REFLECTIVE TEACHING AND ITS IMPACT ON FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING

REFLECTIVE TEACHING AND ITS IMPACT ON FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING

1. Reflective teaching is a process where teachers think over their teaching practices, analyzing how something was taught and how the practice might be improved or changed for better learning outcomes.

   • Donald Schön extended Dewey’s foundational aspects on reflection. He coined two new concepts on reflective thinking:
     • reflection-in-action
       • Refection-in-action is a internal conversation of the practitioner where he/she takes hold of the process/ or experience that has occurred, reframes it, and tries to experience it from a different perspective.
     • reflection-on action
       • Pickett (1996) clarified that reflection-on- action is when “the practitioner reflects on the tacit understandings and assumptions s/he holds and subjects them to scrutiny in order to achieve deeper understanding of instructor/student roles, motivations and behaviors”
     • reflective thinking components
       • Recognizing an educational dilemma
       • Responding to a dilemma by recognizing both the similarities to other situations and special qualities of the particular situation
       • Framing and reframing the dilemma
       • Examining the intended and unintended consequences of an implemented solution and reevaluating the solution by determining whether the consequences are desirable or not.
       • Experimenting with the dilemma to discover the consequences and implications of various solutions

2. Theory vs. practice

   • The key to effective teaching is definitely a balance between theory and practice.
     • theory is important not only to perform well, but also to be able to answer students’ questions.
     • theorists need to be exposed to have first-hand experience in which to base or apply their research.
     • We have to show that we understand the hows and whys of our theory and practice.
       • has suggested ways for understanding these hows and whys:
         • Questioning what, why and how one does things and asking what, why, and how others do things
         • Keeping an open mind
         • Comparing and contrasting
         • Seeking the framework, theoretical basis, and/or underlying rationale
         • Viewing from various perspectives
         • Asking for others’ ideas and viewpoints
         • Using prescriptive models only when adapted to the situation
         • Considering consequences
         • Hypothesizing
         • Synthesizing and testing
         • Seeking, identifying and resolving problems

3. Reflective teaching as professional development

   • it offers more advantages than disadvantages, teacher education programs are becoming more devoted to developing reflective practices in their student teachers.
     • experience previous to a “real job” prepares professionals for a better performance.
       • teaching education programs usually include extensive field practice before student teachers take full teaching responsibilities.
         • These field practices help pre-service teachers to analyze different types of methodologies and strategies of teaching as they go along in their training.
     • Simmons and Schuette (1988) provide a definition of the reflective teacher which evokes all the aspects involved in the process, the truly reflective teacher is one who makes instructional decisions consciously and tentatively, critically considers a full range of pertinent contextual and pedagogical factors, actively seeks evidence about the results, and continues to modify these decisions as the situation warrants. (p. 20)
   • For Wallace (1991) a teacher education course should include two kinds of knowledge for it to be professionally structured:
     • Received knowledge.
       • In this the trainee becomes acquainted with the vocabulary of the subject and the matching concepts, research findings, theories, and skills which are widely accepted as being part of the necessary intellectual content of the profession.
     • Experiential knowledge.
       • Here, the trainee will have developed knowledge-in-action by practice of the profession, and will have had, moreover, the opportunity to reflect on that knowledge-in-action.
         • experiential knowledge is not limited to practicing the received knowledge
   • Wallace (1991) also developed what he calls a “reflective model” applicable to both pre-service and in-service education.
     • three stages
       • pre-training
         • trainee’s existing conceptual schema or mental construct
       • professional development
         • theory and practice
       • professional competence
         • the ultimate goal

4. Reflective teaching in foreign language contexts

   • In ESL/EFL contexts, these judgmental practices can impact positively in understanding what is going on in our classrooms and in producing changes in methodology, assessment, and instruction
     • Some of the objectives of the reflective process is to deepen into what the teacher believes “good teaching” is, to mirror the teaching/learning process through different perspectives.
     • A way to ensure positive changes in English Language Teaching (ELT) is through the formation of reflective inquiry groups.
       • These are formed by faculty staff members who show respect, mutual growth and understanding on issues encountered in class such as students’ learning styles/, their needs, wants and lacks; and assessment instruments, among other aspects.
     • Suggested procedures for reflective teaching in EFL contexts
       • relate theory and practice, to evaluate both old and new teaching experiences, and to make interpretations on the situations encountered
       • Based on these findings, a great deal of analyses and reflection occurs in order to speculate reasons for these occurrences, provoking a plan of action or intervention on these happenings to later observe again for possible changes on the learning process.
       • Another effective way of inquiring our own teaching and practices is by being committed in journal entries/ or teachers’ diaries.

5. Final remarks

   • The process of reflection is not easy. In fact, just getting engaged in it might be difficult because of time constraints.
     • Teachers must reflect, analyze, and adjust or change their practice whenever it is necessary; otherwise, thinking would actually become a waste of time.
     • What really will make the difference when reflective/action research practice is performed is the fact that the results are empowering in helping ESL/EFL teachers become better teachers
   • We can leave a mark in our students as well as in our teaching.