Education (Term Paper Sample)

CRITICAL REFLECTION AND DEVELOPING PRACTICE – TEACHING PRIMARY SCHOOL Student’s Name Course Professor’s Name University City (State) Date Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u 1.0Introduction PAGEREF _Toc100820208 \h 32.0Why Is A Critical Reflection Important in Education? PAGEREF _Toc100820209 \h 43.0Analyzing M​‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‍‍‌​Y Practice And Experiences PAGEREF _Toc100820210 \h 64.0Benefits of Critical Analysis PAGEREF _Toc100820211 \h 95.0Features of Reflection in Practice PAGEREF _Toc100820212 \h 106.0Reflecting Effectively and Ensuring It Leads to Better Quality Of Learning PAGEREF _Toc100820213 \h 117.0Tools for Reflective Practice PAGEREF _Toc100820214 \h 138.0Conclusion and Next Steps‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‍‍‌​ PAGEREF _Toc100820215 \h 15References PAGEREF _Toc100820216 \h 16Appendix 1 PAGEREF _Toc100820217 \h 19Appendix 2 PAGEREF _Toc100820218 \h 19Appendix 3 PAGEREF _Toc100820219 \h 20Appendix 4 PAGEREF _Toc100820220 \h 20Appendix 5 PAGEREF _Toc100820221 \h 21Appendix 6 PAGEREF _Toc100820222 \h 21Appendix 7 PAGEREF _Toc100820223 \h 22 1 Introduction As noted by Moon (2013), reflection is a technique that can aid and reinforce learning. It can be used effectively for the professional and educational developments. In the case of education, reflective practices can enhance the critical thinking and help a person generate new theories from personal learning and experiences. According to Bolton and Delderfield (2018), a reflective practice can enable mindfulness, enhance the awareness and the desire of an individual to tackle border issues. It can identify, question, and asses the innate assumptions, prejudices, biases, feelings, and beliefs of an individual based on the knowledge he acquires from experiences or academic studies. Critical Reflection (CR) on the other hand is critical, descriptive, and analytical, and it can be articulated orally or in written form. In terms of academic and professional practices, a CR builds connections between course content and the experience (The University of Tennessee, 2022). In the case of the teaching profession, CR is important in understanding the practices properly and conducting action research properly (Sullivan et al., 2017). As pointed out by Bassot (2016), a CR help an individual in becoming more self-aware, learning from experiences, positives, negatives, emotions, feelings, and feedback, lifting innate assumptions to the surface, and in managing changes properly. The purpose of a CR is not to help an individual in the reading or writing processes, but to help him change his way of thinking and behavior. As noted by Bush et al. (2019), a teacher’s leadership capabilities play a vital role in improving student outcomes. The main objective of this essay is to assess my professional responsibilities as an educational leader and the development of my practice as a primary school teacher. In my opinion, a teacher should improve his abilities to reflect if he wants to develop an effective learning environment for students, especially those in primary classrooms. The success of a primary teacher depends heavily on connecting educational topics with personal experiences or experiences from the real world. Students in primary classrooms will stimulate curiosity for learning only when they develop an interest in what the teacher tells to them. I will try to meet the aforementioned objectives by comparing my current experiences with previous experiences in the co-curricular and extra-curricular areas. I have previous experience of teaching in multiple and diverse educational environments. This paper will compare those experiences with my current experiences based on relevant teaching and learning theories, models, and approaches. 2 Why Is A Critical Reflection Important in Education? I do believe that a CR is an important aspect in the professional life of any successful teachers or educators. As mentioned by Cruickshank and Applegate (1981), a teacher should have a proper awareness regarding what actually happens in his classroom and what alternative strategies are necessary if the pre-planned strategy failed to meat the intended or targeted goals and aims. A teacher should not be satisfied with how well he has presented in the class, instead he should concentrate more on how well the students grasped the points or the topics. According to Wallace (1998), a critical mind is necessary for a teacher to identify the loopholes in his strategies and develop alternative strategies to overcome those things. The teacher should evaluate the lessons correctly, prepare good lesson plans, and deliver the lecture in the class properly. A CR after the completion of every class would help the teacher identify the extent to which was able to transfer his knowledge to the students. As pointed out by Cole and Knowles (2000), a teacher should provide room for