Reflective Practice in Teaching

meditative Pr effectice in the context of commandment ESOL Reflective make charters practitioners in a continuous cycle of egotism-observation and self-evaluation in honk up to understand their charter actions and the reactions they prompt in themselves and in disciples (Brookfield, 1995 Thiel, 1999). Reflective practice is considered as an evolving concept which views learnedness as an active process of reviewing an fancy of practice in order to describe, analyse, evaluate and so inform edition virtu totallyy practice. (Reid, B 1993 cited in Garfat, T. 2005). In my opinion, implementing musing practice nuzzle to captain victimization in order to expand our knowledge is a challenge. This challenge involves teachers ability to reflect on his or her practice in order to bring good-nigh change and advancement, especially in the ESOL context that is re defended by variety of learner groups, curricula, available resources, and amount and type of teacher preparation ( Schellekens, 2007, p. 199).To me, nowadays, teaching schoolchilds to determine their requirements does not only involve the effective and professional use of methodology, information and concept alone. I think that it is all about the ability of consolidation both theory and practice with highly exploratory process of pensive practice. I consider contemplative practice as a meditative professional emergence tool, which I treat merely as a personal low-tech way of incorporating reflective practice in periodic classroom teaching in order to make my class more(prenominal) effective.Developing own reflective or minute thinking skills should engage various aspects of teaching, much(prenominal) as preparation process, receiving feedback form the learners, self-evaluation process, feedback or reproval from the colleagues, statistical data, teachers diary, training/ receivement and own teaching experience.According to The land for acquirements policy statement on professional formation, reflective practice is a professional requirement to signal reflection on the impact of professional development (Lifelong nurture UK, 2007). The pioneers online personalised learning space, REfLECT, requires teachers to submit variety of item-by-item reflective practice evidence that includes * self evaluation an individual summary of the applicators learning needs and goals for the next 12 months, * professional development planning n individualised learning plan detailing the actions the appli give the bouncet volition deal out to address the needs and goals identified through self assessment, * reflective practice reflection on the impact of professional development on the appli croupets teaching practice, the benefit to learners and wider communities of practice could include, or be a mix of, a personal reflection on the impact of CPD, peer review, learner observations, observation of teaching and learning, collaborative working, etcetera (IfL, 2008)The personates of reflection, which I have chosen to mention in this paper, promote feel at what has been learned and planning how those lessons can be applied if confusable experiences re-occur. The two models of reflective practice in the context of teaching atomic number 18 Brokfields model of four reflective lenses and The Reflective rack by Gibbs (1988). 1. Brookfields model of four critically reflective lenses In his model of four critically reflective lenses, Brookfield (1995) suggests that we should make use of the four critical lenses through which to view and reflect upon our teaching practice, and he suggests the following 1. ur own view (which he refers to as autobiography) 2. that of our disciples 3. that of our fellow professionals 4. and the various theoretical perspectives propounded in fosteringal literature. Brookfield treats teachers personal experience as the close important insight into teaching to which teachers have access, and this personal experience s hould trust both considerations of classroom and lesson management as well as whether or not the learning experience was a profitable one for the bookmans.By talking to colleagues about what happened in the classroom, not only may we specify solutions to problems but also sh ar and broaden our teaching experience. (Brookfield, 1995 p. 31-36). 2. The Reflective Cycle by Gibbs (1988) Gibbs Reflective Cycle (1988) encourages a clear translation of the situation, analysis of feelings, evaluation of the experience, and analysis to make sense of the experience to examine what you would do if the situation arose again. This straightforward and thitherfore useful cycle appeals to me in some(prenominal) aspects. An incident is identified and thought about to provide a description of what happened.The abstract aspects of the situation the emotional dimension atomic number 18 devourn into bank note and reflected upon. This has to be done be shell if I can stand back from what happene d and tell apart how I felt then those feelings can be evaluated. In the escaped of reflection I could see how maybe extremes of emotion affected my scout and thus actions. Was there anything positive that could be carried forward into the future or electronegative that needs to be addressed? Is it possible to find the cause of these positive and negative aspects that I might examine later?This analysis allows me to break down the incident into smaller parts that made up the situation. The question I ask myself is What were the secretes, spot factors and influences and how did they combine to bring about the incident? Once I have this deeper understanding drawn from all the information I have about the situation I can try to work out what else could have been done at the time. Having conclude what, upon reflection, would have been the way to address the situation I can bring about an action plan for the next time the same situation arises.By applying this reflective practice cycle to similar situations the outcome should be steady, step-by-step improvement, associated with stimulating personal and professional growth, and closing the gap between theory and practice. DESCRIPTION My reflection beneath describes a critical incident involving my 17 year old, Entry 1 ESOL student from Somalia with undifferentiated prudence dearth Disorder (ADD). In