Mahend Gungapersad
5 August 2008
analysis
Port Louis — Reflective teaching is an innovative paradigm but its benefits have not been fully tapped in Mauritius. Many well-intentioned teachers may be engaged in reflective teaching but not in a methodical way. Today's teachers have to review and evaluate their teaching to gain deeper insight into what happened in the class.
Reflective teaching involves what the teacher does before and after the class. It is a sort of spiral beginning with reflection for practice (what will be taught and how), move into reflection in practice (how the actual teaching goes on) and then reflection on practice (reviewing the teaching carried out) and leading us back to reflection for practice in an ongoing process. Reflection is not spontaneous. Perplexity, confusion, doubt may lead to reflection. An empowered teacher is a reflective decision-maker who finds joy in learning and investigating the teaching-learning process. He views learning as construction and teaching as a facilitating process to enrich development. Teaching is not drab or dry, but stimulating and enriching. Each experience goes a long way in reshaping our views and beliefs on pupils and the way we teach them. Each batch offers yet another cogent potential to push ourselves to our maximum.
Reflective practice can benefit the professional development of in-service teachers. In Mauritius, where many secondary school teachers begin without any formal teacher training, reflective teaching could be used as a pedagogical tool to enhance their performance in class.
However, research shows that reflective teaching does not limit to actual teaching but assists a teacher in developing as a person, in establishing better relationships with other stakeholders (colleagues, parents, pupils, administration), learning while teaching, designing novel and enhanced teaching strategies, and setting higher professional goals.
In 1987, Donald Schon introduced the concept of reflective practice as a critical process in refining one's artistry or craft in a specific discipline. He recommended it as a way for teachers to recognize consonance between their own practices and those of successful practitioners. Reflective practice involves thoughtfully considering one's experiences in applying knowledge to practice with coaching by professionals in the discipline. This coaching can be a two-way traffic. Gone are the days when only the novice could learn from experienced colleagues. Today, novice teachers could share a lot with experienced. Reflective teaching can thus be mutually enriching for both. But the practice of a beginner being formally mentored by an experienced one in a department is rare. Various reasons explain this situation.
In Mauritius, reflective teaching practices have not received due attention past the MIE lecture theatres. It is a pity that such an easy, pedagogically proven practice has never received an enthusiastic response. Few rectors or head masters have expounded its benefits. Many teachers abhor staff meetings and view seminars or workshops as opportunities to 'kill time'. There is hardly any quality 'growth' after such events often organised with pomp and publicity but have no lasting effect on their attitudes towards the teaching profession. Follow-ups of seminars or workshops can be done through reflective sessions with all the staff or in small groups. Very often, even teachers of the same department hardly spare time discussing common problems. It would have been good teaching practice if teachers spent more time evaluating individual and collective work in the department. Many pedagogical insights could have been reviewed during such meetings, new approaches and measures to improve the teaching-learning transaction worked out.
Departmental meetings should be more than taking stock of the syllabus covered and assigning exam preparation duties. Departments rarely meet with a specific pedagogical agenda to discuss the shortcomings in the department, remedial work to be initiated, support to be provided to a novice teacher and to set clear and achievable targets for the department.
The greatest irony is that teachers are supposed to encourage pupils to do group work, but they are the last ones to put collaborative peer learning into practice. Ego is generally the main reason why one teacher does not solicit a colleague's help. Surveys have shown that teachers are more likely to "criticise their colleagues than seek their support", to "discuss political, domestic problems, a new recipe, television serials or films, or petty issues than pedagogical matters". Most "talking time" among colleagues is "never related to students, school, curriculum or pedagogy". The whole notion of reflective teaching is viewed with scepticism and as "an additional and useless burden".
This sad state of affairs, revealed during investigations, is revelatory as to what happens during free periods. Most teachers adamantly claim that free periods are meant to be 'free' and not to be bothered about pedagogy or teaching considered to be quite depressing as matters of discussion. Surprisingly, many honestly admit that they never bother about school- related issues once they leave school or the class. If most teachers are not pedagogically 'bothered' to think of what goes on in their classrooms, then who will do it?
Many admit they are critically engaged in school-related matters when they are doing a formal course and once it's over they stop "reflecting". It is quite nice to see those teachers working on their assignments or theses because they are intellectually engaged in something positive for them but once it's over, their inquisitive mind takes a long holiday. The suggestions they might have made in their assignments become alien to their professional reality. Many follow courses for "incremental increase in salary" and few use their gained knowledge as springboards for self-development or professional "growth".
Therefore, effective teacher professional development should involve more than occasional large-group sessions; it should include activities such as study teams and peer coaching in which teachers continuously examine their assumptions and practices. For instance, "Do all teachers of the English Language Department teach grammar in the same way?", or "Do the Mathematics and Physics departments work in isolation or can they help each other to enhance the performance of pupils in their respective field?", "How can the school librarian help language teachers by motivating pupils to develop the reading culture at school or in the setting up of class library?". These and other pertinent aspects of pedagogical issues could be taken up in a school, which favours the reflective practice.
Serving as a coach or mentor to peers is another form of reflective practice for in-service teachers. Appropriate working relationships should prevail so that this coaching or mentoring can take place. A proper structure has to be established so that effective time is allocated for coaching and mentoring . Teachers' beliefs that they affect students' lives as well as the school motivate them to grow. Coaching and mentoring have not made inroads in our educational system, though they could well be used to better the system. Timid attempts have been made in primary schools where mentors have been recruited recently. In secondary schools, the buzz word was "dean" for a long time but nothing concrete has been implemented so far. However, heads of secondary schools and heads of department can take it upon themselves to usher a new era of sharing and gradually introducing reflective teaching in a very subtle way.
The primary benefit of reflective practice for teachers is a deeper understanding of their own teaching style and ultimately, greater effectiveness as a teacher. Other specific benefits include the validation of a teacher's ideals, beneficial challenges to tradition, the recognition of teaching as artistry, and respect for diversity in applying theory to classroom practice. If reflective teaching could lead our teachers to question themselves, their teaching strategies, their efficiency as subject teachers and their quest to improve the teaching-learning transaction, then our system as a whole would benefit.
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