developing practice through reflectivity. In my opinion, different teachers may have different skills, talents, and capabilities. Instead of trying to imitate another teacher, a teacher should try to capitalize on his talents and skills while delivering the lecture. I have seen many teachers who have good story telling or narrative skills. Such teachers use those skills effectively to convey the lessons properly to the class. On the other hand, my major plus point is my drawing skills teaching aid making skills. In other words, I can convey the lessons properly through pictures illustrations drawn on the black board or with the help of teaching aids I make. I have realized that my narrative skills are poor and I cannot be as successful as other teachers if I use story telling as a methodology in my classes. John Dewey, the famous educational theorist, has identified five stages of reflection: Suggestion, Intellectualization, Development of a hypothesis, Elaboration of hypothesis, and Testing the hypothesis (Dewey, 1933). According to Dewey, suggestion is the possible solutions to a problematic experience whereas the intellectualization is the direct experiencing with the problem. Development of hypothesis occurs based on the suggestions and the elaboration of hypothesis is the process of making the problem clearer using the past and present experiences. On the other hand, testing of the hypothesis often done after the careful analysis of the development and elaboration of the hypothesis. Reflective activity of an individual can develop new situations from present and past experiences (Dewey, 1933). Elaborating Dewey’s theory, Lyons (2010) argues that reflectivity is connected with moral dispositions, aesthetic concerns, and purposes of an individual. I have no problems in supporting the ideas of Dewey and Lyons. From my past experiences, I have realized that knowledge alone have limitations in conveying the topics or lessons properly to students. I have seen many teachers in the past who are knowledgeable, but a big failure in the classrooms. This is because of the poor communication skills possessed by these teachers. On the other hand, I have seen many other successful teachers who have poor knowledge base, but a big success in the classrooms. These teachers not only know how to transfer their knowledge to the students, but also to develop new knowledge by blending their knowledge with the knowledge of the students. In short, good communication skill is as important as good knowledge for a primary school teacher or an educator. 3 Analyzing M​‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‍‍‌​Y Practice And Experiences My practice and experiences in teaching can be better analyzed with the help of the Danielson Framework for Teaching that was developed in 1996. The core objective of this teaching framework is to accomplish great teaching in all of its complexity (Cochran, 2020). Danielson’s teaching framework has four major domains and 22 components as illustrated in appendix 1. Moreover, it has 6 clusters and 6 common themes as illustrated in appendix 2. As evident from appendix 1, the four domains of Danielson’s teaching framework are planning and preparation, classroom environment, professional responsibilities, and instruction. The table given below explains each domain, its components, and my response to these domains and components as a primary teacher. Domain and components My ability to reflect in action Planning and preparation * Demonstrating the knowledge and pedagogy * Demonstrating the knowledge of students * Setting instructional outcomes * Demonstrating knowledge of the resources * Designing coherent instruction * Designing student assignments As a teacher, it is my duty to collect ample information about each student in my class and their learning needs. I cannot expect that all students are intelligent enough to achieve good grades. Therefore, I have to customize my teaching strategies based on the needs of each student in my class. I should use all the resources available in my school for providing quality education to my students. Classroom environment * Creation of an environment of respect and rapport * Establishment of a culture for learning * Management of classroom procedures * Management of student behavior * Organization of physical space As per the modern principles of teaching and learning, education is student-centered rather than teacher-centered. Therefore, my duty is to set the classrooms based on the needs of the students rather than that of the teacher. I have to develop a protocol that explains what students can be done and how they should behave inside and outside the classrooms. Instruction * Communication with students * Questioning and discussion * Engagement of students in learning * Usage of assessment in instruction * Demonstration of flexibility and responsiveness I do believe that regular and frequent communication with the students would help me...