undifferentiated ADD, the primary and most significant lineament is inattentiveness but hyperactivity is not present. The student manifests problems with organization and distractibility, even though he may seem quite and passive.The symptoms I noticed in the classroom environment included * a short attention span, * from time to time impulsive behaviour, * difficulty sitting still, * a tendency to express the harm answer, * inconsistent levels of task-attentiveness, * a tendency to appear forgetful as the progeny of inadequate access to actually well-stored information, * inconsistent levels of task-com pleteness, often losing things necessary for tasks * an visual aspect of being forgetful, when in fact the information was neer really standard or processed, * compromised summarization/paraphrasing competencies.FEELINGS I have found myself wondering whether this student might have a learning disability about iii months ago as I noticed that his learning issue, ADD, is impeding his senesce in English. At times I was also slightly prevent with the students classroom behaviour and lack of his academic progress. I was advised to take a wait and see approach to this case. I decided that there must be a better way of handling these prodigious students.In order to table service me understand the complexity of the issue I decided to do extensive look on students with ADD and minimal brain damage and how to tackle the issues in class, as well as how to help my student achieve in ESOL. EVALUATION After careful evaluation why my student may advance through his ESOL studies at a dra wn-out rate than their peers and having done a detailed tick-off evaluation sheet of all of the symptoms I noticed during lessons, I decided to explore future solutions to this problem. across-the-board research about students with ADD and ADHD helped me understand the complexity of the issue and how to tackle the issues in class. It really motivated me to find out how to help my student achieve in ESOL. ANALYSIS During my reflections after each lesson and reflective analysis of the students action during lessons, I thought it was natural to uncover his special needs before he could get into corrective trouble, lose all self-esteem, or drop out of school. I make that a wait and see approach is this case was not a way to go.Instead, I should act fast and refer this student to be professionally assessed by the Educational Psychologist and organise a Study permit Assistant. In conclusion, I became conscious of the fact that having a special command aide in the ESOL classroom, cross -training of special education and ESOL teachers, and making resources on this issuance (literature and trained staff) more available, would be of great help in recognising such learning difficulties and dealing with them on regular day-to-day basis of ESOL teaching. end pointOn the positive side, this reflective practice raised my awareness of the many reasons some ESOL students may reveal through inappropriate behaviour and/or limited language learning progress. I have learnt and I will continue to observe such students, incorporating teaching strategies for teaching students with learning disabilities in the classroom, analyse teaching and learning process to help them, make adjustments in deli truly of the language when dealing with students with ADD/ADHD, and promptly refer students that present truly special education needs.On a slightly negative side, the previous teacher did not identify the students problems former(a) enough or did not have enough evidence to vindicate my students ADD/ADHD as a potential difference threat to his achievement in ESOL class. I started teaching this student about three months ago but it was only a month and a half ago when I started applying various strategies to meet his individual learning needs to help him success in ESOL despite his ADHD, such as student monitoring, self management, sketch, and encouragement.In more detail, I provided supervision and area through enforcing classroom rules consistently, encouraging him to positive self-talk, trying to be very patient with him, avoiding all distracting stimuli and transitions, physical relocation, changes in schedule, and disruptions, developing an extensive individual learning program, simplifying instructions, giving extra time for certain tasks. I potently believe that his learning difficulties should ave been identified much earlier and appropriate strategies put in place at the arrestning of the course. ACTION PLAN neighboring year, I am planning to apply the background information obtained by this reflective practice in the new group of ESOL young learners and to electrical relay it to my colleagues. I will also connect with a special education professional who will be happy to observe my ESOL students next year and to provide assistance with strategies to use in my classroom, if the students with learning difficulties are pass to be identified.I will also research some literature resources to educate myself more about placement procedures for students with special education needs, mulish reading strategies for ESOL students with learning disabilities, and teaching teens with ADD and ADHD. As the most contiguous action plan, I shall incorporate special reading and writing strategies for the student with ADD/ADHD. These may include the following strategies.However, the student will be required to give me feedbacks which of them works best for him, and these include * Using previewing strategies by being aware of the following rea ding problems 1. Reversals when reading (i. e. , was for saw, on for no, etc. ) 2. Reversals when writing (b for d, p for q, etc. ) 3. Transposition of earn and numbers (12 for 21, etc. ) 4.Loss of place when reading, line to line and word of honor to word * Shortening or lengthening the amount of required reading * For all assignments, clearly identifying expectations in writing * Making required book lists available prior to the first day of class to allow students to begin their reading early or to have texts put on tape * Encouraging the use of books-on-tape to support students reading assignments * Providing students with chapter outlines, or handouts, that highlight key points in their readings * Having students make a chart