Returning to the profession

Part 1 - Becoming a reflective teacher#

Me as teacher#

Asked to reflect on the following questions

What words would you use to describe yourself as a teacher?

Meddler in the middle. The Canvas page includes an image of multiple jumbled hats (the hats teachers wear). Each is labelled, example labels including: zoo keeper, cheerleader, entrepreneur (not a fan of that one) etc. The image capture some of the complexity of the teacher role but perhaps errs back into the practice of trying to define teaching as a set of roles. As an example of our desire to categorise, define and box complex, entangled phenomena.

meddler-in-the-middle - or at least my interpretation - captures it better for me. Learning is complex, messy, and entangled. As a teacher I'm working within that mess and with the students creating something with it. All of those roles are there, but there are used creatively and flexibly in response to the specifics of the context and the capabilities of the students and I. Hence my-teaching-philosophy focusing on bricolage. - What words would your students use describe you?

TBD - What words would the parents of your students use to describe you?

TBD - What words would your teaching colleagues use to describe you?

TBD, but hopefully collegial, helpful - What are your strengths as a teacher?

Conceptual, always trying to improve, and very pragmatically quite digitally literate. - What aspects of teaching do you find challenging?

I'm an introvert, so the human interaction stuff is a drain. Which begs the obvious question of WTF are you doing teaching? I enjoy teaching, but I need to work on the social interaction as it doesn't come naturally. - How many hats do you wear as a teacher?

Just the one, bricoleur.

Critical reflection#

Notes from Killen (2016)

Reflection is important for improvement#

Not matter how well you teach, there is always room for improvement. The philosophy underpins the Teaching for Effective Learning Framework (South Australia), the Productive Pedagogies model (Queensland), the Quality Teaching Model (New South Wales) and the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (p. 103)

Echoing it's not-how-bad-you-start, but how quickly you get better.

Defines critical reflection as

One way to continually improve is to adopt a systematic approach to learning from your day-to-day teaching experiences. By looking at how you teach, thinking about why you do it that way, and evaluating how well you are influencing student learning, you can identify your strengths and target things to improve.

Divisions in action, reflection, process#

Identifies reflection as important, but how important for education has only started recently, perhaps with Dewey and his distinction between

routine action - "guided by tradition, habit, authority, and institutional expectations"; and,
reflective action - "guided by constant self-appraisal and development"

For me this highlights a possible echoing between the

set-mindset typically of our increasingly corporate education systems and their adoption of teleological design, resonating with routine action; and,
the bad mindset which is more about reflection and bricolage, about ateleological design - resonating strongly with reflective action.

Killen reinforces this through mention of Gilberts (1994) perspective of two views of education

technicist view

Education is the servant of the economy. teachers are innovative professionals (technologists) with the skills to produce "pre-determined learning outcomes in students"
liberatory view

Echoes of Freire and education encouraging learners to challenge and change the world. Education is an agent of social change. Teachers are innovative professionals with competence beyond identifiable technical skills.

Of course, the either/or separation into two views in all of the above is itself problematic. It's not either/or, it's both/and.

Levels of reflection#

Van Manen (1977) had three levels of reflection

Technical reflection - use reflection to get better at applying research-based knowledge about teaching to maintain order and achieve learning
Practical reflection - reflection focuses more on broader goals, the assumptions that underpin practice, the value of goals, and connections between principles & practice
Critical reflection - extends to issues beyond the classroom: equity, emancipation inform practice etc. For Brookfield critical reflection services two purposes: understand the power relations; and, questions assumptions and practices.

Zeichner and Liston (1987) focus on criteria for reflection: technical; educational; ethical. Mirroring somewhat the above. Zeichner (1990) argues that these are not hierarchical. All criteria/skills are valuable.

Schon's (1983) concept of frames gets a mention. With expert teachers being able to apply multiple different frames. To reframe the situation. As does

reflection-on-action after the fact, prep for next
reflection-in-action in the moment reflection - due to cognitive load only becoming really possible with experience

And Schon's (1983, 1987) notion of the reflective practitioner as

one who can think about teaching while teaching and respond appropriately to the unique situations that arise (Killen, 2016, p. 107)

Characteristics of reflective teachers#

A list is given for reflective teachers

Believe evaluating how they influence learning is a responsibility
High awareness of how they teach and how it is perceived
Open-minded and willing to change
Enthusiastic about improving their teaching practice to improve learning, but also concerend about moral/ethical issues
take the time to engage in continuous reflection
Gather evidence in various ways to guide reflection
Willing collaborate
Deliberately reframe situations
See curriculum as guide, not a prescription
Judgements arise from self-reflection, evidence-based inquiry and insights from theory

Various benefits of reflection are given

Approaches/Strategies for reflection#

Ghaye (2011) offers a 4-step positive reflection approach

Appreciate what you are currently doing well
Imagine what could be done to make things even better.
Design a way of achieving your new goal.
Act to achieve your new goal.

