Reflective Skills of Effective Teaching

Transcription

1 Reflective Skills of Effective Teaching

2 Information from: The Act of Teaching Donald R. Cruickshank, Deborah Bainer Jenkins, Kim K. Metcalf New York: McGraw Hill, 2006.

3 Teaching is a complex activity that requires teachers to think about or reflect on what they do.

4 Good teachers can become even more effective by reflecting on teaching.

5 Reflective practitioners share certain characteristics: They routinely and purposefully deliberate or reflect on teaching. They are open-minded, freely questioning their own views and reactions to their teaching practices.

6 Reflective practitioners share certain characteristics: They consider and accept responsibility for the consequences of the decisions they make in the learning environment. They are enthusiastic and eagerly focus on ways to improve their teaching.

7 Reflective practitioners share certain characteristics: They become students of teaching by inquiring into theory and practices related to teaching and learning.

8 Reflective thinking offers immediate and future benefits for pre-service teachers: Reflecting on learning experiences enhances learning. Reflective thinking increases the ability to analyze and understand classroom events.

9 Reflective thinking offers immediate and future benefits for pre-service teachers: Reflection enhances the teacher s classroom life by helping him or her establish an inviting, predictable, and thoughtful learning environment.

10 Reflective thinking offers immediate and future benefits for pre-service teachers: Reflective teachers are self-monitoring which means they can direct their own personal growth. Reflection leads to personal and professional growth and empowers teachers to redesign teaching and the school culture.

11 Teachers can develop reflective thinking skills in many ways: The interaction provided through a dialogue journal can help you internalize ideas and build flexible, mature thinking about teaching.

12 Teachers can develop reflective thinking skills in many ways: Focused and purposeful discussions can build higher-order thinking skills and attitude changes. Teaching portfolios complement other reflection experiences and help you reflect on teaching more broadly.

13 Example of Action Research Patricia J. Dixon of Tallahassee, Florida, thought she was encouraging her middleschool science students to participate. But they were not reacting as she expected. They were reluctant to ask questions, make assumptions, or join in discussions. She wondered if her nonverbal communication was the reason and decided to use action research.

14 Example of Action Research Using one class with 23 students, Ms. Dixon videotaped the class for five days. She asked the group five questions to get their perception of her nonverbal behavior and recorded their responses. When she analyzed the tapes and student responses, she found out some startling things! This action research helped her become more aware of what she was saying to students and, more importantly, how she was saying it.

15 Example of Action Research Ms. Dixon learned: Students most openly and willingly answered questions when she stood with her hands or palms up. Participation was discouraged when she placed her hands on her hips, but hands in her pockets or behind her back created a casual atmosphere and encouraged responses.

16 Example of Action Research Ms. Dixon learned: Mismatched verbal and nonverbal behaviors confused students. Head nodding, especially combined with a smile or laughter, encouraged students to respond.

17 Example of Action Research Ms. Dixon learned: Being close to students encouraged them to respond. More important than proximity, however, was showing that she was listening to their response rather than distracted by grading papers, watching the clock, or reading ahead.

18 Example of Action Research Ms. Dixon learned: Eye contact showed students that she was listening to them. Students preferred an even, uniform tone of voice because it made them feel safe. Source: P.J. Dixon. Encouraging participation in a middle school classroom. [Online].

19 Example of Reflective Teaching: Lesson Reflection Goals: Why did you (or your cooperating teacher) choose these goals? How do you think the lesson went? Did the students learn what you wanted them to learn? Did your evaluation strategy help you determine if each student met the goals for this lesson?

20 Example of Reflective Teaching: Lesson Reflection Prior knowledge and skills What specific prior knowledge/skills did students need in order to be successful for this lesson?

21 Example of Reflective Teaching: Lesson Reflection Connections How does the content of this lesson build on what has been learned previously? How does the content of this lesson relate to what students will learn in the future? How does the content of this lesson fit within the structure of the discipline as a whole?

22 Example of Reflective Teaching: Lesson Reflection Methods, Activities, Materials Were the teaching methods you chose effective/appropriate? How do you know? Were the activities you used effective/appropriate? How do you know? Were the materials you used effective/appropriate? How do you know?

23 Example of Reflective Teaching: Lesson Reflection Knowing Your Students How did you accommodate the diverse experiences of your students? Gender Race/ethnicity English language proficiency Economic Status Exceptionalities Skill level Learning styles

24 Example of Reflective Teaching: Lesson Reflection Knowing Your Students Note an individual or group of students who did well with the lesson: Name: How do you account for his/her performance? What might you try in the future with him/her?

25 Example of Reflective Teaching: Lesson Reflection Knowing Your Students Note an individual or group of students who had problems with the lesson: Name: How do you account for his/her performance? What might you try in the future with him/her?

26 Example of Reflective Teaching: Lesson Reflection Reflection: If you could teach this lesson over again, what would you do differently? Why? If you could teach this lesson over again, what would you do the same? Why? Based on what happened today, what would you plan to do next with this class?