and Probing Questions
• Artifacts
• Group discussion, excluding presenter
• Reflection/debrief

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Reflective Practice From Awareness to Action

• Builds on the strength and wisdom of teaching
  colleagues
• Provides opportunities to discuss new strategies
  before, during and after implementation
• Supports critical thinking
• Encourages innovation
• Enhances learning for ALL students

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How Reflection Impacts Practice

• See ourselves as continually growing
• Teaching becomes a connective activity
• We learn to speak about what we do--we discover
  our voice
• from Stephen Brookfield Becoming a Critically
  Reflective Teacher

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Practicing a Protocol Talking about Teaching and
Learning using the critical incident protocol

• What is the best (or worst) experience you ever
  had in teaching?

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The Critical Incident Protocol

• As presenter listens, the other members raise
  probing or analytical questions
• Presenter takes notes on ideas that resonate
  with him/her
• Presenter then responds to what was heard
• Group engages in a dialogue
• Debrief

• Write about a critical incident
• Choose one person to be the presenter during the
  protocol
• One person should keep the group on track the
  Coach
• Ask the presenter to present the incident to your
  triad
• Listen only -- then ask clarifying questions

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Steps of Brief Critical Incident Protocol

• Introduction 5 minutes
• Clarifying questions 5 minutes
• Discussion 10 minutes
• Presenter reaction 5 minutes
• De-brief the protocol 5 minutes

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De-Briefing the Protocol

• What do you think the purpose of the protocol
  structure is?
• Can you see any benefit to getting together with
  colleagues to talk about your college teaching
  using protocols like this?
• What might be the barriers to doing that?
• What resources and supports might you need?

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De-Briefing the Critical Incident Protocol

• What was the experience like for the person
  presenting?
• For the consulting faculty?
• Even if you didnt present, what did you get out
  of it?
• What was hard about doing the protocol? How is it
  different from an informal discussion?

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Reflective practice IS

• Non-judgmental
• Collaborative
• Equitable
• Helpful

• Positively focused
• A guide for effective communication
• Structured

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Reflective Practice is NOT

• Supervision or evaluation
• Rigid
• Hierarchical

• Judgmental
• Required
• Haphazard

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Reflecting Alone

• The Autobiography of ME as Learner and Teacher
• Learning Logs
• Teaching Logs
• Videotaping your own teaching
• Watching others teach

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Reflecting with a partner

• Email exchanges
• Observing one another as a critical friend
• Journal sharing

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Reflecting with a group

• Using protocols
• Critical Incident
• Consultancy
• Tuning
• Looking at student work
• Planning instruction/curriculum
• Addressing broad educational issues

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Early Results from NH

• A switch in attitude to OUR students, not YOUR
  students.
• We see a greater openness to vary educational
  practices as a result of feedback from reflective
  practice groups.
• There is a greater willingness to use technology
  to adapt teaching to students needs.

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Research Findings

• RP groups are more satisfying than other
  professional development activities because
• It is continual
• It is focused on their own teaching and their own
  students learning
• It takes place in a small group of supported and
  trusted colleagues within their own school.
• (Dunne, Nave and Ellis, Phi Delta Kappan Research
  Bulletin, 12/2000)

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Implementation Assistance

• www.unh.edu/EE
• Reflective Practice materials Training and
  on-going support
• A Reflective Practice Toolkit for Coaches

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Role of the Reflective Practice Coach

• Establish group norms
• Keep groups on track with the protocol
• Keep time
• Support constructive discussion
• Mediate conflict
• Support group with logistics

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Additional Resources

• National School Reform Faculty
  http//www.nsrfharmony.org/
• videos, on-line virtual protocols, articles,
  links
• Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher by
  Stephen Brookfield
• Reflective Practice Creating Capacities for
  School Improvement by Montie, York-Barre,
  Kronberg, Stevenson, Vallejo and Lunders

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Thank You!

• Cate Weir
• Institute on Disability
• University of NH
• 10 Ferry Street
• Concord, NH
• 603-228-2084 (v/tty)
• cweir_at_cisunix.unh.edu

• Kirsten Tilney
• Institute on Disability
• University of NH
• 10 Leavitt Lane
• Durham, NH
• 603-862-4320
• ktilney_at_cisunix.unh.edu