For this task I have chosen to use Jay and Johnson's (2000) Reflective Model. This model has three stages: descriptive, comparative and critical reflection.
Stage one: Descriptive
What is currently happening?
In my practise, reflect-on-action and reflect-in-action thinking is happening. Normally for me, reflecting in action has occurred because of a specific task not meeting the needs of the learners. The lesson may have not worked and therefore it requires thinking in action to meet the needs. I often discuss solutions and options to any challenges that occur with my colleagues after the fact. Believing that this will help me to be better prepared with more options in the future. When thinking about reflecting on actions, I have been using a blog for the past three years to provide evidence for my Registered Teacher Criteria and also for my Appraisal.
I reflect upon each unit of work at the end of the unit, with the aim to think forward and provide enough information for what I would change if I were to do this again in the future.
I have always been encouraged to use Teaching as Inquiry and feel that this also creates avenues for specific reflecting on actions.
I am feeling pretty confident in my ability to reflect upon what is happening within my class rooms and with my practise. I feel like my current practise is working for me, my students and provides evidence for reviewing my practise. I feel like I have a clear grasp on reflective practise and anything that I am learning or reading through Mindlab is only providing me with more evidence that I am on the right track.
Stage Two: Comparative
By looking at the 'Evaluate your reflective practise - March 2018', reading the class notes in the portal and reflecting upon the reading 'Reflecting on Reflective Practise' I believe that my reflective style does include elements of self awareness and critical thinking. In discussing this with my colleagues, I challenge assumptions and link this to the importance of context, always relating back to best practise. My appraisers describe me as reflective and a life-long learner.
When looking at what is not working when it comes to reflecting, I would say time is a factor. Having the time to sit and reflect-on-actions can be a barrier. Reflecting during the action is a lot easier. At times I do not reflect on my actions until well after the fact - which means that the reflection is not as detailed or descriptive as it could be. So how can I improve this barrier?! I guess I could try to timetable it in weekly? Or at the end of the unit? We will see how this goes over the next term...
Stage Three: Critical Reflection
I guess the implications of this matter are that one can be negative when it comes to critical reflection and it is important to see criticality as an opportunity to better yourself. Often gaining insight from research can help support your thinking or can clarify why things may be going in a particular direction.
It is important to reflect upon your practise often and there are many ways that you can do this. Talking to colleagues can help provide you with ideas or understandings that you may not have thought about previously. When reflecting upon your practise, you must not look at things in isolation and have a wide-lense, you need to not only be looking back but also thinking about the future.
I think this model will be useful for reflection in the future. The hardest part of this reflection for me is that I feel that I am successful in my reflective practise and that there is not a lot that is not working or that I do not understand. Time is the only barrier, and I feel like that is something all of us educators are struggling with.
My final understanding or reflection upon this subject is that it is hard to be critical when you are feeling that something is working well, but easier to be critical when it is not working.
References:
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.
Ministry of Education (2007) Teaching as inquiry. Retrieved from http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-stories/Case-studies/Teachers-as-learners-Inquiry/Teaching-as-inquiry