similar to the one below of their strengths and challenges so that they, as well as I, can learn from their perceptions of how well they read, write, remember, listen, speak, attend and get ideas out. Skills Strengths Challenges Comments Reading Writ ing Memory Listening mouth Attention Getting Ideas Out To sum up, reflective practice is perhaps best understood as an approach which promotes autonomous learning that aims to develop students understanding and critical thinking skills.It also helps students to understand that learning is individual. It is an act of being able to reflect on our strengths, weaknesses and areas for development. It is also an emotional repartee that complements our knowledge and what we understand about a subject, and which enables us to act in a situation. Personally, I strongly agree that the importance of reflecting on what we are doing, as part of the learning process, is one of the defining characteristics of teaching professional practice. References * Brookfield, S. (1995) Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher. San Francisco Jossey Bass * The Excellence portal http//excellencegateway. org. k/tlp/cpd/assets skills_life_basic_key. rtf (accessed 13/05/2011) * Gibbs, G. (1988 ) Learning by Doing A guide to precept and Learning Methods. Oxford Further Education Unit, Oxford Polytechnic. * The work for Learning http//www. IfL. ac. uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/4640/ProfessionalFormationStatement. pdf (Accessed 13/5/11) * Lifelong Learning UK, 2007, New Professional Standards for Teachers, Tutors and Trainers in the Lifelong Learning Sector. http//www. lluk. org/documents/professional_standards_for_itts_020107. pdf (Accessed 05/5/2011) * Reflection Models http//www. brainboxx. co. uk/a3_aspects/pages/ReflectionModels. tm (Accessed 16/05/2011) * Root, C. A Guide to Learning Disabilities for the ESL Classroom Practitioner http//www. cc. kyoto-su. ac. jp/information/tesl-ej/ej01/a. 4. html (Accessed 16/05/2011) * Schellekens, P. 2007. The Oxford ESOL Handbook. Oxford Oxford University Press. * Strategies For Teaching Students with Attention Deficit Disorder (AD/HD) http//www. as. wvu. edu/scidis/add. htmlsect0 (Accessed 16/05/2011) Professional Values and respectable motive Values are enduring beliefs, both hard-wired (meaning acquired genetically) and shaped by cultural context, about preferred end states (Urbany, Reynolds, & Phillips, 2008, p. 75).According to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (2009), ethics is discipline dealing with good and evil and with example duty or moral principles and practice. Professional ethics and values guide the close-making process of all companies and organizations. around demarcationes and organizations state their values and ethics in their mission statement and in their code of ethics. The professional ethics and values of a business or organization will set the tone of how they transport their operations, how they interact with customers and how employees interact with each other. Sources of Professional Values and ethical motive The three groups include the Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs (CEJA), Ethics Resource Center and the Institute for Ethics.The CEJA develops ethics policy for the American Medical connection by preparing reports that essay and addresses ethical issues (AMA, 2009). The Ethics Resource Center develops practical solutions for physicians who are confronted with ethical challenges and provides continuing education and outreach programs for medical students, practicing physicians, and residents. The Institute for Ethics is an academic research and training center on ethics in health care. The Institute covers issues such as, professionalism, health information policy and health preparedness (AMA, 2009). Association of American Educators (AAE) The ethical accept toward students outlines how teachers should interact and communicate with their students. This principle states that teachers hould take responsibility to ensure that students learn qualities that will help them evaluate the consequences of and accept the responsibility for their actions and choices. The second principle, ethical conduct toward practice and performance instructs teachers on assuming responsibility and accountability for their performance and maintaining the dignity of their profession. Ethical conduct toward practice and performance also covers official policies and laws. The third principle, ethical conduct toward professional colleagues discusses issues such as confidentiality among colleagues, and making false accusations about colleagues or the school system.The final principle, ethical conduct toward parents and community includes issues such as, in effect communicating with parents, respecting the values and traditions of the diverse cultures, and manifesting a positive and active reference in school/communities. Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) How Ethics and Values Affect Success Professional ethics and values can have both positive and negative affects on a business or organizations success, Values, whether neutral, virtuous or not so virtuous, drive our decision making (Urbany, Reynolds, & Phillips, 2008, p. 76). Many c ompanies have made millions using unethical strategies, darn others have been destroyed by them. For example, several banks were lending money to individuals who they knew could never pay back the entire amount owed as a topic most of the banks went bankrupt.However, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the biggest offender in this situation was bailed out by the brass with a slap on the wrist. On the other hand, there are several companies that pride themselves in choosing to make the tough ethical decisions. For example, companies that renounce millions of dollars worth of products to ensure their customers safety, or companies that choose to operate in the unite States although they could operate at a lower cost outside of the unify States. Conclusion textbookmark-start textbookmark-end References American Medical Association (AMA). (2009). American Medical Association. Retrieved from www. ama-assn. org Association of American Educators (AAE). (2009). Association of American Educator s. Retrieved from