Reflective Practice through Dialogues and Journal Writing

Description:
The practice of different dimensions of teaching inside and outside of the classroom is determined by one’s repertoire of knowledge, attitudes, behaviours and skills. A teacher must be trained to possess a multitude of knowledge, and apply it by considering the context and situation factors, in order to teach competently.

Teaching is multi-dimensional, at the basic level, it includes the selection of instructional materials, setting objectives, designing appropriate learning and assessment activities to support learners to learn effectively, managing classroom disciplines and creating a pleasant environment that engage students in learning. Teachers should also provide opportunities to cultivate various generic skills and meta-cognitive strategies of learners, equipping them the necessary skills to pursue life-long learning. Advanced communication skills are also useful for building up trustful relationships with students. Furthermore, being able to engage critically in self-reflection, professional exchange dialogues, and evaluation of one’s teaching are seen as the necessary traits of successful teachers.

By and large, expertise of teaching cannot be achieved without training in the field.  A key component in teacher training programme is attending practicum in schools and learning from the on-going reflection base on cycles of experiential learning in teaching. In the practicum setting, prospective teachers model the real life of what an ordinary teacher does in their jobs in the classroom; they gain different sources of support and engage in an active process of learning to advance their knowledge and skills in teaching. This experience may contribute significantly to the professional life of student-teachers as authentic experience is the most effective means of learning – which may result to changes in perspectives, attitudes, and better performance. Eventually, students can be more engaged in their professional life.

This section shares the reflection of student-teachers’ post supervision learning on a specific lesson. The supervisor used pre- and post-supervision dialogue as an essential tool during the supervision, by introducing reflective prompts with a group of students who conducted teaching in schools. This prompt includes a set of questions which requires students to critically review on the aspects which they think that they have conducted effectively, the areas that they find problematic or still have room for improvement, and issues or potential ideas that they could further explore. Based on which, suggestions and recommendations are discussed, and the students then revise their lesson plans accordingly. The reflective essays are shared in this column, they were the evidences of learning which illustrate the authentic learning process of student teachers. If you are short of ideas of writing a reflection or you are guiding or mentoring students to do or write reflection, you may be interested in viewing some of the reflective episodes. If you have any comments and works to share, please email contact us via AClass at aclass@ied.edu.hk.

Please cite as:
Lam, B. H. (2016) Reflective practice through dialogues and journal writing. Retrieved from http://www.ied.edu.hk/aclass/