Killen (2016) suggests observing an experience teacher is a good first step. The following checklist seems to be a bit more technical, rather than "ethical"/critical

What I was looking for	What I observed
How the teacher let students know what they were supposed to learn
How the teacher activated the students’ prior knowledge
How the teacher kept the students engaged with learning
How the teacher obtained evidence of students’ learning
How the teacher used feedback from students
How the teacher dealt with unexpected events
How the teacher brought the lesson to a logical conclusion

Other suggestions include

Before reflection identify: the issue for reflection; available data gathering and evaluation.
Reflective journal writing
Feedback from students
- Validated SET instrument (e.g. Hattie (2012, p. 274))
- Custom/contextualised instrument
  - variation on minute papers
Recording lessons
Reflective partnerships

Barriers to reflection#

Common barriers to reflection	Ways of meeting the challenges
Teachers have limited time.	Make reflection an integral part of your routine of planning, teaching and evaluation. Prioritise your commitments.
Beginning teachers may be so preoccupied with the subject matter, or with their delivery of the lesson, that they have little time to consider how well it is going.	Prepare thoroughly so that you are confident of your knowledge and clear about the structure of your lesson. Use a clear lesson plan to guide your teaching.
Beginning teachers may be reluctant to be self-critical at a time when they are lacking in self-confidence and when they are fearful of failure and their vulnerability.	Don't expect to be perfect, but do acknowledge that you need to improve. Deliberately try to learn from your mistakes.
Beginning teachers may lack the knowledge of diverse teaching strategies that might help them to perceive alternatives to their current practice.	Study chapters 6 to 14. Talk to other teachers about how they teach. Ask for advice. Observe other teachers. Look for ideas on the Internet. Be prepared to take a risk and step outside your comfort zone.
Inexperienced teachers may have a very limited number of 'frames' within which to consider their teaching.	Practise deliberately looking at situations from more than one perspective. Try to look at your teaching through the eyes of your students. Take Edward de Bono's advice and change 'thinking hats'.
Some beginning teachers are unable to achieve the detachment from their own practice that would enable them to reflect on it objectively and critically.	Get feedback from your students. Ask colleagues to observe your teaching and give you feedback. Establish a reflective partnership.
Beginning teachers may see each class and each student as unique and therefore see limited potential in reflection on practice.	Look beyond the uniqueness of each student and lesson and try to identify the common elements that help or hinder student learning in your classes.
Beginning teachers may feel that they have no control over the social, moral and political issues that impinge on their classrooms.	You may not be able to change these issues, but you can at least discuss them with other teachers and develop ways of controlling their influence on your teaching.
The busy routines of teaching may make it difficult to develop a challenging and questioning perspective.	Set aside time for reflection. Challenge yourself to question every major teaching decision you make.
Many teacher education students want recipes to help them develop patterns of appropriate teacher behaviour (ways of dealing with everyday classroom events) so that they can react in fixed ways.	Don't expect to always be able to deal with similar events in the same way. Be flexible. Deliberately try to develop your skills at reflecting-in-action.
Teacher education students are often confused by the range of theoretical models of teaching and learning they are confronted with.	Begin your reflections by adopting just one theoretical stance. Use that perspective to interpret what is happening, then adopt a different theoretical stance.
Reflection is not a normal mode of behaviour for many people.	Develop the habit of reflecting on everything that happens in your life.
It is easy to confuse knowledge acquisition with reflection.	The essence of reflection is not to discover something entirely new, but to come to a better understanding of something that is already familiar. Make this your goal.

Critical reflection#

writer was center of activity, examining the part they played
multiple perspectives (and frames?)
clear goal e.g. What? So what? Now what?

AITSL documents#

Document	Description
Learning from practice	Overview with some detail of the AITSL standards
Demonstrating impact	How to evidence practice and its impact
Developing a professional mindset	Steps/requirements to become a professional - philosophy etc
Recognising exemplary teachers	How to achieve the top levels of AITSL standards

Part 2 - The professional standards#

7 standards and 3 domains: professional knowledge, practice and engagement.

Hot Topics#

Know students and how they learn
- 1.4 - Strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
- 1.5 - Differentiate teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities
Know the content and how to teach it
- 2.5 - Literacy and numeracy strategies
- 2.6 - Information and communication technology
Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning
- 5.2 - Provide feedback to students on their learning
- 5.4 - Interpret student data

Part 3 - Recent changes in education#

The Australian Curriculum
basic summary, news is that apparently there is an Australian Curriculum for senior secondary, including mathematics, apparently not used in Queensland?
Increased levels of data driven accountability

Push for data on school performance to be made public - which is always so helpful.
- data walls
- NAPLAN and other tests - MySchool, NAPLAN, PISA
The increased presence of ICT in classrooms
The transition of Year 7 to Secondary School
Workforce issues in teaching
Major changes to curriculum, assessment and tertiary entrance procedures which started in 2019

In Queensland, oversupply of primary teachers, and secondary HPE and creative/performing arts teachers. Though some issues in remote and regional areas. Critical shortages in secondary mathematics, science, and industrial design and technology teachers.

References#

Killen, R. (2016). Becoming a reflective teacher. In Effective teaching strategies: Lessons from research and practice (pp. 103--120). Cengage.