I am creating my Portfolio for submission and I realize that there are lots of information I will like to share with you all, but I do not have all the space needed to do so in my Portfolio. Therefore, I decided to post this blog with more information on "Reflection", taken from the internet, for your information. Hope you find them useful and informative and do drop a line or two to express the same. Please feel free to visit my website from time to time to get information and/or photos, and to share any useful information.
The following are information on "Reflection", which is the theme of the Postgraduate Diploma in Education programme. Happy reading!
1. Professional Reflection on Teaching
The role of reflection and articulated goals as a foundation for professional development and for
evaluating teaching through a portfolio.
What are the ends of teaching? How does one's views on this shape one's teaching activities (broadly construed) and the methods or approaches that one uses in a classroom? Ulitmately, how can one know good teaching without knowing its intended purpose? Since teaching is a scholarly, professional activity, its backbone is thorough reflection on ends and means. Teaching, therefore, will be shaped by how an individual characterizes these three basic elements that govern practice:
personal values and the goals of education (Teaching Philosophy);
the scope of one's activities (Roles & Responsibilities Adopted); and
the approaches that one adopts or develops towards those desired ends (Methods & Teaching Strategies).
Each of these elements is elaborated more fully elsewhere (links above). Here, one might pause to consider how they work together as elements of professional reflection. (In many discussions of teaching portfolios, these elements are combined under the single heading "Teaching Philosophy"; we prefer, by contrast, to highlight the differences between the whys, whats and hows.)
The foundation for any planning or assessment of teaching begins with a clear reflection on and a public statement of teaching philosophy. This does not define some theory of learning, but expresses the individual's personal values in a professional context. What is the goal of teaching? This is an important expression of academic freedom in teaching, tempered by discussion within the academic community, both at one's home institution and beyond. In a sense, all other aspects of teaching--and of the teaching portfolio--revolve around this hub. In particular, all evaluations must refer back to this form of personal reflection as a benchmark and implicit self-defined standard.
Having defined one's values and goals in teaching, one can then articulate the appropriate scope or type of one's teaching activities. How does one decide what courses to teach, how to balance classroom duties with mentoring or advising outside the classroom, or how much time to invest in other activities that support student learning, perhaps indirectly, such as garnering funding or developing instructional resources? What roles and responsibilities does one adopt? All these decisions are further expressions of professional choice (and academic freedom), though obviously made in a context of others in the same department and institution. This is an important perspective to contrast with many non-professional contexts, where a person's roles and responsibilities are dictated externally by the institution or employer.
Finally, the goals and the scope of one's activities frame a context for developing the means to fulfill them. In particular, what methodologies and teaching strategies does one learn, adopt and develop? Examples here may be collaborative learning, writing in class, carefully planned lectures punctuated by video clips, simulations, project assignments, computer tutorials, student debates, regular problem sets, guided rehearsals or studio work, etc. Many views of teaching equate these techniques or skills with the quality of teaching itself. But one must remember that they are skills or techniques only--tools for reaching some other, valued end. Indeed, they may very well be used expertly and effectively. And a person with a larger repertoire of skills may have more possibilities open to them. Still, sheer mastery does not ensure (in this case) that students learn, for example. Here, pedagogical knowledge and background on theories of learning or cognitive development can be further helpful tools. Ultimately, each teacher will find certain forms of teaching more suitable to his or her own goals, interactions with students, and personal dispositions. What may emerge from continued growth in this area, then, is a distincitve teaching style. That style will undoubtedly complement the instructor's specific teaching philosophy (as described above).
A teacher's methods and teaching strategies form a toolbox, of sorts. As an ensemble, they form a reservoir, a resource for productive teaching. Collectively, they are a form of capital (using the economic analogy). Hence, one may well refer to teaching capital. It is important to articulate this concept because one's repertoire of skills--one's teaching capital--will likely grow through the stages of one's career, and this may likely shape expectations in the context of an evaluation. Indeed, one might also expect the professional to continue accumulating teaching capital throughout one's life--another element that may shape evaluations.
The three elements of professional reflection, discussed above, are the foundation for the practice of teaching itself. First, they are the benchmark for evaluating the effectiveness of one's teaching, in the broadest terms, and guide the reflective practitioner in collecting evidence (or getting feedback).
Second, in more subtle and indirect ways, teaching philosophy and other elements of reflection also guide an individual's professional development. For example, considerable professional develoment will likely be devoted to increasing teaching capital in the context of one's specific teaching goals. These two dimensions of teaching thus form the other major sections in a teaching portfolio.
What are the ends of teaching? How does one's views on this shape one's teaching activities (broadly construed) and the methods or approaches that one uses in a classroom? Ulitmately, how can one know good teaching without knowing its intended purpose? Since teaching is a scholarly, professional activity, its backbone is thorough reflection on ends and means. Teaching, therefore, will be shaped by how an individual characterizes these three basic elements that govern practice:
personal values and the goals of education (Teaching Philosophy);
the scope of one's activities (Roles & Responsibilities Adopted); and
the approaches that one adopts or develops towards those desired ends (Methods & Teaching Strategies).
Each of these elements is elaborated more fully elsewhere (links above). Here, one might pause to consider how they work together as elements of professional reflection. (In many discussions of teaching portfolios, these elements are combined under the single heading "Teaching Philosophy"; we prefer, by contrast, to highlight the differences between the whys, whats and hows.)
The foundation for any planning or assessment of teaching begins with a clear reflection on and a public statement of teaching philosophy. This does not define some theory of learning, but expresses the individual's personal values in a professional context. What is the goal of teaching? This is an important expression of academic freedom in teaching, tempered by discussion within the academic community, both at one's home institution and beyond. In a sense, all other aspects of teaching--and of the teaching portfolio--revolve around this hub. In particular, all evaluations must refer back to this form of personal reflection as a benchmark and implicit self-defined standard.
Having defined one's values and goals in teaching, one can then articulate the appropriate scope or type of one's teaching activities. How does one decide what courses to teach, how to balance classroom duties with mentoring or advising outside the classroom, or how much time to invest in other activities that support student learning, perhaps indirectly, such as garnering funding or developing instructional resources? What roles and responsibilities does one adopt? All these decisions are further expressions of professional choice (and academic freedom), though obviously made in a context of others in the same department and institution. This is an important perspective to contrast with many non-professional contexts, where a person's roles and responsibilities are dictated externally by the institution or employer.
Finally, the goals and the scope of one's activities frame a context for developing the means to fulfill them. In particular, what methodologies and teaching strategies does one learn, adopt and develop? Examples here may be collaborative learning, writing in class, carefully planned lectures punctuated by video clips, simulations, project assignments, computer tutorials, student debates, regular problem sets, guided rehearsals or studio work, etc. Many views of teaching equate these techniques or skills with the quality of teaching itself. But one must remember that they are skills or techniques only--tools for reaching some other, valued end. Indeed, they may very well be used expertly and effectively. And a person with a larger repertoire of skills may have more possibilities open to them. Still, sheer mastery does not ensure (in this case) that students learn, for example. Here, pedagogical knowledge and background on theories of learning or cognitive development can be further helpful tools. Ultimately, each teacher will find certain forms of teaching more suitable to his or her own goals, interactions with students, and personal dispositions. What may emerge from continued growth in this area, then, is a distincitve teaching style. That style will undoubtedly complement the instructor's specific teaching philosophy (as described above).
A teacher's methods and teaching strategies form a toolbox, of sorts. As an ensemble, they form a reservoir, a resource for productive teaching. Collectively, they are a form of capital (using the economic analogy). Hence, one may well refer to teaching capital. It is important to articulate this concept because one's repertoire of skills--one's teaching capital--will likely grow through the stages of one's career, and this may likely shape expectations in the context of an evaluation. Indeed, one might also expect the professional to continue accumulating teaching capital throughout one's life--another element that may shape evaluations.
The three elements of professional reflection, discussed above, are the foundation for the practice of teaching itself. First, they are the benchmark for evaluating the effectiveness of one's teaching, in the broadest terms, and guide the reflective practitioner in collecting evidence (or getting feedback).
Second, in more subtle and indirect ways, teaching philosophy and other elements of reflection also guide an individual's professional development. For example, considerable professional develoment will likely be devoted to increasing teaching capital in the context of one's specific teaching goals. These two dimensions of teaching thus form the other major sections in a teaching portfolio.
2. Teaching as Reflection-in-Action
The concept of teaching as reflection-in-action refers to the preceptor's thinking about the teaching/ learning process or problem-solving teaching/learning situations while directly engaged in teaching. You demonstrate effective reflection-in-action when you change your teaching approach after recognizing that your approach is not working. That sounds pretty obvious, and yet many teachers and preceptors keep plugging away with the same approaches even though they are not satisfied with the results--an echo of that popular saying, "If you continue to do what you have always done, you will continue to get the same results you have always obtained."
While you are explaining a case to the student, you see the student's eyes glaze over and you readily see that the student is no longer actively engaged. But it is not always so obvious when an approach is not working. Even when the student is exhibiting my-eyes-glaze-over (humorously called MEGO), a preceptor might fail to notice and continue to drone on.
Seek feedback from the student frequently. Not by asking questions which can be answered "Yes" or "No," such as, "Did you get that?" or "Do you understand?" or "Do you see the relationship between … and …" Instead, ask the student to tell you what he or she got out of an explanation or ask, "What did you think was most important in what I just told you?" or "If you had to summarize this case in 60 seconds, what would you say?"
Validate your perception that your present approach is (or is not) working. Validate often so that you do not waste valuable time pursuing an ineffective approach. Validate the effectiveness of your teaching approaches with students just as you validate the effectiveness of treatment plans with patients. Remember the learning vector concept and its implication that students benefit differentially from teaching approaches depending upon their level of development. At a given time, a student may learn best from a collegial approach in some aspects but at the same time need a very directive, didactic approach in aspects that are entirely new.
By taking a holistic approach, Advanced Practice Nurses offer patients a unique approach to primary care. The student needs to practice comprehensive patient care, but at times in the learning process, the student may benefit from repetitive practice of a narrow aspect of care in order to master a skill. For example, if you assess a weakness in the student's skill in history taking, you might assign the student to taking and documenting histories for that day.
Keep your flexible stance, practice the techniques included in this section, and seek feedback from the student to validate the effectiveness of your approaches.
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